CeramicSpeed was so impressed by Jason Smith's friction-testing work as the founder of Friction Facts that the Danish company bought his company. At Eurobike, CeramicSpeed debuted the first product created by Smith: UFO Drip Chain Coating. In this unique formula that goes on wet and quickly dries into a dry, wax-like coating, CeramicSpeed claims it has the fastest chain lube in the world.
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At Friction Facts in Boulder, Colorado, Smith had long tested the various friction levels caused on chains by different lubricants and chain treatments.
Before CeramicSpeed bought Friction Facts in 2016, Smith created a chain treatment he called UFO, for Ultra Fast Optimization.
While some top-level professionals have used this, CeramicSpeed and Smith set out to create a more accessible version. This resulted in the new UFO Drip Chain Coating, which goes on just like a normal lubricant.
“Other lubricants may claim to be 'the fastest', but data-driven testing – not to mention logic and semantics – suggests otherwise," Smith said. "There can only be one fastest, and UFO Drip Chain Coating is it.”
What is UFO?
After extensive testing, Smith settled on a 10-ingredient formula that consists of various waxes, oils and friction modifiers.
Smith and CeramicSpeed claim that the UFO Drip Chain Coating 'costs' less than 4 watts when run on a chain at a 95rpm cadence with a simulated 250w load. All other lubes tested delivered frictional losses of between 4.5 and 9 watts. (You can read Smith's testing protocol here.)
Further, Smith and CeramicSpeed claim UFO gets faster with use, and, since it's completely dry, it will not pick up road grit.
Smith ran a series of tests before and after chains had been ridden outside, and claim that the chains with UFO Drip Chain Coating were faster if anything, while other lubes typically generated more friction after being ridden outside.
UFO Drip Chain Coating will be sold in a 180ml bottle for $75 / €70 beginning in October.
