Bicycle Chain Lubricant – How to lube your bicycle chain and what type should you use
Before you apply your bicycle chain lubricant you need to have a clean (and dry) chain. Part 1 of chain maintenance looked at cleaning your chain.
Click back to learn how to clean your chain properly
When it comes to bicycle chain lubricant you need to use less and do it more. While you may think you are doing the right thing by waking a bucket load of oil onto your chain you are really just attracting dirt and dust to the chain.
The only place a chain actually needs lubrication is where the roller and plates meet. This is the only place where movement occurs.
How to Apply Lube to Your… Chain
Lube the bottom run of your chain. Use a wiping action to drag the drop of lube across the chain from one set of plates to the other. This will help to get some of the lube inside the chain roller and between the side plates. Slowly rotate the chain counter-clockwise as you put a drag a drop on the top of each roller.
Next spin the chain a little faster to ensure the lube is worked into the rollers.
Leave the chain for a few minutes to allow further penetration. Take a clean dry cloth and wipe of excess lube, leaving a thin film of oil to protect against rust. This step is vital because less oil attracts less dirt.
Dry/Normal Conditions
Most of the time I use a Teflon based lube such as Pedro’s Extra Dry.
Muddy Conditions
If it is going to be muddy use a paraffin based lube such as IceWax or White Lightning.
In The Rain
If it is going to be wet and/or raining it is better to use a wet lube because it won’t wash off as easily as the others. I recommend Pedro’s Syn Lube.
Regular cleaning and application of bicycle chain lubricant will help to increase the chain’s longevity. However no matter how good your chain is and how well you look after it all chains need to be replaced sometime…
