Choose your weapon!

Keeping a bicycle in good working order does seem rather like a duel, doesn\’t it? A duel with the elements, that is. The frame gets splattered with gritty mud during a wet ride. The chain ends up a mess, too.

After tires, they say, the bicycle\’s biggest maintenance problem is its chain. It needs to be cleaned and dried after a wet ride. It needs lube!

So, choose your weapon! But there are so many different types of lube! Which  one is best for my chain?

Wet lube year-round would seem a good choice for me. Our average annual rainfall is 60 inches. On the other hand, we\’ll get long dry spells now and then; and during those times a dry lube would be better, I guess.

I\’ve taken to using a self-cleaning lube. It\’s easier, and a little less messy. I\’m not splashing dirty, sudsy, oily water around. I also don\’t have to worry about proper disposal of that dirty water.

As to getting excess lube off the chain, I\’m never sure I\’m doing it right. I think I\’m overly concerned that I\’ll get too much lube off the chain. If I have to handle the chain, such as if it comes off the small ring, my hands get black with oil. Yet a dry chain isn\’t the best idea, either.

I\’ll keep dueling with it. Maybe one day I\’ll figure it out.