QUESTION: How often should I lube my road bike chain? I don’t usually pay much attention to it and only lube it if it’s noisy or I had to ride in the rain, but a rider friend tells me that’s not often enough. —Angie W.
RBR’S STAN PURDUM REPLIES: Lubing after riding in the rain is a good thing, but some riders say chains on road bikes should be lubed every 150 miles or so, regardless of whether they’ve been rained on or not, and that’s a good standard for even the most obsessive among us. But for the more general riding population, as long as the chain is quiet and functioning properly, that frequency is overkill. Under those conditions, once a month or so is sufficient.
However, if you continue riding after the chain is making noise and/or is visibly rusting, it’s going to wear out sooner than it should, and in the process, it will wear down other parts of the drivetrain, including the rear cassette, and eventually even the chain rings.
Thus, keeping your chain reasonably lubricated extends the life of the other components the chain runs over.
A problem with waiting until the chain is noisy is that as we age, many of us lose some of our hearing ability at the high-pitch end of the scale. I found that out when riding with my son when he was 10. He and I were pedaling across Ohio on a multi-day trip. About mid-day on the first leg, he said, “What’s that noise coming from your bike, Dad?” I hadn’t heard anything, but we stopped, and when I turned the pedals, he said he heard squeaking from the chain. So in a small town hardware store, I purchased some household oil and lubed the chain. When I next spun the chain around, Scott said the sound he’d heard was gone.
If your chain is dirty, it’s a good idea to clean it before applying fresh lube. Depending on how gunky the chain is, cleaning can run all the way from simply wiping it down to spraying it with a degreaser or Dawn liquid dish soap and water and scrubbing it with a stiff-bristle brush. You can even mechanize the cleaning process a bit by using a chain scrubber device, though I usually end up with a greater mess attaching and later removing the scrubber.
It’s also advisable to lube your chain at a time when you’re not going to ride the bike right away, as the immediate operation of the chain before the lube has dried tends to spin some of the lube off. But if it needs lubrication and you’ve forgotten to do it until you’re ready to ride, by all means, go ahead and do it then.
I was riding with a friend recently when he noticed his chain getting noisy. It happened that I had a small container of lube in my bike bag, so we stopped and oiled his chain right at the side of the road. His chain could have used a cleaning, but we didn’t have anything with us to do that, so we just applied the lube, and when we pedaled on afterward, his chain was quiet again — at least to our aging ears.
Here’s some info about methods of lubing your chain.
Stan Purdum has ridden several long-distance bike trips, including an across-America ride recounted in his book Roll Around Heaven All Day, and a trek on U.S. 62, from Niagara Falls, New York, to El Paso, Texas, the subject of his book Playing in Traffic. Stan, a freelance writer and editor, lives in Ohio. See more at www.StanPurdum.com.
bikefitnesscoaching says
First, what lube are you using? I tested chains and lubes for Shimano for 4 years. Best lubes were the wax-based ones. I doubled the life of the chain using these lubes.
Stan Purdum says
I use BOESHIELD T9 Lube, which contains wax
Russ says
If you have the time and inclination, waxing a chain can be a good alternative. As a side benefit, your hands don’t get greasy/oily when handling your drivetrain components.
Harvey Miller says
Time wouldn’t be much of a factor if you have 3 (or more) prewaxed chains, all done at the same time prior, and simply exchange them when it’s time (usually about every 200 miles). It’s MUCH better than any liquid based lube, including the wax based ones.
The hardest and most time consuming part of chain waxing is when you first obtain the chain and have to remove the greasy seal that it comes with, there to prevent the chain from rusting while in long term storage prior to the sale.
Barry says
Moral of lesson #1: have a ride buddy who has good high frequency hearing😊.
Will Haltiwanger says
Using Smoove. I rinse if chain is dirty after a wet ride. Otherwise I wipe it off before I relube every 600 miles. My wife and I have over 10,000 miles on our SRAM 12-speed chains and they are running well and have not hit the wear limit.
Ron Neher says
I put together some notes and links on bicycle chain waxing.
https://rneher-igel.github.io/Neher/Docs/Bicycle-Chain-Waxing/
marc baskin says
I have tried a few chain cleaner, but Pedro’s Pig is by far the easiet to use which results in me cleaning my chain more frequently. Check their website for an excellent video of how it works.
D L says
I use SCC Tech Slick. It’s a synthetic lube. Doesn’t collect any dirt, chain stays clean and I get really good chain wear with it. A lot less work and worry than with other lubes I’ve used, and it’s been quite a few over the years.
Peter M says
I switched to Dupont Chain-Saver a few years back and couldn’t be happier. It’s a wax-based lubricant meant for motorcycle chains but it works on bicycle chains just as well. It doesn’t pick up road gunk and lasts forever.
Lou Lamoureux says
Everything I know about chain lube, I learned from this guy:
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/
You can believe marketing claims from companies that sell lube, or you can rely on Adam Kerin’s testing results.
I use and recommend Silca’s Hot Melt wax. Did the Pactour Northern Transcontinental a couple months ago and started with three hot waxed chains. PACTour bike wash every day. I did my best to avoid the chain and dried the chain immediately after to prevent rust. I lubed the chain with Silca Super Secret Chain lube every 300 miles and swapped out the chain around 1000 miles. No noise, super silky operation. Only rain was in the last few days and it was certainly noisier during rain. After rain, I dried the chain and applied Super Secret lube regardless of mileage.