- This is a GMBN Tech essentials series,
our easy to follow guide to setting up
and maintaining your bike yourself.
In this video, we're looking at lubricating the chain,
which although does sound like a very simple thing,
it's something often approached totally wrong.
So, we're gonna dispel a few myths
here today in the video.
We're also gonna explain to you about all the components
of a chain, how they work, and why it's relevant
when you lubricate the chain.
And also we're gonna take a look
at the types of lube that you need to use
to make sure your transmission
runs nice and smoothly.
Now mountain bikes have a lot of technology on them,
a lot of very advanced things going on.
Yet they still use the age old chain to propel them.
Something in fact that's been around since 1869
on bicycles, but of course it has developed
over the years.
It's got thinner, it's go lighter,
it's got arguably stronger,
and it's more efficient.
Now many people still wonder why
mountain bikes continue to use the chain,
and in fact bicycles full stop,
especially considering this transmission is out in the open.
We ride in muddy, gritty, sandy conditions
that typically wears these parts down
and makes them consumable items,
which means it costs you money
when you're just using the bike.
Which is why it's so important
that we take good care of them.
But the simple fact is we're still using them
because it's still currently the best way to do this.
Now there are bikes with gear boxes on them,
and the gear boxes are definitely gonna be
a technology of the future in mountain biking.
But for the moment this is still the most
cost effective way of making a mountain bike work
and with the least amount of friction.
Now friction of course is something you wanna reduce
as much as possible on a bike
because it revolves around your peddling power.
As soon as you got friction,
and you've gotta peddle around,
you're wasting energy.
Ergo, the chain is still the best tool for the job.
Now understanding how a chain works
and it's components are key in order to lubricating
a chain correctly because you quite often
see people just pouring, like literally,
saturating their chains with unnecessary amounts of oil,
which sometimes can make things worse.
Just take a little look at the chain.
So first up you can see these outer plates here.
These are the wider stance plates.
And then you've got the inner plates
that are sandwiched by them.
And hold the sandwiches together over a roller
that rotates around an inner bush.
And a pin punches it all together.
Now the roller is really the only part
of a chain that needs lubrication.
This is the part that rotates.
It rotates around the bush on the inside,
which of course will wear out
and does wear out in time if it is not lubricated,
or if it's over-lubricated and there's loads of muck
and grime in there.
Just, basically you're gonna be turning that around.
It's like sanding it away.
Now the name of the game is to keep everything clean.
And to use the correct amount of lube
and the correct lube for the type of riding you're doing,
the duration of riding you're doing,
and the conditions that you ride in.
Now when it comes to lubrication,
there are a lot of confusing options
available on the market.
Especially when it comes to road cycling,
because they have wax lubes, they have ceramic lubes,
you got spray lubes, you've got wet lubes,
and you've got dry lubes.
But really when it comes to mountain biking,
in my honest opinion,
there's only two that actually matter.
A good wet lube and a good dry lube.
Every mountain biker will need two options for that,
and they vary depending on the conditions
that you ride in and the time of year you go riding.
Now a wet lube, as you might think,
is a wet lubricant.
It's generally quite thick and viscous
and it's job is to hold the lubricating particles in place.
So there will be lubricating particles
floating within the lube,
and the idea is that you lube those rollers on the chain,
you allow it to penetrate,
but also, you leave a coating
of that lubricant on the chain.
And as well as keeping the chain lubricated,
it also protects the chain.
Some lubricants have corrosion inhibitors
built into them and basically it protects it
from the environment.
Now whilst wet lubes are very, very good at their job,
if you were to use them in drier conditions
or sandy conditions they can actually
make things worse for you
because they can attract all of the worst stuff
that you do not want near your transmission.
And this effectively makes up sort of
a horrible grinding paste and as you're peddling
you are literally spending money on your bike.
You are wearing things out.
So it's really important to only use wet lube
in the conditions that you need it in.
So the other option you need,
perhaps if you're gonna have two lubricants,
change of season, is the way I would suggest using them,
is a dry lubricant.
Now as misleading as the name sounds,
a dry lubricant is still actually wet.
It's a solvent lube and inside that solvent carrier,
let's call that, there are lubricating particles.
It's a liquid form when you apply it to the chain.
And the liquid solvent helps those particles
get into those rollers and the pins of the chain
where it needs to be.
Then typically the solvent will evaporate
or dry up filming a, like a film over the top of the chain.
Now the idea of this is the chain
then feels dry to the touch
but the lubricant is where it needs to be.
Now like wet lube,
dry lube does have a couple of downsides as well.
Now the first one is if you're riding in wet conditions
it's gonna get washed off quite easily.
Because it's not thick and viscous and water resistant
in the same way that wet lube is.
So don't use dry lube in wet conditions.
Or if you do have to use it in wet conditions
you're gonna be applying it a lot more frequently.
And another thing with dry lube
is it does wear out faster than wet lube.
But the advantages of dry lube of course,
you're not gonna get all that stuff
sticking all over your drive train
which means your drive train will run smoother for longer.
So, being cyclists of the world,
we're gonna be riding in various different conditions
whether you're just on your home trails,
whether that's in autumn or fall,
summer, spring, trails change.
So what I recommend is having a good quality
wet lube and a good quality dry lube.
Now general spray lube is very useful
and when applied correctly works well.
It's somewhere in the middle of wet and dry lube.
And that's expected.
It's got some of the traits of both.
But it is on the thinner side of a wet lube
so you're gonna need to apply it more frequently.
However it has got other uses around a bike.
Acts quite well as a water displacer.
If you were to spray it and polish bits of your bike
with it afterwards,
let's just say around pivot points and things,
it works quite well as a little additional barrier.
However, if you're just using stuff for transmission,
I recommend the old fashioned way,
just go for a simple wet and a simple dry lube
in a dropper bottle.
The reason for that is you can apply
vary accurately the specific amount of lube
that you need to teach roller on the chain.
And use it vary sparingly.
It's gonna last you longer.
And there's no chance you're gonna get it
anywhere near those braking surfaces
that are so easy to ruin.
Now when it comes to lubricating your chain
there's no point just adding more oil
to what's already there because you can actually
make things worse.
You might feel that you're just adding more lubricant
and it's gonna run nice and smooth.
But if you've been out riding
and there are particles of grid and sand
or anything like that in your drive train
you're just gonna keep it there by doing that.
And that is not what you wanna do.
So the best advise when you lube the chain
is to clean your transmission.
Now my transmission here at a glance
does look quite clean.
But actually when you go a bit closer
and you actually look at those rollers
you can see quite a lot of muck on there.
Now it would be all too easy just to run it around
with a fresh coat of lube on there and hit the trails.
But that's not the best practice to do.
Now having some kind of degreaser is really useful
because it makes this next process a lot easier,
but it's not essential because when you wash your bike
a lot of that natural lubricant,
provided you look after your bike on a regular basis,
will come out.
However, if your chain is all black and gunky
and got loads of stuff on it,
you're gonna need a degreaser to break that down.
Now degreaser is quite nasty stuff.
Most bike degreasers you get these days
are bio friendly so they're good for the environment,
or they're not harmful for the environment.
However, they're very harmful for your braking surfaces
so the same rules apply as would apply
with any spray, any sort of spray around your bike.
Any aerosol in fact.
Just avoid getting them anywhere near your braking surfaces.
Now the best form of practice would be to spray
some on a rag and then pass the chain through there
just by cycling your transmission backwards.
Of course, make sure the rag doesn't get tangled up
in any of the sprockets because it'll get pulled in
and you can also get your fingers pulled in there as well.
Common sense really,
just take note of what's going on.
Now another option and a lot of houses have this
is classic WD-40.
Now WD-40 is in fact a lubricant,
but it also has solvent base to it,
which means it can break down lubricant.
Now, on a transmission like this,
I don't think I actually need
to use degreaser at this stage.
I know where I've been riding,
I know the conditions,
and I know it's still running pretty smooth.
It's just picked up some muck on the way.
So some WD-40 on a rag.
And again run the chain through that
will actually remove quite a lot of that nasty stuff.
Then I'm free to lubricate the chain
and go about my business.
Now when it comes to actually applying the lubricant
just have a little think about this first.
So we know that dry lubricant
needs to get into the rollers,
and then effectively it will dry up around the chain.
So technically it doesn't matter where
you lubricate your chain on your transmission.
Now sometimes you see people
lubing the chain on the top here.
If you're using wet lube that's not good practice.
I'll tell you why in a minute.
But for a dry lube, it's quite acceptable
because it's gonna go into the chain itself and soak in.
But what I recommend doing is actually the same
for wet and dry lube is applying it
on the inside of the links.
Now the reason for that is you can cycle the chain
backwards through the transmission as you're doing this,
you can monitor the chain as it's going past,
it's very easy to be nice and accurate.
For a dry lube it doesn't make quite as much difference
because it's still gonna go into those links
and rollers and do its job.
But for wet lube, if you're applying it here,
you need part of the residue of wet lube
to remain on the chain.
This is the part of the chain that contacts,
like the inside part of the chain,
contacts the sprockets all the way around.
If you're lubricating the outside part of the chain
all you're doing is giving yourself
a reason to absorb stuff onto the chain,
which is gonna wear it out.
Now depending on the conditions that you ride in
a dry lube doesn't need anything once it's been applied
because it will naturally, the solvent will evaporate
and dry up.
That is job done, ready to ride.
But with a wet lube,
you're stuck with a couple of options here.
Now if you're riding on a slightly drier day,
but you still need wet lube over a dry lube,
sometimes it's a good idea to let it soak in
and then just wipe off some of that residue
that's on the outside links,
because that also helps stop grit and mud and muck
and all the stuff that wears it out sticking to it.
However, if it's a really, really wet horrible day,
leave it.
You need all the help you can get.
You need that lubricant to stay in place.
So let it do its job.
Just be cautious of the fact that when you are riding
in foul conditions you will need to clean
and degrease everything when you get back
to make sure it lasts.
So there we go, that is everything you really need
to know about lubricating your chain.
And like I emphasized from the beginning of the video
all you need is a simple wet and dry lubricant
and some rags.
That is the fundamentals.
Anything else will improve your experience
with the bike.
But that is all you really need
to make sure your transmission runs nice and smoothly.
Now if you want to find out how to deep clean
your transmission, that is quite a few steps up,
but it's quite an informative video,
click down there.
And if you wanna know a bit more
about all the different types of greases,
lubricants, compounds, et cetera,
that are available for bikes,
click up there.
It's a bit of a minefield.
As always, if you found this video helpful,
give us a thumbs up.
And if you love GMBN Tech and the essential series,
please don't forget to hit that subscribe button
and share it around.