Best Road Bike Chain Lube

There are a ton of options for chain lube for your beloved road bike.  There are a few things to look for to make sure you are getting the best road bike chain lube.

The top factors to consider for your lubricant choice are: efficiency, longevity, cleanliness, and ease of use.  Looking at these factors will make sure that you don't make a choice that will damage your bike and slow you down.  

Drip wax is a great option for a lot of road cyclists.  On its own it will be a very similar performance product to hot wax.  In the efficiency, longevity, and cleanliness categories it will be great, just slightly less than the hot wax category.  

Drip waxes can be the perfect top up lubricant because of its ease of use.  it is a simple, drip one drop per link and let it dry application process.  This leads plenty of road cyclists to use drip wax to top up their chains between hot wax treatments.

Oil-based lubricants are what most people would be familiar with in their riding from the last 20 years.  It is easy to use, can be rather effective, and readily available.  The downsides are that it attracts dirt and if not regularly cleaned, it can destroy your drivetrain.  

A good oil-based wet lube excels the most in its single application longevity which means longest time between application needs.  It also is probably the easiest to apply.  

In the last 10-15 years there has been a rise in "dry lubes" as companies try to create a lubricant option that is less dirty than a wet lube.  This leads to a product category as a whole that can be summed up as a complete scam or snake oil.  It really has no place in cycling.  It is the worst category by far in efficiency, mediocre in cleanliness, the most expensive option as it destroys your chains, cassettes, and chainrings, and its typically a bottle filled with environmental and health damaging chemicals.  

Stay away from "dry-lubes" or "ceramic" lubes at all cost.

SILCA has options for just about everybody.  We have a hot wax, drip was, and oil based option with a few other deviations along the way. The only option we don't and will never offer is a "dry lube" as it is just not something that should be used.

Secret Chain Blend is our base hot melt wax option.  It is going to be the go to option for all of our pro teams, riders, and staff alike.  It keeps your bike clean, efficient, and components lasting for seemingly ever.  

We have two different options to add to your wax to change your blend to suit your riding style.  You can add our EnduranceChip to Chain Wax System that can almost double the application longevity and cost only 0.5% in efficiency.  If longevity isn't important, but speed is, you could also add a SpeedChip or two to the pot and get up to another 0.6% or 0.7% in efficiency but will cut your application longevity down to about 6 or 7 hours.  

This allows you as the rider to really dial in the exact blend that works best for your event or riding style.

SILCA was the first company to come out with a drip and hot wax lubricant that were the same formula for the absolute best compatibility possible.  Super Secret Chain Lube is our drip wax option and can be perfect for the road cyclist looking for the performance of wax without the need to take their chain off the bike.  It is also a favorite of plenty of hot wax users that like to use a drip wax in-between their hot wax applications.

SILCA Synergetic is the absolute best oil-based lubricant ever tested by ZeroFrictionCycling in Australia.  For road cyclists looking for a lubricant that is long lasting, quiet, and efficient, but don't want to go the wax route, Synergetic is the best choice.  

In a laboratory setting, it will be very similar in efficiency to Hot Melt Wax, but as soon as dirt is introduced it will mix that dirt in and slow it down compared to a wax based system.  For some that tradeoff is well worth it, so that is a decision for every rider to make on their own.

Riding style can play a big factor for which lubricant is right for your road cycling.  If you are a racer that is looking for the fastest possible option, then a hot wax with SpeedChip is probably the best option.  It will be clean running, efficient, keep your equipment working well for a long time, etc.  

If you are doing some mix surface riding or just out on a training bike that absolute speed is a little less important, then Secret Chain Blend with an EnduranceChip is going to be your best option.  It keeps the cleaning to a minimum, performance to the maximum, and keeps you from replacing drivetrain components from wear.

If you like the options above but dipping your chain in a pot of liquid wax is a little too much effort, then the Super Secret is going to be a good option for you. Alternatively, the SILCA Pre-Waxed Chain comes fully treated and race-ready, giving you the performance of wax without any upfront preparation.  

Riding your road bike in conditions that are regularly wet with road spray, rain, etc might have a different option.  Synergetic might be your best choice here as it will help repel a little more water and make the need to dry the bike thoroughly each time a little less needed.  You will still need to clean the drivetrain after wet rides, but you won't risk the rust that can be possible with wax.

Chain Wax applications might be the most discussed topic at the SILCA booth at events these days, but a few small tips can really help.  Stripping the chain completely is key.  Make sure there is no oil, grease, or degreaser residue on the first application and many issues will be resolved.  

The second big tip is to try to pull the chain out of the hot wax as close to the melting point as possible.  For Secret Chain Blend that means pulling the chain at 75C or even just a couple degrees cooler.  That will allow the wax to harden as quickly as possible and give you the best longevity due to more wax being present.  

For Drip Waxes, make sure you drip one or two drops per link and cross-chain as much as possible.  That extra articulation the chain has to go through when cross-chained helps the lubricant penetrate and get to all the places it needs to be.  Then let it dry for a minimum of 4 hours but 8-12 would be even better.  

Application for oil-based lubricants is a little different than wax.  More is not necessarily better with oil-based lubricants.  Starting with as clean of a chain as possible certainly helps. One drop per link is plenty for the lubricant application.  

Once applied, spin the chain backwards 10-12 times to help it penetrate and then wipe off all the excess lubricant you can.  A clean rag over the chain a few times while spinning backwards to remove any oil that is just going to attract more dirt.  This tip will not hurt the longevity, but can keep oil lubricants a little bit cleaner.  

Chain lube for road cycling has been a hot topic over the last 5 years and we are seeing some major changes happening for the better.  It is very rare that there is a status quo and a full wholesale change is really "the right option" and that is where we are right now.  Chain Wax has really taken over the performance side of things and it is really trickling its way down to the masses as well.  For any questions on chain lube for road cycling or any other discipline, please reach out to sales@silca.cc and we would be happy to answer any questions you might have!