Product Review: Finish Line No Drip Chain Luber

Lubricating my bike's chain used to cause drips that either ended up on my garage floor or my wheels and chainstay.  After seeing the No Drip Chain Luber from Finish Line last year at Interbike I figured this may be a solution to that problem.  In theory it seemed like a good idea but how would it work with lubes of varying viscosity and would it coat the chain evenly without drips?  After receiving some of samples from Finish Line I decided to test it out and see if it would live up to its name.

The No Drip Chain Luber is simple in its design, it comes with an empty 2 oz. bottle, a unique applicator head, 3 wicking pads and a travel cap.

The two lubes I use most are at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of viscosity.  ProGold Extreme is very thin while Chain-L is as thick as honey.  I would put the No Drip Chain Luber to the test and see how it would handle both of these lubes and maintain its No Drip claim.

I used the the ProGold Extreme on the 9:Zero:7 fatbike all last winter and was surprised how well it penetrated the rollers without the No Drip Chain Luber delivering too much thus dripping onto the floor.  A little squeeze and a couple of back pedal revolutions while the wicking pad was in contact with the top of the chain was all it took.  A quick wipe down on the side plates of the chain with a rag and I was ready to roll.

For my gravel bike I use Chain-L lube.  I like this lube because it lasts a long time and delivers a very quiet and shift responsive drivetrain.  This stuff is thick so I wanted to see if the No Drip Chain Luber would distribute it evenly onto the chain.  I squeezed the bottle upside down until the wicking pad was thoroughly soaked with the lube.

Now I was ready to lube the chain.  Lightly squeezing the bottle with the wicking pad in contact with the top of the chain, I began to slowly back pedal until lightly coated.  Because Chain-L is so thick I repeated this process on the bottom side of the chain and gave the lube time to work its way into the rollers.  After about 10 minutes I wiped the excess (which was very little) off of the chain and was ready to ride.

The No Drip Chain Luber did a very good job applying the necessary amount of lube to the chain using both thin and thick lubricants without a mess or dripping.  It made the task quick and easy, I used less lube and there wasn't a lot of excess to be wiped off afterward.  I now keep several No Drip Chain Lubers labeled with the lube they contain so I can use which ever one I desire depending on the conditions or bike.  No dripping on the concrete in the garage or on my wheels/chainstay were a welcome change from the old method of lubing my chains. 

The No Drip Chain Luber is available from Penn Cycle and other fine bike shops for $8.99.

Disclosure:  Finish Line provided the review samples for this article, but offered no other form of compensation for this review.