Finish Line Pro Road Lube (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

Finish Line Pro Road CR Lube

by Shaun Audane

Mon, Dec 22, 2008 12:08

£4.88

VERDICT:

Advanced lube for racers and mile munching sportif riders

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Not a year passes without somebody claiming to have produced the last word in low friction, high durability chain lube. According to the blurb, Finish Line Pro Road is a ceramically reinforced lubricant constructed from a blend of synthetic oils and boron nitride, resulting in a cleaner, stronger and longer lasting film of lubricant.

Finish Line say the ceramic coating is employed not only in the interests of low friction but to lock out moisture and maximise longevity. Take the chain on a trip through the solvent bath, dry thoroughly and dribble Pro Road sparingly into every link.

Closest to a wet lube in consistency, it flows from the spout in a milky consistency and appearance before turning to a rich oily texture. Wipe any excess from the outer plates and ride around for a day or two before giving a repeat dose, which apparently completes the ceramic coating process. Despite a quiet inner cynicism about all this, I have to admit that I detected slightly slicker shifting from my ala Carte transmission- even under load. To give Finish Line’s claims the ultimate test I also took it off road… However, given the wet consistency I left it a few days before venturing of the asphalt .

This is primarily a road product but it seems very effective for moderate trail riding and might extend to cross (in less demanding conditions). Durability seems pretty good too, only requiring light re-application after 225 December miles. Closer inspection reveals comparatively lower levels of accumulated grime, although for best results, wipe the side pates and jockey wheels clean between top ups.

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CR, Finish Line, Finish Line Pro Road CR, lube, Lubricant, oil, Pro Road

Shaun Audane

Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing’s sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets. Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)

1 Comments

1 thought on “Finish Line Pro Road CR Lube”

cmyk

December 23, 2008 at 10:39 am

0

wet and sticky
i used this stuff for a little while, but i found it stayed very wet, even if i wiped all the excess off.
it certainly is closer to a wet lube.

i much prefer purple extreme.

Comments are closed.

Latest Comments

Chris RideFar 1 hour ago

The problems mentioned in this article are far more wide-ranging than simply affecting the viability of hiring Saturday lads/lasses. Fixing bikes or selling bikes now requires so much more skill and knowledge than it did 10-20 years ago, but the pay is still rubbish, partly because public perception is that the job is easy and is just a hobby. Therefore people with the ability to be good at the job are not encouraged to stick around and they look elsewhere for a career that can earn a decent wage. I don't enjoy the fact that half the bikes that I work on have almost-unique parts that requires odd techniques, tools, or parts to repair and I first have to research what I need for many of them (despite having 20 years of experience). I'm now getting so much work that I could consider hiring someone else, but it would be impossible to find a skilled person who would work for the wage I can offer and it would take far too much of my time to train someone to a level where they can do more than the simplest 10% of the jobs that come in (whereas 10-20 years ago, after a small amount of training they probably could have done 30+% of the jobs). The complexity and uniqueness of modern bikes is apparently necessary to sell them, but soon there are going to be no mechanics left who will work for the wages that people are prepared to pay. At some point, people are going to have to admit that bike mechanics and salespeople are highly skilled and knowledgeable and should be reimbursed accordingly. Or, everyone can just order bikes online and watch YouTube repair videos and end up with a bike that barely works and isn't safe; but that's fine because they're just simple kids' toys, right?

in: “The Saturday lad or lass is under threat”: Bike shops say minimum wage increases and better sick pay prevent them taking on part-time staff

mattw 4 hours ago

I think the author is trying too hard to "both sides" this one. The basic error is Gove's - he was wandering across a pedestrian crossing on red for him with his head in a cup of coffee, and started well after it was on red. The Highway Code says "should not cross" in these circumstances. He then tried to excuse this by red herrings. Conservatives, including Gove, are supposed to have taking personal responsibility for their actions as a core value. Perhaps having the crooked coward Boris Johnson and Fruit Loop Liz as elected leaders demonstrates that this is merely historical. Gove is permitting a culture war being fought in the pages of his magazine; that is a war where Conservatives are demonising cycling because they hope it will save the rump Conservative Party. One example was their sudden reversal of support for the Welsh 20mph default limit. Should noodles have reacted less sharply - perhaps. A chat with Michael Gove to stop him wandering around the streets like a lobotomised koala may have been beneficial.

in: Michael Gove vs the disgruntled camera cyclist: Sometimes optics matter more than being in the right

Rendel Harris 6 hours ago

@mdavidford Funny, as soon as I saw your comment on the ticker on another article I knew to whom you must be replying.

in: “Only makes sense on paths you DON’T want cyclists to use”: “Totally indefensible” slalom barriers on cycle lane; Lance Armstrong’s DS tells UCI boss to “stick to selfies & dubious deals”; “Canyon to Brompton” delivery nightmare + more on the live blog

Backladder 6 hours ago

@mctrials23 People have been suffering for years because they have been unlucky enough to have been hired by bad people, or had the bad luck to become ill. This is just bringing the system more into balance. I don't have a problem with encouraging people to start businesses but I don't agree with doing it by letting them exploit the poor and the desperate, if they need encouragement then offer state benefits for small businesses and use the claims process to make sure that they are doing everything they should to run the business properly including paying and training their employees. If they just want to get rich quick by exploiting others then they should be in the USA.

in: “The Saturday lad or lass is under threat”: Bike shops say minimum wage increases and better sick pay prevent them taking on part-time staff

mdavidford 6 hours ago

One may wonder why you've brought up DEI when it has nothing at all to do with anything in what Lappartient said. Or why you care about the state of the women's sport if you're so down on diversity, equity and inclusion. 🤷‍♂️

Rendel Harris 7 hours ago

Not quite the first time, I rode over it back in the late twentyteens, just happened to see it was jammed nose-to-tail so thought it would be fun to filter along...turned out there was an overturned lorry at the eastern end blocking all carriageways. I honestly didn't know cycling was banned (the signs aren't very prominent), just assumed nobody rode on it because it would be suicidal in normal circumstances. Fortunately the weary copper at the other end who saw me just cut off my apologies and said, "Fuck off over there [a gap in the barrier to a slip road] and don't do it again."

in: Hundreds of cyclists ignore road closure to “mass trespass” on notorious Westway and tell government to “stop spending money on car roads”

Backladder 7 hours ago

They're not slalom barriers, they're Sheffield stands for parking your bike.

mctrials23 7 hours ago

@momove I would think that spending time training someone up, putting the time and effort into that only to have most people move on relatively quickly isn't a great business model. I know there is the argument that "if your business has to take advantage of people to run then its not a viable business" but thats the reality of some of these shops. Up to a point, thats exactly what apprenticeships have always been. A business get cheap labour that might help them a bit and the apprentice learns something.

in: “The Saturday lad or lass is under threat”: Bike shops say minimum wage increases and better sick pay prevent them taking on part-time staff

MaxiMinimalist 7 hours ago

One may wonder why bureaucrat Lappartient wants to reinvent the wheel with a massive injection of DEI and drastic reduction of money. Let the best cyclists win, period. Meanwhile, women's pro peloton needs means and support to attract new sponsors, increase TV coverage, improve salaries and prize money.

momove 7 hours ago

So they want to pay people a pittance "for the experience", not record their leave accrued, have them ineligible for sickness pay, then complain about them not being experts on e-bikes, bikefitting and more?

in: “The Saturday lad or lass is under threat”: Bike shops say minimum wage increases and better sick pay prevent them taking on part-time staff