how do you lube your chain

I use Tri Flow. Yeah, I know, it picks up dirt etc....I am lazy
I quess. I put a very small amount on a cotton swab and
run the swab on the side of the chain that contacts the
teeth.

Assuming you clean your chain regularly:
I use either T-9 during our dry times and Pedro's "Wet lube" when it's wet/muddy. There are several good lubes out there. Just ask the LBS what they reccomend for your area. I, patiently, drop one drop of lube on each link connection while turning the cranks very slowly. If you do it correctly you will not get lube all over the place. I then work the cranks a couple of times and then (lightly) "pinch" the chain while holding a lintless rag and this effectively wipes the excess lube and junk off the chain. I would NOT use a cotton swab to lube anything on a bike. They fall apart and they fibers don't fall on the ground, they end up on your chain and in the links. This tends to make nice "pockets" for the dirt and grime to collect in which in turn speeds up the wear on your chainrings and chain.

The whole routine takes about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on if you have a stand or not. Have fun and keep the rubber side down.

K.

I use Rock N' Roll Extreme lube on my mtb and it seems really durable. It also leaves my chain cleaner than ever.

Thanks for the info, I never thought about the
cotton getting into the chain and wearing it
and the Chainring and Cog teeth. I will not do
it anymore......I only started doing it. Normally,
I do exactly what you do....lub one link at a time
and then wipe off the excess. I will usually let
the bike sit at least a day.....will use other bike.

Glad to be of help. I'm usually a pain in the butt instead! There isn't any need to let the bike sit for a day, but I'm sure your other bike appreciates the attention. Ride well.

K.

First I clean my chain by submerging it in a cleaning solution ( I like the orange stuff, maybe because it smells good) in a vacuum chamber and pulling a vacuum.

When the vacuum is released the chain fills with cleaning wash, then I wash and rinse it throughly and dry it with a hair dryer.

For oiling I put it back in the vacuum chamber submerged in oil and put it through two vacuum cycles, you can tell when all the air is out of the chain by the caseation of bubbling.

The advantage I find is I can use any high quality oil, not bike chain oil which is mostly solvents that evaporate.

I get good results with 75W-90 synthetic gear oil, you could probably use STP if you wanted.

In between major cleaning and oiling, I use a rag dampened with light oil to clean and oil the outside.

Maybe this method is over kill, but it doesn’t take that much time and I don’t have to worry about the internals getting enough oil.

The bike lubricants have a transport agent which evaporates (most dramatically noticed with dry weather lubes) however the good ones leave behind the "lube" (the stuff that reduces friction/wear) on the necesary parts of the chain. They also do not make extra junk grab onto the chain and speed up the wear on the chain and rings.

It is overkill to do it that way and not really helping the chain or rings/cogs. That heavyweight gear oil attracts dirt and grime, bad. It's designed for a much different purpose and does it well, but on a bike it will decrease the effective life span of your rings/cogs and eventually you will suffer from sluggish shifting, phantom shifting, chain rub, etc. One drop of good lube on each chain pivot would be sufficient for pretty much anyone riding a bike that is actually human. Have fun riding!
K.

That’s where the light oil dampened rag comes in, to keep the grunge off and the chain externals clean and oil coated.

I've not experienced any of the problems you mentioned.

The secret is to wipe the chain off before using and keeping the chain wiped clean after riding, not wiping the chain clean I don’t care what oil or oil method you use the chain will grunge up and wear out prematurely.

And I can get a quart or so of quality oil for less than you pay for a few ounces of chain oil/solvent.

Caring for my chain this way every couple hundred miles has caused no harm.

Using my vacuum chamber assures me that all chain cavities are well lubed from the gitgo , after that it’s a simple matter of rag and light oil to keep it going.

A lighter oil could be used in the vacuum chamber if you wish or even possibly hot wax though I haven’t used wax.

One other advantage is that all surfaces internal and external receive an oil coating helping to prevent corrosion, also the excess oil helps flush out more grunge the first ride. I’ve never met a cleaning method yet that was guaranteed to thoroughly clean the inside of a chain to operating room standards, there’s always something left behind.

Watching all those bubbles come out of the chain, I know that all that air is going to be replaced with oil.

I feel my chain is worth the extra 20 minutes I spend this way.

And besides between cleaning and oiling I can pop bubble wrap.

OK then. It's your bike of course. You are the exception that prooves the rule. Have fun with your bubbles and all that. I'll stick to keeping a clean chain and still crashing all the damn time. Be safe.

K.

(thank you) for the replies (thank you)