If you care about maintaining your bike and optimising your performance, a clean, correctly lubricated bike chain should be high on your list of priorities.
There are countless chain lubes on the market, and not all of them are created equal. How do you really know what's in a lubricant and if it's doing the job it's meant to?
Best bike chain lubes available today
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Best bike chain lube
When I'm using a drip lubricant, CeramicSpeed UFO Drip All Conditions is the one I reach for the most.
UFO Drip has been on the market for a long time and has undergone several updates in that time, the most recent being an update to the branding. Though its green credentials have greatly improved over the years, it is now a bio-friendly chain lube.
UFO Drip All Conditions sits alongside the brand's indoor and wet conditions lubes, and whilst it's not quite as fast as Indoor (a good choice for track riders), it's the best all-rounder.
It's easy to apply from the bottle, and the brand recommends applying to a clean, dry chain, then letting it dry overnight, so factor this in if you have a ride planned. Don't just apply, then head out the door.
It dries overnight and runs very clean, so your drivetrain will stay spotless. It's also very quiet and smooth in use.
The reapplication interval isn't huge at a quoted 180 miles, so if you like to apply and forget your chain lube to an extent, you may want to look at another option like the Effetto or Silca options.
Hot wax friendly
Super Secret is a wax-based chain lube from Silca that's a very high-performing, fast and slippery chain lubricant in its own right.
This is also a product designed to be compatible with Silca's hot wax product. Chain waxing is very popular these days, and the ability to add a drip wax to a waxed chain to 'top up' protection in between full immersive waxing intervals provides an advantage and saves you some effort.
If you wax your chains too, and love working on and prepping your chains, then this is a product that can be used with Silca's wax setup to make your life easier.
Super Secret dries clean and runs smoothly. I use it on my track bike chain, but find it very slippery; it almost slides off the chain links as you apply it and is probably not quite as effortless to apply as some other lubes in the guide. Apply it outside if you are working with it.
Best value drip-on wax lube
Smoove is a white-coloured wax emulsion drip lube that, like the two products abov is 100% biodegradable and solvent-free.
I've used Smoove on a lot of bikes, and it's always worked very well for me, running quietly and cleanly. It's also a strong performer in Zero Friction testing. Though it doesn't penetrate a chain's links quite as effectively as some other products here, a key factor in starting with enough metal chain protection. (see the bottom of the page for more info)
After thoroughly prepping the KMC chain on a gravel bike, I applied Smoove and left it to set overnight. Once on, it runs really quietly, which I have loved, and the chain is spotless with minimal waxy buildup on pulley wheels etc. It does set with a degree of tackiness, so you may need to be more diligent on maintenance if you are using it for a lot of gravel or off-road riding, where there is a lot of dust or even mud.
If you have traditionally used any old lubricant on your chain and are keen to improve your chain care regimen and learn more, this could be a nice starting point to help you work out what you like and if the initial extra chain prep is for you.
Best eco-friendly chain lube
Flower Power wax by Effetto Mariposa is a drip chain lube manufactured in part using oil from Sunflower seeds.
It's water-based, so it's totally green and biodegradable. Which a lot of strong-performing wax chain lubes now.
It doesn't run as cleanly as CeramicSpeed All conditions, for example, it will appear dirty after some use, but it has a 600km reapplication interval. much longer than the SuperSecret or All Conditions lubes, making it ideal if you do a lot of riding or want to go longer between reapplications.
It also performed fantastically in Zero Friction testing, like the other products here. If a spotless drivetrain isn't a deal breaker for you, and you want a longer reapplication period, this could be the product for you.
Best all-weather chain lube
Tru Tension's All Weather lube is another biodegradable drip lube with excellent all-around performance, but this product can be applied and ridden within 10 minutes.
If you're the kind of rider who often applies a hurried application of chain lube before a ride, All-weather should give you a bit more leeway than some other products here with longer cure times.
This should be one of the drip chain lubricants you should consider for all-around riding protection. In Zero Friction testing, it dealt with extreme contamination very well, meaning it should keep performing well in wet and generally poor conditions. If you don't want to be cleaning and lubing your chain quite as often, like the Flowerpower wax, it will do well.
It comes in the smallest bottle in the guide, but the affordable price and high performance mean it should still last a decent amount of time.
High-performance wet lube
Silca Synergetic is a wet lubricant, meaning it has an oil base, not a wax one like every other product in the guide. In short, Synergetic will appear to be similar to more traditional oil-like chain lubes, but it's probably the best-performing one on the market.
It also has the longest claimed reapplication interval at 500 miles, giving it a bit more of a fit and forget factor than some of the other products here; it's over double that of CeramicSpeed All Conditions, for example. It also runs clean, and like a lot of 'wet' lubes give a really smooth drivetrain pedalling feel when riding.
Silca Synergetic was first developed as a lubricant for F1 applications, and there is some interesting info on this on the Silca Website. It has been tested as just about the top wet lubricant during ZF testing.
If you want a very good, 'wet' lube that will stay clean and quiet that you can run for hundreds of miles, try Synergetic out.
How to choose the best bike chain lube for you
Honestly, things may just boil down to how interested you are in drivetrain cleaning and the world of chain lubes when it comes to choosing a product.
Some riders just aren't hugely bothered about having a mucky chain that may wear out a little faster, and that's absolutely fine.
If you do want to up your game and try to use the best possible product to increase efficiency and lengthen drivetrain life, then start with cleaning. You will need to start with a properly cleaned chain.
Investigate what degreasing products you want to use to get your chain sparkling, and head to Zero Friction Cycling, which has more information than we could possibly include here on the subject.
All of the lubricants in this guide are excellent. Their differences are highlighted depending on the conditions you are riding in and the reapplication intervals. But any lubricant from our guide will perform very well compared to poorer lubricants on the market that may actively contribute to chain wear.
What are the different types of chain lube?
Wet lube
Wet lubes, as the name suggests, are usually oil-based by nature and don't have a wax base. They tend to be similar to heavy oil or light grease in makeup. These will be long-lasting and stand up well to torrential downpours, but also attract dirt and contamination more easily. So there is a balance to be struck here. Our advice would be to forget the old adage 'wet lube for wet riding'.
Wax-based and wax emulsion
Waxed-based drip lubes are popular because they work well in both wet and dry conditions and for on and off-road applications. Wax lubes are made up of friction modifiers and or products like tungsten disulfide, which are often emulsified in a carrier fluid; the liquid helps the particles get where they need to be and dries, leaving just the wax inside. Due to the nature of wax, it dries and doesn’t attract much grit and can also support additives like Teflon, while coating and protecting metal components.
The downside to wax lubes is that they take a bit more initial work to apply and maintain. Before the initial application, you’ll need to make sure any factory grease or old lube has been removed and get the chain as clean as possible. The process also takes longer; it's advisable to apply these lubricants the night before a ride, ideally.
Should I use wet or dry lube?
This is the age-old classic. The stock answer generally tended to be 'wet for wet rides, dry for dry rides'. But this is outdated now as mentioned above. Both wet and dry lubricants can be really damaging to your chain, regardless of conditions, if the chain is carrying a lot of contamination already.
Wet lubricants, as in physically wet lubricants as well as dedicated wet weather lubricants may attract more contamination, especially in muddy and or dusty conditions. So it's important to choose your lubricant carefully or be ready to clean after a really mucky ride.
By all means, apply a wet lube for a torrential ride, but make sure you clean your chain effectively afterwards. Don't just reapply a fresh layer of lubricant on top of the grit and dirt that's on your chain. The same goes for 'dry' lube.
We would recommend simply splitting chain lubricants into hot melt immersive waxes and drip lubricants. I.e lubricants that come out of a bottle as a liquid and go from there based on your requirements.
Everything you need to know about the best bike chain lubes
Is it ok to use WD40 on my chain?
If you are reading this guide you may well know this already. But we will include it anyway. WD40 isn't a chain lubricant and there are far more effective options out there. WD40 (the brand) also makes a range of bike-specific chain lubricants now that are better suited to the job, so save the WD40 (the product) for un-seizing or protecting metal parts.
How can I clean my chain properly?
For every chain lubricant listed here, starting with a properly cleaned chain is essential for optimum performance and for you to enjoy its performance benefits.
Most of the products listed are supported by dedicated cleaners from the respective manufacturers which helps. We would recommend removing the chain from the bike for cleaning. If you haven't done it before it may mean investing in some chain link removal pliers; these just look like a small pair of pliers and undo a chain's connector link. A chain can be removed in a few seconds, it's a simple job.
Once the chain is removed, you can submerge and clean the chain in chain cleaner, white spirit or your chosen degreaser. Doing this with a new chain is far easier than trying to clean a dirty chain. A resealable Tupperware container is excellent for agitating the submerged chain, if you haven't done this before you will be amazed at what comes out of the chain. It may take an overnight soak or a few rounds of cleaning to remove all of the factory packing grease and get the chain clean.
You can also use an ultrasonic cleaner to do this, but using a resealable container is cheaper. When the cleaning solution is running clear with no discolouration or contaminants, you know your chain is clean.
Should I spend more on chain lube?
In short, it's up to you whether you want to invest more in a good chain lubricant, which may have a higher initial cost than others. It is worth thinking about, especially for mid and higher-tier groupsets, which most performance road bikes generally have.
If a chain and cassette are worn out after 3000 miles, for example, this could be within a year's worth of riding for plenty of cyclists. The cost of a new chain and cassette will far exceed a bottle of more premium chain lubricant.
I have had to explain to plenty of cyclists that their drivetrain is completely worn out and needs replacing, which has resulted in a large bill. It's never a nice conversation, especially if you're on the receiving end of the bad news, but it's something that's totally avoidable with a little effort and the right chain lube.
What are penetration issues?
Penetration issues in chain lubricants refer to the lubricant not being able to penetrate inside all of a chain link to provide adequate lubrication and protection. This can be due to tight chain tolerances where the lubricant can't physically get in there or a lack of lubricant in the first place.
A good example is this, imagine getting your chain perfectly clean after several baths in White Spirit, letting it dry and then applying a tiny drop of lubricant to each chain link. If that lube doesn't penetrate the link properly, you'll harm your chain when you use it, and the first few miles could see very high wear rates as unlubricated metal surfaces mash together due to a lack of lubricant within.
There are a few lubricants in this guide that ZF found to have initial penetration issues; these lubricants simply require a little more work at first to get them into a chain properly. One good tip is to apply chain lubricant in the big chainring and largest rear sprocket, this will open up chain links just that little bit more and help lubricant penetration.
How should I look after my chain after a wet ride?
Water from a wet ride will carry contaminants into your chain links and there they will stay, wearing your chain from the inside unless they are removed and contamination is reset. You should therefore try to avoid just re-lubricating your chain after a wet ride if you can help it.
After a wet ride, ideally try to clean your chain and remove as much contamination as you can. Start by wiping down the outside, then you can use a spray degreaser to keep the chain on the bike, or remove it and essentially repeat the submersion bath in chain degreaser or white spirits etc until the liquid remains clear. You can refer to the ZF maintenance guide to help you here.
What's the best way to apply drip lube?
If you're applying a drip chain lube i.e. one from a bottle in liquid form. Just apply a decent drop of oil to each chain link. Some manufacturers recommend applying a lubricant twice, so heed their own instructions in some cases. You don't need any lubricant on the cassette or chainrings directly. Wipe off any excess lubricant on the outside of a chain with a cloth, too little in the name of cleanliness, and you won't get very good lubricant penetration into each link, which will actually increase wear. So disregard videos online where people are applying the tiniest drop of oil to a spotless chain. Wear rates just after this can be some of the highest.
How do we test the best bike chain lube?
I researched independent testing website reports to help me narrow down the best-performing drip lubricants, guaranteeing the inclusion of proven, top-level products in this guide. I also spoke to manufacturers directly when I had additional questions or queries on the products themselves.
I then prepared brand new or very lightly used chains so they were as clean as I could possibly get them using white spirit and isopropyl alcohol, and applied each lubricant as per the manufacturer's instructions. I then spent some time riding each chain to see how the lubricant performed in the real world, noting drivetrain noise, speed and longevity.
