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review

Blub Graph Premium Race Quality Bike Lube 120ml

8
£16.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Clean and quiet wax-based lube with claimed efficiency gains – but it's very much one for summer
Easy to apply
Nice, quiet lubricant
Keeps your drivetrain clean
You have to apply it to a very clean chain
Unratified efficiency claims
Not so impressive in the wet
Weight: 
113g

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Blub Graph Premium Race Quality Bike Lube is a reasonably well-priced and long-lasting chain lubricant – and Blub makes bold claims about its efficiency. In the real world I found it durable, and during summer rides at least, it ran smoothly, quietly and left the drivetrain clean and free of grease and crud.

Our best bike chain lubes buyer's guide looks at our favourites from just £2.99 to over £100.

This particular lube is a wax-based graphite lube that Blub claims is extremely long lasting and very efficient. And my testing suggests it lives up to some of Blub's hype too – I found it long lasting, quiet and very clean.

So, then, just what is the difference between a conventional lube and a wax-based one? Well, standard bike lubricants are usually oil-based products, while Blub's lube is based around wax and graphite. This does mean that in order to get a good application, you have to make sure your chain and drivetrain are spotlessly clean. The advantage of this is that you don't get a black messy chain and cassette, with the added benefit of a more efficient drivetrain.

Blub's website has graphs comparing its lubricant to other waxes, and according to its own unratified testing, its lube lasts longer (well, to misquote Mandy Rice-Davies, "They would say that, wouldn't they?") and stays more efficient for longer than other brands' waxes. Though being somewhat coy, Blub has left those other brands anonymous, so it's hard to know just how much emphasis to put on those claims.

This graph from Blub shows the frictional coefficient on the Y-axis and time on the Z-axis up to one hour.

According to its testing, Blub's lube remains more efficient than other waxes for longer – which is exactly what you want from a race lube. However, it has to be said this is in-house rather than external third-party testing, so you may want to treat it with a pinch or two of salt.

In practice, and having first cleaned my chain and drivetrain using an ultrasonic cleaner, I found the lube worked very well. This is a time-consuming process as, once the chain was thoroughly clean, I then applied the Blub lube and left it to dry over night. Yes, this is more of a faff than using a conventional lube, but once the chain has been properly cleaned you don't need to do this again, as there is no longer any oil to clean off.

I found I needed to reapply the lube very infrequently, and in summer while I was racking up a decent mileage, applying the lube once a week was more than adequate, leaving me with a very quiet chain and drivetrain.

However, in wetter weather, I didn't find the lube quite as impressive – in the rain it came off in the same manner as a dry lube, with a squeaking the result.

Value

The £16.99 cost of the Blub lube makes it more expensive than a lot of conventional lubes.

That said, it's much cheaper than the likes of the £36.95 Ceramic Speed UFO Ceramic Speed UFO drip that Matt tested, though he wasn't entirely convinced it lived up to Ceramic Speed's claims, and like the Blub you need to start with a spotless drivetrain.

And it's a mere fraction of the cost of the AbsoluteBlack GraphenLube that's yours for a staggering £114.99 – though at least Dave was very impressed when he tested it, as you'd hope at that sort of price...

This all helps to make the Blub lube a well-priced entry to the world of drip-wax lubes.

Conclusion

I've found this lube great to use over the summer – it was clean and ran smoothly, and if you haven't tried a wax-based lubricant yet, this is certainly worth a go, when you take its cost into account.

Verdict

Clean and quiet wax-based lube with claimed efficiency gains – but it's very much one for summer

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Blub Graph Premium Race Quality Bike Lube 120ml

Size tested: 120 ml

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

BLUB GRAPH LUBE is a state-of-the-art lubricant, formulated based on natural and synthetic waxes. Contains, among others, ceramic additives such as graphite and organic molybdenum less than one micron.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Features:

The result is a perfect combination, creating a lightweight, flexible, low-friction, longer-life layer for excellent drive train performance.

Eliminates noises, creaks, and improves performance. Smooths the shifting and reduces chain suction from chainring teeth.

Protects against corrosion and prolongs the life of all components.

Product certified by Bureau Veritas.

Specifications:

120ml: up to 80 applications

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Runs quietly, cleanly and apparently efficiently.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

You only need to reapply this once a week at most – at least during dry weather.

Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

It comes in a lot cheaper than similar offerings from Ceramic Speed and AbsoluteBlack.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well, giving the benefits of a waxed chain compared to normal oil.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

I like how clean it keeps the drivetrain, and how quiet it runs.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

That Blub doesn't list the other waxes it compares it to in its internal testing.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's cheaper than most other high-end wax lubes, so I think it represents good value

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes – though they'd have to make sure their chain was clean first

Use this box to explain your overall score

A wax lube that's easy to use, quiet, clean and efficient. It comes in cheaper than most other similar offerings, which helps to make it a very good product.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 23  Height: 174  Weight: 72

I usually ride: Storck Aerfast   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Semi pro

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, commuting, touring, club rides, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

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