MGTV Lubricant Showdown 3: White Lightning Clean + Epic Ride

In this episode of "lubricant wars", we have the showdown between White Lightning x2 lubricants and Synergetic®. Josh explains how the chemical properties of the White Lightning product line produce non-environmentally friendly greenhouse gases and contain forever chemicals, known as PFAS. Does this mean they are higher performance than the rest? Watch to find out.
The article mentioned: www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/PFA...
00:00 Lubricant Showdown 2: White Lightning x2
07:00 White Lightning Clean Ride
11:15 White Lightning Epic Ride
15:12 Synergetic®
Products Mentioned:
Squirt: amzn.to/3LlO5Z5
NFS: / nfsspeedshop
UFO: amzn.to/3rEW4cd
UFO 2.0: amzn.to/3gBjB7i
Smoove: www.smoovelube.com/
SILCA Gear Wipes: silca.cc/collections/accessor...
Synergetic®: silca.cc/products/synergetic-...

[@adamkerin4130]

Indeed. Epic ride is the lubricant I use for accelerated chain wear when I do chain longevity tests! One day I will test a cutting fluid and see how close they are!

[@brianmagee5847]

Not to defend WL, but this doesn't seem fair. The product was not allowed to dry. Imagine doing this test with a hot wax and not letting it cool before testing. I could easily make the fastest hot wax look like a failure using this apparatus.

[@davidskurnik3267]

I wonder if your test method is correct. Correct use of Clean Ride requires you to allow the liquid to evaporate, leaving only the wax lubricant. Since you are not allowing the carrier to evaporate, you are essentially measuring the lubrication quality of the carrier, which is just a volatile hydrocarbon. Perhaps you should repeat the test, but this time use the proper application method.

[@scottc2041]

I agree. That was going to be my comment as well.

[@JustinCrediblename]

how long does it take to evaporate?

[@dariusf2]

​@@JustinCrediblenamenot sure but I try to put it on after washing the bike or at least 15 min before the ride.

[@teddgram]

I would like to see T9. I see that in a lot of bike shops and I've used it on/off over the years.

[@richcole3931]

thanks for this

[@basil7606]

Sorry, off-topic here! Any recommendation for an eco-friendly bike polish product?

[@marcuslay2604]

I would love to see how the expensive Muc-off products perform. P.s. where did you get the friction facts chart? Haven’t found anything that current on there website.

[@ghidfg]

shouldnt the lube with the carrier fluid be tested once it has evaporated away leaving just the lube?

[@SILCAVelo]

It actually tests even worse if you let the carrier evaporate.. it's just hardly even a lubricant AND it's made from terrible toxic stuff.

[@B_COOPER]

@@SILCAVelo then why didn’t you do a proper test? I guess considering you did the same for your product but that’s basically like comparing two bearings that are not under load. Essentially not real world testing.

[@MichaelMachado2]

When I first started riding people used to suggest to me some type of motor oil homebrew, how does motor oil do on this test? I'd also be curious to just see straight water.

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

MOBIL1 SHC 75/90 has worked well for me for decades. Probably not be as wonderful as those $1 or .50 per ml lubes but at 1.5 cents per ml you can replace a fair # of chains with the savings. "Watts"? Maybe not so many "saved" but IMHO that is aptly described as "Marginal Gains"

[@CrimsonFlames]

would really like to see your review/text on the new Wolftooth Chain lube

[@tateabdon1]

I know this is totally out of your realm but we use the white lightning clean ride for lubing our carabiners and cams because of the high dust area we work in I run a ropes course I was wondering if you could have a recommendation that may work a little better for that and not pull dirt into the mechanisms so they wear out the ropes are always covered in dirt and mud and we need something that will work through those environments but also be a good wear product wondering what you recommend

[@SILCAVelo]

Take a look at SILCA SuperSecret: silca.cc/products/silca-super-secret-chain-lube It is wax based lube that dries completely so dust/dirt will not stick to it. Unlike WL which is 10% lube and 90% evaporative carrier, SuperSecret is 60% lubricant/40% carrier, and also contains 2% tungsten disulfide which is harder wearing than steel while being more lubricious than teflon. If you look at ZeroFrictionCycling's data set, in 1000km of indoor cycling a chain lubricated with WhiteLightning experienced 23% wear compared to one lubricated with SuperSecret which only had 2.3% wear, in dusty/sandy conditions the WL chain shows 34% wear while SuperSecret had only 4.6%, so 8-10X lower wear! zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/

[@tateabdon1]

@@SILCAVelo how long do they usually last on the shelf once I've opened it that is the biggest problem I have with white lightning it lasts about three months before it all evaporates off and then it's totally useless

[@marioczarnomski2604]

We need to test Woolftooth WT-1 lube please!

[@chubby_tyres]

I would definitely like to see Dumond tech pro wet and pro dry tested.

[@mikekrasovec6390]

Agreed. After 20+ years of wrenching bikes dumonde tech impressed me. I don't get impressed by lubes often. Dumonde is good stuff. My drivetrains stay pretty clean and the stuff lasts impressively long. I used to use 90wt gear oil for the winter. It attracted dirt but kept lubricating. Dumonde seems to last a little longer than 90wt gear oil while being a lot cleaner. I don't think that it's the fastest or cleanest lube but how long it lasts makes it a winner.

[@ericobrien2674]

Appreciate the update on these types of lubricants… Would you happen to know what the most appropriate way of disposing of these kinds of products as I’d like to move away from them myself and get them out of my shop? Obviously not simply down the sink or out the back!

[@LTBlightthebeam]

most municipalities have a household hazardous waste (HHW) facility that accepts batteries, unwanted household chemicals, used oil, etc.

[@suryajala]

Try a Fire Station if you don’t have household hazardous waste centers nearby.

[@stevenleffanue]

Nice vid. If White lighting contains PFAS chemicals, what does Silca lube contain?

[@SILCAVelo]

All of our lubricants are PFAS free, that stuff is evil. We use nano scale tungsten disulfide which is lower friction than any of the PFAS derived additives (note that our hot melt wax and drip wax both beat out wax products containing PFAS in Tour Magazin testing for friction as well as Zero Friction testing for chain wear) and is also approved as a coating for dental and medical implants as well as approved as a lubricant and paint additive for ships and bridges with direct water contact. We have made a stance as a company to not use any PFAS chemicals or chemicals which have PFAS precursors, you can read more here: silca.cc/blogs/silca/silca-commits-to-being-pfas-free

[@mga77]

Sorry, it's tested incorrectly: You need to apply the "lube" and wait for evaporation of solvents (e.g. 12hours). It still won't perform... you'll find, that your test-equipment only is useful for testing oils. .... simply try to test immerse paraffin waxing with this equipment ;-) Anyhow, I don't like these solvent-based products... love waxing... but the test should be fair at least.

[@erichaas3941]

Agreed. The instructions on my White Lightning Clean Ride specifically say, "Let lube fully dry." When testing various products, you ought to follow the product instructions for a fair test.

[@peterharrington8709]

Absolutely! He must know that and you'd think he'd realise that more than a few viewers would spot it too. Also rather doubtful that the test actually comes close to replicating what happens INSIDE a chain link. Not saying that White Lightning is a great product, but I'm left wondering why he's used such a cheap shot?

[@mikekrasovec6390]

Should he have let the WL dry fully before testing? Yes. That said I've tried just about all of the lubricants offered by Pedro's, white lighting, finish line, tri flo, muc-off, maxima... for the past 25 years. I've also worked as a bike mechanic for 22 years. White lighting lubes are lousy. After about 4 hours of riding your chain will start squeaking and creaking, LOTS of chainsuck, globby messy wax scuz all over your bike... It's just a crap lube backed by a mountain of advertising hype which is afforded by using cheap ingredients and selling it for a premium. The testing is flawed but WL is still junk. You can't polish a turd.

[@fiacobelli]

Olive oil, muc off, WD-40, super secret

[@Gieszkanne]

Watch the "Ultimate Bicycle Chain Lubricant Test" there Muc Off Dry lube did amazing well in this wear test. WD40 not!

[@HansWurst-dh5yy]

You are not testing the lube when you dont let it dry out.

[@SILCAVelo]

The test is to test the film strength of the oil. Oil based chain lube stays liquid and if it were to dry out, it would be time for a re-lube.

[@micahrubin5521]

@@SILCAVelo But the Clean Ride lube isn't oil based, it's wax in a carrier. You mentioned in another comment that it tests even worse if you let the carrier evaporate, can we get proof of that?

[@RJ-bl1jr]

sham wow

[@emmarobbieus9107]

That’s where I’ve seen this guy from!!!😅

[@platoscavealum902]

ℹ️

[@dcbaggett1]

Have you ever counted how many times you say ah and um?

[@One_-_Man-_-Clan]

swapped with a bottle filled with alcohol off screen, 😆