Had a talk with an old roadie about chain cleaning that changed my whole routine

Was working on a customer's bike last Thursday when this guy in his 60s comes in and sees me scrubbing a chain with degreaser. He just goes "you're stripping all the factory lube out of the pins, kid." I thought he was full of it at first but he showed me how he just wipes the chain down with a rag and re-oils without soaking it. Tried it on my own bike this weekend and the shifting feels way smoother. Anyone else get told something simple like this that made you rethink how you do basic maintenance?

3 comments

3 Comments

christopherw347d ago

Old timer told me years ago I was over-torquing my handlebars because I was using a torque wrench like a gorilla. Switched to a beam style and never looked back, mostly because the click type always felt like a guess to me. Now I just snug them with a multi tool and call it good, which probably drives real mechanics crazy.

the_drew7d ago

christopherw34 wait you just snug them with a multi tool and call it good? That is wild, I feel like I'm watching a horror movie reading that.

samk776d ago

100% agree now @christopherw34, I used to crank everything down hard but this makes way more sense.