Green Oil
Green Oil White Lube
White Lube is a wax lube made of naturally produced ingredients. For best results it needs applying to a clean chain (see later). They recommend applying it to the inside of the chain as you wind the pedals backwards, which makes sense as then it gets to the chain rings & cassette as well. Anyway, on to how it does on the trails…
I’ve been using this for about a month & a half now. As I was hoping, it does indeed keep the chain clean. It picks up hardly any trail mank & grit & the drivetrain stays nice & shiny.
It doesn’t need applying every ride, more like every 2 or 3. This is good, as it’s easy to use a bit more than needed at first! It’s a lot more liquid than you might be expecting, but the solvent (plant ethanol) evaporates off leaving the wax behind. This means you’ll want to be careful not to squeeze the bottle too hard & waste a load.
It must be working as everything is quieter than with most lubes. No gritty noises and no squeaking that you get when too thin lubes disappear half way round a ride.
All in all, this is what I’ll continue to use. The only thing I wonder is if more beeswax could be dissolved in the mix to make the bottles last even longer, but I’m guessing this has been thought of already.
[edit]The latest version does indeed have more wax!
Green Oil Clean Chain Ecological Degreaser Gel
A decent chain cleaner has to be a money saver. A dirty, gritty chain will wear out way quicker than a clean, lubed chain, no matter how expensive the chain. It depends a certain amount on where you ride but most mud will eat chains if it’s left on. Peak District grit & Dalby Forest sand are even worse!
On to the product. I’ve used the plastic chain baths with the rotating brushes in the past & they’re not bad, but I’ve always been disappointed that they don’t get the chain cleaner than they do. Surprisingly, the 1st time I used the Green Oil gel it easily out-did a chain bath, whatever the cleaning liquid used.
The instructions are easy to follow & not too much of a faff & you don’t have to worry about where you use it as it is genuinely bio-degradable. It is actually made from citrus, whereas some of the competitors that have ‘citrus’ on the label or in the name only use enough to make it smell nice & in fact are made from the usual chemicals. Green Oil’s version doesn’t have anything to hide & is another great product. It seems to be another case where natural is best in every way. I’ve not used a better chain cleaner.
Oh and the prices for both of these seem quite reasonable to me. Have a check on the website for up to date prices.
Green Oil is at www.green-oil.net
What Simon from Green Oil says about the company:
