Words: Liam Friary
Image: Cam Baker

Let’s be frank, chain lube isn’t the sexiest product to spend your hard-earned bucks on, but it’s an essential ingredient for maintaining your bike properly. You can throw a lot of money at bikes these days, so parting with your small change on some quality lube, and learning how to use it properly, can go a long way. This is especially so when it comes to getting the performance out of your drivetrain that those hard-working engineers at SRAM and Shimano intended.

A month back, we received a wee bottle from SpeedX that was to serve as a multi-purpose lubricant for all the test mountain bikes, gravel bikes and other rigs we have passing through the workshop at Pedal Press HQ, Publishers of NZ Mountain Biker. Aside from providing you with our thoughts on the performance of this lube, we wanted to give you a brief insight into the company that produces SpeedX.

Corrosion Technologies, who produce SpeedX, make lubes and protectors for aviation, marine, automotive, RV, industrial, household, agricultural and general-purpose uses. SpeedX is an extreme performance lubricant with additives that chemically react with metal surfaces and sub-surfaces, to reduce wear and provide the lowest coefficient of friction measurable. SpeedX lubricates better than products with PTFE. It gives long-lasting, heat-resistant lubrication, decreases wear and extends the useful life of treated items and parts.

The spring-like days of our testing period meant there was plenty of inconsistent weather, well, mainly heavy showers and then sunshine – that’s our bloody bizarre climate, right?! Anyways, putting SpeedX on my clean chain, (and it should be noted the chain must be clean before applying), was simple enough. Worth knowing too, is that SpeedX is made to be applied to every 5th chain link. Don’t get crazy and apply too much, one drop is plenty! Otherwise, like any other lube applied in excess, you’ll take some of the trail home with you.

Out the gate, the first few pedal strokes were smooth and ultra-quiet. The chain felt as though it had less friction, and allowed for smoother changing of gears and quicker acceleration. Every shift was seamless and, while the bike being properly tuned did contribute, SpeedX made a noticeable difference. It’s been a while since my drivetrain ran this smoothly!

It’s lasted all of my 2-4- hour rides, which is more than most lubes, especially with the four-seasons-in-one-day we’re experiencing at the moment. I rode all weekend through torrential down pours and while there was definitely some build-up of grit and grease as you would expect from any lube in those conditions all of us in the Pedal Press office were surprised to discover it wiped off with a dry rag, leaving the chain looking brand new. Gone are the days of degreaser filled chain cleaning contraptions! Another thing to note here, is that my gears stayed smooth and my drivetrain quiet. It hasn’t been dry and dusty yet (can’t wait for summer) so it’s too hard to say how it’ll serve in those sorts of conditions, but early signs have been good.

New players are always coming to the market, but only those that make an impact last. SpeedX is one of those that make an impact, with most of the NZMTBR production team now ‘converted’. With so much going on in my world, the simpler I can keep things the better. Just give me something that works that’s exactly what SpeedX does. No more worrying about wet or dry lubes, just give me a bottle of SpeedX and she’ll be right.