Lubricating your bicycle chain

In this blog we talked in detail about how to properly clean and clean the chain of your bicycle. After you have cleaned the chain of your racing bike, it is time to grease/grease the chain again. To ensure that a black layer of dirt does not appear on your chain again in no time, it is important to read the tips in this blog carefully. Because many people often lubricate the chain with too much oil and also lubricate it in the wrong places. In this blog we explain how to properly lubricate your chain and give you practical tips.

We answer the following questions, among others:

1. Why do you need to lubricate a bicycle chain?
2. What type of oil/grease/wax/lube should I use for my bicycle chain?
3. How do I properly lubricate the chain of my racing bike?
4. How often should I lubricate the chain of my racing bike?

To lubricate your bicycle chain you need the following tools:

• Oil (lube, wax, grease)
• Piece of old textile

Why do you need to lubricate a bicycle chain?

A bicycle chain consists of links that fall around sprockets. You need oil to make the links rotate smoothly over each other and to slide smoothly over the gears. If the chain is too dry (i.e. too little oil), a squeaking sound will occur. Because the links move over each other without oil, they will also wear out faster and your bicycle chain can break more quickly. Correctly lubricating your bicycle chain is therefore very important!

What type of oil/grease/wax/lube should I use for my bicycle chain?

Before we start lubricating the bicycle chain, we will first explain to you what types of lubricants are available. In general, oil, lube, wax or grease are used. If you look at products that are suitable for cycling, they concern lube and wax. Lube is a type of oil that has been specially developed for bicycle chains. Oil is too greasy and therefore attracts dirt more quickly than lubricants specially developed for the bicycle chain. A common beginner's mistake: using WD40. Never, ever use WD40 to lubricate your bicycle chain. Not only does it attract a lot of dirt, it also gets into all kinds of places where it shouldn't be. In addition, WD40 ensures that parts can rust more quickly.

To properly lubricate your chain, we recommend that you use lube. Do you have a mountain bike? Then use wax. There are two types of lube: wet lube and dry lube. Now we hear you thinking: what is the difference between wet lube and dry lube. The difference is quite simple. Dry lube is made for cycling in dry weather and wet lube is made for cycling in wet weather. The advantage of dry lube is that it is sturdier and therefore you have to lubricate your chain less often. The advantage of wet lube is that it has been specially developed for cycling in dirtier conditions. This means that dirt is less likely to stick to it.

Preferably use wet lube because it attracts dirt slightly less quickly than dry lube. This means you have to clean your chain less often. Do you still have a bottle of dry lube? Feel free to use this up, as the difference between wet and dry lube is not very big.

A useful tip is to use a bottle with a spout that fits exactly between the links. This allows you to apply the lube properly and neatly. We explain the importance of this below.

How do I properly lubricate the chain of my racing bike?

Correctly lubricating your bicycle chain is not difficult, people often just don't know how to do it. For example, we often see that people use far too much oil. This causes a lot of dirt (read: sand) to stick to the chain. Because there is sand on the chain, the chain and sprockets wear out a lot faster. It is therefore important to lubricate your chain correctly.

The purpose of lubricating is to ensure that the links of your bicycle chain can move smoothly over each other. That's why you don't have to apply lube to the side of the chain, as this will only attract extra dirt. The only place where oil should get is between the links themselves. Most chain lube bottles have a handy spout that fits exactly in between. This ensures that the amount of lube is neatly distributed and only reaches the parts where it is needed.

To start, hold the bottle of lube upside down and place it on the inside of your chain on one of the links. Now slowly start rotating the chain. If you have turned the pedal approximately two times, you have turned the chain once. When lubricating, make sure that you make about four to five complete laps with the bicycle chain.

Then take a clean piece of cloth and run all of these along the outside and side of the chain. There does not need to be any lube here, so it is better to remove the lube from here.

In principle, your chain is now well lubricated and you can hit the road! Have you degreased the chain completely? We recommend that you apply additional lubrication after your first ride so that the lube can be properly absorbed between the links.

How often should I lubricate the chain of my racing bike?

The bicycle chain must be lubricated anyway if it has been degreased. In addition, you do not have to lubricate the chain very often. You can feel and hear this, if the chain is dry or makes a lot of noise, lubricate it again. A guideline for this is between five and ten rides (depending on the distance you race). We also advise you not to use too much lube when lubricating as this will quickly attract dirt. Therefore, use as little lube as possible. We recommend that you lubricate your chain several times with a little oil rather than once with a lot of oil.

Can we help you further?

If after reading this blog you still have questions about maintenance and lubricating your bicycle chain, please feel free to send us a message via the chat function on our website. For now: have fun cycling!