Muc-Off NTC Shimano Chain

The race for marginal gains at the elite level of cycle sort has led to a rapid development of all aspects of bicycle and equipment design. From ceramic bearings to helmet design and fabric technology. One of the key areas of the bike is the chain, it is the most stressed part of your bike and arguably, the most important - it's what drives you! Chains are subject to incredible stress and as such can drop performance relatively quickly. It is why it is extremely sensible to invest in quality chain and to make sure that you maintain it and use quality lubricants to ensure greater longevity and performance.

It makes sense then, that at the elite level of cycle sport, the chain has been the focus of development in recent years. Muc-off, in tandem with the most fastidious Pro-Team, Team SKY, have developed a proprietary method of chain treatment to offer riders of all levels a palpable and quantifyable competitive advantage and more importantly, one that is sutainable and consistent regardless of riding conditions.

Muc-Off's Nanotube chain treatment starts with either a Shimano Dura Ace or Sram Red chain. These are sonically cleaned before being thoroughly rinsed so that the Nanotube treatment can be as effective as possible. Using atomsized rolls of carbon nanotubes, the Muc-Off treatment is used to fill the voids and microscopic surface imperfections within a chain's structure in order to dramatically reduce friction. Each nanotube is 1000 times thinner than a human hair and this treatment offers incredible power savings through reduced friction that is reliable in all conditions. In fact, it is so effective, it is over 10 watts* faster than a CeramicSpeed UFO Chain who's performance drops dramatically after just 18 minutes - as tested on Muc-off's dynamometer.

The NTC is the culmination of thousands of hours of research and development into drivetrain optimisation.

Once treated the chain arrives with you in a pre-optimised state. It simply needs to be run-in on a turbo for 4-6 hours before it reaches its optimum lubrication state.

What makes the NTC so special is its ability to deliver wattage savings consistently over long periods of time and in all weathers. Other chains may claim to be ‘the fastest’ but what they don’t tell you is for how long and in what conditions. A major finding to come from Muc-Off’s Development House was the shorter durability of CeramicSpeed Shimano UFO Chain. Whilst efficiency of this product was admittedly quite good in the first few minutes, registering at around 4.5 - 5 watts, this performance rapidly deteriorates after only 18 minutes! By comparison, the NTC only continues to get faster, with over 10 watts advantage against Ceramic Speed’s latest treatment UFO Shimano Chain after four hours. In real terms the NTC will give you a gain of 3 miles over a 112- mile Ironman bike stage, calculated using the average time of 6 hours and 25 minutes.

Unlike other optimised chains currently available in the market, the NTC maintains its performance in all-weather conditions. It has taken the hour record, won numerous Grand Tours and taken handfulls of Olympic medals both on the track and the road.

*Over a 112-mile Ironman stage.