clean & lube chain

eipap said:

What is the general rule of thumb regarding cleaning and lubing your chain ? Some have said every two weeks (which seems very arbitrary) some every 300 miles. I ride only on paved surfaces and never in inclement weather. Any advice would be appreciated.

Relube mine about every 100-150 miles, or as much as weekly. Prolink, one drop per bushing and wipe down with a rag whenever excessive oil shows on the outside links. Taking 2-3 minutes to apply to each of 112 links rather than just "hosing down" the chain saves a lot of mess and a lot of expensive chain lube.

Will get out the chain cleaner "machine" and citrus cleaner maybe once or twice a season, just to make the outside of the chain shine. Don't think it does anything at all to extend chain life; in fact, my theory is that use of harsh chemical degreasers or soaking chains in solvents does more harm than good.

eipap said:

What is the general rule of thumb regarding cleaning and lubing your chain ? Some have said every two weeks (which seems very arbitrary) some every 300 miles. I ride only on paved surfaces and never in inclement weather. Any advice would be appreciated.

After rain or when it gets a little noisy. I clean exactly as does dhk2, except that I never use solvent other than prolink, which is actually quite a good chain cleaner, nor do I use machines.
By the way dhk, why did you become dhk2? I assume that you're the same person.

Yes, the same. Had a problem with forum registration after I switched internet providers here. Couldn't solve it; so gave up and revised my screen name.

500-1000km seemed to be the commonly quoted distance for chain service. Degrease and relube. I would say every two weeks is too frequent unless you do incredible miles and the process would drive you mad. Once a month maybe if you do enough miles. Other than that, I'd say a good wipe down with a soft rag after each ride makes a big difference. Paper towels just can't handle it.

I wax the chain on my commuter bike every week, which is about every 300-500km. Depending on what I get up to. If it gets soaked in the week I swap chains and wax both at the weekend.

Big pot of wax, little portable hot plate, sit it outside and boil the chain in it for a good half hour. Hang it up to drip dry and cool.

I am of the firm opinion that the chain-oil sold in bicycle shops is only to ensure they sell more chains, which conversely also explains why chain wax is so hard to come by.

threaded said:

I wax the chain on my commuter bike every week, which is about every 300-500km. Depending on what I get up to. If it gets soaked in the week I swap chains and wax both at the weekend.

Big pot of wax, little portable hot plate, sit it outside and boil the chain in it for a good half hour. Hang it up to drip dry and cool.

I am of the firm opinion that the chain-oil sold in bicycle shops is only to ensure they sell more chains, which conversely also explains why chain wax is so hard to come by.

That's a large commute that you must have.

artemidorus said:

That's a large commute that you must have.

Yeps, in the saddle somewheres between 2 and 3 hours everyday, depending on how strong the winds are, if I can keep or not with the 'green wave' on the traffic lights, catch a group of cyclists going the same way (boy does hanging on someone elses back wheel save energy). If the weather is good I cut a lump off by crossing through a nature reserve, if it's bad I have to stick to the cycle paths, and that what causes most of the variation.

dhk2 said:

Relube mine about every 100-150 miles, or as much as weekly. Prolink, one drop per bushing and wipe down with a rag whenever excessive oil shows on the outside links. Taking 2-3 minutes to apply to each of 112 links rather than just "hosing down" the chain saves a lot of mess and a lot of expensive chain lube.

Will get out the chain cleaner "machine" and citrus cleaner maybe once or twice a season, just to make the outside of the chain shine. Don't think it does anything at all to extend chain life; in fact, my theory is that use of harsh chemical degreasers or soaking chains in solvents does more harm than good.

I ride about 60 - 75 miles/week so maybe every two weeks is a good schedule for me. Always clean chain with chain scrubber befoe I lube so that may be a bit much and will back off doing that going forward and just lube. Was using Pedro's Syn Lube but will check out ProLink. Thanks for the feedback.