Hi guys,


How often do people oil and clean their bike chains? I just oil it once a month. Is that enough. Should it be cleaned and oiled once a week? What do you recommend?


Martin

Martin,

Search this forum for chain lube and you'll find a ton of threads on that very subject.

I strip a chain when it is new and run Squirt. I re-apply about once a month. Clean, not messy and lubricates very well.

The calendar means nothing. Mileage and riding conditions are what matter. And they vary a lot.

Oil is cheap, chains are cheap, cassettes and chainrings are expensive.

A clean and lubricated chain wears less.

I use Pro-Link Gold or Rock N Roll Gold. Only lube when drivetrain starts to make noise. And I wipe chain off after EVERY ride. Also, I NEVER ride in the wet. Thus, normally lube ~ 400-500 miles.

Many people use many different types of chain lube and clean or lube chains differently. I use regular motor oil (one drop per link) and use a rag while rotating the chain slowly and repeat once. I do this once a month and ride 200-300 miles a month.

I wipe down after every long (or dirty) ride. I lubricate just a little (about eight links and run it around) every 100 or so miles.

if you can hear it, you need it

chain L for me and use it once every couple of months

My brother-in-law said that he lubes his chain every 100 miles. I haven't done it that often but I try to clean & lube it every couple hundred miles.

Three posts all about chain "oil", including two about using canola oil.

We'll be all over the map on this one. I'll wipe my chain with a rag if I spot sand or crud accumulating. That's quick and easy. For lubing, I guess I go by feel. Hard to explain, but as the chain dries out it feels less supple in the hand, and the sound starts to change. At some point before bone dry I'll put on more lube. I'm not super-scientific about it, and I don't sweat bullets if I'm a little bit late in getting the fresh lube on.

It depends on how far you ride, and the conditions. If you in the rain, or on an occasional dirt path or road, more frequent cleaning is necessary.

At the moment, I clean and lube my chain once per month. I run the chain through a Park "chain gang" cleaner with simple green, and oil the rollers on the chain once it's dry.

When I was racing, and riding 300-500 miles per week, my chain was cleaned and oiled at least once per week. If it rained, it was cleaned that day.

I just got done cleaning the chains on my bike and my wife's bike today. You can do it in 15 or 20 minutes with a little practice. Chains and gears last much longer with regular cleaning and oiling.

I need to get one of those chain cleaners - I do a lot of riding on crushed limestone trails and my geartrain gets filthy quickly.

For my part I like to use the spray lube and a rag to wipe down the chain and the cogs before using a regular liquid oil (which I sometimes forget to use).

That's the best advice, though I'd phrase it as: If you can hear it, you left it too long.

There's no real answer to this question, which is why it starts so many wars - moderators cringe when this question comes up

It's never a bad idea to wipe the chain with a clean rag.


Re-lube it one ride before it starts squeaking.

Martin,

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you are not a troll and give you an honest answer. There are NO vegetable oil based lubricants that are practical and effective for bicycle chain lubrication. The useful lubricants on the market are petroleum based or synthetic. The only possible vegetable based lubricant I can see being at all useful MIGHT be to replace paraffin with carnuba in a hot wax type lubrication. I'm assuming this has been tried and, since it hasn't gained popularity, probably didn't work well. While some people swear by hot paraffin applications, IMHO they are far more trouble than they are worth with marginal, if any, advantages over a liquid solvent suspended wax lubricant.

Keep your chain reasonably clean (good advice in some above posts) and lubricate it whenever it gets noisy. Avoid over-lubrication and wipe away excess on a regular basis.

Strange, because there are several videos on YouTube from some of the big names of cycling videos that say olive oil is the best chain oil. I have never tried it and most likely won't but some people use it. Here's a video from CGN that recommends it.

And I bet your torque wrench is "tighten until the bolt snaps and then back off one half turn"... right? ;D

Probably by folks heavily invested in olive groves.

The video does not say olive oil is the best bike chain lubricant nor does it recommend it as such. In fact, it refers to it as "amusing", states that no information on real world performance was provided, and it was something to remember if you have a dry chain while you are out having lunch somewhere (apparently tongue in cheek). It cites one study that found that it was very efficient in short-term reduction of friction. While the reduction of friction is important, it is only one facet of what makes a lubricant practical and effective. The high lubricity only lasts while the olive oil stays wet. Olive and other vegetable oils break down quickly and will soon become gummy and rancid attracting grit. Try it, I'll bet you will have to reapply it every hour or so of riding and will have a sticky mess in short order.

There have been some successful "bio" lubricants produced, but they are highly refined and chemically modified soy or other oils that are designed for continuous wet applications such as transmissions or hydraulic systems. After the stabilizers and other additives are taken into account, these plant based lubricants are no more environmentally friendly or less toxic than mineral oil or synthetic products and are quite expensive. Some people have used straight canola oil as a bar lubricant for chain saws but a big difference is that chain saw chains are constantly supplied with fresh lubricant with the old lubricant being worn or thrown off during use. Even then, manufacturers recommend chain cleaning and emptying the bar oil reservoir before storage when using canola or other bio oils that do not contain stabilizers and other additives.

Is extra virgin olive oil extremely slippery? Hell yeah. Is it a practical and effective lubricant for any real world application on bicycle chains? Not a chance. At best it is a novelty or emergency lubricant that will need to be cleaned off and replaced in short order. Save it for chapped lips and pasta.

I'm going to give the paraffin a try. I found a couple of videos using paraffin wax mixed with paraffin oil that sounds like solid methods for chain waxing. I couldn't find any stores locally showing to have paraffin oil in stock and worked late today so I didn't go to town to look at any of the smaller hardware stores.

This is one of the videos I have liked.

I use a lanolin based product in an aerosol can labeled Fluid Film. Label says Penetrant & Lubricant, No Solvents, Non-Toxic, etc. I spray the entire chain while rotating the crank. It's foamy coming out of the tiny straw, so it looks quite impressive. It must be good. I have no affiliation.

On my chains I use a gun-specific lubricant. I like this because it lubricates well, prevents corrosion, and is easily cleaned up. Some chain lubes are very thick, and though they are water resistant, they also attract dirt, and are extremely difficult to remove with water-based cleaners. I don't like using mineral spirits or petroleum solvents to clean my chains, as the fumes are terrible, and disposal is difficult.

Wiping a chain will get rid of a little of the dust and dirt accumulated during a ride, but rags don't reach in the places where dirt does the most harm. A proper device for cleaning chains get them properly clean.

Personally, I don't like replacing chains or other driveline parts, and keeping them clean greatly extends their life.