lube

Motorex Bike Shine Hi Protecting Formula is the answer to busy riders' prayers, extending intervals between bucket washes.

On the face of things, there's nothing particular about the ingredients, essentially we've a silicone product and solvent carrier but the Swiss brand's years of petrochemical experience ensures a glossy, dirt-repelling sheen.

In common with most aerosol products, the solvent component serves to keep the mixture sprayable, while powerful cleaning agents prime the host surface.

By Jove! Two hundred miles on one dose of Fenwicks Stealth Road Bike lube and I'm starting to appreciate what all the fuss is about. It's like none I've used before.

It's probably closest to a light ceramic in terms of serenity and durability but considerably cleaner. That said, getting the best from it requires methodical application.

WD40 400ml High Performance PTFE Lubricant is precisely that, a beefed up dressing to tackle those awkward situations where grease is too stodgy but traditional water displacers are just too thin. The most surprising characteristic was its success as a spring/summer weight chain lube and makeshift preserve on thin walled steel framesets.

Aside from the usual cautions, there's little information on the back of the can, other than to say it incorporates PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) for reduced friction and therefore smooth running.

WD40 3 in One Professional Bike Maintenance Spray is supposedly cycling-specific, but it does a whole lot besides and very well too.

Frankly, aside from the handy size 250ml aerosol, performance wise there's a fag paper separating it and the wealth of chemically similar products arriving at the Road.cc offices these past few weeks. No excuses for sticky shifts, scabby fasteners and squeaky cleats in my fleet then.

WD40 Multi Use 420ml is the ubiquitous and iconic maintenance spray that takes its name from the 40 attempts its inventor made to perfect the formula.

Old as the hills, it remains a godsend for everyday jobs such as freeing sticky control cables, driving moisture from electrical contacts or just keeping pesky squirrels off garden hardware (no joke - here's a video).

This Bio Grease from Pedros is so wholesome you could spread it on your toast. Okay, maybe that's going a bit far but it is at least non-toxic and biodegradable, so you can slap it on guilt free. It's good stuff too, though it does have a tendency to separate in the heat.

Good lube, this, and not to be confused with delicate wax lubes that demand you soak your chain in lavender oil for three weeks and then pick out the dirt with a toothpick before you apply it. You can just slap this stuff on, and after a few applications when excess wax starts to build up on the chain, you can easily brush it off, keeping your chain nice and clean. It stays put, too.

Oil. It's expensive, smelly and the cause of more global conflict than the old Mac vs PC debate. Sadly, even switching from four wheels to two still leaves the eco-friendly cyclist reliant on the stuff for keeping chains happy. Happily a solution is at hand in the form of Green Oil.