Question: I just started riding after 20 years of overwork at the office and sloth at home. I love it, but simple mechanical chores have me stumped. For instance, how do you lube a chain with a drip applicator bottle without getting it all over the garage? – Basil M.
RBR Replies: This is an essential but easy job. Shift to the big chainring and a cog in the middle of the cassette. Turn the crank backward until the master link is next to the chainring. Hold a rag under the chain and apply one drop of lube to each link while rotating the crank backwards.
You’ll know when you’re done when you get back to the master link. If your chain doesn’t connect with one, just lube until you reach wet links. Take your time and make sure you get a good drop on each link.
Now rotate the crank backwards a few times to work in the lube. Don’t spin it fast or lube will be flung onto the rear wheel, frame and floor.
Finish by holding a clean rag around the bottom section of chain while continuing to turn the crank backwards. This will remove excess lube and the dirty stuff that has been loosened. Change to a clean part of the rag and continue.
A chain with lots of lube on the links will pick up grit faster. You want the stuff inside the chain, not outside. Let the bike sit overnight so more will dry. Then you’re good to go.
Lube your chain this way about once every 10 rides, sooner if you ride in the rain or hear any chirps.
Easy solution: Put a section of old newspaper on the floor under the chain. If you are digital then cut up a paper grocery bag or use some other material to catch the drips. Wearing some cheap rubber gloves will make cleanup fast and easy.
This is a hard thing to get across to new riders. They seem to want to just “hose” the chain down to save time. Taking care of your chain is not something that you want to “save time” on. Lubing your chain does not take a lot of time if done this way and it is much more effective than just “hosing” it down. Remember, this chain is going to carry you for thousands of miles. You should take care of it for its relatively short, hard life, then recycle it.
I actually switched from oil to using paraffin wax about 18 months ago and I am more than happy with the switch. I find the wax lasts longer than the oils and the chain remains nice, smooth and quiet. A big bonus is the chain remains much cleaner and doesn’t pick-up road dirt as readily (nice and clean if you have to fix a rear flat on the road). So far, I have >7500 miles on the chain using wax and there is no measurable chain ‘stretch’. Another little bonus is it brings an end to chainring ‘tattoos’!
Great tip I got from a pro mechanic was to replace the cap on my lube with a needle applicator (various options out there), which lets you precisely put one drop at each linkage – getting the lube where it needs to be.
I put the chain on the big ring and smallest cog. Then carefully with a rag under the chain, not moving the chain, put one drop on the inner roller. Then move the chain to the next unlubed area till you get to the first lubed area. Let it sit over night and rotate the chain backward through a rag to remove excess lube. After each ride do the rotate backwards to remove excess lube and dirt. Keep an eye on the chain till it looks like it needs more lube. That usually takes several hundreds of miles. You really only need minimal lube and excess only collects dirt. Of course riding in the rain requires more attention. And most importantly use a chain stretch tool and always replace as appropriate.
SQUIRT or SMOOVE. Not only are these cleaner (no drip, no picking up grit, don’t need to lube as often) but will make your chain last 2-3x as long.
On a chain without an obvious master link, I will just mark a link with a Sharpie, starting and ending there. Also works well for charting hurricanes.
That last statement made me smile.
As Joel mentioned, placing a newspaper on the floor is a good idea. Folding a section of the paper so it reaches up and covers the lower part of the wheel will prevent lube from getting on its braking surface during the application.. After trying various lubes through the years I found wax-based Rock N Roll Extreme to be .the very best choice for my road and mountain bikes.
Using worn-out chains can cause wear on, expensive Chainrings and Cassettes. I’ve found chain checkers to be unreliable, but it might be me. I’ve been changing chains every 3,000 miles, which does not seam the smartest. I was using a Dry Lube and loved how easy it was to clean the chain, I was applying after ever ride, but some rides were 600 km, probably to long for the lube. I called Sram and asked which lube they recommended, and they would only say use a Wet Lube, so Now I’m back to Wet Lube. I was using Pro-Link, but am now looking for something that is easier to clean off the chain, as I oil the chain after every ride. I’d like some recommendation on favorite Wet Lubes, or an opinion that the Dry Lubes should be fine, despite what Sram recommends.
I’ve been happy using ProLink lube. I like how clean it keeps the chain. I apply it as described in the article above (one drop per link, turning the crank backwards and then wiping off the chain with a rag) every 100 to 200 miles in good weather conditions. Riding in the rain requires re-lubing as soon as the chain is dry. I use a Park CC-3.2 chain checker every time I lube, and usually get several thousand miles out of a 9-speed chain. In many years of riding with three road bikes, I’ve never had to replace a chainring or cassette following this routine.
I’m not sure how I can hold a rag while at the same time applying oil to the chain while at the same time spinning the crank, I would need 3 arms…
Ok, seriously all I do is put my chain cleaning rag on the floor under the chain, then apply the oil, after I’m done using that same rag and clean the excess oil off, no messy newspaper to throw away. Besides I rarely get more than 4 to 5 drops of oil dripping onto the rag anyways. I use whiteout liquid to mark the one chain I have that doesn’t have a master link, I just mark one link so I know where I started; I tried using a black marker but I couldn’t get the ink to adhere to the chain so I could see the mark. I let the oil set overnight even though supposedly according to the directions on the stuff I use you don’t have to, but all my other lubes I’ve used before said to wait 8 hours, I figure if I wait with the new stuff it can’t hurt it anything.
Chain checkers work if you know how to use it, all bike shops use them so they must work. My chains typically last around 8,000 miles, and usually at every third chain the cassette has to be replaced, the chainrings will easily last 4 or 5 chain replacements.
I use Rock N Roll Ultimate Dry, and this stuff even holds up to rain which surprised me because with other dry lubes when it rain I had to re-lube it, but this stuff there is no need. I also found that the longer I use Rock n Roll the less I have to keep reapplying it, so after a year of using it, I only have to re-lube once every 500 miles. I’m also using Dumondo Tech Lite Lube on another bike, but it’s too early to tell how good it is since I just started using it about 3 months ago but it does hold up to rain really well too, and the first application has held up for 400 miles but even then it was still good but I went ahead and reapplied it. I also want to see the chain life difference between the two lubes. I wipe down my chains after every ride.
Chain-L #5 http://www.chain-l.com/Instructions.html
Check out NixFrixShun chain lube. Apply 12 drops per lube session and it lasts a long time.
I think a step is missing from the instructions. That step is to wait for some time (I wait overnight) for the lube to find its way in between the chain parts BEFORE wiping off the excess. If you wipe right after lubing, you are wiping off a lot of the lube before it has a chance to get where it needs to go.
Of course, different lubes are thinner or thicker so you need to know how yours behaves. But, I would still not wipe it off until I was sure it had time to get into the chain and also time to dry on the links and rollers. Otherwise you have a big mess when you first ride with your newly lubed chain.
Happy chain lubing,
Jim Langley
I started to use hot wax on all my chain this year. No mess. No chainring tattoo on leg or clothing. I love it so much I will never go back to oil on my chain.
It might be more trouble at the beginning but after you converted to wax it is super easy. Just drop the chain in molten wax and stir it for about 15 min, hang it to let it cool down and and reinstall .
Would be nice if you could make an article in future newsletter about chain waxing.
I am a bit surprised that Jim and the Commenters don’t say anything about cleaning your chain before you lube it. Adding more lube to a dirty chain is better (I suppose) than letting it run dry but cleaning the chain before lubing is really the best way to a smoother running, longer lasting chain. Park Tool makes a device for cleaning bike chains. It works pretty well. You Tube has lots of videos with other solutions. I’d like a follow up on Jim’s take on solutions for cleaning chains.