A Cyclist's Best Friend

What would you say if a road biker told you that he has put over 1,000 miles on his bike on a single lube of the chain? Would you call "Bullsh*%!" and never give it another thought? Or, would you inquire further and ask for details? Hopefully, the latter and your inquisitiveness rewarded as your friend fills you in on the greatest road biking invention since indexed shifting.

I first heard about this amazing new lube on RoadBikeRider.com where Ed Pavelka described his experience of 1,400+ miles on a single lube. That testimonial definitely got my attention so I ordered up a bottle and am totally sold on the product.

Chain-L No. 5 boasts 1,000 miles on a single lube and, based on my empirical testing this summer, it's legit. Beginning late spring both my wife and I started using Chain-L No. 5 bike lube. After putting in over 2,000 miles I've lubed my chain exactly twice and this last lube still has a lot of miles left in it (however, I will lube it before heading to the Black Hills where I'll be guiding with Dakota Bike Tours on the Monument Tour next week).

Amazing stuff. And, to top it off my chain and entire drive train looks almost as clean as the day I installed the new chain. Simply amazing.

But, like any new improvement it takes a bit of time to apply the lube correctly but it's time well spent and worth the little extra effort. Briefly, on a new chain the following steps should suffice:

1. Size the new chain to old chain.
2. Lay the chain out on a newspaper on a flat surface.
3. Place a drop of the highly viscous Chain-L No. 5 on each roller.
4. Allow to soak into the bearings over night.
5. Wipe off the chain with a clean lint-free rag. This is important. Wipe the chain thoroughly along its entire length.
6. Install chain.
7. Ride. Wipe the chain, chain rings and pulleys off after each ride.

If your chain gets wet from rain you might have to freshen it up with a small amount of Chain-L No. 5 on a cloth which you wrap around the chain and pedal backwards to spread on the rollers. Otherwise the treatment should last at least 1,000 miles and maybe longer.

So don't delay, order up some Chain-L No. 5 from their website today, follow the instructions exactly -- preferably on a new chain -- and look forward to hundreds of worry-free cycling miles.