Two key takeaways for Flower Power wax here, the first, and very crucial for a wax drip lubricant, is that FP presents zero initial penetration issues. Penetration issues for wax drip lubricants is something that has shown up many times in testing, and this can have a large impact for the user.
Aside from the initial circa 20% wear rate that accompanies wax lubricants with penetration issues (squirt, Smoove, grax etc) – if you a) don’t need to fully reset clean chain very often because you ride in only dry road conditions and b) you follow the more advanced application method advised in the ZFC lubricant application guide (instructions tab) – then perhaps this issue doesn’t bother you much, you are happy to just spend $15 on a bottle of squirt. However, if you do ride in conditions where absolutely removing abrasive contamination with regular maintenance is a great idea, (ie regular wet weather riding or very dusty riding) – then the initial high wear post proper clean and lack of proper lubricant penetration will definitely bite vs a wax lubricant option that presents zero penetration issues. You apply the lube, and it gets to where it is needed and lubricates magnificently. That is rather handy and saves A LOT of faff vs lubricants that do have clear penetration issues.
The second key takeaway is simply that the recorded wear rate of 2.0% is extremely low. ZFC rates any lubricant with 5% or less recorded wear in the initial 1000km test block as A+ for that block.
Wear by block
Block 1
Mspeedwax New Formula 0.0%
Molten Speed Wax Original Formula 0.0%
Silca Synergetic 0.0%
Silca Hot Melt 0.3%
Silca Synerg-E 2.0%
Effetto Mariposa Flower power wax 2.3%
Ceramic Speed UFO Drip New Formula 2.3%
Rex Black Diamond 2.3%
Silca Drip Batch 2 2.9%
Revolubes 4.0%
Rex Domestique
5.1%
Tru Tension Tungsten Race (D.A) 5.4%
Rock N Roll Gold 8.9%
Muc Off Ludicrous AF 8.9%
Shimano Factory Grease 10.9%
Shimano Factory Grease + NFS 10.9%
Shimano Factory Grease + RNR gold 10.9%
Boeshield T9- Aerosol 11.1%
Nix Frix Shun 12.6%
Tru Tension Tungsten All Weather 14.0%
Session S-wax 14.6%
Wolf tooth WT-1 16.9%
Wolf tooth WT-1 on Factory Grease 17.7%
Smoove 19.1%
Squirt 19.1%
Allied GRAX 22.0%
AB Graphene Wax 22.0%
Cycle Star Gold 22.3%
White Lightning Epic Ride 22.9%
Muc Off Hydro Dynamic 27.6%
...
So there is a huge amount to like here.
As noted in the cost to run modelling, any time a lubricant tested sets a new record (in a good way) – it is well worth taking note re is this lubricant the one for you. And, obviously it says a lot about the manufacturer. They have not gone to market with some marketing hyperbole or looking to take advantage of some stupid marketing angle like a rub on wax in colours – they have very obviously invested and worked hard and smart to bring a product to market that excels in a clear product performance brief.
The product performance goals for Flower Power were;
- To have an extremely high performance lubricant in all conditions.
- To be extremely environmentally friendly
- To be able to be maintained with extremely low environment impact if using their alpine extra cleaner (and
this will largely be the case with UFO clean as well)
- No pesky initial penetration issues which can plague some wax drip lubricants
- Good price point
ZFC rates Effetto with really the highest rating and recommendation overall especially for dry conditions riding, and an overall very high rating for wet conditions cycling.
Again I cannot endorse the claim of “best drip lubricant ever tested” – as “best” is subjective to the user, and I do not have efficiency loss numbers – it could be 3w, or it could be 5w – we don’t know - but with record low wear rates for drip lubricant, and record low cost to run, good longevity per treatment, and outstanding environmental credentials – it is hard not to be EXTREMELY IMPRESSED with the product that Effetto has brought to market. And remember with extremely low wear rates, there is only so high the efficiency loss number can be – it is likely to be at the pointy end of town.
Also, Flower Power is priced well in ZFC experience.
It is more expensive than say Squirt – but in ZFC opinion it is clearly better in every single way – from not penetration issues to much lower wear in every test block and so much cheaper to run. There is little point saving $10 or $15 on a bottle of lubricant to then pay 10 fold that or more in more rapid component wear. But it is also much cheaper than say Silca SS drip or UFO drip – and a lot of people just will not pay $50 for a bottle of lubricant. So $29.90 AUD for a lubricant that has set new lowest wear records – that is perfectly priced in ZFC opinion.
