If you barely have enough time to ride your bike, you might not be super excited about the idea of having to clean and care for your bike as well. But you will find that taking a little extra time to clean and maintain your bike will ensure every ride will be a success.
The most important thing to keep clean and lubed is the drivetrain, and more specifically, the chain. A cleanly lubed chain is a happy and efficient chain. You will save watts and dollars when you keep the chain running smoothly.
And though the process might seem a little dirty and fiddly, it is surprisingly easy to keep your chain clean, especially if you do it regularly.
Easy steps of lubing the bike chain to an efficient drivetrain
Whether you are riding a mountain bike, e-bike, or road bike, you will follow more or less the same process when lubing a chain. Most importantly, you will need to clean your chain before applying any lube. If you lube a dirty chain, you will just be trapping all the dirt and grime that is making your chain grind through the gears already. That grit will eventually damage the chain and cassette cogs, wearing them down through friction, where you will also lose watts from your pedal stroke.
You will need a few tools and products before getting started, first to clean the chain and then to apply the lube.
What you need for cleaning the chain:
- A clean, dry cloth
- A designated brush
- A degreaser
- A bucket for water and a sponge
If you really want to splash out and make the process super easy, you can also buy a chain cleaning tool that will do all the hard work; all you’ll have to do is rotate the crank backwards to guide the chain through the cleaning tool so it can brush and clean the chain.
But even if you just have your own degreaser and even a mildly used toothbrush, you can clean your chain and cogs in a matter of minutes. Just spray the degreaser on the brush – certain brands make fancier, designated brushes for this purpose too, which will be equally effective. Then vigorously brush each side of the chain while you rotate the crank backwards. If your chain is particularly dirty, you might want to do this multiple times.
Once satisfied that you have removed all the gunky mess, take the sponge with soapy water and wash off the chain and drivetrain. It’s important that there is no residue degreaser still in the recesses of the chain before you begin to apply more lube.
Dry the chain and pulleys with the clean dry cloth. You’re now ready for the lubing.
What you need for lubing the chain:
- A good lube (wet and dry)
- A clean dry cloth
There are two main types of lubes: wet and dry. And you need to decide which to use depending on the riding conditions you will face.
As the names suggest, you will want to use a wet lube if you are riding in rainy, muddy, or snowy, slushy conditions. And a dry lube will be preferable for those rides that will be nice and dry. It may seem unimportant, but choosing the right lube will be important in all cases since a wet lube on a chain will attract more gunk and clog up your chain and pulleys, while a dry lube in the wet will wash right off and leave your chain totally unprotected.
Once you have chosen your lube du jour, hold the bottle nose down above the chain and place a small drop of lube on top of each section of your chain. Rotate the crank slowly backwards to move the chain along so you can precisely place your droplets of lube.
Rotate the chain around at least two full cycles to ensure the lube has a chance to seep into the internals of the chain’s rollers. Then take your dry-clean towel and wipe off any excess grease. It is best to do this several hours before your ride to allow the lube to set. You can of course do it directly before your ride – better to do that than ride with a squeaky chain – but be prepared to have grease splatters on your socks and shoes if you don’t give the lube time to set.
What about waxing?
If you spend any time on YouTube watching bike maintenance videos, you have probably come across quite a few extolling the virtues of waxing your chain. The waxing process itself deserves its own blog. But it is important to understand why people wax their chains and whether that is something you would like to consider doing yourself.
As with lubing, there are different ways to wax, including hot wax and solvent wax. People typically turn to waxing their chains because they like the idea of investing more time in the initial setup phase to save maintenance time down the road. That’s because once you wax your chain, not only does it stay clean to the touch, it shouldn’t need re-waxing for several hundreds of miles of riding in all weather conditions.
There is some debate among wax-skeptics about just how long a waxing job lasts, but one thing is certain: using wet and dry lubes inevitably attracts dirt, which is why you need to clean and lube your chain regularly, while using wax does not.
Take note that if you want to start experimenting with waxing your chain, you should do so with a brand-new chain and completely cleaned cassette and pulley system. The residue oil on the chain, cogs and pulley wheels will interfere with the wax’s ability to adhere to the most important internals, which is what you are really trying to protect.
There is a debate among enthusiasts questioning which method is actually more efficient in terms of performance and saving watts. That is also a discussion for later, since the answer is inevitably: it depends.
Conclusion – how often should you oil a bike chain
Cleaning and lubing a bike chain should be one of the maintenance chores your do most often. You should clean and lube your chain after every ride in the rain, even if you are using wet lubes. That’s because the gunk thrown up from the road spray will penetrate the chain links even with wet lubes, and cause the frictional damage that we are all trying to avoid.
If you are lucky enough to have a long stretch of dry weather, you should still be taking the time to clean and lube your chain regularly. Once a week, at least. We’d suggest getting into the routine of cleaning and then lubing the chain on Thursday or Friday evening so that your bike will be ready and in tip top condition for your weekend group rides or races.
Don’t forget that making the effort will not only save you watts in the short term, but money in the long term, by extending the lifespan of your drivetrain.
