The other day my laziness got the better of me again, I didn't clean my bike or even lube the chain, even though it deserved it. I paid for it on the next tour. My chain groaned in my ear the whole ride. I could hear the wear and tear. Lubricating the chain is as much a part of biking as putting on a helmet. The only question is what to use? The variety of products on offer is enormous.
We got to the bottom of the matter and collected over 50 lubricants from 20 manufacturers in our laboratory and subjected them to a detailed test. Oils, greases and waxes, Teflon, ceramics and new nano-particles promise us all-round carefree care. Our test shows how they compare to alternative products such as Ballistol, engine oil, sewing machine oil and chainsaw oil.
Chain and lubricant under high pressure
The most important criterion for the lubricant on a bike chain is its lubricity, which should minimise wear on the parts that rub against each other. The following applies: the greater the pressure on the individual chain links, the more difficult the task for the lubricant.
Short & sweet: The conclusion to the big lubricant test
Whether oil, grease or wax - the type of lubricant does not indicate whether the chain is well maintained. The dividing line tends to run between the different manufacturers. Good products come from Dynamic, but the products from Pedro's were disappointing. Using household oil is better than not lubricating at all, but the speciality products are clearly superior.
The results of the lubricant test can be found below as a PDF download.
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Jens Klötzer
Editor
