“The sliding surfaces of each chain link experience increased friction when a chain is not properly cleaned and lubricated.

We’ve observed muddy chains provide an additional 12 watts of losses over baseline in extreme situations (MTB or cyclocross, for example). This amount rises with grit, according to Smith, who says that riding multiple road rides without cleaning or relubricating can result in losses of roughly 5 watts. A few “clean” road rides can result in an additional 3 watts of frictional losses due to light road grit. “The statistics can vary depending on how ‘dirty’ the chain is, but on average, testing reveals a dirty road chain will lower efficiency by roughly 3 to 5 watts (at 250-watt rider output) – about 2% of power loss,” he explains.Ī properly maintained and lubricated chain, for instance, uses roughly 7 watts. Why Should I Clean My Bicycle Chain?Īccording to independent testing facility Friction Facts’ Jason Smith, a dirty chain results in a demonstrable loss of efficiency. Let’s dive into our post to know how to lube a bike chain. Be sure to get all the links of the chain, and avoid getting any oil on the wheels or frame of your bike. Then, put a small amount of oil on the rag and rub it onto the chain. You will need a rag and some bicycle chain oil.įirst, find the spot on the chain where the oil will go.

Oiling a bike chain is a relatively simple process, and only takes a few minutes. Get a good synthetic oil for use in your saw - and if you want to smell Castor put some in your Tiki Torch.How To Oil A Bike Chain? If your bike has a chain, it will need to be oiled from time to time. Modern Castor based lubricants are much better refined and processed - but I truly believe you can't do any better than a modern sythetic 50:1 oil designed for use in your chainsaw. There are rumors of the pilots getting sick from breathing the castor ladened fumes. The airplanes have engine shrouding that tries to keep the exhaust/oil spray on the bottom of the plane and out of the pilots face. After the planes fly and are shut down the entire bottom of the plane is soaking wet with gooey sticky oil. The engines have an oil pump and they use Castor Oil as it does not burn completely in the combustion process - the valve assembly on the top of each spinning cylinder is lubricated by the oil that comes out of the exhaust. The whole crankcase and cylinder assembly spins with the propellor - the crankshaft is mounted rigid to the airframe. I went to a WW1 event at Wright Patterson Airforce Museum and they had a couple of planes that used the old LeRhone rotary engines. Raw Castor is tough on engine oil seals and makes a thick gooey residue. I love the smell of Castor.but I do believe it is old technology that was developed when there weren't better options.

Castor oil for bike chain