Caring for Your Chain
A bike’s chain is one of the most important parts of the bike to keep clean. It attracts dirt and grime because it is exposed on the bottom of your bike where it is close to the ground. Because it comes into contact with other parts of the bike, such as the derailleurs, it can spread dirt around your bike causing parts to wear out prematurely. Our best advice is to give the chain a simple cleaning each time you ride and then, once a month, give it a deeper cleaning.
Every time you ride, you should give your chain a simple cleaning and lubrication. And at least once a month, you should give it a deeper cleaning. In the following sections, we cover both types of cleaning.
It is best to clean the chain while it is on the bike unless it is extremely dirty or it has been a long time since you have cleaned it.
Put the chain on the smallest sprocket before cleaning. This will expand it slightly and expose the pivoting points of the chain to allow degreaser and lubrication to work its way inside the links.
If the chain has a lot of mud or dirt caked on, rinse it off with water before beginning.
Clean the pulley wheels of the derailleur, chainrings, and cogs if they are dirty. You don’t want to undo all your hard work by running a newly cleaned chain across any other filthy components.
Keeping it simple: Cleaning and lubricating your chain
If you only have a few minutes and your chain is not overly dirty, all you need to clean your chain is a rag and a bottle of lube. (See the nearby sidebar,
“Bike lubricants out the wazoo,” for more on different types of lubrication.)