MTBAugustLeadville, Colorado, USA

Leadville Trail 100 MTB

High-altitude MTB hundred — thin air, big climbs, one very long day.

Distance

160 km

Elevation

3,800 m climbing

Discipline

MTB

Character. 100 miles of fast gravel and dirt road at 10,000+ feet, peaking above 12,400. Dry Colorado August conditions most years. Notable for altitude acclimatisation being half the battle.

Conditions. Colorado August: 10–18 °C at altitude, intense sun, dry. Occasional afternoon thunderstorm on the descent. Dust is heavier than European gravel.

Lube plan

If you wax — ZFC-recommended path. Pre-wax with a top hot-melt the day before. 160 km of altitude gravel is single-day, single-application territory — the chain-swap kit and wax-emulsion drips stay at home. Carry a small oil bottle as insurance for the back half; only apply if the chain actually goes dry.

If you're on oil — pragmatic equivalent. Apply your usual oil the night before; carry a small bottle as insurance. 160 km at altitude on dust-heavy gravel is borderline single-application territory; one mid-ride top-up handles it cleanly if you feel the chain go dry.

Recommended lubricants

53 lubricants ranked · 5 excluded·Customise this scenario →

Staged recommendation

Ultra-endurance (single continuous push) — staged plan

Pre-wax the primary chain with a top hot-melt. Pick one of two mid-event paths. Option A (race mode): carry a pre-waxed spare chain and swap on course — ~90 seconds with a quick link, zero post-event reset, ~150 g extra in the kit. Option B (recreational mode): carry a small oil bottle and apply over the wax when the chain goes dry — lighter kit, but commits you to a chain-stripper degrease at home. Skip wax-emulsion drips on an ultra; they need hours to cure that a continuous push doesn't give you.

For mid-ultra top-ups, carry an oil (Synergetic) only. Wax-emulsion drips (SS Drip, UFO Drip v2) need hours to set hard — you'll finish before they cure, so the top-up does nothing useful.

Critical: Do NOT apply grease or heavy wet oils (Muc-Off Hydrodynamic, WD-40, generic mechanic's oils) to a waxed chain. Those contaminate deeply and create a much harder reset than a clean wet-ride oil like Synergetic.

1
Pre-event (24h+ before)
Wax the primary chain with a top immersive hot-melt
Race mode: wax a second identical chain in the same pot session so you have a spare ready to swap (see Option A below).
2
Event start
Start clean-waxed — ride out the wax for as long as it holds
On a fresh wax, expect 500–1000 km of clean performance on dry road, dropping to 150–300 km in heavy wet or extreme contamination. For a 1000 km+ ultra, assume the wax WILL run out before the finish — plan the mid-event action now.
3
Mid-event — Option A (race / max efficiency): chain swap
Swap to the pre-waxed spare chain on course
~90 seconds with a quick link. Zero post-event degrease — just put the used chain in a pouch, swap in the spare, keep riding. At home: re-wax the used chain like normal, both chains stay in the wax ecosystem. Carry: spare chain + master link / chain tool + rag + a small bag for the old chain (~150 g extra). Best for podium-chasing or efficiency-obsessed riders.
4
Mid-event — Option B (recreational / lighter pack): oil over wax
condition: wax depleted, rain, or sustained wet
Apply an oil over the wax — carry a small dripper bottle
Apply on the move or during a 30-second pause, continue immediately. Silca Synergetic is ZFC's published pick. Carries ~50 g vs ~150 g for Option A, but commits you to a chain-stripper solvent degrease at home (see stage 5). Skip wax-emulsion drips (SS Drip, UFO Drip) on an ultra — they need hours to cure that an ultra doesn't give you.
5
Post-event (only if Option B was used)
Chain-stripper solvent degrease, then re-wax
Wet-weather oil behaves like factory grease. Use a proper chain stripper / solvent (mineral spirits, dedicated chain degreaser) with ultrasonic agitation — boiling water alone won't shift it. If you used Option A (chain swap), skip this stage; the used chain just gets re-waxed normally.

Tactics3 applicable · click any to expand

▸Portable wax pot for multi-day travel (hotel-based only)— Pack the Silca waxing station rather than a drip bottle — if the trip stays in powered accommodation.
when: Multi-day trips (stage race / training camp) with nightly hotel / apartment stops and car-supported logistics. NOT for tent / bivvy / wild-camp trips — the station is electric and needs mains power.
- The Silca waxing station is a compact mains-powered melt pot — fits in luggage, plugs into a hotel socket. Full melt in ~15 minutes.
- Requires mains power. For unpowered trips (tent, bivvy, van without hookup), fall back to the multi-pre-waxed-chains + emergency-oil strategy.
- Keeps you on your normal hot-melt workflow end-to-end — no compromise on wear, no drip-bottle decisions.
- Pair with the multi-chain rotation strategy: rotate to a fresh pre-waxed chain daily, re-wax the used ones at the hotel.
Highest-performance travel setup when you're hotel-hopping. Drop back to the drip-top-up / oil-rescue strategies for unpowered trips.
Silca Waxing System (mains-powered)·ZFC Waxing Zen Master Guide v4
▸Silca Super Secret Drip needs 24 h, not 12— Published set time of overnight / 12 h is optimistic in practice — plan for 24 h.
when: Multi-day scenarios where Silca Super Secret Drip is a realistic mid-trip top-up option.
- Real-world experience: Silca Super Secret Drip applied post-ride is still tacky the next morning. Plan for 24 h to fully set, not the published 12 h.
- In a stage race you typically have 12–16 h between stages — too short for a full set cycle. Apply as the chain demands, accept the next morning's coat is partially set rather than fully hard, and trust that a partial top-up beats running dry through another dusty or damp stage.
- If the scenario genuinely offers a full day of rest between rides (rest day mid-camp, planned weather buffer before a wet ride), wait 24 h rather than the published 12 h before committing the chain to that ride.
- Silca Super Secret Drip remains the top pot-compatible drip — this is a set-time nuance, not a compatibility issue. Every other pot-compatible drip tested matches or exceeds its real-world set time; Tru-Tension Tungsten All Weather's 'very short' claim failed to replicate in field testing.
Silca Super Secret Drip review (Test 13)·Experienced-user field note (2026-04-24)
▸SAL-only candidates — worth considering for long gravel— Some ZFC-tested waxes (Squirt Hot Wax, Silca Hot Melt + Endurance Chip variants) have exceptional single-application longevity but aren't in the main wear-block league table. On multi-day gravel, that's worth a second look.
when: Any stage-race or ultra-endurance gravel / MTB scenario where single-application longevity matters more than per-km wear differences.
- Squirt Hot Wax leads ZFC's single-application-longevity (SAL) test at 3,783 km real-world on dry road — further than Cyclowax Race Wax (3,033 km) or Silca Synerg-E (3,138 km).
- These lubes sit outside the main Block 1–6 wear league table because ZFC hasn't run them through the full protocol, so they're excluded from the ranked list above.
- For pure distance-per-wax events, an SAL winner can beat a Block-winner in practice — because the Block winner's wax runs out and you lose all its advantage.
- Worth checking the Excluded section at the bottom of the results, or searching ZFC's SAL data directly if you're optimising for longest uninterrupted wax life.
ZFC Single Application Longevity data (master XLSX)·Squirt Hot Wax review (YouTube)

Top recommendation · Cyclowax Race Wax

Loading expert commentary…

1
Cyclowax Race Wax
Immersive waxCompare →
91.7
score
40% B1 + 60% B2
0.005 wear
Single application
3,033 km
Approx. chain life
29,557 km
Cost / 6000 km
$50.75
Why this rank
#1 because: dry gravel/MTB/CX riding is dominated by dry-dust contamination — scoring weights 60% on Block 2 (dry contamination) and 40% on Block 1. Cyclowax Race Wax is eligible after scenario filtering and its wear (0.005) is the lowest in the eligible set, which — given your priority weights — edges out every other eligible lube.
2
Rex Black Diamond Wax — 11+1 Mix (low-concentration / training)
Immersive waxCompare →
83.6
score
40% B1 + 60% B2
0.008 wear
Single application
—
Approx. chain life
13,453 km
Cost / 6000 km
$112
Why this rank
#2 because: on 40% Block 1 + 60% Block 2 this lube's wear is 0.008 vs the top pick's 0.005 — Cyclowax Race Wax pulled ahead on the primary axis. Wear contributed most to this lube's own score.
3
Rex Black Diamond Wax — 4+1 Mix (high-concentration / race)
Immersive waxCompare →
82.9
score
40% B1 + 60% B2
0.002 wear
Single application
—
Approx. chain life
12,146 km
Cost / 6000 km
$124
Why this rank
#3 because: wear on 40% Block 1 + 60% Block 2 is actually lower than #1 (0.002 vs 0.005), but cost / maintenance tilted the combined score toward Cyclowax Race Wax.
4
Silca Hot Wax X
Immersive waxWatch review →Compare →
81.8
score
40% B1 + 60% B2
0.000 wear
Single application
1,350 km
Approx. chain life
9,967 km
Cost / 6000 km
$151
Why this rank
#4 because: wear on 40% Block 1 + 60% Block 2 is actually lower than #1 (0.000 vs 0.005), but cost / maintenance tilted the combined score toward Cyclowax Race Wax.
5
Mspeedwax New Formula
Immersive waxZFC Tier 1Detail review →Compare →
79.9
score
40% B1 + 60% B2
0.007 wear
Single application
1,021 km
Approx. chain life
6,122 km
Cost / 6000 km
$245
Why this rank
#5 because: on 40% Block 1 + 60% Block 2 this lube's wear is 0.007 vs the top pick's 0.005 — Cyclowax Race Wax pulled ahead on the primary axis. Wear contributed most to this lube's own score.
6
Ceramic Speed Ultra Endurance Wax
Immersive waxCompare →
75.2
score
40% B1 + 60% B2
0.011 wear
Single application
—
Approx. chain life
6,742 km
Cost / 6000 km
$222
Why this rank
#6 because: on 40% Block 1 + 60% Block 2 this lube's wear is 0.011 vs the top pick's 0.005 — Cyclowax Race Wax pulled ahead on the primary axis. Wear contributed most to this lube's own score.
7
Silca Hot Melt
Immersive waxZFC Tier 1Detail review →Compare →
72.6
score
40% B1 + 60% B2
0.013 wear
Single application
640 km
Approx. chain life
21,898 km
Cost / 6000 km
$68.50
Why this rank
#7 because: on 40% Block 1 + 60% Block 2 this lube's wear is 0.013 vs the top pick's 0.005 — Cyclowax Race Wax pulled ahead on the primary axis. Wear contributed most to this lube's own score.
8
Silca + Endurance Chip (*Extended Intervals)
Immersive wax* Extended-interval testCompare →
57.8
score
40% B1 + 60% B2
0.017 wear
Single application
1,746 km
Approx. chain life
14,493 km
Cost / 6000 km
$104
Why this rank
#8 because: on 40% Block 1 + 60% Block 2 this lube's wear is 0.017 vs the top pick's 0.005 — Cyclowax Race Wax pulled ahead on the primary axis. Wear contributed most to this lube's own score.
9
Effetto Mariposa Flower Power Wax
Immersive waxDetail review →Compare →
34.8
score
40% B1 + 60% B2
0.037 wear
Single application
1,029 km
Approx. chain life
7,500 km
Cost / 6000 km
$200
Why this rank
#9 because: on 40% Block 1 + 60% Block 2 this lube's wear is 0.037 vs the top pick's 0.005 — Cyclowax Race Wax pulled ahead on the primary axis. Wear contributed most to this lube's own score.
10
CeramicSpeed UFO Drip (New Formula)
Wax-compatible dripZFC Tier 1Detail review →Compare →
32.2
score
40% B1 + 60% B2
0.043 wear
Single application
394 km
Approx. chain life
6,508 km
Cost / 6000 km
$231
Why this rank
#10 because: on 40% Block 1 + 60% Block 2 this lube's wear is 0.043 vs the top pick's 0.005 — Cyclowax Race Wax pulled ahead on the primary axis. Wear contributed most to this lube's own score.

Excluded for this event (5)

AbsoluteBLACK Graphene Lube — No ZFC wear data for the scenario-relevant test block.
Finish Line Ceramic Wax Lube (unable to extrapolate data) — No ZFC wear data for the scenario-relevant test block.
NO LUBRICANT — Baseline / control entry.
Squirt Hot Wax — No ZFC wear data for the scenario-relevant test block.
Wend Wax Test 1 — Stick Only — No ZFC wear data for the scenario-relevant test block.