Bicycling takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It also requires a bit of oil and grease to keep your bike moving smoothly with all the blood, sweat and tears you’re getting on it. You might ask “What should I oil on my bike?” Every so often and just once in a while? What should I never oil? Although we’ve had a similar post in the past, we wanted to dive into this question in more detail. Here are our mechanic recommendations on what to oil, grease and what to keep nice and dry. If you’ve got any questions we don’t cover here, give us a call or email. Or stop by our repair shop in Portland
What Should I Oil on My Bike?
Essentially, you want to make sure all moving parts are oiled/greased appropriately. Be sure to use bicycle lubricant, not WD40 or another solvent. Putting anything other than bike lube on your components can cause them to corrode faster. I’ve had customers tell me they’ve used motor oil, baby oil, coconut oil, vegetable oil, etc. Sounds like a good idea right? Actually it’s not, it ends being more work to clean up since it picks up more dirt onto the drivetrain. Besides the nice scent of the non bike oil of your choice, the only thing you are left with is a bunch of parts needing replacing often. We use Finish Line at our shop and it’s a fantastic lube to use for almost anything that needs it, plus it smells pretty great! As for grease, we use Phil Wood Waterproof Grease, great for all the threads and keeping your non drivetrain parts and bearings working smooth.
Things to Oil
- Chain
- Cables
- Cable housing
- U-lock
- Brake levers and assemblies
- Derailleur levers and assemblies
- Spoke nipples
- Kickstand
- Springs
- Drivetrain
Things to Grease
- Rack bolts
- Fender bolts
- Pedal threads
- Seat post
- Threads
- Bearings
- Quill stems
What Should I Not Oil?
At best, excess oil can collect dirt. At worst, it can make your bike less stable or safe. Even after you oil something like a chain, its a good idea to wipe off the oil from non-moving parts (like the faceplates of the chain).
- Handlebars
- Bottom Brackets (grease, but don’t oil)
- Threadless Stems
- Anywhere near your braking surface
- Cassettes
- Disc Rotors
- Brake Pads
So the next time you’re looking at your rusty steed and a bottle of lubricant, refer to this list and ask yourself “what should I oil?”
