How do I lubricate my bike's chain?
Even though there are new, shocking studies that refute the use of chain lubricant, it is essential to keep your bike’s chain well lubricated with the proper type of lube, in the proper fashion. Please, please do not use household products to lube a bike chain. They are either too light, heavy, and/or attract a bunch of dirt.
It is not rocket science, but it is important to choose the proper type of lube for the type of riding you do:
- A dry lube works best for dusty, dirty conditions. It attracts the least amount of crud that can wear out a drive train in a hurry. It goes on wet, and dries to leave a film of lube behind.
- A wet lube works best for riding in wet conditions, where we are worried about rust and the lube washing off. There are special lubes formulated to be fairly waterproof and not wash off, and some dry lubes claim the same.
No matter what lube you use, the bottom line is to lubricate the chain properly. We start by shifting the chains to the bikes highest gear ( large chain ring in front small cog in rear) ,then take an old rag or cloth and wipe as much grit and grime off the chain as possible. This is done by leaning the bike up against a wall, and backpedaling the chain, while wrapping the rag around the chain, directly in front of the rear derailleur, or the underside of the frame, right before where the chain feeds into the lower derailleur pulley. This wiping off process should be done a dozen or so times.
Next is applying the lube to the chain. This is done also by backpedaling the chain, while dripping one drop on each chain link. Keep the process up until you see the wet links come back around. Now wipe the chain off again, to get all the excess lube off that you can. The surface of the chain should have barely a light film of lube on it. Remember, all the lube that needs to be on the chain is inside the chain. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to not use a spray-type of lube. It just gets all over everything! Also, it is not recommended to lube anything else on the drive train but the chain. It mainly just attracts a bunch of dirt. When a bike comes in for service, other parts are lubricated only as needed.
The brands of bike lube we recommend/endorse are Boeshield T-9, Rock & Roll Extreme, and Finish Line Dry.