Chain hygiene: regular chain wipe-down

A clean chain shifts neatly, whereas a dirty one shifts sluggishly and wears expensive chunks out of the drivetrain. To find out how clean your chain needs to be, try reading the words stamped on the side plates. If they are legible, the chain is clean enough. If you can’t read them, the chain needs your attention. Ideally, clean your chain little and often – catching it frequently enough to only need a wipe-down. This is both the laziest and the best method – take advantage of this rare combination! Leave your chain dirty too long and you’ll need to look at the deep-clean section on the next page.

After a ride, lean your bike up against a wall and hold a clean, dry cloth or piece of kitchen towel around the bottom stretch of chain. Slowly pedal backward for 20 seconds, dragging the chain through the cloth. If it makes a big dirty streak, move to a clean bit of cloth and repeat. Job done. Simply do that every single time you ride and you maximize the chain’s life without ever undertaking a boring major clean. You need to lubricate the chain occasionally as well, but note that you can do as much damage by overlubricating as underlubricating. Chains need a little oil, but no more than dressing for a salad. If the chain is squeaky, you’ve left it too long and the chain is gasping for lube.…

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Bike Maintenance Tips, Tricks & Techniques (Digital) - 1 Issue, Bike Maintenance Tips, Tricks & Techniques 3rd Edition

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