Comments on: How to Clean and Lubricate a Chain

By: Dick kent

Dick kent — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:33:38 +0000

I live in UK and have only just discovered this site. Now 64 so cycling down to about 400miles each month. Best bike maintenance videos I’ve ever seen. Thanks.

By: robert

robert — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:52:58 +0000

I have a question. I’m not trying to cheap out here, but I have a can of aerosol brake cleaner in my garage, it tears the break dust and all that right off of cars, would that be too aggressive for a bike chain and cassette?

By: Ron Guidotti

Ron Guidotti — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 01:39:22 +0000

I have used a variety of chain lubricants over the years. While they work fine, they also leave a film on the chain that can attract dirt. This is especially true when mountain biking where the bike will be exposed to a lot of dirt, etc. What I found that works great is lock lubricant. One can’t afford to have the internal tumblers gummed up by regular oil-based solvents. Lock lube is basically is a slurry of fine graphite powder in a carrier solvent. It penetrates well and when the solvent evaporates, it leaves a film of graphite on the chain parts. Graphite is a natural solid lubricant and doesn’t suffer the effects of organic-based lubricants. Before using the lock lubricant, I cleaned my chain well with mineral spirits (paint thinner) and let it dry completely. Lock lube comes in small bottles and in spray cans and is readily available at most hardware stores.

By: Rick Elnes

Rick Elnes — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:16:56 +0000

I’ve been removing the chain and placing it in a bottle with a mix of Simple Green and water with some small pieces of a fine scrubbing pad. I shake it up, let it set for awhile and rinse with water. It seems to to a great job without the disposal problems associated with solvent.. If its really dirty I’ll repeat the process. Any comments?

By: martin

martin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 01:03:45 +0000

Great website! Lots of useful information and easy to understand.

Thank you
Martin

By: Don

Don — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:36:15 +0000

The thicker the better IMO. Chain saw bar and chain oil is similar to Phil Wood. They’re both tenacious but the chainsaw bar oil is a small fraction of the price, less than 1/50th, plus it’s a little thicker and more tenacious.

Thick is good but you have to apply it drop by drop, one link at a time along the bottom run of chain between the rear derailleur and front chainring, let it sink in for a few minutes then wipe off all the excess before it comes into contact with the chainrings, cogs and pulleys, then backpedaling to bring another section of chain into position. Even in dry summer conditions I have to lube the chain every 3 or 4 days with anything other than Phil Wood or chainsaw oil I find that most chain lubes are too thin to stick around for long, even in dry conditions, requiring me to lube twice per day when it’s really wet. Continuous large gear hammering at high wattage will force the lubricant out of the joints inside of the chain where it needs to be. The really thick stuff will stay in there longer.

By: Tim Potter

Tim Potter — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:06:35 +0000

Great tips & videos. Many thanks. Planning on using them for staff training sessions. We’re in the Great White North and moving into freezing and sub-zero temps soon. We recommend and use Pedro’s Syn Lube and/or Phil Tenacious Oil for chain lube this time of year as it’s harder for road slop/ salt to wash off. I wouldn’t use anything that heavy in the warmer months of the year. We also use WD-40 for cleaning chains; saturate a rag with it and wipe it down. Seems to be the only good use for it in a bike shop! We agree – Tri-flow rocks for chain lube in the warmer months.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:39:33 +0000

Hey thanks for the awesome tuts man! They are so honed it’s incredible!

I find that Tri-flow works just as you said, I used to use White Lightning, but never again! Now I just need to remember to wipe off all the excess.

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:17:10 +0000

Hi Tim, You can get the Park gear cleaning brush here.

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:11:14 +0000

Where did you get the sprocket cleaning tool? I can’t seem to find one anywhere.