- Today, we're going to take a pretty simple look
at the different lubes we can apply to our drivetrains
and the effects for better or for worse
they might have.
So, I've cut up my chain up, a used one
into some sample sizes.
And we're going to put different types of lubricant on them,
and we're going to introduce them
to a different array of external factors.
(dramatic music)
First on the list of our options of lubricant,
is Wet Lube.
So on the bottle here, it says it's to keep the chain
running smooth and wet in muddy conditions, so think about
your winters really, is where it comes into it's own.
It goes on like a liquid and it tends to
almost stay that way.
So when you get that kind of dark oil
sitting on top of your drivetrain,
it's usually thanks to this.
Harder wearing than dry lube, for sure,
but can be a little bit messy
especially if you put too much on.
Next we have Dry Lube, so this is for your dry
and dusty conditions.
So I'm thinking summer months, where there isn't so much
dirt and mud on the trails.
Now this definitely runs cleaner than Wet Lube,
but it doesn't tend to last so long
if you do get your bike covered in mud, grit, or water.
It goes on as a liquid, but it tends to cure to form a film
that sits on top of the chain.
Now we're going to run one batch of our samples
with no lube on whatsoever, just as a control.
But for the other two, we're going to use non-drivetrain
specific lubes, but things we often get asked about.
So, straight out of the pantry, we have some olive oil.
First pressings too as we're feeling a bit fancy.
Next, we have fixer of all ailments,
right up there with holy water and gin and tonic,
of course, it's WD-40.
Now this is still a choice for some road riders
who want a really efficient chain
that's going to stay quiet
if only for about 30 minutes.
Now believe it or not, we run a pretty tight ship here,
but we're not quite NASA.
So we've got our quite simple shaker box,
which I'm going to include dirt, mud, or even just water,
which we're going to run our chains through.
Now, we're hopefully going to give the chains time
to let their lube settle in adequately
to hopefully reflect how you'll do in the real world.
One big difference, compared to what you might do
on your own bike,
is we're not going to wipe the excess lube off.
This is to hopefully exaggerate any potential draws
or bonuses of the lube itself.
Now, you might find that I can't recreate here
that kind of high drag, grinding grit stuff
that you do find clags up your drivetrain,
and quite frankly, I'm not even going to try.
Hopefully, this is just a quite easy test
to show you the benefits and potential drawbacks
of any lubricant and a clever bunch like you
can extrapolate the information you need
before projecting it onto a perhaps
more real world situation.
So here in my little Tupperware container,
I've got probably a couple hundred grams of the,
the finest English mud I could find.
Well, I say mud, it's more of kind of a dirt,
sandy consistency right now.
And one by one, I'm just going to go through each
variety of lubricant and add the chain.
So I'll start off with the Dry Lube.
Pop it straight in, I'm not scared.
And then (rattling) I think right about
now, that's the amount.
So I'm going to dig out my chain.
Little bits of lubricant on there.
I'm going to give it a bit of a tap.
(tapping)
So I'm going to pop that there and I'm going to do the same
with the Wet Lube.
In it goes.
The box is sealed shut, and away we go!
(rattling)
So I'm just going to run through the rest of the chains
and repeat this same process.
As well as the dirt, I'm now adding one section of chain
for each type of lubricant to muddy water
and then to clean water to demonstrate the different
protective effects of each type of lube,
depending upon the environment.
(rattling)
The only instrument I was allowed to play at school
was the maracas, so I have plenty of practice in this.
I couldn't be trusted with anything too sophisticated.
(rattling)
(upbeat music)
So I'm going to leave these
to do their thing overnight.
I'm going to return tomorrow to see what I find.
I think they'll be safe.
I don't think they need me here anymore.
And we'll check in tomorrow.
One day later.
So it's a new day at GMBN Tech HQ,
and we're going to have a look at our chains.
So initially, straight off the bat,
I'm surprised not to see more rust.
And that's on all of them.
But I think what I attribute that to
is when I degreased them, you know,
I think the degreaser probably has some residual
protective properties and it's not in a completely
drying them out.
I did wipe them down and I just tried to, you know,
make them as bone dry as possible.
But I still think there was some residual properties
from that degreaser.
So anyhow, onto the results.
We'll start with our dry.
Now the dry, dusty one is actually, you know,
it has, had some dust attached to it.
But it's the dust itself, or the mud itself,
is completely dry and it's coming off like powder.
So I think with a bit of chain slap,
or as the drivetrain runs through,
I think that would fall off pretty much altogether.
And that coat's actually, I'm pretty impressed
considering it's not like we wiped
the excess off afterwards.
That was left absolutely dripping in Dry Lube.
Going to the one with mud.
Similar again, if perhaps,
I think actually it's pretty much taken a lot
of the Dry Lube off it.
To look at it anyway.
And then the water itself,
well, it just looks nice and clean.
No residual rust or anything like that.
It doesn't feel like it's got too much oil left on there.
Oh, it's got a bit, little bit of a
maybe a light wax on there.
Next, we're going to our Wet Lube.
So immediately, this was the dry.
So this is the difference really, it's made
a kind of a clog as the oil has mixed with the dust.
To leave kind of a moisture ridden dirt.
Now as you were going through your drivetrain,
you know, this dirt would be purged out of the links
by things like your chain ring.
But that's work the chain link's having to do,
which not only means less efficiency, but it's basically
going to wear down or exaggerate wear upon your drivetrain.
So next, we look at the mud.
And that's actually in a pretty good state.
Considering that was horrible, muddy water.
It's actually still got a fair amount
of residual lube on there.
And I'm really impressed with just how much that's resisted
without just completely clogging up.
In terms of the water,
it still looks and feels like it was just lubed,
which is really, really impressive the amount of water
it managed to repel.
Next we're going to the people's champion, WD-40.
Similar to the Dry Lube actually.
It seems to have just left a nice little powdering.
And actually, across the board, I have to say,
the WD-40 does look one of the most impressive.
It's in the dry, it hasn't really
had that much stuff getting to it.
In the mud, it still looks pretty good
and has even got a slight layer of kind of protective film.
And in the water, well it looks like a brand new chain.
I think the thing with WD-40 is it just burns off
your drivetrain quickly.
It's not that it's not a very efficient lubricant,
it just it doesn't last for that long
because well, that's not what it was designed to do.
Coming to the olive oil,
I mean, the test we all need to know.
Still smells delicious, so that's that.
But it's probably, I would say, the cloggiest.
The way the oil has mixed with the mud,
that mud is incredibly wet still.
Even with the Wet Lube, the mud is kind of,
well when it was in the dust,
it hasn't dried to a kind of, a wet, mulchy paste.
But it's actually, yeah kind of dried a way through
and could probably come off in dust.
Whereas this is pretty much still in mud-liquid form.
And similar, with the muddy water,
there's still a quite a lot of oil on there.
Well, it certainly still smells like it.
But yeah, it does okay.
And then with the, just the water,
it still looks like a pretty good new chain.
But, now oil and water doesn't mix,
so that's not too surprising to me.
And then with our test samples, as you would expect,
I mean, maybe the surface doesn't tell too much of a story.
But that's our muddy water one.
And some of the stiffness in the links you can just hear it.
You can imagine that being magnified
as you go through the pedals.
So, it's pretty telling really.
The Dry Lube definitely does seem to coat
for those dry conditions better.
The Wet Lube, well, it comes to the wet conditions better.
But those ones are going to hang about more.
They're not going to burn straight off your drivetrain.
The WD-40, like I said,
visually looks absolutely fantastic,
but I do worry how long it would stay there for.
The olive oil smells fantastic,
but I worry how long it would stay there for.
And, well, a lack of lubricant altogether,
it's not really doing much at all.
And there's a lot of friction within those links.
Now if you're exhausted after all the hard-hitting
journalism that's gone on here,
and want to go back to bikes,
why not check out this video I did
on tubeless set up and hacks.
It's quite a long video, but it's pretty comprehensive
and I really recommend watching it.
As always, please don't forget to like and subscribe
as it keeps the channel going.
And I'll see you next time, thank you very much.