Rock 'n' Roll Gold Chain Lubricant

While lacking the outright hell 'n' high water tenacity of its Extreme, tested last month, Rock 'n' Roll's Gold Chain Lubricant will give traditional wet/ceramic lubes a seriously good run for your hard earned while attracting considerably less gunk en route.

It's claimed to be suitable for road, track, BMX and mountain biking (cyclo-cross). It's designed to leave a wet, protective membrane that keeps moving components slick and serene for a very long time.

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Talking of dirt, the blurb suggests this can be applied straight to the chain without needing to strip existing lube on account of the potent solvent. Very true, although that would only seem to be when alternating between Rock 'n' Roll's lubricants; otherwise, run the intended recipients through the chain bath and dry thoroughly first.

Despite its runny viscosity, the Gold pours from the spout reasonably predictably, although you drizzle it on at the cassette end, rather than into every link, which feels a bit weird to start with.

Rather like an aerosol, the solvent component keeps it liquid, cleaning and priming before evaporating and leaving the membrane behind. In common with Fenwick's Stealth and a few other space age brews, it can be scooted off after a few minutes, but leaving it curing overnight seems the best idea.

Even freshly applied, it doesn't pepper the rear wheel with oily splodges at the first pedal stroke.

Wipe the side plates, rollers and jockey wheels surgically clean before curing, otherwise it'll develop a gungy, grimy patina – much less than wet types in the same contexts, but it still defeats the object.

So does it leave transmissions box fresh? Well, not literally, but my Univega's sturdy KMC, LX, STC and Tiagra combo certainly seemed at their very best.

While consistency and hue are completely different, there are many similarities with Fenwick's Stealth. Neither should be used to top up like a wet lube; only when the familiar tinkling of parched links pipes up should you introduce some fresh.

> How to clean and lube your bike chain

Fully cured, friction is very low, giving a more lively feel. A drop also does wonders for cleat mechanisms, though it's not a good choice for pivot points or cables – it's a little too heavy and would probably cause them to gum up. Cleanliness is excellent judging from how it's coped with persistent exposure to silty, waterlogged backroads, although the wet membrane does collect small particles.

Curiously enough, these seem suspended atop the surface in the same way that occurred with Motorex Dry. That said, it does react quite badly with other lubricants – even small traces (as shown in the pic below). 

Staying prowess is rivalling that of competitor brands, and in my experience has exceeded that of Muc-Off Hydrodynamic in the same conditions. I'm cruising past the 290-mile mark on the first helping with no call for replenishment in sight.

Verdict

Very clever most-conditions lube that goes a very long way and remains surprisingly clean