White Lightning Chain Lube Review
This is a wax-based chain lube that is designed for dry conditions. It covers your chain in a thin coat of wax which then flakes off as it gets dirty, leaving your chain clean and dry. It has been around a while and has become fairly popular.
Pros: For the most part, this is a clean and dry lube. You can put it on, let it dry, and it will be clean to the touch. It will flake off (as promised) as it wears out and you can reapply as needed.
Even if you don’t think it’s the best chain lube, it has other uses. For example, you can put a drop in Allen bolt heads to prevent water from pooling, which could cause unsightly rust. (Wax-filled bolt heads also deter thieves.)
This is actually a great lube for freestyle BMX riders who don’t need extreme performance but like to have a clean chain. Also, when riding freestyle, your body comes into contact with the chain more often, so it’s best to keep it clean!
Cons: The wax that does not flake off tends to build up in the drivetrain, especially on derailleur pulleys. This excess gunk is just as bad as dirt and debris, and harder to scrape off.
Also, it is not as high performance as ProLink, and it doesn’t last very long if you’re putting a lot of miles on your bike.
The Final Word
This is great for certain applications, such as freestyle BMX chains (usually riders don’t put many miles on a freestyle BMX bike, so it’s rare for the White Lightning to build up into a noticeable coating,) and rust-prevention for bolt heads. I always have a bottle of White Lightning around for filling bolt heads!
However, it is too “gunky” for road and mountain bike chains.
White Lightning Race Day Chain Lube Review
“Race Day” is a lube like White Lightning, but with less wax. It is a wet lube geared towards muddy and wet mountain biking; it’s supposed to hold up to those conditions much better than regular White Lightning.
(The original White Lightning is a wax-based lube designed for dry conditions. It’s not meant for harsh conditions, hence the creation of White Lightning Race Day.)
Pros: The lube goes on pretty wet and slick, and it does work for wet rides (for at least one ride.)
The bottle also requires less shaking before application, compared to regular White Lightning.
Cons: It’s still a wax-based lube, so it gunks up your chain and derailleurs eventually. I hardly ever use any sort of wax-based lube these days since the wax builds up over time.
Also, unlike original White Lightning, it doesn’t run clean. It will pick up a lot of dirt and dust when used in dry conditions. So you have to save this for nasty weather rides.
The Final Word
It’s still a wax-based lube, which means it will get gunked up on your chain at some point. I would only use this for mountain biking in wet or muddy conditions, but even then, I’d prefer a different wet lube – something like Dumonde Tech lube.
So I actually only use Race Day before a wet and muddy mountain bike ride when I know I’ll have to thoroughly scrub the drivetrain afterward.
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