How To Clean Mountain Bike Chain In Short Time

Clean mountain bike chain will not take a lot of your time but will help decrease the rate of chain wear and of impaired shifting performance which will ensure your safety while on a trail.

This doesn’t mean to wash the bike every time you take it out. It is a mountain bike; it is supposed to get dirty.

But the gunk build-up is not good for your bike to run and function as it is supposed to. In this article we show you the basic steps to clean mountain bike chain:

1. Find The Perfect Place

It might seem easy if you have a garden or a back yard because you can easily find the space for your bike and cleaning tools.

If you live in an apartment, however, it might seem a bit tricky. Most bike trails have a wash stand somewhere.

If not, you can head to the local bike shop where you can personally clean your bike, usually free of charge.

2. Closely Check

Lift the rear wheel and check the bike chain for gunk and rust. Move the wheels and check for noises and squeaks. Use a regular water hose to clean all the bike parts.

Plain water works just fine and you can definitely use soap for better cleaning.

Use different sizes of brushes to clean the body, the handles, and the chain. Try to reach all the spots. Scrub the parts and make sure that there is no dirt trapped anywhere.

3. Proper lubrication

Proper lubrication will ensure that your wheels move smoothly and will increase the durability of your bike chain which is the most important component of your best mtb under 500.

Apply a suitable lubricant on a clean chain. Don’t over apply lubrication as it might attract more dirt off the road.

Oils that are specially designed for bike lubrication work best as they have components that help repel water and dirt.

4. Thorough Cleaning

Regardless of regular cleaning and maintenance of your mountain bike chain, there will still be tough spots that your brushes can’t reach.

Every few months you might need to completely remove your chain in order to clean it properly.

You have to use a chain removal tool and completely immerse your chain in a solvent to remove all the dirt build-up.

Let it completely dry and use a clean rag to wipe it before lubricating and installing it to your bike one more time.

Clean mountain bike chain allows you to spot potential problems which are essential for safe and fun riding.

You will get to examine your chain for tight links. These might happen due to dirt accumulation or corrosion.

You have to spin your bike backward and notice every link as it passes through. Cleaning and lubricating bad links often fix them.

You can also adjust poorly installed link pins using a tool or by shifting them back and forth. If your chain links are really messed up then you have to replace them at once.  Remember, safety comes first!

 

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