All Maintenance Tasks · Weekly
Wipe Down the Drivetrain
A chain does not wear out from use so much as from the grit it carries. Road dust sticks to lubricant, the mixture works its way between the rollers and pins, and from that point the chain is grinding itself and the cassette every time you pedal. Wiping the outside off once a week removes most of the supply before it gets inside.
Interval
Weekly
Once a week for a bike in regular use
Time on the job
4 minutes
Once you have done it a few times.
You or a shop
Anyone
The stop signs further down are the real answer.
Applies toRoadMTBHybridE-bikeKids
How often, really
Once a week for a bike ridden most days in dry weather. Every ride if you have been out in rain or on a dusty gravel road, because that is when the chain picks up the most and the window before it works inward is shortest. A bike that only goes out on dry weekends can go two or three weeks.
The interval on this page is Weekly. Once a week for a bike in regular use.
What you need
- Several cotton rags
- A small brush or a wooden stick for the jockey wheels
- Chain lubricant, only if the chain turns out to need it
Doing the job
Get a rag you are willing to ruin
An old cotton t-shirt cut into squares is better than a paper towel, which shreds and leaves fibers in the chain. Keep a stack of them where the bike lives. This job only happens weekly if the rag is already there.
Hold the chain in the rag and pedal backward
Wrap the rag around the lower run of chain between the chainring and the rear derailleur, pinch it closed, and turn the pedals backward slowly with your other hand. Ten or fifteen turns will move the whole chain through. Then rotate the rag to a clean face and do it again until the rag stops coming back black.
Get between the plates, not just around them
Pinch the rag so it presses into the sides of the chain rather than just sliding over the top. Most of what damages a chain sits in the gap where the side plates meet the rollers, and a loose grip skates right over it.
Clean the jockey wheels
The two small wheels in the rear derailleur collect a black paste that transfers straight back onto the chain. Hold a corner of the rag against each one and turn the pedals backward, or pick the buildup off with a small screwdriver or a stick.
Wipe the chainring teeth and the cassette faces
Run the rag through the gaps between the cassette sprockets, and wipe both faces of the chainring. You are not aiming for clean metal here, only for removing the loose black material that would otherwise be pressed back into the chain.
Decide whether it needs lubricant
A chain that is dry, light gray, or squeaking needs lubricant. A chain that is dark, quiet and slightly slick does not; adding more just gives grit something to stick to. If in doubt, wipe it again and listen to it on the next ride.
Stop and take it to a shop
If any of this shows up while you work on wipe down the drivetrain, put the bike down and let a mechanic look at it. None of these are things to ride out and see how it goes.
- The chain has orange rust on the rollers rather than just a film on the outer plates, or a link that will not flex. A seized link can break under load, and a chain that breaks under load usually takes the rider down with it.
- The chain skips under pressure on a sprocket you use often, even after cleaning. That is chain or cassette wear, and it is measured with a gauge rather than guessed at.
- Anything from a mid-drive motor housing that looks like a leak, a crack, or a loose cable entry. Wipe around it, then have it looked at rather than opened.
Where this usually goes wrong
- Using a degreaser every week. Weekly degreasing strips lubricant out of the chain faster than it removes grit, and a dry chain wears faster than a slightly dirty one.
- Wiping the chain and then immediately soaking it in fresh lubricant, which puts a wet surface back on the outside where dust lands.
- Aiming a hose or a pressure washer at the drivetrain. Water driven under pressure gets into bearings that were never meant to see it.