Everything You Need To Know About Bicycle Lubricants

The variety of lubricants in your local bike shop can be a little confusing, vital for maintaining your bicycle and keeping things moving smoothly, they prolong the life of parts and improve your ride if applied correctly. If you’re not sure which parts of the bike need lubrication then this blog will guide you through.

There’s essentially three different types of bike lube:

1. Chain Lubricants (Dry/Wet)
2. Grease
3. All Purpose Lubricants

Chain Lubricants (Dry/Wet)

Dry and wet are pretty much universal terms and most chain lubricant manufacturers will offer these two variants as a minimum. As a very simple rule of thumb, use dry lubes in dry conditions and wet lubes in wet conditions.

Dry Lubricants

These go onto the chain wet, but then dry to a waxy finish. Most take a few hours to dry, so plan for this before you head out to ride. The positive side of a dry lube is it won’t collect much dirt which is perfect for cycling in dry conditions. On the downside, dry lubes wash off very easily and will need re-applying after a wet ride.

Wet lubricants

Wet lubes are thicker and stick to the chain, remaining wet to the touch until rubbed away. They are perfect for wet conditions, as they offer a highly increased resistance to rain and are harder to wash away. The downside is they collect dirt so need cleaning up a lot more regularly to stop damage to components.

Wet lubes should only really be used when the conditions call for it. They are perfect for your winter bike in harsh conditions, but clean up the chain and swap back to dry lubes in the summer to prevent grime building up within the cassette.

How to Use

Clean your chain

Before applying lubricant, get the chain as clean as possible. There is no point lubricating over dirt as this will continue to grind around all of your key components.

If your chain is in a particularly dire state you could use a scrubbing tool but usually a rag and degreaser will do fine. Remember to also clean in the cassette and around the jockey wheels.

Application

The best way to apply lube is with your bike in a stand or the back wheel off the ground. Apply one drop of lube into every chain link and work the pedals around gradually until you have completed every section. Then run the bike through as many of the gears as possible to force the lube into the inside parts of the links where it is most needed.

All Purpose Lubricants

All purpose lubricants are your day-to-day workhorses for keeping the bike moving. It is best to invest in something that has a waterproof element such as teflon and is suited to outdoor use.

For an all purpose lubricant, products in spray cans make application easier especially when blasting it into those hard to reach areas like down cable housing. All purpose lubricants have a whole host of uses like freeing up a sticking brake cantilever, stop a squeaking pedal, get your brake cables shifting smoother and a lot more besides.

As with all types of lubricant, make sure you clear off any excess as, being quite thin, this can easily run down onto brake pads or other areas of the bike you don’t need it.