Fun Sustainable Transport
Lubricating the chain
Happiness is a clean bike
really really dirty
One of the fastest ways to make sure your nice new shiny bicycle is converted into a piece of junk is to oil it, incorrectly.
When oil and dirt mix up they form a deadly combination which is abrasive in nature. Lubricating a bike is very important, but the key is to use very little and remove the excess oil.
The procedure I normally follow to maintain my drive chain is as follows:
On a weekly basis- just wrap a clean cloth around the chain and backpedal. This should remove most of the muck that is on the chain.
- clean the chain exterior as explained earlier. If the chain is really dirty you might have to resort to using a degreaser (like WD 40) to clean up the muck.
- after the chain is relatively clean, add a drop of oil (very little) on each chain link. Its only the inside of the rollers that actually need the oil.
- back pedal some 20 – 30 times so that the oil penetrates the insides of the rollers.
- take a clean cloth and clean the exterior of the chain like before and make sure all the excess oil is removed.
much better :)
This should keep the chain in good working condition. Having a clean drive chain does make your ride seem so much more pleasant !
Before cleaning
After cleaning
Comments
-
Neat!
-
The procedure is simple and to the point.
-
Sounds easy. I have done this way back, while maintaining a cycle and other two wheelers.
-
This is a very good pice of information to be treasured and used for a good bike maintenance. Thanks
-
What sort of oil can I use for this?
-
Hi
Great blog, very useful tips. Live in Chennai myself, and have a bike that I unfortunately touch only on and off. Need to do a good cleaning job before I take it out again, and I was wondering if WD40 is available in Indian hardware stores. Any pointers?
Thanks, Ludwig
-
Brother, I live in a very small town called Ramagundam. WD 40 is available here also. Why not in Chennai. Bike down to any hardware seleers. you will find it.
Ashok.
