How to Maintain Your Bike Chain

Learning how to take care of your bike is the answer if you don’t want to shell out a lot of money for a new chain kit every season. And this is even more crucial because everyone can perform simple chain maintenance without too much difficulty.
What about mud?
Chains become dirty, so riding on or off the road doesn’t really make a difference. Off-roading merely dirt your chain more quickly and necessitates more frequent use of a chain cleaner.

By acting as a fine sandpaper between the metal pieces that come into touch, dirt alone is highly harmful for the chain. When you add lubrication, the mixture becomes a fine grinding paste that will quickly and easily consume your chain and sprockets. For this reason, it is essential to regularly use a chain brush to clean the chain before lubricating it.

Although it may seem like a daunting task to some, things are actually not that bad when done according to the book. Alternately, you may spend some cash and have a workshop handle this for you.

There are some major no-nos when it comes to cleaning the chain:

1. Never use a wire brush; it might harm your chain and cause further, unneeded damage to the o/x-rings. A rag and a plastic brush, including a toothbrush, are more than sufficient.

2. Never clean the chain with a pressure washer. Although it could seem to clear the crud off of it, what it actually accomplishes is push a portion of it beyond the o/x rings and add water inside the chain. You don’t need to be a scientist to understand that water is bad for your chain because it will quickly evaporate.

3. Consider your cleaning supplies. While some claim that virtually any solvent may be used to clean the chain, you should be aware that some petroleum derivatives are aggressive toward rubber and may cause damage to your o/x-rings. Additionally, some cleaning solutions create a film on the chain that prevents lubrication from sticking to it.

Using a plastic brush and spray-on chain cleaning solution to physically scrub off the gunk is one of the best and safest ways to clean the dirt off your chain. You may easily clean the chain by getting in between the rollers with the aid of a towel.


Post time: Aug-08-2022