It’s fun on all levels—that is, until you get home and have to clean up. We welcome bicyclists of all skill levels including those who don't yet own a bike. Press J to jump to the feed. If you spend a lot of time riding in wet, muddy conditions, or if you ride hard, fast and often, plan to clean your bike more frequently. My typical environment is through an industrial zone leading into some docks before I make it back onto a main road. Interested in riding a bicycle? Repeat til Friday. Because i do 100miles a week, once a month I'll get in with a degreaser. I usually keep it to once a month but even after a week of riding I can run my finger along the chain and it's black with grimey oil. Do this for about 45 seconds or until the chain feels dry to the touch. Happy cycling! How to clean your bike chain and drivetrain in just five minutes. By "clean" do you mean "wipe chain with a cloth and re-lube" or "de-grease chain in a bottle of solvent and re-lube"? If you cycle regularly or routinely ride in wet conditions or on dirty roads, you should clean and lube your bicycle chain every week or at least fortnightly. I'm not a pro at any of this lol it's just what I've been doing after alot of research. Regular cyclists will likely perform a chain cleaning every week or two, or at least once every 200 miles or so, depending on how much riding is … I ride 20miles round trip to work and back. There are different opinions out there. Keeping your bike chain clean and lubed is the best way to extend the life of your drivetrain, keep your bike shifting smoothly, and save money in the long run. Press J to jump to the feed. Use dirt bike chain lube before each ride and after every wash. The chain is also open and exposed to any elements that can damage it, including water and dirt. A forum for folks with questions about bicycle repair. You just need to take a commonsense approach when it comes to cleaning your bicycle chain. Follow up question: is ceramic lube any good? Of course, it's not a bad idea to do it more often if you're riding in wet or dirty conditions. I don't over lube either, one drop per link and I wipe off the excess with a rag. Like others said, it depends on the type of grime. If it is just dusty, I'll just clean the chain and forgo a deep cleaning. Do you clean it after every ride? Cleaning and Lubricating Your Bike. Two wheels, or three, sometimes one, but never more than twenty. At the most basic level, you’ll need: A bucket; Bike cleaner Definitely lube the bike after cleaning the drivetrain, or after riding in the rain. A super clean drivetrain rapidly reduces the rate of wear on your bike components. And the best part is, you can do it all at home with the right supplies and some basic knowledge. You can also take a 5-minute spin around the block to help it dry faster. Every few months or so (more often for mountain bikes), completely remove your chain using a chain-removal tool. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. If it's a dry ride and the bike doesn't look dusty then it can go a few rides between cleans but keep the chain oiled. Wow, that's quite a cleaning routine and you don't degrease what so ever or does "deep clean" count as degrease? Bike Chain Maintenance. If it's winter and you're roads are salty wash it often and oil it appropriately. If you’ve been riding in deep mud or clay, and the chain is literally caked with mud, there’s no way you’re going to be able properly clean it on the bike, you’ll have to remove it. I wash my bike when it looks dirty but type of dirt matters too. Let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes after so you know it’s fully dry before you lube it. Chain wear. Post your problems, and we will try to get your bike rolling again. Your bike chain will gradually wear with use and will need changing from time to time in order to maintain your drivetrain’s performance. A tip - centralise your chain on the cassette before back-pedalling to run the chain through the rag. My routine was to run it through my chain bath cleaner once every other week depending on how filthy the conditions were, sometimes it was once a week. Just remember to keep your chain lubed and clean so you have a healthy drivetrain. Rotate one of the pedals backwards so the chain runs through the rag. If former, after every longer/rainy/dusty ride or when the chain starts to squeak, whichever comes first. It really helps if you can provide pictures and/or video. When it comes about cleaning gears and bike chain, you must need a good quality of the grease-remover solution, nailbrushes, cloths, and chain-lube in the beginning. While it’s one thing to know how to clean bike chain, regular maintenance for your bike is important, regardless of how dirty it looks. The chain is at the heart of the bike, says Rob McCreedie of Juice Lubes, and it's vital to keep it clean and well lubed through winter Clean and lube your chain as often as possible (Pic: Media24) A buyer's guide to bike chains. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to clean your bike (including how to clean the bike chain), which tools you need, and how to set it all up. It’s something mentioned all too often in bicycle maintenance guides, but rarely correctly understood. If you think your bike chain looks worn at any time, it’s important to simply throw it away and grab yourself a new chain, to avoid any risk of injuries. Before you get started, make sure you’ve got all the right tools, you will need: What you’ll need. Apply a dedicated chain lube that’s designed to avoid attracting dirt to the chain before each ride or race. A bucket of warm water and a soap isn’t going to cut through the grease and grime here, what you need is specialist bike cleaning products. Worn chains shift poorly, wear sprockets quickly, and sometimes break. Let the chain soak until most of the … Buy WD40 Bike degreaser and lube. How often should you clean your bike? As soon as I hear some noise, I give it some love as soon as I have time. Brush it well and completely immerse it in a chain solvent to get rid of built-up grime that brushing can't remove. After each ride, but it can be only a splash of water to remove dust or a 10min wash with bicycling shampoo when it's covered of mud. Spray, sit for a few minutes, wipe, spray again, wait a min, wipe any excess. Lucky for me, I love silence, and bike wrenching. Wipe down braking surface with a wet paper towel. In terms of adding lube in between cleanings, every week or two should be fine, more often if the drivetrain is getting noisy. Now if it's dry lube in a rain storm I skip all the parts, dry and relube. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Keeping these two things in mind, you must proceed for the overall cleaning process.. From what I've read, it sounds like it's a good year-round lube so you don't have to change between using dry lube in summer and wet lube in winter, and it requires less maintenance in general. I think they say you should do it basically every 30-50 miles... but probably do it closer to every 100 or if I get really gunked up. All on Birmingham canals, my mtb get caked in mud. Ah ok, I do 8 miles a day, so just a quick wet rag rub down and relube will do it? I feel like once a month is too little cleaning, should I make it once a week or fortnight instead? You can start by taking your chain cleaning device and filling it with a degreaser. David Fiedler. A clean chain is needed to use the wax-based White Lightning’s Clean Ride lube. The rest of the bike - almost every ride as it’s Ti and it cleans very easily. 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