TIL most people lube their chains way too often and it just attracts grit

I was at a group ride last month and saw three guys drenching their chains with wet lube before we even started. Then we hit a gravel section and by mile 10 their drivetrains sounded like sandpaper. I used to do the same thing until I talked to a mechanic in Portland who said you only need one drop per roller and wipe off the excess. He told me a dry chain shifts better than a greasy one any day. Now I lube maybe every 150 miles and my cassette lasts twice as long. Has anyone else seen this mistake at shop counters or group rides?

2 comments

2 Comments

mia4421d ago

Oh man I learned this the hard way too, my first chain sounded like a cement mixer full of gravel after I lubed it like a greasy fry cook. Now I just do one drop per roller and wipe it dry like my mechanic told me, and my drivetrain actually stays quiet for more than a day.

vera_sanchez1d ago

Oh I totally get the greasy fry cook thing, I've been there too. But I gotta say, that "one drop per roller then wipe dry" method your mechanic told you about, it works great for some lubes but not for the wet lube I use here in the Pacific Northwest where it rains all the time. Wet lube is actually supposed to stay a little tacky on the chain so it doesn't get washed off from water, so if you wipe it completely dry you're basically removing all the protection. You want to let it sit for like 15 minutes after applying, then wipe off the excess from the outside of the chain so the inside of the rollers stays lubed up but the plates aren't dripping. For dry lube though, yeah, you definitely want to wipe it bone dry because it's supposed to evaporate and leave just the wax behind.