How often should i oil my chain?

EV!lution

I think i read in cycling plus to oil a chain every 100 miles. But i just happened to go on youtube to see if i was doing it right and there are videos saying 2-3 times a year.
I've done 600 miles in january, and 520 miles in february, and oiled my chain every 100 miles, or every time its been wet and only degreased the chain every month.
TBH this is my allez winter bike and wasnt bothered if i was doing it right, But now i have a new tarmac full ultegra on it and would like to look after this properly, It is my best bike and i only use it in the dry and will be using dry lube on it.

Any advise from more experience bikers would be welcome, I love riding my bike but all the maintance that comes with it i have no clue about

ThatBikeGuy

Every 100 miles is about right. 2-3 times a year is nonesense! You would have a rusted chain in no time.
I usually oil the chain every time i wash it which is about once a week at the moment.

neeb

You won't get a single straight answer to this question. Completely depends on the conditions you are riding in, the climate, and the type of oil/lubrication you are using.

But I'd go by what the chain looks like and how it is working rather than by any hard-and-fast rules about numbers of miles. Obviously if it's completely dry, isn't running smoothly or is squeaking, you should have done it some time ago, but more likely it is covered in black gunge made of oil and dirt from the road. The more often you clean it the longer your chain will last, but there's a limit to how much effort it is worth expending.

Once priceless tip - you don't need to completely degrease your chain every time you clean it. Just get an old rag and wipe the chain thoroughly, re-oil, and wipe off the excess. This takes about 2 or 3 minutes. Then whenever you have the time (every few weeks or (erm..) so..) give it a thorough degreasing.

CiB

^^^ What he said. There's so many different ways of using a bike that using a "every n somethings" as a maintenance schedule is pointless. Keep an eye on it; if it looks like it needs oiling, it needs oiling. If it looks like it needs cleaning, clean it. You can't oil it too often, but you can leave it too long. Wipe off the excess every time and you'll be ok.

k3vinjam3s

so what products are recommended to use? i have a my first new road bike and have done about 100 miles and im unsure what i should be doing. so which degreaser and oil should i be using?

neeb

k3vinjam3s wrote:

so what products are recommended to use? i have a my first new road bike and have done about 100 miles and im unsure what i should be doing. so which degreaser and oil should i be using?

I just use the standard Finish-Line wet lube (the green one), but doubtless someone will be along shortly to say that's it's cr*p! Chain lubes are highly controversial... Some people swear by wax lubes.

Degreaser - my favourite is this one:
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... ROGLUBE140

(The degreaser, not the wash). I like it because it works very well as well as being non-toxic.

k3vinjam3s

I've been using the pink muck off branded cleaner and their maintenance spray on my mtb for while. Will this suffice or are they any other products that are recommended?

CiB

Cycle Oil works for me. £1.50 a tin in our handy local hardware shop. Or Teflon spray (green can, red cap) if I feel flamboyant.

ddraver

Ifound the Muckoff cleaner to be good but a bit cost inneffetive. A separate chainbath with the degrease of your choice worked better for me (on the MTB too)

I like the Finish line Wax Lube on the roadie but it is useless in the wet (as in it ll last 10km then be all gone). I use their Dry Lube on the MTB in Summer and the wet lube when its...erm...wet.

I would say that a cleaner chain lasts longer though so do it regularly, especially in the wet.

Gizmodo

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/chain-cleaning-cm-5

masterfulmatt

[quote="EV!lution"I've done 600 miles in january, and 520 miles in february, and oiled my chain every 100 miles, or every time its been wet and only degreased the chain every month.([/quote]

Agree with oiling the chain approx every 100 miles at this time of year, but at that mileage you need to be checking chain wear or stretch too, I've heard you can easily wear a chain out in 1000 miles of winter use.

EV!lution

Cheers guys, i do a visual check of the chain but will have to invest in a chain wear indicating tool, The guys i cycle with just change there chain at the end of every season, I got my winter bike in september and done about 3000 miles on it, so the chain might need changing.