Is chain oil the same as chain oil? Not at all. Several times, most recently in BIKE 4/2016 we realised that there are sometimes extreme differences in performance between the lubricants from different manufacturers. And this is not surprising, as modern technology for synthesising lubricants makes it possible to adapt the lubricants to a wide variety of conditions.
Lubricants for dirty weather usually attract more dirt, but stick to the chain for longer. Practical for the winter months! Lubricants for dry weather, on the other hand, attract less dirt but do not stick to the chain for as long. You will have to relubricate more frequently.
High-tech lubricant from Atlantic: Dry 11
The Hamburg-based lubricant manufacturer Atlantic also regularly sends in samples for the BIKE tests. In the last test, however, the result was only average, mainly because the lubricants optimised for mixed weather could not keep up with the dirt repellency and lubricity of modern dry lubricants.
Naturally, the Hamburg-based company did not want to take this lying down and has now introduced a new lubricant. For the first time, the new lubricant from Atlantic, called Dry 11, is now also based on dry lubricants such as the test winners from Dry Fluids, Motorex and Dynamic. Atlantic promises high creeping properties and dirt repellence. Thanks to special adhesive additives, the lubricant should still adhere to the chain for a long time so that you don't have to relubricate quite so often.
However, the actual strength of the lubricant should lie in its lubricity. Atlantic specifies 311 N/mm² according to Brugger (DIN 51347) as the reference value. That would be almost twice as much as the best lubricants from BIKE 4/2016 (Motorex Dry Power and Dry Fluids Bike) and more than ten times as much as the conventional lubricants from Atlantic itself (Atlantic Kettenfett and Atlantic Oelzeuch).
The dry lubricant Atlantic Dry 11 is therefore said to be dirt-repellent, have a high creeping ability and good long-term adhesion - as well as by far the highest lubricity ever tested by BIKE in the bicycle sector. We are excited! The only thing that might be a problem with so much high-tech is its environmental compatibility. You can't have everything. The whole thing will be available from November 2016 for a reasonable €5.90 in a 50 ml bottle and €9.90 in a 125 ml bottle.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
