Day 15 - Rock n Roll Gold Chain Lube

I mentioned the other day in my post about group riding that nobody wants to hear your noisy chain. It’s such an easy and cheap problem to fix. Buy some lube, spend about 10 seconds applying the lube, another 60 seconds wiping the chain, and go ride. Problem solved. You'll need to lube your chain approximately every 400-600 miles I would say; more if you are riding in bad weather. It definitely doesn't hurt to do it weekly.

A squeaky drivetrain is an inefficient drivetrain. You’re putting power into the pedals, but that power isn’t being as efficiently transferred to your back wheel as it could be. A clean and well lubed chain is faster than a dirty and/or squeaky chain. The lube you choose also has an impact on how efficient your chain is. People have tested various chain lubes, and velonews printed some results a while back. It’s crazy that the difference between the best lube and worst lube on the test is over 3 watts. I bet a dirty and squeaky chain is even worse than that. 

I stick with Rock n Roll Gold for a variety of reasons. First, it seems to last a while. I can go a couple weeks without needing to reapply before my bike starts to sound different. Second, there’s only one chain lube on the chart that tests faster, and that’s paraffin wax. With paraffin wax, you actually have to remove your chain, strip the chemicals off it, soak it in wax (in a crockpot, for example), remove it, let it cool, and then reinstall the chain. Maybe if I had a professional mechanic taking care of my bike I would consider if. For now, I would only consider putting in that much work for one or two races a season. 

Rock n Roll Gold is easy, and your chain stays very clean. You apply a lot of it to the chain. Make sure the chain is nice and went. Back pedal for 15-20 seconds. Then wipe the chain clean. Real clean. Just take an old t-shirt and keep wiping the chain until it looks new. It doesn’t take long. Probably a minute or two. Since the chain is pretty dry after you wipe it, the chain doesn’t seem to attract as much dust and dirt as a lube that leaves your chain wet. With RNR Gold you get the best of everything. A quiet chain. A clean looking chain. A fast chain.

I think most of the mechanics at Schlegel's really like it too. They sell it there, and it won't cost you much more (if any) than any of the other lubes.