Everything you need to about chain lubrication for your bike
Using one of the best chain lubes for bikes will keep your bike’s drivetrain running smoothly and efficiently.
The chain is one of the hardest working components on your bicycle. Even when pedalling at a normal cadence, there is a huge amount of meta-on-metal contact between the chain and the rest of the drivetrain.
The best chain lubes can smooth the chain’s engagement with the cassette sprockets and chainrings, and maintain proper shifting performance. They also help prevent corrosion and reduce friction and drivetrain wear.
You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to chain lubes. With countless brands offering a variety of types and formulas, finding the best chain lube isn’t easy.
Having tested countless bike chain lubes over many years of riding, BikeRadar’s team of experienced road, gravel and mountain bikers have nominated their personal favourites.
For more information on the different types of chain lubes available, how they work and which ones are best for different kinds of riding, check out our buyer’s guide to bike chain lubes after our recommendations.
The best chain lubes, according to BikeRadar’s team of expert testers
CeramicSpeed UFO Drip – Simon von Bromley, senior technical writer
- Price: £19.99 / €22 / $24 (180ml) as tested
- Pros: Performance backed by independent testing; attracts few contaminants; easy to clean; plays nicely with immersive waxed chains
- Cons: Relatively expensive; not the longest-lasting
CeramicSpeed UFO Drip, recently rebranded as UFO Drip All Conditions, is one of the best wax-based drip lubes.
At £19.99 / €22 / $24 for a 100ml bottle, it has a relatively high price but its low-friction credentials are backed by testing by independent test labs such as Zero Friction Cycling.
Like most wax-based lubricants, CeramicSpeed UFO Drip should be applied to a clean chain stripped of dirt, grease and oil, and left to dry overnight for best results. It also needs to be reapplied as soon as possible after wet rides to prevent your chain from rusting.
Once done, though, CeramicSpeed UFO Drip rewards you with a smooth running chain, exceptional cleanliness and speed backed by independent test data.
Because it doesn’t attract dirt, this lube makes washing your bike a cinch (no solvents or degreasers required), and it does wonders to prevent expensive drivetrain components from wearing out prematurely.
As BikeRadar’s chain-waxer-in-chief, I’ve also found it complements immersively waxed chains very well too, enabling significantly extended intervals between full re-waxes, with little buildup of gunk.
CeramicSpeed also says UFO Drip uses a non-toxic and biodegradable formula – something which, sadly, isn’t always a given with bicycle chain lubricants.
The only notable downside (beyond the relatively high price) is that CeramicSpeed UFO Drip isn’t the longest-lasting chain lubricant available, especially in wet weather.
This means you’ll need to reapply it fairly frequently if you ride lots and it’s not best suited to ultra-distance cycling.
Silca’s Super Secret wax chain lube (£25 / €28.95 / $25 per 120ml bottle) is reportedly a bit better in this respect, but for the longest rides in harsh conditions, I’d consider something like Silca Synergetic instead (the favourite lube of BikeRadar’s in-house ultra-distance racer, Oscar Huckle).
Morgan Blue Race Oil – Liam Cahill, road and gravel presenter
- Price: £10.99 / €9.90 / $11.23 (125ml) as tested
- Pros: Super-quiet drivetrain; smooth gear shifting; ideal for mixed weather; easy to clean
- Cons: Will turn black after a few rides
I’ve used Morgan Blue Race Oil chain lube on my humble winter and commuter bike for years and it’s still my pick for changeable weather conditions.
The Belgian brand supplies several pro teams with oils, grease and cleaning products and it’s easy to see why. This stuff is easy to apply (just upend the bottle while rotating the cranks), it works well, and when it comes to cleaning time, a good degreaser removes it without fuss.
A highlight for me is how quiet my drivetrain is when I use this lube. Waxed chains may be fast and stay clean for several rides, but they tend to be fairly noisy. In contrast, there’s something very enjoyable about a silent bike that means I prefer Morgan Blue’s Race Oil.
Race Oil sits somewhere between a dry lube, which mostly evaporates after application, and a wet lube, which is often thick and difficult to remove.
While it does turn black after a few rides, Race Oil continues to lubricate the chain well, without accumulating the gunk I’d expect to find with a wet lube.
When I do treat my commuting bike to a deep clean, Race Oil is easy to shift with a standard chain degreaser. It doesn’t create nasty gunk build-up on the cassette or chainrings either, so it’s easy to get the drivetrain looking shiny again.
While I do love a perfectly clean chain, the discolouration is slightly annoying. For the bike that does the hard commuting yards, however, I’d rather have an oil that stays on the chain through mixed weather conditions.
Morgan Blue Race Oil costs £10.99 / €9.90 / $11.23 for a 125ml bottle. Generally, I’ve found a single bottle will last for about a year’s worth of commuting, which is about 4,000 kilometres for me.
I’d call that good value.
Rock Lube Rock’n’Roll Gold Low Vapour (LV) Lube – Ashley Quinlan, senior technical editor
- Price: £8.95 / €12.90 / $8 (4oz / 117ml) as tested
- Pros: Runs cleanly; resistant to light showers; reapplication helps to clean the chain
- Cons: Wasteful application
Rock Lube Rock’n’Roll Gold Lube has been a staple of my riding setup for years, offering a clean and light lubrication of my chains that resists dust and dirt.
The Gold lube – recently updated with a new low vapour (LV) formula – sits in the middle of the lube range offered by Rock Lube. There’s a red ‘Absolute Dry’ version, and a blue Extreme version (no prizes for guessing their roles).
Gold LV is my favourite, though, because it can handle all good-to-middling riding conditions. As long as the weather is dry, one clean application will see you through 300km of riding before more is needed.
As with most chain lubes, wet conditions reduce this life a little, but it’s a trade-off worth making for the smooth performance it otherwise offers.
The closest-performing alternative I’ve tried is Muc-Off’s C3 Dry Ceramic Lube, but even this I’ve found to attract dirt more easily and create a thicker layer of grime on the chain over time.
Gold LV lube needs to be applied in copious amounts, then mostly wiped away, to get optimum performance.
The chain links must be dripping in the stuff, before rotating the cranks backwards and wiping the excess away with a cloth.
Unless truly filthy beforehand, the chain ends up cleaner, as the solvent component of the carrier fluid acts as a displacer for dirt. However, it leaves a mess on your rims and spokes which needs wiping away, and it feels wasteful.
I’ve persevered, though, because in my experience there’s no lube out there – aside from a full-scale wax treatment – that runs as cleanly as this.
At £8.95 / €12.90 / $8 for a 117ml bottle, the price isn’t too steep, but given the bottle will last a couple of months with regular riding, and the application process is a little wasteful, value could be better.
Silca Synergetic – Oscar Huckle, technical writer
- Price: £25 / €30 / $25 (60ml) as tested
- Pros: Doesn’t attract grime or grit; long-lasting between cycles; drivetrain runs silently
- Cons: High initial outlay
Like others at BikeRadar, I’m quite pernickety when it comes to chain lube.
When it launched, Silca Synergetic lube was claimed to be the fastest oil-based lubricant available, but I’m not after the fastest option that might save me half a watt. I simply want my drivetrains to run smoothly and silently.
Applying this lube to your chain is simple. For best results, your chain should be completely clean and dry before the initial application, then you apply one drop of lubricant to each chain link using the included needle applicator. Silca then recommends back-pedalling 12 revolutions, waiting a minute and then wiping away any excess.
After backpedalling the cranks a few times (to work the lube into the chain rollers), any excess can be wiped away with a clean rag.
Although the narrow applicator means this process takes a while, it’s worth it because it makes the chain run silently and, crucially, doesn’t attract grime or grit.
Silca claims a bottle of Synergetic lube will last up to 12,000 miles / 19,000 kilometres, which tallies up with my experience. After a year’s use over roughly 6,000km, I’m only halfway through the bottle.
It performs well in the winter too, though, I’ve found that you need to apply the lubricant more regularly, as you’d reasonably expect given the harsher conditions.
The only downside is that the upfront cost of Silca Synergetic lube is relatively high, at £25 / €30 / $25 for a 60ml bottle. As it lasts a long time, though, it ultimately represents good value – especially considering how well it performs.
If cost is a barrier, you could consider using Fenwick’s Professional Chain Lube instead (which I use on my off-road bikes all-year-round), which is much cheaper at just £15 for a 100ml bottle.
Although it doesn’t last quite as long and attracts slightly more dirt than Silca Synergetic lube, Fenwick’s keeps the drivetrain running equally quietly and it stands up to wet and muddy conditions.
Smoove – Jack Luke, deputy editor
- Price: £16.99 / €15.95 / $20.51 / AU$25 (125ml) as tested
- Pros: Easy application for a wax lube; tests well; decent longevity
- Cons: Must be applied to a very clean chain; not the best choice for long wet rides; fairly expensive
Smoove is an excellent lube for riders who don’t want to commit fully to immersion waxing but still want the benefits of minimal friction and easy clean-up offered by wax-based lubricants.
Smoove provides thorough application instructions – follow these religiously.
Critically, the lube must be left to dry, ideally overnight. A hasty pre-ride slurp of lube will pick up dirt and wash off in the rain.
Like all wax lubes, Smoove must be applied to a fastidiously clean chain. I once applied it to an 80 per cent clean used chain and the lube turned into an obstinate sludgy mess. Do not do this. Starting with a thoroughly degreased fresh chain is the best way to go.
In dry weather, Smoove provides wonderfully quiet running and, as shown in independent lab testing, good performance.
Smoove requires less frequent reapplication than other wax-based lubricants, such as Squirt. Smoove recommends reapplying once your chain becomes noisy, rather than at fixed intervals. While you can apply the lube at this point, I’d recommend cleaning the chain first as unavoidable dirt build-up creates an unsightly mess.
Smoove is an okay choice for shorter winter rides where you wash your bike right after. Compared to a sticky wet lube, it’s easy to clean off and lasts long enough.
It’s more tenacious than other drip wax lubes but it isn’t the best choice for extended rides in grimy weather, where it’ll simply wash off, leaving you to crunch through the rest of your ride.
Squirt Long Lasting Chain Lube – Warren Rossiter, senior technical editor
- Price: £13.99 / €10.50 / $15.71 (120ml) as tested
- Pros: Good value; long-lasting; doesn’t attract dirt
- Cons: Can be a bit drippy on application; takes a while to dry
Squirt says its Long Lasting chain lube uses a blend of waxes and water to create a low-friction coating for your chain. In my experience, it holds onto the chain tenaciously, lasts for a long time and easily repels dirt.
I’ve been using Squirt since 2018, initially with a 120ml bottle (£13.99 / €10.50 / $15.71 ), but have since replaced it with a workshop-sized 500ml bottle (£47 / €52 / $48.76) that’s still going strong after thousands of kilometres.
While I appreciate the smoothness and neatness of immersively waxed chains, I have such a large stable of bikes that if I was waxing every chain properly, it wouldn’t leave me much time for actually riding.
What I really like about Squirt, though, is that – providing your chain is clean and dry before application – the end result is close to an immersively waxed chain, with coated plates and pins that don’t attract crud and detritus.
It also lasts very well. I started out just using Squirt on my road bikes, but now I use it on everything and have found it particularly good for gravel both in wet sloppy conditions and rare dry dusty days too.
That means no cruddy build-up around jockey wheels and no transference of oily grit into the depths of your cassette either.
In terms of application, Squirt is very wet, so you do need to be careful applying it, otherwise you’ll get a fair bit of dripping.
Squirt needs ample drying time before you head out to ride so the wax can set and the carrier fluid has time to evaporate. Head out before it’s properly dried and you’ll get a bit of spatter on your chainstays, and the chain will attract more dirt.
I’ve used a few expensive wax lubes (Ceramic Speed UFO, Silca Super Secret), but I’d rank Squirt amongst those on performance without the price penalty.
Buyer’s guide to bicycle chain lubes
Why should you lubricate your bike chain?
Lubricating your bike chain will lead to a quiet, efficient and smooth-running drivetrain. But it will also reduce drivetrain and chain wear and therefore increase the lifespan of your components.
Under clean, laboratory conditions, more viscous lubricants would be expected to decrease drivetrain wear rates.
In the real world, however, dirt and other contaminants enter the equation. If these get in your drivetrain they essentially form a paste (think ‘liquid sandpaper’) with the lubricant literally grinding away your gears.
When you ride in wet or dirty conditions, your front wheel sprays huge amounts of contaminants onto your chain (although good mudguards can mitigate the effects to a degree). From there, the only way to reset the balance is to clean your drivetrain thoroughly.
Reducing drivetrain wear – and therefore extending the life of your components – can potentially save you a fair amount of money.
After all, the more expensive your parts, the more expensive they are to replace. Have you ever looked up the price of a Shimano Dura-Ace, SRAM Red or Campagnolo Super Record cassette? Yikes…
What is drivetrain efficiency?
Drivetrain efficiency describes how much of the energy you put through the pedals reaches the rear wheel, to drive you and the bike forward. This energy is usually described as ‘power’ because it can be measured in watts.
Under laboratory conditions, geared bicycle drivetrains have been shown to reach above 98 per cent efficiency, meaning just 2 per cent of energy inputted is lost to friction.
Real-world conditions don’t usually mimic those of a laboratory though.
As well as correct lubrication, drivetrain efficiency is dependent on things such as cleanliness, chain line, and the size of the chainrings and cogs in your drivetrain.
With that in mind, avoiding a contaminated drivetrain is key to optimum efficiency.
Types of chain lube
There are many different types of bicycle-specific lubes, including wet lubes, dry lubes, ceramic lubes and wax lubes. Each has its own pros and cons, and intended use, which we’ll come on to.
Most lubes contain synthetic oils, along with friction-reducing additives such as PTFE (Teflon) and carrier fluids that evaporate after application.
Recently, partly thanks to the increased availability of independent testing data, waxed-based lubricants have risen in popularity among performance-minded cyclists.
The key with bicycle chain lubrication is to get it in the internals of the chain (among the rollers and pins). Before lubricating, you also need to clean it as thoroughly as possible, to remove contaminants.
Chain lubes range greatly in price, from a few pounds/dollars at the very low end, to more than £80 at the very top end.
Budget-conscious cyclists ought to consider the full cost of maintaining a drivetrain when making lube purchasing decisions, though.
A cheap lube could end up costing you a lot more overall than an expensive one, for example. If your lube leads to poorer efficiency and increased drivetrain wear, having to replace worn parts of your bike more often will undoubtedly cost a lot more in the long run than an efficient lube.
That said, just because something costs more, it doesn’t mean it’s automatically better.
For a more information on the types of chain lubes available and how they stand up to scrutiny, we spoke to Adam Kerin of Zero Friction Cycling (ZFC), an independent test lab for bicycle chain lubricants.
Dry lube
Dry lubes, so-called because they’re designed for riding in dry conditions, are often made up of around 10 per cent lubricant – synthetic oils and additives – and 90 per cent carrier fluid.
Some companies label wax-based lubes as ‘dry’ too, but we’ll cover them separately shortly.
As a lower viscosity lubricant, dry lubes promise greater efficiency through lower friction and by attracting fewer contaminants.
The downside of dry lubes is they are often very easily washed off by rain or puddles.
Zero Friction Cycling (ZFC) suggests dry lubes typically appear cleaner because they lack enough actual lubricant to be effective. This has the knock-on effect of meaning they usually result in high levels of friction and wear, according to ZFC’s testing.
If that’s to be believed, you could also make an argument that you’re spending your money mostly on carrier fluid that’s designed to disappear into thin air.
Wet lube
Wet lubes are designed for riding in wet or year-round conditions and, as such, generally contain greater quantities of higher viscosity synthetic oils, as well as additives such as PTFE.
You get more lubricant per millilitre with this type of lube and the increased viscosity of the oils means this type of lubricant should last longer and is much less prone to getting washed off your chain if you encounter water.
The downside of wet lubes? These same properties also make it a magnet for dirt and grime (especially if applied excessively), and the extra viscosity also means lower outright efficiency compared to thinner lubes, due to the added viscous friction.
Best practice for this type of lube is to apply sparingly to each link in the chain and wipe off any excess before riding.
You’ll need to clean your drivetrain regularly, possibly even after every ride if you want the maximum benefit and to maintain peak performance and optimise drivetrain life. Once a wet lube becomes contaminated it can begin to cause drivetrain wear.
Ceramic lube
Ceramic lubes have started popping up over the last few years, with bold claims about increased performance, alongside increased prices. It’s not always clear what they contain or what benefits they offer over other types of lubricants, though.
Muc-Off, which makes both wet and dry ceramic lubes, says its ceramic lube contains tiny ‘ceramic particles’ that help reduce friction over the synthetic oils found in standard dry and wet lubes.
It notes these lubes are more expensive, but also points out the decreased friction it claims ought to lead to increased drivetrain longevity, saving you money overall.
ZFC, however, says there is limited publicly available data to substantiate the claims that ceramic lubricants actually provide the purported effects, and thus doesn’t recommend them.
All thing’s considered, until they have been definitively proven to work as advertised, it’s hard to recommend ceramic lubes over more affordable options.
Wax lube
Lubricants based on paraffin wax (yes, the stuff they make candles with) have grown massively in popularity in recent years, as independent testing has shown them to score extremely well on efficiency, longevity and in resistance to contaminants.
Waxed-based lubricants are usually a mix of highly-refined paraffin wax particles, mixed with additives such as PTFE and a carrier fluid.
The key to wax’s good performance is that, when applied correctly, it settles to form a hard, almost dry layer of low friction lubricant on the chain.
This increased dryness is key because it prevents friction-increasing contaminants from sticking to the chain and working their way into the internals of the chain or coating your drivetrain parts.
A downside of wax lubricants is that they require a fastidiously clean chain prior to the initial application, otherwise the wax won’t stick to the metal or dry out correctly.
This means you’ll have to completely strip even a brand new, box-fresh chain of all grease and oil.
You also need to leave enough time before you ride for the wax to completely dry and harden on the chain (overnight, ideally). If you ride in wet conditions the chain will also need to be cleaned, dried and lubricated soon afterwards to prevent corrosion.
Immersive waxing
If you’re after the fastest, most efficient drivetrain possible, immersive waxing is currently best. Look around any professional race or time trial and you’re bound to spot more than a few waxed chains.
This process involves taking a scrupulously clean chain and immersing it in a heated vat of highly refined paraffin wax and other additives.
Wax for chain waxing is commercially from brands such as Molten Speed Wax, Silca or Finish Line.
You can source the ingredients separately yourself, but ZFC says that commercial blends such as Molten Speed Wax use more highly refined paraffin wax than what is normally available to consumers, for optimum performance and cleanliness.
The heat helps the chain parts expand, allowing the lubricants to fully penetrate all parts of the chain and flush out contaminants. Once the chain is removed, the wax also dries to a completely dry, solid layer of lubricant over every part.
If you fancy giving it a go yourself, check out our in-depth guide on how to wax a chain.
If you’re thinking, “That sounds like quite a lot of hassle…”, you wouldn’t be wrong – and even some pro teams aren’t convinced the purported benefits of waxed chains are worth the extra hassle.
But in our experience, the hard part of immersive waxing is usually the initial chain cleaning process.
The factory grease can be hard to completely remove from the inside of even a brand-new chain. You need strong degreasers or solvents to get the job done properly, and you’ll be left with a fair amount of waste chemicals that you’ll need to dispose of carefully.
Once it’s been properly cleaned and treated, waxed chains have, in our experience, an incredible ability to shrug off dirt and grime.
A little extra legwork then, but the potential rewards are substantial.
What about grease?
This section is really here to advise against using grease to lubricate your chain.
While grease is great for bearings and threads, it won’t penetrate the gaps between the rollers and pins where you really need the lubricant because it’s far too thick. The viscous friction will be much higher too.
It’s also going to attract every bit of grit, dirt and grime you come across and will be a nightmare to clean off properly afterwards.
Unless your bike ride is planned to take place underwater, we’d recommend steering well clear of using grease on your chain.
Do aerosol lubes work?
Some lubricants are also sold as aerosols, but we wouldn’t recommend these for lubricating chains because they’re very difficult to apply precisely.
The risk of getting lubricant on your wheel’s brake track, disc brake rotors or worse in the pads is much higher than with drip lubes, and you really don’t want that happening because it can seriously affect brake performance.