DOC Ranger Rob's trail tip

charlie and bike

Published 2020-05-28

Mountain bikes are expensive pieces of kit, so one of my top tips to protect your investment is to maintain the drive chain after nearly every ride. I wipe the chain, chain rings, and derailleur pulley wheels clean of dirt with an old cotton rag and follow this with a pin-by-pin oil of the chain.
My nearly three-year-old daughter Charlotte is helping me here clean the rear cluster with a special brush. I finish the chain off a little later by running it through a clean rag to remove any excess oil and dirt.

On real wet and muddy rides, like the Heaphy or Mangapurua Track in rain, you can halve the life of your drivetrain in just a few hours of riding. So yes, I’m that guy who holds up everyone after lunch with a quick chain clean and re-oil.