Price: $24 / €22 / £18.55
Volume: 100/ 180ml
Biodegradable: Yes, non-toxic, PFAS free
Colour: White, dries clear
Chain cleaner/degreaser product: Yes
CeramicSpeed UFO Drip is a chain lubricant that has been on the market for several years now. During its lifetime, it has gone through a couple of official overhauls, the last of which was around two years ago when it again reduced in price, was subject to a rebrand and was split into ‘all conditions’, ‘indoor’ and ‘wet’ variants. I’ll be looking at the all-conditions version here, which has generally been regarded as one of the fastest and most effective drip lubes on the market for some time.
Drivetrain care and how to optimise the running of your chain is no secret these days. There are a raft of drip lubricants and immersive hot waxes on the market now, which means a dirty, contaminated chain doesn’t have to be an option.
'Drip lubes' are liquid lubricants that we can pour or, indeed, drip out of a bottle onto our chains. Physically wet lubricants increase the risk of contaminants being carried into our drivetrain, but wax-drip lubricants like the UFO All Conditions set dry, which really helps minimise this and contributes to a nice clean drivetrain and fast-running chain.
UFO Drip All conditions has an RRP of $24 / €22 / £18.55 for a 100ml bottle. I’ve used this chain lube for a good block of riding and can now pull my review together. head to our best bike chain lube guide and best bike chain wax guides for more info and options.
Design and aesthetics
CeramicSpeed UFO Drip All Conditions is available in 100 and 180 ml bottle sizes and is priced at $24 / €22 / £18.55 for the 100ml bottle, which is what I have been using. The narrow tip of the bottle is easy to use and allows you to apply the lube accurately and not waste any, which I like. It's also biodegradable, non-toxic and PFAS-free, so you can rest assured you aren’t using anything horrible on your chain.
If you have invested in or use a premium chain lube or wax, it's always best to start with a new chain, or depending on wear one that's as clean as you can possibly get it. Giving a mucky, dirty chain a quick scrub or blast with some degreaser won't cut it. Your chain will still be contaminated, and drivetrain performance won't be optimal.
CeramicSpeed also sells a drivetrain degreaser product which has the same green credentials, despite a slightly off-putting smell. I've used this product, and it's been an effective degreaser for me. You can buy a bundle of lube and degreaser If you want to invest.
UFO Drip All Conditions uses water as a base with wax particles within it. Once applied, the water evaporates, and the white liquid wax dries, providing a low friction, protective chain coating. I don't have a full ingredient list for the wax, but this is the makeup, broadly speaking.
Various lubricants these days come with their own application instructions, and this product is no different. CeramicSpeed has an easy to follow how to apply video on its website, which shows you their recommended application method. It is key to apply the day before to allow the wax to fully dry and penetrate the chain links. So factor this into your maintenance schedule. It's easy to forget and just hurriedly apply some lube before heading out the door.
I understand that older permutations of the lubricant were temperature sensitive, and the wax could harden a little in the cold. The bottle does have a pea inside to help mix the lubricant If it has been sitting for a while, but applying it in warmer temperatures may further aid the process.
Performance
I applied UFO Drip All Conditions to a new Shimano chain, which I degreased first. The Shimano factory grease isn't a great lubricant or coating for a chain in use, and it's best to clean it off first if you start with a new chain from that brand. Starting with a fresh, clean chain just makes sense to me. I know there's no contamination in there, hit it with a good chain lube or wax, and it feels great knowing your chain is clean and fast, especially when the rider in front has a drivetrain that is an oily mess.
The lubricant out of the bottle is white in colour, but it dries clear. As mentioned, the bottle nozzle makes applying it an easy task, and I prefer it to the applicator on the Smoove chain lube bottle. The lube dries clean and kept my drivetrain very clean, tidy and running quietly for a little over the 180-mile reapplication period. At face value, everything felt slick and fast, and I'm always wanting a dry clean drivetrain, so all told I was very happy. I would recommend erring on the side of caution when it comes to reapplying to be safe, but it wasn't like once past the 180-mile mark my chain started squeaking immediately.
It's important to dive deeper and try to find out if a lubricant has been tested for performance. A poor choice could seem fine but contribute to rapid drivetrain wear. CeramicSpeed put a lot of time and effort into chain lubricant testing and manufacturing and there are some test results to look at on its website.
Independent chain lubricant testing experts Zero Friction Cycling also tested a previous version of UFO drip and found it tested very well, comfortably amongst the very best drip lubricants on the market with very low wear rates, so you can rest assured this is an excellent drip lubricant that will help lengthen your drivetrains lifespan if you are shopping.
If you don't have one, using a chain wear checker tool can also help you monitor chain wear and get a gauge of how your chain is faring up longer term. The Shimano TL-CN42 Chain checker tool is a good starting point.
Zero Friction noted zero penetration issues for the lubricant, which is important. Imagine applying a neat drop of a chain lube to each chain link. That lubricant needs to work its way deep into your chain links to provide protection and lubrication. CeramicSpeed UFO Drip has no issues here, compared to some products which can struggle, this is good news for chain wear from the off.
I spoke with Zero Friction about this latest version and learned that CeramicSpeed has updated the formula several times in between the last two official updates. A previous version tested very well at Zero Friction, so it's fairly safe to assume that the product is even better now.
Value
In terms of pricing this lubricant is on a par with a lot of other drip lubricants on the market for a 100ml quantity at $24 / €22 / £18.55 so it's pretty affordable, certainly not a product that will make you say 'how much?!' and it has reduced in price, which is pretty unusual these days if you ask me. There are products out there that are a lot more expensive, like Muc-Off Ludicrous AF at $64.99 RRP or Absolute Black GraphenLube 2.0. at $106.90 for 140ml.
The recommended reapplication intervals are shorter than some products out there at 180 miles or 300km; this could be once a weekend for some riders, depending on mileage and could be a race or best day only option for some. I think it's fair to say performance will be excellent for that period, though.
The brand's website states an 8ml or 8-gram difference by weight per coating. I take this 8ml to be a rough application amount, so you could be looking at 12 applications per bottle at most, or roughly 2160 miles / 3,600km of riding.
One thing to bear in mind is that a bottle or two of chain lube will be cheaper than replacing a worn-out cassette and chain and or chainrings within a few thousand miles, something that can occur with little cleaning and a poor choice of chain lube.
Verdict
This is an excellent choice as drip lubricants go, and CeramicSpeed UFO Drip in its various forms has been a leader in this area for a while and the latest All Conditions formula appears to build on this.
The performance is excellent, clean, fast and protective with low wear rates. You will just need to decide if the reapplication intervals suit your needs and riding. If you're looking for a drip lube and want one of the best, you could do an awful lot worse than use this.
