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White Lightning rebranding leaves product with new look, same performance

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White Lightning rebrand chain lube cleaner degreaser

Walk into any bike shop and there is a good chance that you’ll find a product from White Lightning. The brand has been around for years, and is probably best known for their Clean Ride chain lube. Developed to self clean and repel contaminants from your chain, White Lightning claims it is one of, if not the best selling chain lube in the United States.

While the success of White Lightning Clean Ride is almost a given at this point, White Lightning felt it was time to give the brand a fresh new look. Considering the last time the label was reworked was in 2001, that’s probably a good idea. The new look includes a cleaner label that is copy heavy so shoppers can get the full picture of the product without actually picking it up. The labels are still color coded to match the current labels, and the overall goal is to make it easier to identify multiple products, not just chain lubes.

You’ll see the new designs hitting store shelve soon, including the ever popular Clean Ride, of which White Lightning gave us a little demonstration after the break…

White Lightning rebrand chain lube cleaner degreaser-3

White Lightning rebrand chain lube cleaner degreaser-2

If you’ve worked in a bike shop, you’ve probably seen Clean Ride horror stories first hand. Like most lubes, apply it in correctly and you’re in for trouble. Clean Ride’s biggest issue is over application and riding it before it’s dry – which can result in massive wax build up on the derailleur and chain.

White Lightning recommends applying it the night before so the lube has a chance to set up before you ride. When applied properly, it is excellent at shedding mud and sand as shown in their makeshift sand box. Compared to one of their own chain lubes intended for wetter riding, the Clean Ride picked up much less sand after being buried in the bucket. That’s even after rapping the chain on the sides of the bucket and trying to shake it off. Because of this, White Lightning claims it would make an excellent lubricant for beach riding and is also compatible with their Epic Ride chain lube so you can switch back and forth or mix.

Pricing for White Lightning product will remain the same and you can find them at your local bike shop.

whitelightningco.com

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Ryan
Ryan
7 years ago

They should have kept the label and changed the formula. I was given a bottle of White Lightning Clean Ride last year to evaluate, and just wasn’t impressed. It was better than WD-40, but it didn’t last as long or stay as clean as Rock’n’Roll Gold. If I had a free supply of White Lightning I’d use it, but I wouldn’t spend my money on it unless I couldn’t get Rock’n’Roll Gold for some reason.

Groghunter
Groghunter
7 years ago
Reply to  Ryan

Beat me to it, came here to comment: “Same performance.” Oh so still terrible, eh?

Synthetic lubes all the way. Purple extreme is my pick.

Sassafras
Sassafras
7 years ago
Reply to  Groghunter

Same here with purple extreme, at least for the road. But I do like clean ride for the riding I do on north floridas sandyer single track. My trail bike is a one speed though, so I can’t really say whether or not it is detrimental to shifting.

Jon
Jon
7 years ago

Do they come with free cherries?

dan
dan
7 years ago

Ditto what Ryan said. Formula does not work for me even with 100% proper application. At least 4 brands of lube I’d grab before WL when setting out for a 6 hour or longer ride/race.

Tim
Tim
7 years ago

50$ upcharge when i work on a bike with this stuff on it

Eagle Jackson
Eagle Jackson
7 years ago

WL best for lubing the cleats on Speedplay pedals. Chains, not so much.

matthewinseattle
7 years ago

Clean Ride was famously the worst performing lubricant in the 2013 VeloNews test of chain lubricant friction. I’d be interested to hear White Lightning’s explanation as to why they’ve stuck with that formula and focused on rebranding and sandboxes instead.

timb
timb
7 years ago

Does no-one else look at the logo and think of the Norts from Rogue Trooper?

Old fut
Old fut
7 years ago
Reply to  timb

Nice reference!

boom
boom
7 years ago

Has anyone tried the Maxima stuff? It’s all I use on the moto, but can’t seem to get my hands on the bike stuff easily in the States

jdog
jdog
7 years ago

Worst re-branding in history.

Fred Vitale
7 years ago

Just buy Squirt lube.

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