White Lightning Crystal Clear Grease

Wonder lubes come in all colours these days, promising ever longer service intervals but White Lightning Crystal Clear Grease is more interesting than most.

It's a clear, supposedly biodegradable formula designed to resist contamination, theoretically allowing easier diagnosis of component wear and doesn't transfer to other surfaces so that grimy tell-tale handprint on the kitchen light switch could become a distant memory. Better still, it's reckoned to be friendly to all surfaces including carbon fibre and rubberised seals- perfect for the entire fleet.

As might be expected, precise composition is a closely guarded secret but we can reveals it's a two part system with polymer base oils providing the friction reducing nourishment while an aluminium derived thickener ensures it stays put come hell or high water.

Unlike other synthetics, it emerges with a gel like consistency reminiscent of plumbers' mastic that mysteriously turns clear upon contact with the host components regardless of air temperature. Ours was the large squeezable tube with slimline spout allowing precise, controlled application to threaded components such as old fashioned crank bolts, cleats, bottle, mudguard and carrier screws and contact points, minimising wastage/cross contamination.

Nonetheless, I've been flooding pedal, headset and freehub bearings for the last word in buttery smoothness, ignoring the excess so as to monitor its true dirt phobic prowess over several weeks' mixed terrain service. From the outset, bearings feel notably slicker compared with traditional wet/ceramic type lubes, so go sparingly on seatposts and quill stems to prevent their incremental creep inside the frame as you ride.

A comparatively dry test period led me undertake some shallow river riding coupled with bouts of close range hosepipe torture testing. Subsequent strip downs suggests little short term impact although predictably jet-washing dispatched it within 90 seconds, so cross aficionados and other mud mariners should exercise similar levels of post-race caution.

Regular green lane/forest frolics through long grass and dusty trails haven't collected obvious signs of foreign bodies, while budget elastomer suspension bushes seem happy too. Being a synthetic, galvanic corrosion (where aluminium alloy/steel components chemically seize) seems highly improbable but I'm still inclined toward dressing Ti components in a dedicated prep where possible.

Verdict

Groundbreaking grease with promising longevity, nice to use too