General Cycling Discussion - Chain lube snob or chain lube SLOB?

I am curious about how often and when you lube your chain.

Now, I know there are a number of you perfectionist type "A" personalities who have a schedule, keep track, clean your chain regularly and lube it to perfection, being careful to wipe everything off, etc.

Then there MUST be other folks like me - a true "chain slob" who, every now and then hears that dreaded dry sound and decides it is finally time to lube it up and squirts some white lightning around somewhere near the chain and rides off hoping the sound goes away and spraying lube everywhere. No, there is NO ONE like me? Come on now, be honest, fess up.

I even take a bottle of lube with me so that I can attack that dry sound whenever it occurs!!

Anyway here is a little poll for all of us to see if I am the ONLY one who does it my way.

Once a week, I wipe the chain down and apply fresh lube, degreasing every so often (when it's particularly bad and I've got a few minutes).

Richard

I guess I am definately a snob. I lube mine and wipe it down every time I ride. I figure it helps flush all the gunk out of it. On a road bike I might not be as concerned but they get pretty gunky on the trails.

Used to be a Snob....now a SLOB!:(

I lube weekly, degrease and really clean the chain monthly...

Wipe the chain down before a ride and then relube. Clean it once a month.

I clean every month or so, and lube every week or two. I'm not always perfect with the schedule tho.

Me neither, i`m not perfect, but clean it once a month and lube it after big rides

Perhaps it's one reason I'm a bike mechanic in the first place,but a chain ..a totally clean shiny chain , with just the right amount of lube ..is...something of beauty, a chains condition instantly tells me of the owners personality !!!!! :eek:

I wipe it down and relube about once a week.
Regular maintenance? removing and fully cleaning?
only when the above doesn't work, and sometimes
I'm so lazy its easier to replace it!
Marty

Originally posted by KleinMp99
Used to be a Snob....now a SLOB!:(

Diogenes searched the world with his lamp, and in KleinMP99 he finally found his honest man!!

I must be a chain lube snob. I lube before every ride and clean(pedros clean machine) once a week. Course I also wax my steed once a month also. :eek:

Well, it looks like about 28% of us are chain SLOBS, and I am NOT alone.

(I drive my LBS mechanic crazy!! He simply does not understand me. But things do get thoroughly cleaned - and replaced if necessary - annually. FWIW, I have an awful lot of stuff continuously going on in my life [some of it extremely stressful that will never go away] and I decided years ago that there are things that are important and there are things that are not, and I simply do not care nor worry about those things that are not important to me - i.e., how and when my chain gets lubed - as long as it does get lubed so I don't get stranded).

Thanks for all the responses. :thumbup:

In fact, after 250 km, it's time to break the chain on my cyclocross bike, soak it in cleaner, clean the cogs and re-lube. I hose-down, wipe-down and re-lube after every ride, but it's time for the works.

[Ask Rich... cyclocross bikes get mighty dirty.]

I was a snob, until I started using white lightning. :D

I try to lube at least once a week, more if Ive been riding in the rain.
A clean shiny chain may be a thing of beauty, but you can't run one on a commuter bike. When I get back home on a cold wet winters night, the last thing I want to do is bike maintainance.

Id really like to run a chain like in old Sunbeam vintage bikes, in an enclosed oil bath. The chain doesnt wear out if you run it soaked in oil. Mike Burrows (Lotus bike and Giant TCR designer) designed a city bike made from composites, with the chain running inside an oversized single rear stay.

I'm definitely a snob :). Anyone who has ever ridden a bike with a dry, dirty chain will know how much more pedalling effort it requires compared to a clean, oiled chain. Of course, there's the old rule that a worn chain will eventually take the rings and sprockets with it so there's a cost benefit as well in the long run.

A good soak in cleaner and then a single drop of Finishline on each link is truly a sight for sore eyes :D.