Green Oil : extreme durability for endurance riding or extreme conditions. Green oil is a "wet lube" suitable for all riding conditions, rain or shine. The Ecologist Magazine's "Pick of the Month", Green Oil is also winner of What Mountain Bike's Gold Award.
From Mark's equipment notes (Southern Highlands Tour May/June 2010):
I tried this for the first time on this tour. It really surprised me. It’s a bit like converting your bike to belt drive. And it’s almost as permanent. We could ride on dirt in the rain for a couple of days without reapplying. It sort of baffled me. When applying it reminded me of using motor oil as a kid – the chain tends to run a bit rough while all the baddies are released from their harmless corners into the workings of the chain. But keep riding and it will settle down. Then keep riding, and keep riding, and keep riding, and keep riding, and keep riding, then reapply. Grime buildup? Time will tell, but this lube seems to stay where it’s put rather than spread all over the cassette and chainrings, so dirt accumulation was surprisingly low. I think it’ll be a fair while before the drivetrain needs any significant cleaning. Seems to outlast other favourite lubes by a factor of 5 to 10 times
Other Notes:
I (Mark) am still using this remarkable lube. It is by a long shot the most durable chain lube there is. To apply, I recommend (like with any other chain lube) wiping the chain with a rag and scraping any accumulated crud build-up from the sprockets first, then lube fairly generously, work it in by cycling through the gears for a couple of minuted, then wipe chain well to remove any excess lube. Ideally, do it the day before a wet or dusty ride. Done this way there is no appreciable grime build up, but if you're a "pour it on regularly and forget it" typre of chain lubricator, then you'll probably end up with a pretty solid mess in the end. This lube does dry pretty hard; it's not the slickest lube out there but it is definitely the only lube that can be ridden for a 100km wet MTB enduro, then continue being used the next week for commuting without reapplying.Thouroughly recommended for long distance mountain bike riders.
An interesting aspect of this lube is that once it's on and settled (a day, a week, a fortnight or a month later) it avoids getting sand etc stuck to it not by being too thin and light for the sand to stick to, but by being to hard and dry for the sand to stick to. Yes, I have ridden it on a sandy beach....
If you have a bike or bikes you don't use often, I wouldn't recommend this lube as the chain will get a bit stiff after sitting in the shed unused for a couple of months.
