Review: NixFrixShun GreenGenie Wax Lube
(2022) A demanding weekend demands reliable chain protection. After a brutal outing at Monkey Knife Fight, a ride that saw arguably every season appear in one day, the bike needed strong love to come back and ride the Hell of Hunterdon the next day. The bike’s chain was in desperate need of love, and naturally NixFrixShun Speed Shop’s new biodegradable wax lube called Green Genie was tapped to make day two happen.
Having busted a chain before, the grinding noise was a concern in the first gravel grinder of the weekend. Grit, sand, and dirt caked itself into the pins and plates of the chain. I was hoping for a miracle that the chain would remain strong. As it held firm, the bike was hosed down for day two with strong attention to the drive train. If the chain was to have any chance of a longer life, NixFrixShun’s wax lube was its lifeline.
NixFrixShun Green Genie is a biodegradable wax lube, but it’s much more than that. GreenGenie is odorless and non-toxic, the perfect addition to the service course. The lube is designed to be remarkably silent, thus directing obsessive glares at other parts of the bike not so silent. Green Genie is also designed to stay put for up to twelve hours of wet riding, which was certainly describing the weeping bike in our stand after the first gravel ride.
The drivetrain was sprayed and cleaned. It was brushed and wiped. The old silvery shine came back to life, even if briefly knowing that the Hell of Hunterdon on day two would test Green Genie’s claims. Then, once the drivetrain was sparkly, the manufacturer’s recommendation of fifteen drops of Green Genie was applied. Here at creakybottombracket.com we like to apply the night before, let it absorb into the chain, and then wipe down the next morning. And we did that.
What followed was the most incredible drivetrain transformation ever. Riding to the start of the Hell of Hunterdon was one of the most peaceful trips made. The drivetrain worked effortlessly while the disc brakes started their attention-seeking behavior. Perhaps the new application was the reasoning behind the silence, but no, hours into the ride, and through numerous gravel sectors, Green Genie yawned off the debris and gunk. This is the new service course default bottle. This is what the drivetrain wanted after all these years.
With hundreds of riders attacking gravel sectors, certainly one of the concerns could be toxicity of all those drivetrains. What seems negligible in the form of fifteen drops, becomes substantial when the amount of riders are considered on a daily basis. To have Green Genie ranked as biodegradable is a step forward in cycling lubrication. If cycling cannot pursue bio-safe items, how can the sport be at the front of climate concerns?
NixFrixShun’s Green Genie checked all the boxes for our testing parameters. There could not have been a harder weekend to test GreenGenie and it left the rig powering quietly after the second day. This is the good stuff. Now if we have to inventory all those new noises we can no longer ignore.
