20 Best Lubricant For Bike Chain (2023 Updated)

Best lube out there, it re-cleans the chain every time you use it and does not build up, it is a thin lube. Yes, you have to lube a bit more frequently, but it is amazingly smooth after you do (has embedded teflon or somesuch stuff).

At least on a road bike dirt, grim & grit don’t seem to stick to it very well. Be sure you lube your chain the day before you plan to ride so the more volatile part of the lube evaporates or you can get some sling off — just overnight and you are fine the next day.

I have used this stuff almost since its first introduction. It was developed by NASCAR engineers. I remember talking to the manufacturer directly several years ago just to question some of their seemingly outrageous and overly optimistic claims.

The rep told me that I “might never have to replace a chain again” if I kept it clean and lubed. I told him that such a claim was a little over the top! Nevertheless, I still like the stuff because it is not greasy and it is easy to clean and it doesn’t take much to be effective.

My only quibble is that because it is so thin and nearly clear, it is very tedious to apply. Just take your time. I appealed to the company to develop a better applicator top, perhaps something like a small brush head versus just a drip but nothing yet.

They recommend you apply it and then let it dry overnight, as the formula actually bonds to the metal surfaces. I try to remember to do that, as it results in less grit accumulating. PROS: Versatile BEST USES: Mountain Bikes, Road Bikes.

I have used various high quality lubes in the past, all the big names, but I keep coming back to ProLink. I like ProLink because it acts as a decent cleaner and a great lubricant. It’s a lower viscosity oil, so you’ll have to apply it a bit more often than the thicker stuff.

I usually apply this stuff about every 150-ish miles. I believe that some people really overcomplicate the process of oiling a chain by using fancy chain cleaning tools, degreasers, extended soaks in oil and/or mineral spirit baths, etc.

I’ll share my personal technique below. I’m not claiming this is the best way to do it, but it’s very easy and I get just as many miles out of my chains as I did back when I overcomplicated this process, if not more.

I’m a full-blown cycler who puts on a good amount of miles annually, so I’ve gone through plenty of chains and have tried various techniques. Below is all I ever do anymore. First, there’s no need to use degreaser unless your chain is rusty.

I’m in the camp that believes degreasers do more harm than good by allowing subtle debris to work its way deeper into the chain. Also, I believe that degreaser can flush deeply penetrated lube out, which can be hard to re-apply.

ProLink does a good enough job cleaning and your chain will still look fairly shiny. 1. – Wipe chain vigorously with a dry rag (just hold the chain with a rag and pedal backwards). 2. – Apply a drop of lube on each roller.

3. – Wipe chain vigorously again. 4. – Re-apply a drop of lube on each roller, try to get it between the roller and the plates for better penetration. 5. – Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, while doing so pedal backwards on occasion to allow the lube to move around inside the chain.

6. – Wipe your chain vigorously again. You don’t want the outside of your chain to be wet with oil, this will only gum up your drive-train by turning your chain into a dirt magnet (also if you don’t wipe it enough then you’ll get those dirty marks on your leg).

That’s it. Keep it simple, the chain is a disposable part and I have noticed no added life by using degreasers and more involved cleaning/lubing techniques. As a side note we own an indoor cycling studio we use ProLube on our indoor cycles too.

They are chain driven and ProLube helps to keep the chain clean and smooth. PROS: Versatile, Easy to Use BEST USES: Road Bikes, Long Rides.

Thought it could be a gimmick. Possibly the best thing I have ever bought. Does exactly what you want. Have only used dry lube with it so far. Usually this stuff spews everywhere no matter how careful I am to deliver the lube link by link.

There is mess. Not when using this. No mess so far. So I use less lube. Best of all. it does a better job than I did without it. Less mess. Less waste. Better application that lasts longer for me. Excellent.

Buy it.

The finish line product came in a plastic bag. This product came open inside the bag. More less half a bottle came out inside it and I sprayed all the contents of it. It came out of the bag a little and sprayed other products if any consequences, but all sticky.

I would like an answer about the problem.

Dripless awesomeness! Simple design that works flawlessly. You could oil your chain over carpet & not get a drop on it.

Im used to the regular ProGold lube but it is a bit light and doesnt last that long. The extreme lube seems great so far. Im using it through the winter ( I keep my chain super clean and re-lube as required).

So far, I think it justifies the extra cost over the regular ProGold product.

Best chain lube on the market. Keeps my chain clean and running smooth. Never gets gunky or black and oily. Great product.

Use a just tiny bit and really wipe off any excess with cloth from the chain. I just washed my chain before applying this and made the mistake of using one drop per link. I still wiped off the “excess” with a cloth but eventually dirt would build up again and made the whole chain appear black.

Next time I cleaned my chain throughly wiping excess lube and just reapplied using cloth and wiping the chain. Seems to be a better option. But long story short, it does its job as a chain lubricant making the drivetrain quiet and efficient.

If you don’t want black lube marks on your leg, just use a tiny/wee/small amount.

The wax lube that I have used has one significant drawback – it comes off in no time on sandy trails. That’s the reason why I had decided to try this lube. Having used it twice I know that it might be good for bolts, pulleys and cables, but it is definitely unsuitable for chain lubrication.

Since the draivtrain even after 30 km of riding in city condition is a total mess and creaks as hell.

Earlier i was using only wd40 for cleaning the chain and was running it dry, but after using park tool synthetic oil the previous noise of running dry chain vanished and it became very smooth. Also riding on elevation is a lot easier with less effort as compared to earlier.

Only one drawback is that the chain is attracting a lot more dust as compared to the dry one.

Hands down my new favorite lube. I haven’t sampled a wide array of different lubes manly because if is working good I don’t stray often. That being said, I’ve been using wet lubes from three different competitors.

I feel like the super secret lube beats them all. I ride daily in almost any weather and feel this lube holds up well in wet weather and also offers great protection in very dry conditions. I ride only road, so I have specific knowledge of off road use, but do feel this would hold up well.

I feel the chain runs smoother and quieter than any other lube I’ve run. I try to clean and relive my chain every 250 miles or so and have been loving it over the past for about 1000 miles now. Also no issues with Silcas delivery or customer service.

They have been great so far, and I will continue ordering from them as needed.

After five thousand miles running Super Secret Chain Lube on three bikes I’m a convert. The initial cleaning process was fairly straight forward using shake bottles, two rounds of citrus degreaser, and two baths (just to be certain) of denatured alcohol.

I’ve tried both dipping and dripping the lube and can’t say I’ve seen a lot of difference in noise, feel, or longevity between the methods. But what a difference between the lube and others that I tried.

I use to replace chains every 1-2000 miles. My Super Secret Chain Lubed ones have over 2000 miles each and still I still can’t get the. 5 gauge between links. Easy to wipe down the chain and reapply every couple of hundred miles.

And I’ve found the dirty wax washes out of clothes pretty well and comes off my hands with anything from dry clothes to soap and water. The downside is that I still have to pedal on up elevations. I hope Silca is working on that.

I have been given unwanted advice many times that wax lubes build up on the chain and pulleys and I should use another lube. I have tried many but keep coming back to this one. I have not experienced wax build up and my drive train stays relatively clean while running smoothly.

I have been using Pedros Go and ChainJ almost exclusively over the past few years. It has performed well through Cyclocross races, Cross Country races, and Enduro races. I like how it cleans off really easily and doesnt seem to gum up.

Its great how its biodegradable so I feel a little less badly riding through streams and such. If I were to critique one thing would be lube longevity on the chain.

Iv Hade the same Bottle of this stuff for ages! Last a Long time works wonders! and its Non Toxic so if my Girl Brings me a sandwich as I’m Lubing my Chain Not much need to worry 🙂 PROS: Safe And Non Toxic, Last A Long Time, Dose Not Smell BEST USES: Mountain Bikes, Road Bikes, Long Rides, Commuting.

This lube works well, but it tends to pick up every piece of dust out on the trail. It says on the bottle that it’s for mixed conditions, but I’d only ever use this stuff if it’s wet outside. If you stay on pavement for your entire ride, it might not be too bad.

However, go on a dusty trail and when you get home your chain will look like it hasn’t been cleaned in ages. Degreaser gets it off easy, but I’ll stick to a cleaner lube for dry-weather use.

I ride my bike a lot– Close to 4000 miles a year. Which means I need to relubricate my bicycle chain more frequently than people who ride less than I do. So I did some simple math: a 4oz bottle of Pro Link costs about $13.

A big gallon jug like this has 128 ounces = 32 of those 4oz bottles. If I bought 32 4oz bottles I would need to spend $416. So I decided to spend just $132 for this gallon jug and save $284. Typically a 4oz bottle lasts me about 4 months of cycling.

So this gallon jug should be enough for me to continue riding my bike for the next 10 years if I keep riding my typical 4000 miles a year. And at my age, I still have several decades of riding left in my legs if I stay healthy, so in my case I think this is a good investment.

Note this economy works out only if you ride A LOT! If you don’t ride your bike as frequently as I do, stick with the smaller bottles.

Prolink ProGold is an excellent dry lube, Ive been using it for years with great results. Its not especially long lasting, I relube about every 100 miles, but all it takes is a quick chain wipe-down with a clean rag, followed by one drop of this lube on every chain roller, using the ProGold needle-tip luber.

Chain stays clean, dry, and lubricated. I get 4K miles out of each Campy Record 11 speed chain, keeping a chain clean and well lubricated is essential for maintaining a quiet and smooth shifting drivetrain.

I highly recommend using a needle tip applicator, and only lubricating the inner chain rollers, which is the only part of a chain that needs lubrication. A little goes a long long way, and avoids a build-up of grit and road grime from using too much lube.

A well lubricated bicycle chain is amazingly efficient. A poorly lubricated chain is less effficient and accelerates wear on not just the chain but front and rear gears. Some testing indicates that this may not be the absolute best chain lube on the market, but the difference between lubing and not lubing is bigger than the differences between the better chain lubes.

I have used this brand chain lube for years with great success, but always flinched at the cost. This bottle helps a LOT with the pain of the cost. And that means I lube more often. I CAN feel the difference in the drive train.

BTW: I got some needle oilers (3 PACK 1/2 OZ PRECISION HIGH QUALITY OILER BOTTLES NEEDLE MICRO TIP APPLICATOR ) when I got this bottle. The spray, on narrow pattern, is just right to refill small bottles.

And the needle oilers get just a drop or two on each link where it is needed, rather than all over the plates, where it only attracts grit. Net result: better lubrication and yet another cost saving, with less cleanup after each application.

Blast directly onto chains, cassettes and chainrings and watch the grime flood off instantly! After a single liberal spray it left the drivetrains of 5 family bicycles shining, taking off thick black grease and grit.

One can did about three bikes. I cannot imagine a quicker or more thorough way to degrease. However, seeing the instant results, I would not like to get the stuff on my hands or eyes. I wore eye protection and working gloves and felt safe.

I would not use this indoors. The spray is very powerful and splashes everywhere!.

Thought I would give it a try for the money. First thoughts was it is very thin/runny when applying so had to be careful not to waste it running off, after leaving it a while it did settle to a waxy finish.

Being runny on application allowed it to penetrate into the links. Only been out once and chain was ok and feels waxy so Ill see what its like after a few rides. Only given 4* because not used for a long period.

Anything “WD40” is going to be good, but this really cuts through the grime! Fantastic, but take advice from below and keep locked up or your child may too discover its merits and squirt it about until it’s empty.

Quite often on offer in Asda so look out for it at 4 quid.

Many moons ago, I used to degrease my drive after ride, then drip an oil based lube on link by link. Then I tried Squirt which worked well in the summer but washed off too easily in wetter conditions.

The answer to this was Putoline melt in wax which was great in the wetter months despite being a bit more involved to apply. A couple of summers ago, I tried Smoove and found it lasted longer and shifted better than Squirt and didn’t gum up as much around the jockey.

I kept using Smoove into the wetter months and it worked so well that I’ve never switched back to the Putoline. Smoove keeps shifting well and lasts a respectable amount of time without gumming up. I’ve not found anything that works as well.

I decided to try this after reading various reviews. It is easy to apply as it is quite runny and economical in amounts as the nozzle is small. It goes in easy and a little goes a long way so should represent good value in the long run.

I let it dry overnight in the garage and wiped off the chain. The chain is now very quiet and the changes smooth. During the dry weather it seemed to pick up little dirt on my MTB and now the wet weather has started I will be able to see how well it lasts in mud.

The only drawback is that the chain has to be totally cleaned before applying even a new chain should be degreased.