Switched from greasing my chain every week to wiping it down and only re-lubing when it starts to squeak

After 3 months of using a park tool chain scrubber and degreaser in my garage in Portland, I realized I was just washing the factory grease off faster and causing more wear on the cassette, has anyone else found that less maintenance actually makes your drivetrain last longer?

3 comments

3 Comments

gray87517d ago

Ha, yeah that makes total sense. People overthink chain maintenance way too much. I’m curious though - what kind of lube are you using now? That’s the real variable here. Some of those wet lubes turn into grinding paste in dry conditions, and some dry lubes just flake off in wet weather. The method matters but the product you pick might be what really changes how often you need to touch it. Like I found with wax-based stuff you can go way longer between applications if you start with a perfectly clean chain. Have you noticed a difference between what you used to use and what you’re putting on now?

west.casey16d ago

Yeah you said "grinding paste" and that's exactly what happened to me. I read somewhere that that's actually the number one cause of chain wear, not the miles or the power you put through it. I was using this heavy wet lube for years because I figured more is better, right? Then I switched to a wax drip lube after hearing some guy on a forum talk about how it doesn't attract dirt the same way. Now I barely touch the chain, just wipe the outside after a ride and reapply every couple hundred miles. The difference is night and day.

nancyg1414d ago

You ever notice how some lubes just seem to vanish into thin air after one ride in the rain? That was my problem with dry lubes, they’d be gone before I even got home. I ended up switching to a squirt wax lube a few years back and honestly it’s been a game changer for me. The key thing I learned is you really have to degrease the chain first like you said, if there’s any old lube trapped in the rollers the wax won’t bond right and you’re back to square one. Another tip is to not go crazy with it, just a tiny drop on each roller pin and let it soak in overnight. Your mileage may vary but I’ve found I can go 300 to 400 miles between reapplications as long as I wipe the outside down after every ride. That grinding paste stuff is no joke though, once you see how much black gunk comes off an old chain with wet lube you never go back.