CeramicSpeed UFO Drip All Conditions isn’t, as its name implies, a chain wax that’s suitable for all conditions. It’s best suited to mostly dry conditions, though the odd puddle here and there is fine. Its durability is reasonable, lasting up to about 100 miles per coating, and it’s easy to apply, if on the messy side. It’s quite expensive, too.
> Buy now: CeramicSpeed UFO Drip All Conditions for £14.99 from TradeInn
CeramicSpeed claims its UFO chain wax is the ‘world’s fastest chain coating’, but what does it mean by that exactly? After testing, I’d say it means the world’s fastest chain coating to disappear when it starts to rain, because in my experience the ‘All Conditions’ part of the name is something of a misnomer, as I found it didn’t cope so well when things turned wet.
For that, you’ll need the hardier Wet Conditions version. All Conditions is basically a wax lube for dry days, where you might encounter the odd patch of water here and there that might spray onto the chain.
Personally I’m not out there chasing tiny watt savings in my drivetrain, so speed doesn’t bother me – I want a wax that’s easy to apply, keeps the chain quiet and has good durability.
And CeramicSpeed’s UFO Drip All Conditions scores reasonably well on those fronts. It’s also non-toxic, PFAS-free and biodegradable, and it comes in a 100ml bottle with a long spout.
As for applying it, and as with any chain wax, you’ll need a sparkling clean drivetrain first. For that, CeramicSpeed will sell you its decent, though also pricey, Drivetrain Cleaner.
> How to clean your bike chain
To use it, you first give the bottle a really good shake, then apply it to the top of the links, ideally while the chain is on the second largest sprocket. This is in line with Silca’s recommendation, which I religiously adhere to for all brands of lubes.
A couple of passes, and you’re done.
The liquid is a little on the thin side, and although that means it flows into all the links with ease, it does inevitably mean there’s a little spillage, so be prepared to mop up any mess.
Again, and as with any chain wax, you need to wait a few hours for it to cure – I always do it the night before a ride.
In terms of noise, I’d say it’s as quiet as the Silca Synergetic Drip Lube, which is my go-to, though drivetrain volume is pretty hard to judge objectively.
As for longevity? Well, if you get unlucky with the weather and it turns foul, you won’t get more than 30-40 miles before your drivetrain starts to complain. Unfortunately during my six-month test period, a lot of my rides ended that way.
When it was drier, I was easily able to get up to 100 miles, or the equivalent of a single big ride. This isn’t quite in line with CeramicSpeed’s claim of 180 miles, but given, at least with gravel rides, that I’d always clean my bike after, it’s not a big deal. And considering how clean the chain still was at that point, getting it looking like new again was very easy, and didn’t require strong chemicals.
Value
At just under £20, you don’t get as much bang for your buck as you would from some other lubes. For example, the Morgan Blue Dry Wax is half the price, and Matt found it lasted a bit longer too.
But it is still much cheaper than Silca’s Super Secret Chain Lube, which is probably the gold standard when it comes to wax lubes. This costs £32, and while the longevity in poor conditions isn’t great, it’s very clean, extremely quiet and delivers a performance that feels almost friction-free.
For other options from just £3.99 upwards check out our best bike chain lubes buyer’s guide.
> Buy now: CeramicSpeed UFO Drip All Conditions for £14.99 from TradeInn
Conclusion
I’d happily recommend CeramicSpeed’s UFO Drip All Conditions for dry days where there might be some standing water. It’s relatively easy to apply, its longevity is good enough for me, and it’s pretty quiet. But it doesn’t quite live up to its ‘All Conditions’ name and it loses a little on the value front too.
Verdict
A quality wax lube for dry days with reasonable longevity – but it is pretty pricey
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road.cc test report
Make and model: CeramicSpeed UFO Drip All Conditions
Size tested: 100ml
Tell us what the product is for and who it’s aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
CeramicSpeed says: “Our acclaimed UFO Drip Chain Coating has been updated to be known as UFO Drip All Conditions. Now, in a new, smaller bottle size and an optimized formula that has a crisp white appearance while applying, that virtually disappears once fully dry.”
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
100 ml bottle
8ml, or an 8-gram difference by weight per coating
Non-toxic, PFAS-free and biodegradable formula
Clean and quiet though not quite the longevity that UFO claims.
Decent longevity – up to 100 miles in dry conditions. Though I’d not really describe it as an ‘all-conditions’ lube.
It’s pretty expensive per mile.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Not suitable for ‘all conditions’ but good for dry days where there might be a bit of water spray.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
It runs cleanly and quietly.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
You do need to take care when applying it as it can be a bit messy.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
It’s double the price of the Morgan Blue Dry Wax, which performed well and lasted even longer, though it’s much cheaper than Silca’s Super Secret Chain Lube.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
It’s a good lube but for dry, not all, conditions – and it is expensive.
About the tester
Age: 39
I usually ride: Condor Italia RC custom build My best bike is:
I’ve been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: A few times a week I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, mtb,
17 thoughts on “CeramicSpeed UFO Drip All Conditions”
So £20 a bottle and you get
So £20 a bottle and you get 100 miles an application if it’s dry and only 40 when wet, split the difference and call it 70 miles average. The review doesn’t say how many applications you get per bottle but I’d be surprised, from experience, if it’s more than four. So £20 for under 300 miles, i.e. for the same price you could actually afford to replace an Ultegra 11-sp chain every 400 miles. Think I might pass…
I’ve been using Squirt lube
I’ve been using Squirt lube for quite a while and as far as I can tell, they’re similar types of products. Just checked the price for Squirt and that’s £12-15 for 125ml, so £20 for 100ml isn’t completely ridiculous. I don’t know how they compare though.
You know what, I’ve got to
You know what, I’ve got to admit I’ve misled myself, I’ve been happily using TruTension all-weather at £7.50 a bottle, but glancing at the bottle just now I realise it’s only 50ml, so I withdraw my comment and retire in shame!
Rendel Harris wrote:
Looks similar to Squirt and other wax lubes, but includes tungsten. Can’t say that I’ve heard of it before, but Road.cc has reviewed it: https://road.cc/content/review/tru-tension-bananaslip-tungsten-all-weather-lube-276861
Thanks, hadn’t seen that
Thanks, hadn’t seen that review. Pretty much accords with my experience, yes it’s not as resistant to torrential downpours as some though it holds up pretty well to the general drizzle that’s the usual experience of a London autumn, definitely keeps the drivechain very silky. Big selling point for the absent-minded (me) is the quick curing, can wake up the morning of a big ride, realise I’ve forgotten to do the chain, quickly degrease and reapply and it’s ready to go in the time it takes me to eat breakfast.
I loved Squirt when I had
I loved Squirt when I had discovered it – it worked far better than any oil I used before. Since then, I have moved on to “Effetto Mariposa Flower Power” – based on the following testing:
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/
It seems the UFO and Effette Mariposa perform fairly similarly – superior to Squirt at a similar price.
anke2 wrote:
Thanks. I use their tubeless sealant (Caffélatex along with their Vitamina CL additive) which works really well so maybe I’ll give the FlowerPower a shot when I finish up my bottle of Squirt.
Rendel Harris wrote:
25ml of lube per application suggests you’re massively over-applying lube.. it should be more like 4-5ml!
that said, I don’t understand why you would use drip wax without starting with an immersion-waxed chain, so that it’s just used as a top-up between waxing. You need to go through the hassle of stripping the chain down to start with which is the most work, and if you’re doing that you’re way better off immersion waxing which will give you 400-500km, then I expect the drip wax will go a lot longer as a top up. You can even buy pre-waxed chains so you never have to worry about cleaning a filthy drivetrain again!
olic wrote:
See my comment above, I was mistaken, the one I’m using is a 50ml bottle rather than 100ml. However I think your figure is a massive underestimation, no way are you going to get twenty lubrications out of a 100ml bottle. If you look at the review above, Ceramic Speed claim you can get 180 miles out of one lubrication, the reviewer says a more cautious 100 miles dry and 40 miles wet. Let’s call it my suggested average above of 70 miles, that would mean 1400 miles at your figures before you had to buy a new bottle! Trust me, if you could get that much life out of it they would charge a lot more.
Apologies Rendel, somewhat
Apologies Rendel, somewhat crucial info missing from my review…
I’m about 10-12 fairly liberal applications in and the bottle is still roughly 1/3 full, if that helps.
So, let’s say about 15 total for a sum of £1.30 per application.
Thanks, useful to know. I
Thanks, useful to know. I withdraw my allegations of it being expensive then!
I’m a convert to Silca’s
I’m a convert to Silca’s Synergetic, tiny bottle and so pricey, and I can’t say that I quite get kiwimikes’s longevity, I might get the best part of a year out of one bottle. In the “dry” I might get almost two weeks out of an application, “normal” a week and perhaps a couple of days, but in the proper filth with rain only a couple of days. But this is slop that finishline’s cross country will not last a full day. But there’s no grinding, and more shiny and cleanliness.
I will at some point do a proper review at some point. Only annoying thing is the amount of shaking involved. Thought a tube vortex mixer might do it, took the remains of my first bottle into work for mergency lubing, and gave one a go, in fact tried many different models, unfortunately not. I have the same issues with Rock-‘n’-roll’s cable magic.
Me too actually, based on
Me too actually, based on KiwiMike’s review and the ZFC results. As you say, very pricey (I paid £27.99 for 2oz ~60ml from Sigma, although it’s dropped a bit since then). Agree ref longevity, and it seems to be the next best thing to waxing without the full process. Very quiet and I’ve noticed that the chain has virtually no wear after 1200km, normally I’d have expected to show something on the checker at this point. I’ve only had it on one bike to trial since getting it, but I think as and when the others have replacement chains, I’m going to Synergetic on them too. No kidding on the shaking either. One other criticism is that they no longer seem to be supplied with the needle tip applicator.
ktache wrote:
Oh great! Now I have to buy another bike related tool
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007010509137.html
No, don’t get one, I tried
No, don’t get one, I tried every one in the labs I am associating with and none were as good as shaking, even the old school ones.
ktache wrote:
Okay, understood. I’d better go for the High Speed Homogenizer instead
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005954500064.html
I find Synergetic can last a
I find Synergetic can last a few weeks between applications. It can withstand torrential rain and still be good the next day. it is pricey, but I’ve never used anything as durable whilst being easy to clean off. I used to use Green Oils wet lube in the past, that is also durable but turns into an awful black sticky gunk after a while and is terrible to clean off.
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