If the chain is cleaned and washed regularly, it will prevent rapid wear and tear. Before lubrication, the chain should be thoroughly cleaned. If the chain is very dirty, it should be removed and washed at home. In doing so, there is a need to have a spare chain. This solves two issues. Firstly, you can, having put a spare chain, immediately ride the bike, of course, having first thoroughly cleaned the system, you should not put a clean chain on dirty sprockets. Secondly, using several chains will evenly utilize the resources of each of them and will have less impact on the sprockets of the system, thus extending the life of the system as a whole.

The chain and sprockets can be cleaned with special tools, e.g.

They are specially designed to cover every angle and reach every part of the chain. The brush penetrates deeply between gears and other places where dirt accumulates.

To apply lubricant correctly, you need to know what a bicycle chain consists of and which areas are subject to the most friction. Here are the elements of a typical bicycle chain: the outer and inner links, each consisting of two plates, rollers, and a connecting pin.

The greatest friction is in the places where the pin is in contact with the plates and the pin with the roller, this is where the pin is worn out. The second most important place for lubrication is where the roller fits between the plates of the inner link. If the roller cannot rotate, it will lead to increased wear of the cassette sprocket teeth. The design of the chain makes it clear why it is necessary to use liquid lubricants.

Lubricants are divided into two main types: for dry weather conditions and for wet weather conditions.

After each chain pin has been lubricated, the chain should be wiped dry from the outside. Lubricant that is not cleaned from the outside will collect road dust like a magnet, which will eventually lead to increased wear on both the chain and the system as a whole.