By John Marsh
HOT!
- Easy to use; quick to master
- No mess chain lubing
- Puts the lube exactly where it’s needed
- Brilliant, purpose-made product
- Works on 10-, 11- and 12-speed chains
- E-Bike versions come with special backpedal tool
NOT!
- None (and I’m always looking for some drawback)
Cost: RotaLuber with stand – $39.95; options for e-Bikes (includes a backpedal tool) – $60
Available: company website
RBR Sponsor: no
Tested: 3 weeks
RotaLuber an Ingenious, Effective Chain Luber
I’ve had enough conversations over the years with RBR’s tech editor, Jim Langley, to doubt that most “new” cycling products are truly new. But RotaLuber seems to fit the bill. It’s an ingenious, 3D-printed chain luber with a built-in guide and sprocket applicator that could not be simpler to use, nor more effective at applying wet lube to a bike chain at precisely where it’s needed, with little to no waste or mess.
According to the company, RotaLuber is “designed to deposit the oil only where it needs to be for the most benefit, at the roller gap to the inside link plate, so it gets to the link pin. After depositing the lube, as the chain moves through the extended part of the tool, the rubber strip rotates the rollers to suck the oil in between the roller and the pin for optimal lubrication of the chain.”
RotaLuber claims to add 40% more drive-train life when using its product. That would take some very controlled, long-term testing to verify. But, to me, that’s not the most important take-away.
Of all the possible ways to lube a chain – and, like most who’ve ridden for decades, I’ve tried a good many – RotaLuber is not just the first purpose-built, 3D-printed lubing tool I’ve ever seen, it’s the rare cycling product that perfectly meets a very real maintenance need.
To be sure, chain lubing is among the most mundane of the many maintenance chores we face. And it’s one on which we can spend either very little, or a lot, of time and still not be sure we’re doing it effectively.
That’s why RotaLuber really is a game-changer. Now, you can spend two minutes at the task, and come away knowing that you’ve just applied the perfect amount of lube to the precise areas of your chain that need it.
It is infinitely more efficient than needle-dropping lube onto your chain one link at a time, and diametrically less wasteful and messy than holding a bottle of lube over your chain and squeezing out a gusher as you back-pedal – then soaking up ¾ of what you just used as you run your chain through a cleaning rag.
It really is as simple as it looks in the video. I’ve been using it for three weeks on both my road and gravel bikes, doing a quick lube after washing the bikes. (RotaLuber ships with the valve set “wide open” to handle the thickest of lubes; the lube I use is like honey, and that setting works perfectly with my lube.) It is so fast and easy, it has very quickly become part of my regular maintenance routine. And I’ll be taking it with me next month on an 8-day rails-to-trails tour to do touch-up lubes as needed.
I could not more highly recommend this product. It effectively and efficiently does what it is supposed to do, making the cyclist’s life a bit easier along the way.
John Marsh is the former editor and publisher of RBR Newsletter and RoadBikeRider.com. Now retired, he lives and rides in the mountains of western North Carolina.
Very interesting idea, but that thing has maybe $1 worth of material to make it, another $3 for shipping and handling, and they want $40 for something that $20 would give them a great profit for.
A couple of years ago I bought a Pedro’s Pig chain cleaning tool because it holds the least amount of fluid of any chain cleaner on the market, I put my lube in it and apply the lube, a tad more wasteful than the above gadget but it puts on a nice even coat. But the “weird” thing is, there is at least 3 times the money spent making the Pig then there is with that Rotaluber, and all they want is $25 for it instead of $40.
Sorry, I stay away from products that intentionally gouge us just because we’re cyclists.
Actually, the parts are significantly more if you do not own the $50k printer it takes to create the pieces. Then there is assembly time, time doesn’t come free but isn’t listed in you presumption of what it takes to make this product.
Now we need to take into account that this is a garage operation, so with that the production Qty’s aren’t there to make each piece affordable or justify the cost of owning the manufacturing tools. Then let’s think about the idea, it certainly has a value, along with the effort and time it takes for R&D and the cost of several versions to work out the problem. Oh yeah, these things don’t magically appear from your screen to your doorstep either, someone had to pack and get these products to the shipping carrier, that takes time and recourses.
It appears you have never developed a product and brought it to market, so maybe next time you bad mouth the intention of a products creator do some research, especially on a public forum. It’s just a little advice, cause now its only you that looks like a jerk.
I take your point, but there’s also value in the idea, in the numerous iterations to get to the final product, in the manufacturing equipment, etc. And this is a tiny startup — not an established brand.
I’m more inclined to spend a little more to help a company with a great idea get off the ground than fret over being “gouged.”
After seeing the report on this about a month ago, I decided to try it and will tell you that it has made oiling my chain correctly the easiest and most efficiently ever (please note that I have servicing my bikes since 1979).
Great product and does what it says.
I have 5 recumbent bikes, each using 2.5 regular length chains. This product looks like it would save me a lot of time. I ordered one so ewe shall see.
Think it will work with silca drip on wax line?
Check out the FAQ section on the company site. They have a section specifically about Silca.