How Often Should I Degrease And Lube Bike Chain?

The question of how often should I degrease and lube my bike chain is a common question, especially for beginners. If you ride regularly then you should decrease and lube your bike’s chain at least once every month to maintain top performance.

Considering what your bike chain has to bear and how important the chain is. You are riding on a muddy road where your chain is working harder as you pedal with maximum effort. The dirt and mud collected by the bike especially the chain can reduce the chain’s lifecycle and performance.

In this post, we will go through how often should I degrease and lube my chain. Let’s get started!

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How Often Should I Degrease And Lube My Chain?

If it is a case that you have never cleaned the bike chain until you realized the chain is starting to rust. Don’t wait until you regret that you are about to waste more money because of leaving your chain unmaintained.

How Often Should I Clean My Bike Chain?

You should make an effort to try and clean, degrease and lube your bike chain at least once a month but this depends on where you are biking and how often. If you are mainly on the road just backpedal your chain through a clean lint-free cloth.

This can be done anytime and it is quick, especially before you re-apply lube. If you go off-road then it might be a good idea to clean your chain after the ride.

If you feel like your bike needs a thorough cleaning, you can get help from your local bike shop, especially if your bike is made by one of the top manufacturers.

You should make a point that after every 100 to 150 km, clean, degrease and re-lube your bike chain. No matter how it looks, always clean it.

Easy Steps To Clean My Bike Chain

While most bikers know that the chain is properly the most crucial part of any mountain bike, they might forget the importance of degreasing it, let alone lubricating it. This is actually the greatest mistake that all bike owners should avoid in the first place.

The chain bears the heaviest burden, as it moves almost endlessly when the bikers are riding it out. Believe it or not, the chain works more than bikers can imagine. The chain has lots of small parts that are prone to dirt, mud, and mostly water.

The chain needs more than just lubrication. It needs overall protection for its drive train parts.

  • First thing first, it is recommended to clean the chain at least once a month, especially for frequent bikers. The same thing applies to chain lubrication.
  • For beginners, it is important to keep in mind that cleaning the chain should be done before it is lubricated.
  • Use a clean cloth to clean all kinds of debris from the chain.
  • Once it is cleaned thoroughly, users can start lubricating the chain’s entire length.
  • Lubricating the chain may seem easy, though it doesn’t apply similarly to all beginners.
  • That’s it, all done.

Remember that chain maintenance depends on your local riding conditions like dust and weather. This is also a factor in deciding on the lube to use, among other variables.

Read more on how to clean a bike chain with household products here.

What Happens If I Don’t Lube The Bike Chain?

Not maintaining your bike chain will reduce the reliability and durability of the bike chain over time as well as the shifting gears will be affected not just on the bike chain but all the components that work with the chain.

Components like the chainrings, the front, and rear derailleurs, and the sprocket teeth so in addition to not functioning as smoothly this is an expensive non-maintenance proposition chewing up and wearing out the drivetrain.

Rust can also start to develop on the chain.

Wrapping Up

Finally, your bike should be cleaned at least once a month if you are a regular biker. There is a good range of degreasing and lubing products. It is good to learn how clean and lube your bike chain. This, in the long run, will maintain optimal performance and the life span of your bike chain.

And that’s it for now! I’d love it if this post on how often should I degrease and lube my chain was helpful to you. Let me know if you have any questions and let me know if there is more to add.

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Degrease and Lube Bike Chain