Weldtite 'Pure' dry lube - A short review
Background
You may or may not have heard of Weldtite, but if you do anything much with bikes then you have probably heard of at least one of their brands.
As well as the neat little Weldtite puncture repair kits, I've been using their TF2 grease for some time, and I have a couple of 'Cyclo' tools for some of the more specialist jobs on the bike and I've always been impressed by the quality and value.
Now, a few weeks back, someone from Weldtite dropped me a line to see if they could use a bit of my video from the start of the 2012 Mountain Mayhem event for their blog. I said yes of course, and didn't think much more of it. Much to my surprise, by way of a thanks, the nice people at Weldtite sent me a bottle of chain lube.
When it arrived I was had one of those mixed reaction moments. On one hand was, "Yay ! Free stuff !", but on the other was, "Hmm, it's dry lube, and I've never heard of it".
At this point, just so I don't come across as an ungrateful git, I should mention that I've had very bad experiences in the past with dry lube. I switched from my normal lube to a dry lube (the brand shall remain unmentioned) and I'm absolutely convinced that it was responsible for killing my chain. I switched back to wet lubes and have been using them ever since.
The reason I hadn't heard of the lube was because it is part of the new 'Pure' range of bike products, a collection of products designed to be far more environmentally friendly, using less petroleum-based products. Sounds like a good idea, so I decided to bite the bullet and give dry lubes a second chance.
Packaging
The first thing that is quite obvious is the thought that has gone into the packaging (or lack thereof). Simple cardboard tags, minimalistic bottle label and clear bottles are all clearly designed to push the 'eco-friendly' credentials of the product. It certainly does set them apart from the more traditional black bottles with colourful packaging. It also makes the product 'feel' more friendly too. I can see people buying it in a bike shop and feeling good about doing so. Nicely done. The clear bottle also has the advantage of allowing you to see how much you've got left !
Using it
Now, this is all very well and good, but nobody is going to want to buy a product if it doesn't work regardless of how warm and fluffy it makes them feel so it was time to put it to the test. I wheeled my trusty Marin out of the shed and set about it. I began by giving the chain a thorough degreasing to remove as much of the existing gunk, and then applied the new 'Pure' lube. The Pure has a consistency not dissimilar to semi-skimmed milk, so pouring it into your chain feels a bit odd at first ! Once everything was nicely lubed up, I hopped on and went for a ride on some local trails.
First impressions were just fine. Chain was nice and quiet, gears were shifting nicely. Everything as per normal really. I forgot about it and got on with enjoying my ride. About 15 miles of trails later, I got back home and gave the bike a once-over. The lube had dried to a sort of waxy coating on the chain, and the chain was actually quite clean despite a few excursions through mucky puddles and slippery mud.
The verdict ?
A few weeks down the line, and what's the verdict ? Well, pretty good actually. Chain lubes for me are something that you shouldn't need to worry about. Something about which you probably won't get excited. Something which should just work. The Pure dry lube seems to fulfil all those criteria. It's gone a long way to allay my fears of using a dry lube on my mountain bike. It seems to shrug off the Dorset mud without too much hassle and so far my chain is looking healthy.
The real question of course, is when it runs out, will I buy some more ? The answer is a definite "yes". It does what a chain lube is supposed to do. I have to buy chain lube, and the fact that it is that bit better for the environment makes it top of the shopping list. I'll even be trying some of the other products in the Pure range.
Well done Weldtite.