As the winter wears on, I have gotten the privilege to work on a great number of bikes that have been ridden through all of the grit and grime that a nice Seattle winter has to offer. The roads are wet, bikes get dirty, we clean them, the job security is nice. However one thing I have noticed over the years is the general public’s tendency to over lubricate their chains. The process of lubricating a chain can be broken down into four basic steps:
1)    Wipe down chain with a rag.
2)    Apply new lube, about one drop per pivot point
3)    Pedal through a couple of times to let the lube work it’s way in
4)    Wipe off as much of the excess lube as possible

The last step is the one that is usually missed and the one that leads to your chain having too much lube on it. Basically: any lube that can be wiped off of your chain isn’t doing anything but attracting dirt. Any lube that is doing it’s job won’t come off when you wipe down the chain. By following those steps properly you will make your drivetrain last longer and you will have to clean it less often. Everyone wins.