How to Lube a Bicycle
Lubricating your bicycle should be part of a regular maintenance routine, just like changing the oil in your car. Lubricating the bike every month or two will prolong the life of your bike and prevent mishaps on the road. Do lube maintenance more frequently if you ride the bike in extreme off-road conditions.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
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1
Remove brake and gear cables from their bolts and pull them out of the housings. Rub cables with grease; then slip them back into the housings.
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2
Lubricate brake pivot points on each arm with synthetic oil, such as Finish Line or Tri-Flow. Keep lubricant off brake pads and wheel rims.
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3
Spray front and rear derailers frequently with synthetic oil. Lubricate all the moving parts.
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4
Lubricate the chain with synthetic oil as you turn the crank backward. Wipe up excess oil or it will attract dirt. Keep oil off the rim. Placing a towel under the bike will help keep the floor clean.
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5
Remove the seat post and handlebar stem at least once a year. Liberally coat them with grease to prevent fusion of the post and tube.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Hand degreaser works better than soap for removing bicycle grease during clean up.
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Comments
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unicornhatchery
Mar 28, 2010
The advice from marc780 is solid. Just get new cables. -
marc780
Nov 20, 2009
I worked in a bicycle shop for 4 years. There is no need to remove cables from housings, grease them, and put them back in! If the end of the cable is seperated, which they almost always are after the lead cable end falling off, getting the cable back in is problematic. Use them until they break, spend $5 for a new one and grease that one. As for chains, there are always two opposite schools of thought from the owners, it is either ignored until it turns bright red from rust - and breaks (which rarely happens on a bicycle) , or over-lubed til the rider's pants cuffs turn black after riding it. Lube it however you want, with whatever you want, and whenever you want, but clean the chain with a dry rag afterwards until almost no lube comes off.
