As well as correct lubrication, drivetrain efficiency is dependent on things such as cleanliness, chain line, and the size of the chainrings and cogs in your drivetrain. It’s also going to attract every bit of grit, dirt and grime you come across and will be a nightmare to clean off properly afterwards. Dry lube comes out of the bottle wet, commonly a fast-flowing liquid but once it dries it leaves a wax film on the chain. It’s this wax that provides the necessary lubrication, the liquid is simply the carrier for the wax. In our experience, the hard part of immersive waxing is usually the initial chain cleaning process. 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?

For watt-conscious racers who don’t fancy themselves as chain cookers, companies such as Ceramicspeed, Watt Shop and Zero Friction Cycling now sell pre-prepared waxed chains.

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Wet lubes are designed for riding in wet or year-round conditions and, as such, generally contain greater quantities of higher viscosity synthetic oils, as well as additives such as PTFE.

Unless your bike ride is planned to take place underwater, we’d recommend steering well clear of using grease on your chain. Do aerosol lubes work? The directions say that you can clean the chain with citrus degreaser and a chain cleaning tool or by hand. When conditions are reasonably dry then it lasts very well and I have used it without issue on road, gravel and mountain bike drivetrains, but I confess that my chains do get very regularly cleaned. If you prefer to layer on lube after lube without recourse to a brush and cleaner, then perhaps look elsewhere.Through the gravel of the Hansen's Cykelløb Race, the sunshine of northern Germany, and the rain and snow of Switzerland; the Smoove lube performed well. I didn't re-apply the lube until my rest day in northern Italy, and even then the chain was still running reasonably well.