How To Clean and Lubricate a Chain
Clean and lubricate your chain frequently.
Regular cleaning and lubrication of your chain will help prevent your drivetrain from wearing out. You should clean and lubricate the chain when it is dirty, dry or begins to sound noisy. If you ride every day, you should clean and lube the chain at least once a month.
Chain Lubricants
I don’t recommend using either motor oil or 3in1 oil to lubricate the chain. Motor oil is too heavy and won’t fully penetrate the rollers, and 3in1 oil is vegetable based and will gum up the chain. I also don’t recommend using wax lubricants because while they don’t collect as much dirt, they are a lot of hassle to apply correctly, and wax is simply not as good a lubricant as oil. I do recommend mineral based chain oils like Finish Line Cross Country or Phil Wood Tenacious Oil because they do the best job of fighting corrosion and don’t wash away when they get wet.
Chain Cleaning
For cleaning, first shift the chain into the smallest sprocket on the rear. For average dust and dirt, wipe the chain clean with a solvent soaked rag. The easiest way to do this is to hold the chain still at the rear derailer cage while firmly wiping the lower run of the chain. Then move the chain backward and wipe again until you’ve wiped the entire length of chain. Wipe between the rear sprockets using either a rag or a sprocket cleaning tool. Then clean all of the front chainrings on both sides.
Chain Lubrication
Shift your gears into the middle sprocket both front and rear. Remember that oil does a good job of spreading itself, so try not to over-apply the lubricant. Lubricate the inner circumference of the chain, on the side that faces the sprockets along the top of the lower run of the chain. Run the chain backwards while dropping oil down both sides of the rollers.
Shift through all of the gears to spread the lubricant evenly through the drivetrain. Then use a rag to wipe off any excess oil.
Resources
- Cleaning Your Drivetrain (Jim Langley)
- Chain Cleaning (Park Tools)
- Chain Maintenance (Sheldon Brown)
- More Chain Lube Info (Bicycle Search)
Repair Guide »
Chain, Cleaning, Drivetrain, Gears, Lubrication, Oil
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Best series of instructional videos ever. I watch every one.
Awesome bike tutorials!! Keep up the great work. PS. I discovered REI had bike tools through your bike tutorial.
Another link I’d like to suggest for your list above, from KMC;
http://www.kmcchain.com/index.php?ln=en&fn=service
Great set of videos, incidentally - the text instructions are great too.
They are great videos and descriptions for us that are mechanically challenged. Love to ride, run and swim but hate to service the mechanical parts.
Nice job
I got this lube called PEDROS SYN LUBE what is your opinion ?
I’m not familiar with that product, but I read their description and I think it will work just fine.
What about MOTOREX WET LUBE? I use this stuff and I want to be sure it’s a safe product. Know anything about it?
Thanks a lot!
Bike Radar reviewed the Motorex Lube and says “We found it a little thinner than the Finish Line product, and it needed more frequent application in very wet conditions, but otherwise it gives the same high level of performance. Our main gripe is the flip-top application, which makes for a pretty messy time.”
hehe, thanks !
Thanks for the great video. I’m curious about wiping the chain down with solvent part though. What kind of solvent and how much pressure when wiping?
I use the Finish Line Degreaser, or you could use the Park Chainbrite. Your local bike shop may have some other products that will work just as well.
Use as much wiping pressure as is needed to remove the dirt and grime. If it’s really stuck on, remove the chain and soak it in the solvent for an hour or two first. I’ll be demonstrating a drivetrain bath in an upcoming tutorial.
Phil Tenacious oil seems really heavy for chain lube - when I tried it my chain and bike was filthy after every ride. I’ve been using Rock”N”Roll Ultimate lately and having better results. What do you think about Rock”N”Roll?
I agree that Phil Wood is pretty gummy and takes some maintenance. I finish line cross country most of the time. I’m not familiar with Rock N Roll, but I did find a few reviews of it here.