Three most important requirements of a chain lubricant:
Lubrication
Lubrication
and Lubrication
While properties like external cleanliness may seem important, the fact is that internal wear of the 112 overloaded, overworked and overlooked bearings is what destroys chains. A road cyclist, riding first-tier equipment, will typically wear a chain out in as little as 50* hours of use -- often destroying the cassette or chainrings in the process. On a high-end bike, drivetrain wear is the most expensive maintenance cost per mile.
That’s why, when developing Chain-L, we approached is as a bearing- wear problem and formulated it consistent with our theory of how chains wear and how best to combat it. We then road tested with racers, messengers, shop staff and others; refining it over the span of almost a year before we began selling to the public in the fall of 2007.
Rather than bore you with sales hype or smoke and mirrors, we prefer to follow the old adage that the “proof of the pudding is in the eating” and encourage you to give it a try and see for yourself if Chain-L is something you should be using.
Strengths: Lasts forever, silences the most angry, dry chains
Weaknesses: Doesn't smell like Chanel No. 5, but is still intoxicating none the less
Bottom Line:
I've used a lot of different lubes in my day (that's what she said...) and I've always had a couple of complaints: they're messy, they don't wear into the chain and need constant re-application, and they just plain don't work. In the realm of "just plain don't work" I've penciled in anything that contains the words dry, wax, clean, light, long lasting or spray on. Essentially, I've found one decent lube out there (Finish Line Ceramic Road Lube) but it was filed under the "messy" header and the "constant reapplication" headers. Actually, it received a "messy as hell" header as opposed to the regular one, but I digress.
The other problem with all these previous lubes is that my chain was always noisy. Not only is this against the Velominati rules, it's downright annoying as hell. So when a certain shop owner (Larry from Covered Bridge Cyclery to be precise) informed me that Chain-L would be the answer to all my problems, I actually decided to give it a try. I hunted for a LBS that carried the pricey little bugger, and finally dropped more than eleven bucks for a bottle of chain lube.
So what makes it different? Well, according to Chain-L's website, "a blend of extreme pressure (EP) lubricants in a high film-strength mineral oil base, formulated to provide the maximum possible lubrication to the tiny bearings that make up a chain" is what you pay all those ducats for. After receiving instructions on application, including warming the bottle in warm water, applying to each roller and waiting about 15 minutes for it to soak in, then simply wiping down, I went to work on my dry, angry sounding Dura Ace chain.
After about 15 minutes, I spun the cranks, and to my amazement, I STILL saw spider webs of lube stretching their sticky strands from derailleur to chain. Even though I was thinking about chalking this up to "messy," I was bizarrely enthralled by the simple beauty of it. Frankly, there's no way in hell that this lube will ever leave that chain, especially if it won't even fly off from the inertia of the spinning drive train. A quick wipe with a clean shop towel was the only finishing work needed. A test ride would reveal all; was this going to be money well spent, or another bottle to clutter up my workbench.
After a mile of...silence...I was ready to believe. After a long ride through the wet, muddy dirt roads around home, I was a believer. After continued silence, even after half a dozen washings, I became an evangelizer. This is the real deal.
Time will tell how often I have to reapply it, but I'm pleased to say that after about 200 miles, I'm still running silent. Frankly, that's about 50 miles more than any other lube I've ever used. Any lube that gives me a better ride for longer is a damn good investment in my book (that's what she said.) My suggestion? get your hands on this, and never look back.
Similar Products Used: Prolink
Finish line teflon
Finish line ceramic
White Lightning wax
Pedro's Ice
Pedro's Wet
Bike Setup: Look 585
SRAM Red
DT Mon Chasseral
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
twigseattle
a Recreational Rider
from
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2011
Strengths: Chain rune VERY quiet. So far it has run longer than other lubes without re-application, but the real test will be in the months to come.
Weaknesses: none so far,
Bottom Line:
This is my first application of Chain L to a new chain. I warmed up the lube in hot water and very sparingly applied it to a new chain and let it sit for a day on newspaper. This allowed me to keep it relatively clean.
The product thus far works perfectly. My chain and DA7900 drivetrain has NEVER been so quiet. I am very pleased with the performance thus far, and with not having to re-apply wet lube every 2 days.
I cleaned the chain with a clean rag after 70 miles to remove the chunks of grime it has attracted and it looks pretty good.
Strengths: Extremely durable, water-repellant, provides extremely good lubrication. Quiets the drivetrain. Economical, as you don't use much, or very often.
Weaknesses: Bit of a bother applying. Best done OFF the bike! Follow directions, wipe well, no problems.
Bottom Line:
I own a bike shop and try EVERYTHING that comes along. Have used Purple Extreme (disappointing), R&R Gold (good in dry cond.) and now am a confirmed Chain-L convert. Went 6 months of commuting on one lube. Absolutely best lube I've found. Lasts and lasts, continues to protect. Nothing better out there.
I've used Chain-L for nearly 1500mi after reading favorable reviews on RBR and MTBR. It's definitely the quietest running chain lube I've used as well as the longest lasting. I typically get ~500mi per application which is double or better that of other lubes.
Chain-L's approach of a bearing wear problem is right on. It's a blend of film forming mineral oil and extreme pressure lube (gear oil). It's higher viscosity than your typical chain lube and a little messier to work with, but you do it less frequently so it's worth it. I start with a clean chain, warm up the lube in a glass of hot water as directed to bring the viscosity down a bit, apply a drop to each roller, let sit a few hours or overnight and run the chain through a paper towel to remove excess.
I agreed to clean a chain for a friend, after he was caught in heavy rain on during an extended ride. He is a wax lube freak, but I think his wax applications are fairly infrequen Read More »
Just interested in what people use.
One mech says he like just the old ParkTool grease as it keeps the prawls kind of quiet, but still works.
In my mtb Chris King hub, the Read More »
Seems with the rising energy costs in this country, we are seeing a trend where us Americans get to pay outrageous prices to heat our homes. How do elderly people on a fixed incom Read More »
Please let's keep this civilized.
After the heated debate that arisen here, I looked up info on Chain-L lube, that many some on here as being far superior than any home brew rec Read More »
When installing a carbon seatpost in a carbon frame, what do you use to prevent the seatpost slipping or seizing? Assembly lube? Hairspray? Read More »
