When you go bikepacking or ultra cycling, things might get challenging. Aside from riding big miles, feeling discomfort, or needing to eat ominous amounts of food, there are also equipment challenges. One I recently faced answered the question, does suncream work as bike lube.

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I was out yesterday on a short ride and realized towards the end of my ride that my chain was incredibly squeaky. I, unfortunately, had forgotten my tool bag. This is a common occurrence when using multiple bikes throughout the week.

 The chain needed to be changed out, and I have a spare sitting at home ready to go on when I service the bike, so it could be a good time to experiment and have a laugh with it. 

I didn’t have chain lube, as this is with my tool bag, so what did I have…. Suncream and the bike was getting washed when I got home so I wasn’t too worried about it getting dirty.

It wasn’t very good to apply, and I had to use a glove to wipe it on, but surprisingly, it worked pretty well. Instantly, the chain was quiet, and the ride was incredibly smooth.

I think I used Nivea if I’m correct. I feel it could be a great hack if you didn’t have anything else, but definitely not recommended as a chain lube!

Does suncream work as a bike chain lube? Yes, but in a strange way. I highly recommend not using it for this purpose though! Haha.

Some other home alternatives are cooking oil or wax. There’s no substitute for chain lube, in my opinion, and I wouldn’t go down any other route than the proper stuff!

If you enjoyed this article you might like Everything You Need To Know About Bikepacking Bags, How To Deal With Dogs, and Budget Bikepacking 10 Top Tips. Thanks for reading Does suncream work as a bike chain lube.