How to clean and lube bike chain?

Bike chain is a very important part of the cycle, bikes, and e-bikes. But different chains are used for cycles, bikes, and e-bikes. As we all know the e-bike comes with a motor. So for e-bikes special and extra strong chains are used. Because the motor lays more debt on the chain.

Everyone who has e-bikes tries to take good care of their bikes. Your arrival on this post shows that you are also curious about the e-bike chain. If I’m Right then you are on the right track. This article is specially composed for people like you. In this article, I will shed light on the type of chain used in e-bikes. You will also learn about how to take care of these chains to extend their stability.

Which bike chain is best to use in e-bikes？

Mostly Shimano chain and KMC chain are used in e-bikes. KMC is a stronger chain and it is supposed to be an excellent chain for all types of e-bikes. It is crucial to take care of the e-bike chain to increase its life.

What is the difference between cleaning and lubing?

Cleaning

It is simple to understand the difference between cleaning and lubing. Cleaning is something that cleans the extra dust or mud from the chain. In this step, you don’t need any extra gadgets or tools.

Lubrication

The process of oiling the chain is called lubrication.

Importance of lubrication

Lubricant is very important because it avoids resistance in the chain. There are different forms of lubricants. It can be liquid, solid, or plastic. Friction is one of the main reasons for chain demise. So it is very important to lube the chain correctly.

How to clean and lube the bike chain?

The first step is always cleaning the chain. To clean the chain you need to follow the following steps.

• First, put up the back wheel from the ground to examine the whole chain.
• Now rotate the paddle slowly.
• While rotating the paddle check the dust and dirt on the chain.
• Use a cloth and clean the chain properly.
• After this take an old toothbrush and by using that brush remove all the dust and mud that is not removed with a cloth.
• After using the brush, wipe the chain with the cloth once again.

Now you are done. Cleaning the chain before lubing is very important. Because if you apply the oil directly without cleaning then there is a huge possibility of rusting. And also creates more mess.

Types of lubricants

From time to time maintenance of the bike is important. A person who is taking good care of his bike may prolong its life. And the person who ignores the maintenance even after driving even in the rainy weather can cause a lot of damage to his bike. The sensible driver takes care of his bike. He may take small steps daily in this regard. For example, cleaning and lubing the bike chain once a week or twice a week. Or according to the needs of the bike. I have explained the whole procedure of cleaning above. Now let’s move on to know the procedure of lubing.

There are different types of lubricants available for lubing. But it is important to use that lubricant that suits the chain.

Different lubricants are as follows

• Dry chain lubricants.
• Wet chain lubricants.
• Lubricants for all reasons.

Dry chain lubricant

In the start after applying this chain remains wet until it turns to a waxy finish. Sometimes it takes a few hours to dry. So I would suggest you do not ride until it dries. Because if you ride when it is wet then it may catch more dust and mud than a dry chain. And you will also need to re-apply if it catches dirt in the wet chain.

Wet chain lubricant

These types of lube always stay wet until you wipe them off from the chain. These feel a little bit sticky as compared to the dry lube. It is normally considered suitable in wet weather like rainy weather. Because it will never remove from the chain until you remove them by yourself. But the main disadvantage of this lubricant is it catches more dirt and dust. I would recommend this lubricant only when circumstances demand it. On normal days you should go to dry lubes.

Lubricants for all purposes

These are some lubricants available that are suitable in every situation. But these are not specifically good enough.

Grease

Grease is the most common type of lubes. It is mostly used in the simple cycle chain.

The complete procedure of lubing

Lubing the e bike chain is very easy. If you want to know the accurate way of lubrication then you need to follow the following steps.

• First, stand your e-bike on a stand that will help the bike to pull up from the ground.
  • Now take a small(filled with lube)plastic bottle with a small nozzle. And also take an old toothbrush.
• Now put the lube drop after drop on the chain slowly.
• Settle the lube to go inside portions of the chain with the brush.
• Now you are done.

Here are some key points you need to follow before and after lubing.

1. Use the degreaser.
2. Remove the degreaser.
3. Fresh lube.
4. Remove excess lube.

Use the degreaser

The first step before lubing is to apply a degreaser to the chain. The reason behind this is to remove the old and messy lube from the chain. It is really important to apply a degreaser before starting the lubing procedure.

Remove the degreaser

Make sure that you also remove the degreaser after applying it. Because it is important to remove. After removing this then you step forward for lubing.

Fresh lube

It is really important to use fresh lube for lubing. Because fresh one is runny and easy to penetrate in the chain. If you use an old one it may contain some particles that stick into the chain joints and create more mess. After applying the lube, rotate the paddle fast. This will help the lube to penetrate more efficiently into the chain.

Remove extra lube

Once you are done lubing you need to clean the extra lube from the chain. For this, you need to be tricky. Follow the following steps to clean the extra lube.

• Take a cloth then put it under the chain and dap the cloth.
• Don’t rub the cloth because it may remove all lube from the chain.
• If you use a dry lubricant then use a tissue instead of a cloth because it absorbs all the extra liquid lube from the chain.

Mostly asked questions about the cleaning and lubing process

Most people asked many questions about the cleaning and lubing process. Following are the answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Why is it important to clean the chain before applying lubricant?

It is necessary to clean the chain first because if you do not clean the chain and apply the lube on the chain then there are high chances that the chain got rusted. And also create more mess after the combination of lube and mud.

Can we also wash the chain with water?

Yes, you can wash the chain with water after applying a degreaser. But make sure that before applying the lube, the chain must be completely dry.

Summary

Good bike chain maintenance can make your bike ride longer and safer, if there is anything else you want to know, ADO EBIKE will be ready to help answer your questions.