This is a very simple but very important question. You may have heard the old adage ‘all the gear and no idea’. This concept is very much applicable to new riders that want to make sure that they have everything they need before their first trip on the pedals. The most important thing for me is daily cleaning of the drivetrain with degreaser, thoroughly drying it to remove all moisture before reapplying more lube.

You can simply reject even a perfect model, if you have to struggle stretching to get to the handlebar or you feel clumsy with the shifter that you may not have operated before. Test the bike wearing the clothing you are going to use while cycling The short answer is no. While WD-40 and MO-90 (Muc-Off's similarly formulated product) are great for lubricating seized or stiff moving parts, those types of lubes don't have the consistency or the durability required to protect your chain and drivetrain from wear during riding. A dedicated bike-specific chain lube will do a vastly superior job and save you money in the long run, while unsuitable lubricants such as WD-40 will accelerate drivetrain wear if used as a regular chain lube. How we test bike chain lubes Cycling to work is a very rewarding and physically stimulating way of getting to work. Beating the soul crush of driving and the busy crunch of public transport, cycling is great for the mind and the body. arrange delivery for another day or collect your goods from your local depot (a photo ID with proof of

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Tester Steph writes: “As a dry lube, it is designed for mixed riding, but mainly in dry conditions (it will work with the odd puddle or splash). The wax is supposed to wear off over time, and in the process of doing this, it leaves a cleaner chain by taking off any grime with it. Developed over many years using innovative raw materials, we have formulated a unique chain lube. Its ability to run in all conditions at such high levels of performance are unsurpassed. This chain lube will perform in the dry and in the wet. Longevity and efficiency are the key features resulting in an extremely smooth running chain. Ideal for road and off road where performance is paramount. Whether you’ve spent hundreds on a budget mountain bike or many thousands on one of the best mountain bikes available, you’ll want to ensure the drivetrain runs smoothly and quietly. Don't underestimate the importance of drivetrain maintenance, choosing one of the best chain lubes around will help you to keep your bike's chain, cassette, and chainrings in top condition – as well as ensuring that those costly parts don’t wear out prematurely. For small items we use Royal Mail's 48 service which has a delivery time of typically 2-3 days from dispatch;

The reason I stopped doing that was that the wax treatment only lasted a week or two unless topped up with some other wax lubricant (e.g. Smoove), so in the end I thought it was less trouble to just go with the pre-made lubricant. Most wet lubes will provide efficient lubrication for over 100 miles of riding with one application. If you ride in the winter months a wet lube will resist salt corrosion. Wet lubes are also really good at reducing drivetrain noise. visionset: How many miles you get out of chain is irrelevent unless you also state oyur maintenance philosophy. If you are running the whole drive train into the ground (or at least cahin and cassette) you probably can get 10,000 miles out of it. No one is gonna be impressed with the shfiting on said drive train after say 3000 miles. Or alternatively you intend to keep your cassette throun many chains, and you can for probably 10 chains if you wear to 100.2% Yep that's just 0.2% of wear. equates to about 5mm of 'stretch'. Over this and you start to shag the cassette. If you are on Ultegra or better then the latter approach is cost effective and always a crisp change to boot.

Muc-Off spent years developing its Hydrodynamic lube with Team Sky and British Cycling and according to its lab tests, the waxy lube drops chain drag dramatically. In other tests we’ve seen, results haven't been quite as glowing but our own experience puts it firmly into the ‘brand new chain’ feel category even on tired transmissions. 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. I really rate Prolink ProGold if you just want a liquid lube that's clean and good in every condition. However, I've recently been using the Muc Off ceramic dry as I had about a bazillion samples to use up and I have to say I'd really forgotten how good it is both on and off road at this time of year.

Price, as you would imagine, is the most popular reason for someone buying one product over another. It is the single most important factor in choosing the majority of products we buy. The same goes for Lubes Cleaning.

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. I use RnR gold, RnR red, Muc Off wet, Muc Off dry. Pretty lazy cleaning and applying but when used even the filthiest chain sets smooth out. Get recipient chains surgically clean, shake the bottle and then apply the metallic grey fluid to every link, holding some rag beneath to catch any overspill.