SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING

Specification                

Exact alchemy is a little tricky to pin down. However, Slick Juice is based around anhydrous calcium grease, which is a thickening agent. This ensures good chemical bonding with host surfaces but without the downsides of lithium-based products. Specifically, damage to seals and other rubberised components. Mineral oil is the other half of this tag team. Anhydrous calcium greases also boast superior stability, meaning they’re unaffected by extremes of temperature. Hence their use in marine and automotive chassis components.

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Certain grades are also used in food processing machinery. Bottom line, they aim to ape the positive qualities of lithium-based lubes but without the downsides and environmental impact. The Slick Juice comes in two sizes. Our home workshop-friendly 150ml or a more commercial 500ml pot. There’s no tube option, meaning you can’t just thread on a pen-type grease gun such as this System EX The System EX Pro Grease Gun | cycling-not-racing. It can be decanted into a more traditional gun for precise application. Staying with this a moment, ours arrived during a heatwave. It had softened slightly, which was nice, though didn’t assume the slightly oily consistency I've experienced with Peaty’s Speed Grease in comparable temperatures. 

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Application

By brush, or hand, wearing gloves I hear you say and you’d be correct. Suspension forks, metal seat posts, dropper posts, bearings, contact points, trailer swing arms are the most obvious hosts. Juice Lubes suggest it’s also suitable for cables. I employ stainless inner wires and compressionless housing across my bikes but I can see the benefits on older frames with internal cable runs (where water can enter), or a dab on those running beneath the bottom bracket shell.  A little goes surprisingly far. Don’t be stingy when packing hubs, headsets and other bearings, but a light coating is all that’s needed on contact points, skewers, thru axles etc.

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Test Bikes & Contexts

 I’ve applied ours to my Yak Homage touring trailer swing arm, hub bearings, axles, Muffin’s Titanium Seat post, Ursula and Denise’s Hollowtech II axles, cantilever posts, USE SX elastomers, quick-release skewers and pedal threads. I’d also applied some when servicing workshop pumps, such as this long-serving Blackburn Piston 4 THe BLACKBURN PISTON 4 FLOOR PUMP  This would give comprehensive insight into lubrication, staying prowess and compatibility. I was very tempted to deploy some in Denise’s Shimano hub dynamo while performing an overhaul.

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However, I reached for Bearing Juice The Juice Lubes Bearing Juice Long Term | cycling-not-racing on the grounds of bombproof reliability and because the putty-like texture holds loose bearings very securely.  I had deliberately left some excess around the seat collars and my DIY seat collar “boots” as an obvious reference point- to see whether the Slick Juice would attract grime, melt, get washed away, or eat rubberised stuff.  Qualities that lend it well to generic, one-does- all servicing.

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Lubrication 3/5/5

Hubs and Hollowtech II axles felt buttery smooth and though friction wasn’t lower than the proverbial snakes' testicles, it wasn’t far behind Peaty’s Speed Grease PEATY'S SPEED GREASE | cycling-not-racing and superior to some generic favourites, including Zefal Pro ii Grease Zefal Pro II Grease | cycling-not-racing. and Wolf Tooth WT-G Precision Bike Grease Wolf Tooth WT-G Precision Bike Grease | cycling-not-racing

 Slick Juice's positive properties were particularly tangible on previously arthritic track pumps, the trailer’s hub and swing arm and Denise’s cantilever posts. Same story with quick-release skewers.  Bouncy seat post travel was plush over inclement surfaces and Hollowtech II cranks spun fast n' free.

 

I commenced testing by leaving Ursula’s crank dressed in Peaty’s Speed Grease- as a control, alternating between bikes for 150 miles. Anecdotally, I felt less resistance using the Peaty’s Speed Grease and this was similarly palpable with these budget Wellgo SPD.A consideration for racers seeking every possible performance gain.   On the flip side, the Slick Juice’s slightly higher viscosity suggests it’s a better fit for my trailer’s hub, freehub bodies and quick-release skewers. A light, "while we're here" lick on metal fork and frame ends will also protect painted, plated and polished surfaces.

 

Durability & Cleanliness 3.5/5

Three months is too soon to draw any definite conclusions. However, 1500 miles later, everything is super slick and very smooth. Particularly so in hubs and cranks. We’ve had a long, dry spell here in the UK, temperatures frequently in the mid-30s. The slick Juice has softened very slightly, but no signs of melting or ooze from components. October has snuck in with lower temperatures and wetter conditions.

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Again, the Slick Juice has retained its consistency and is staying put through washes, some very wet rides and without collecting much grit. Contact points and fasteners have all released with nominal effort, elastomers all seem plush and very happy. On this basis, I'm forming the opinion that I'd apply Slick Juice wholesale to a cyclocross or race mountain bike. However, for peace of mind, I'd prefer to pack a working, or winter bike's hubs and headset with Juice Lubes Bearing Juice, or a similarly stout formula.        

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Transfer to hands is modest, I haven't needed to wipe hands on verges etc following quick roadside tweaks. That said; packing some wipes and examination gloves is good practice, especially on long rides where you’re likely to be eating.  

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Value 3.5/5

There’s always someone shouting from the rooftops about riders being ripped off, insisting a cheap as chips alternative does the same thing...Back in the late 90s, I recall folks advocating Castrol Red Rubber Grease (produced in the era of BSA Bantams) was superior to Rock Shox Judy Butter…Cue fork elastomers emerging looking like microwaved hot dogs-bin fodder essentially. Specialist greases, lubes and tooling repay their investment by not knackering delicate and sometimes expensive parts.

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That off my chest; £17.99 is competitive alongside similar products. Peaty’s Speed Grease PEATY'S SPEED GREASE | cycling-not-racing is available in two sizes, the 100ml tube (£9.99) and a 400ml tub (£27.50) Silca Synergetic Race Grease is a synthetic blend using ultra-synthetic oils, wax and other additives as thickeners. Certainly interesting on paper and promises similar performance, but you’ll be trading £25 for less than 100ml.  

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Morgan Blue Professional Competition Campa Grease is £11 for a 200ml tub. I’m told it’s “A complex grease, fortified with polymers and selected additives to obtain an extremely high gliding capacity (wheels spin without resistance)”. However, I’ve not tested any and there’s no mention of suitability (or otherwise) around suspension components.  

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Wolf Tooth WT-G Premium Bike Grease Wolf Tooth WT-G Precision Bike Grease | cycling-not-racing  is another very capable all-rounder, albeit with a little more resistance compared with the Peaty’s Speed Grease and Juice Lubes Slick Juice. A little goes a long way, but £10.99 for a 56ml tub is quite steep in comparison and though seemingly safe around elastomers and similarly delicate parts, I wouldn’t be coating them in it.

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Summary

 

The Juice Lubes Slick Juice Low Friction Grease is proving a versatile, low-friction, go-to grease. One I would recommend to those who don’t want their shelves groaning under the weight of specialist formulas. Based on current experience and competition aside, I’d be happy to default to it on gravel, mountain and road bikes between March and October.

 

November onwards, I’d be inclined toward a more tailored approach. I’d still dress contact points, suspension, cantilever posts, pedals, quick-release skewers and thru Axles etc but would be more inclined towards something like Bearing Juice, Wolf Tooth WT-G Precision Bike Grease, or Zefal Pro ii for repacking hubs and headsets. I’d also like to see a tube version for pen-type grease guns, but that’s an aside, rather than a criticism.

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Michael Stenning

Verdict: 3.5/5 Slick, versatile grease for most applications.

Juice Lubes - No Nonsense Bike Care

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