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
4 comments
Comments
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Neat!
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The procedure is simple and to the point.
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Sounds easy. I have done this way back, while maintaining a cycle and other two wheelers.
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This is a very good pice of information to be treasured and used for a good bike maintenance. Thanks
