*Also pls note ZFC sells products at recommended Australian RRP set by company. Some online sites may sell at prices which are literally $1 to $3 above landed price. This may work for high volume stores who can afford to make $1 per sale, but not for a small boutique store, where around 10% of revenue is put back into covering the cost of testing projects which provides knowledge for us all to use to save friction and wear on our drivetrains. By purchasing from ZFC, you are supporting the worlds most robust and referenced independent test model, and one where test results do not need to sit behind a paywall but open to all. If the manufacturers RRP for Australia price fits in your budget, your support is of course greatly appreciated*
**Ensure read notes below re chain prep / watch video on chain prep – initial prep is crucial**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rt1EBI8Qxw
(also please note that the chain cleaning instructions in my wax zen master guide are still superior and so follow either the above video, or the cleaning instructions for immersive waxing in my wax zen master guide – Instructions tab – which are even better).
Yes, this is one expensive bottle of lubricant!! Your first question is going to be is it really worth it?
ZFC was heavily involved in testing of a prototype of this lubricant, and so whilst I still need to get to test the production version, I have plenty enough data at the moment to have confidence to stock. I can certainly advise it is a special lubricant that is going to be the perfect choice for some riders.
The top quality graphene of right particle size to achieve the atomic level layering and the processing method to emulsify this into a high quality base wax I can confirm – both the base ingredient and the manufacturing processes are very very expensive.
So what does this lube do that hot melt wax options such as Mspeedwax and Silca Hot melt do not?
It lasts an extraordinarily long time per treatment. There really is nothing close to the single application longevity of this lubricant. Nothing remotely close.
It is black so you wont have the day in day out super clean drive train of immersive waxing with Mspeedwax / Silca Hot melt, or some of the other top lubricant choices here at ZFC such as Tru-Tension Tungsten all weather / race lube or UFO drip – however, as each treatment lasts so long per application it will not be a black and dirty as the vast majority of drip lubes out there.
Stay tuned for the full detail test and review (sorry its going to be about 6 months to get too, testing is BOOKED), so I wont have the total cost to run per 10,000km official numbers for awhile yet, but I can advise that due to a) the exceptional treatment longevity and b) the exceptionally low wear rates with this lube, that despite the record setting price per bottle, the total cost to run your drivetrain will come out better vs many other drip lubricants that cost circa $15 a bottle.
If you have a very long harsh conditions event and want a lubricant that will go the distance (ie 24hr mtb event) – this lube is for you.
If hot melt waxing isn’t your thing and you want a lube you can reapply every approx. 1500 to 2000km, this lube is for you.
If you have a cross continent race and want to only re-lube once or twice for the entire event over thousands of km’s – this lube is for you.
If you are going bike packing for a week and don’t want to worry about packing a lube – this lube is for you.
*Is it compatible with Mspeedwax / Hot melt wax* – Yes – you can switch between absoluteBlack for a bike packing trip and come home and pop it in you wax pot. Mspeedwax will bond well to chain metal over the top of AB graphene.
**Initial Prep is EXTREMELY important. The lubricant comes with a bag to immersively apply the graphene lube. The initial clean MUST be as per AB instructions or the instructions on my wax zen master guide (I like my instructions better still, it is more exacting re ensure zero film left on chain). You cannot short cut the cleaning prep by spraying degreaser etc with chain on bike – CHAIN MUST BE REMOVED for proper solvent flush clean, dry and proper immersive application.
Once the initial immersive application is done you do not need to apply immersively again unless you fully flush clean chain, you can then move to drip lube application, but initial application on a properly stripped clean chain MUST BE IMMERSIVE.
