I have always had good luck with rock n roll. Goes on fast and easy and low friction.

Same here. I like the rock n roll extreme. Easy to apply and doesn’t gunk up the chain. Always surprised at how clean the chain remains.

Based on friction testing, if you want to go with a fast lube go with Squirt if you want a highly-wax based formula. If you want a less waxed based formula go with Rock n Roll Extreme, it is a little slower but still incredibly fast.

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Echoing Gerlach, I'm currently using Squirt on my chain (from what I've read, tests very fast).

I'm planning on switching to Premier's chain + lube once my current chain wears out, though.

Actually based on Friction Facts, Ceramic Speed and extensive real world testing, go with Lilly Lube. It is top 5 in the friction tests of all lubes, but stays far cleaner in road riding than any of the top 10, which is what counts in the real world. It is super easy to apply if done correctly- which is applying the day, or night BEFORE you ride. This allows the cleaning solvents in the product to fully dissolve, and the physical lubricants to set in place. I ride 250- 400 miles a week, and a once a week application is more than enough, and after the first application (takes longer because chain is typically much dirtier), it literally takes less than 60 seconds to apply after I finish my weekly long ride. Using this product keeps your chain incredibly clean, which is super helpful if you have horizontal drop outs, which I have on my Tri bike. This is a US company, at it’s owner, Jason Lilly is a ex pro rider and super easy to get a hold of if you have questions about the product. From a mechanical friction point of view, there is simply nothing better. It will also cost you less than $ 12 per YEAR.

I think I know what you're referring to.

You're probably referring to a WAXED chain, which differs from a oil-lubed based chain.

I swapped my chain over to wax 2 years or so ago, and I posted about it - it's awesome. It entails melting paraffin (candlewax) and dipping the chain into it. I know, sounds onerous, but it's actually quite easy - I use a small slow cooker to melt the wax - it's actually easier than doing a deep chain lube off the bike by a lot.

Once your chain is WAXED, it does not turn black and sticky, and as a result, does NOT leave a chain tattoo. If you grip the chain with your hand even with a well-used waxed chain, your hand will only get a light gray waxy mark that rubs off instantly on anything.

The wax does flake off in small white chunks for the first 20 mins or so.

There are some wax-based chain lubricants out there where you don't have to remove/dip the chain in paraffin; I don't know whether they are as good as the deep chain dip.

The nice thing about the paraffin is that you buy a block for $10-$20 on Amazon, and then you just use it over and over again, no filtering, no cleaning needed. Just melt it, dump your well-used chain into it for a bunch of minutes, swish it around a little, and then remove. The gunk settles to the bottom of the wax, so you emerge with a ready-to-go cleaned chain - WITHOUT a chain cleaner.

I messed with regular lube and chain cleaners for awhile and honestly, they all were terrible in comparison to the waxed chain. And the amount of work it takes to strip a lubed chain to the level of a waxed chain is wayyy more work (multiple solvent washes are required to get it to the point it doesn't leave a chain tattoo.)

Oh, and get a quick-link to remove your chain quickly. They work great.

The only drawback I've encountered with wax (which is minor for me), is that the wax lasts about 250-300 miles before the chain starts to get noticeably noisy again. I don't mind at all with the trivial re-wax dip job, but some folks use Squirt (bottled wax) to supplement if they don't want to remove their chain as often and seems to work well.

The other one drawback is if you ride in wet, sloppy conditions a lot - I dont ride in rain at all, but I could imagine that the flaky wax might not protect the chain as well from water and rust compared to a sticky lube.

I switched to waxing on 2 bikes and I love how clean it is. The only drawback I've found is it seemed to disappear quickly in muddy conditions. I did a gravel race where there was standing water and the roads were mud. Wax was gone in about 15 miles on a chain that had been freshly waxed. I haven't had that issue with wet pavement, just mud.

I've had the Premier chain lube for a while now, runs very smooth!

I ran some side by side tests comparing Rock-N-Roll Extreme extreme against Lilly Lube. Same conditions, same time frame. It was close, but Rock-N-Roll prevailed. Bonus is that it’s cheaper when you buy the 16oz kit.

As others have said it was most likely a waxed UFO chain. They are KMC chains optimized, waxed then powdered in the white moly powder you are probably referring to.

Squirt lube also offers pre-treated KMC chains.

I prefer Moltons wax treatment and YBN chains. They will pretreat them. For my training bike I use Squirt until I have time to retreat the chain.

I use squirt as well. I often wondered though is there a good way to strip it all off and reapply it even though they say its not necessary.

I use squirt and like it a lot.

But it does accumulate sticky, dirty residue over time.

I like to take the chain off and clean it very thoroughly once in a while - I just put it in a bath of solvent - make several rinses in fresh solvent until no more dirt left - then wash in warm water several times to wash off all the solvent. Then dry the chain and reapply Squirt. Same for deraileur jockey wheels.

Question about chain waxing as I'm new to it having just waxed my chains a few weeks ago. I used an ultrasonic cleaner initially to clean the chain before waxing. When it comes time to re-wax the chain, I assume I'll clean it again with the ultrasonic before waxing? Thanks.

Clean your chain once when it is new and from then on a quick wipe and chuck it back in the wax pot.
Never clean the drivetrain again.

The melted paraffin is both cleaner and lubricant.

No need for additional cleaning solvents as paraffin does the trick.

I don't even degrease new chains anymore, just dunk in paraffin and swish but I've seen it recommended to degrease new or lubed chains first

Paraffin waxing tested fast as well, was posted here awhile back in head to head lube watt tests.

Thanks lyrrad and lightheir

My experience says clean the initial lubricant off the chain as it contaminates the wax and forces you to change it out far more frequently.
I have a small deep frier and not having to empty it and use fresh wax is a time saver.

Ive always used Rock N Roll Gold. Have had fellow riders and bike shops comment on how clean my drivetrain is. I'll admit I usually clean every 2 weeks or so, but ive seen no reason to change.

Cleaning every two weeks is reason enough to change.....

My experience as well after going through the extensive MSW cleaning steps of several mineral spirit baths, denatured alcohol baths and wax compared to just waxing a greased chain out of the package.
The extensive initial cleaning and the wax adheres better and lasts much longer in my experience. It was always the practice my grandfather used to guide me through while working in his commercial shop to clean metal really good before coating or lubricating again.

I started using wax early last year and love it. Even if there is a bit of grime on an older waxed chain the grit that comes off on the finger replacing a dropped chain usually wipes off super easy and does not transfer to the shifters and bar tape during a ride.

Takes 20 sec with a chain scrubber. That’s far less than any wax prep and I bet his drivetrain looks cleaner beforehand.

Yeah, I sweat a ton, so I like to give the frame a rinse down pretty regularly anyway. Extra few minutes with a park tool chain cleaner and some simple green and the whole things stays shiny. Literally takes about 15 minutes to clean the whole bike and that's to the level of hitting pulley wheels with an old toothbrush, haha.

The chain scrubber doesn't even remotely come close to the cleanness of a wax lube.

Prior to waxing, I used chain scrubbers for years. Even after a really intensive chain scrub, supplemented by hand scrubbing with a brush, you'll still get a chain tattoo if you lay that used chain onto your hand with mild pressure.

In contrast, a well-used waxed chain that's redunked in melted paraffin for relubrication, comes out waxy but clean - no chain tattoo. (You get small wax flakes for the first 10 minutes of riding, but those aren't remotely a problem.)

Interestingly, at least for me, I never get wax buildup in my pulleys or derailleurs as some folks who use Squirt report. Not sure if Squirt has some adherent additive that makes it more prone to that, as I've never had any wax buildup whatsoever on my cogs/pulleys.

If you use a Kickr with outdoor riding as well on the same bike, wax is DEF the way to go as well - you can swap out that rear wheel with bare hands and manhandle the chain, no fear at all of a chain tattoo. You usually won't even need to wipe your hands after holding the waxed chain!