Muc-off launches 'the world's fastest chain lube'

Muc-Off has today unveiled the latest product in its line-up, an all-new raceday lubrication, which it claims is the fastest in the world. 

Known as Ludicrous AF, the new product flies in the face of the recent trend toward wax-based lubricants, and the brand makes bold claims about its performance. 

According to Muc-Off, as the chain is used, the molecules of the Ludicrous AF lubricant react with its surface, leading to the creation of a 'fluid sheer plane' that helps to reduce friction and thus power loss. It is also said to be consistent in both wet and dry conditions, and its formula is bio-degradable and made from renewable sources.

It was developed in conjunction with Ineos Grenadiers and was used by Egan Bernal during this year's Giro d'Italia win. 

"We’ve had many trips to Poole to spend time in the workshop with Muc-Off’s scientists and engineers," explained Carsten Jeppesen, Technical Director at Ineos Grenadiers. "It’s always inspiring to meet their Head of R&D. He always has ideas for development, and we bring ideas from the team. Our partnership with Muc-Off has always been a really good case study, not only for how we operate as a team, but also for how they operate as a company." 

The performance claims

Over the past year, radical claims have come from two of Muc-Off's biggest competitors in the race chain lubrication segment: AbsoluteBlack's Graphene lube and CeramicSpeed UFO Drip, both of which are considered among the best bike chain lubes available.

Pitting its Ludicrous AF lube against both of those as well as Silca's Synergetic Drip Lube, Muc-Off makes equally lofty claims, stating that it requires five, 18 and 195 per cent less power than Silca, AbsoluteBlack and CeramicSpeed respectively - results that it achieved during a three-hour dyno test on new chains.

While not quantifying that in terms of a watt saving, Muc-Off also claims that after running in each chain for six hours, the results continue to impress, albeit the savings drop to three, 15- and 124 per cent respectively. 

But having a fast chain is only half of the process, and it's no use if it only lasts an hour before the friction returns. To that end, Muc-Off says that Ludicrous AF is designed to penetrate deep into chain links, and has 'self-lubricating capabilities' which are said to aid durability and deliver long-lasting, repeatable performance. 

To quantify this, Muc-Off performed wear testing across the same four products, where it said that Ludicrous AF once again came out on top, with Silca coming a close second. 

However, Muc-Off knows that its own testing will always be taken with a giant pinch of salt, so the brand sought out independent testing from New Motion Labs.

In these tests, Ludicrous AF was once again crowned victorious, with an average efficiency score of 96.3 per cent, rising to 97.1 per cent after being 'conditioned' at 300 watts for three hours. 

This was an average over power output ranging from 100 to 1,100 watts, at cadences between 60 and 140 rpm. Silca once again slotted into second place with a score of 95.2 per cent. 

Price and availability

A 50ml bottle of Ludicrous AF will be sold at £49.99 / €64.99 / $64.99. 

That price puts it just shy of £1 per millilitre ($1.29 / €1.29), which is even steeper than AbsoluteBlack's GraphenLube's 82p / $1.04 per ml - a price that we described as astounding at its launch last year. 

Nonetheless, if every last watt counts to you no matter the cost, you can get your hands on it directly from Muc-Off.com or from selected retailers.