Silkolene Everyday Lube

This Silkolene Everyday Lube is an all-purpose oil that lasts well and gives a little protection against rain. It costs a bit more than most of its rivals, though, and the cap design is poor.

• Pros: Sticks around well, making it good for a commuter bike in dry conditions
• Cons: Poor cap design, not as protective as a wet lube and not as clean as a dry lube

If you like riding your bike but you're not a huge fan of cleaning it, a general purpose lube like this is probably for you. It stays on the chain for longer than a dry lube and it picks up less muck compared with a wet lube.

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To test this lube I firstly stripped my training/winter bike of all drivetrain grease. I'd learnt from testing Silkolene's Dry lube that the cap isn't the best designed. Opening the cap only slightly is what's required for drip application. The lube easily coats the chain's rollers but the oil is quick to start flicking onto the frame if you apply too much. Thankfully, this wipes away easily.

Out on the road, you get a very similar sound to a wet lube. That is to say, there is very little audible noise from the drivetrain. I used this for a two-week period, riding everything from trips to the shops through to four-hour training loops. There was even the odd rain shower.

The lube lasted pretty well, with no signs of corrosion on the chain or cassette. I did notice that the chain was sounding a little dry towards the end of the two weeks, so I'd say you'll need to clean and reapply around every 10 rides. The lube also picks up quite a bit of dirt. As this was being used on my winter bike, I wasn't overly concerned, but this is probably too thick for a summer or best bike.

> Read more road.cc reviews of lubes here

Washing the drivetrain was pretty straightforward. The lube takes more scrubbing to remove than the Dry version, but it all came off to leave a clean chain.

At rrp, the Everyday Lube (£7.99/100ml) is a little more expensive than rivals such as Morgan Blue's Syn Lube (£7.95/125ml, but currently £4.99 at Wiggle) and Finish Line's Dry Lube (£7.99 for 120ml, currently £5 at Wiggle), but those are readily available at discount and produce similar results. You can still spend more, though: Muc-Off's Hydrodynamic Lube is £15.99 for 50ml (£9.99 at Wiggle). All three alternatives also have better drip applicators.

Overall, I'd say Silkolene's Everyday Lube is a decent choice for dry weather commuting and general riding, but there are as good options that are also cheaper.

Verdict

Good for dry commuting but there are cheaper options that work just as well