Does my bike go slower when chain squeaking?

[DWiggy]

I rode my bike home yesterday and the running gear was squeaking, my whole ride felt really sluggish and my average speed was 1-2mph slower, is this just psychological you know midweek legs and looking for an excuse?
When I got home I cleaned and lubed the chain and running gear and bike seems to be flying again!...strange.

 

[chqshaitan]

when i had used my bike for a few days during the cold / muddy weather a month or so ago I gave it a clean on the weekend, and it was noticeably faster and the ride was much smoother.

 

[MrGrumpy]

lol probably a wee bit psychology at work but in fairness, a dirty chain not well lubed is not going to be efficient? I find the same effect comparing my geared bike to my fixed, feels like resistance through the drive train on gears where as my fixed feels smooth ?

 

[helston90]

Any noise being produced is energy that's not being converted into forward motion so yes it will have an effect.
That and in the back of my mind if I know somethings wearing out/ needs replacing I tend not to punish it too much for fear of it going completely.
So yes it would def slow you down.

 

[Sittingduck]

I seriously doubt you will automatically get a 1-2mph benefit from cleaning a dirty chain but it's worth a try!

 

[Boris Bajic]

I always find that everything feels cleaner, faster and smoother after a little bit of maintenance.

Even if all I've done on that occasion is brakes, tyre pressures, chain lube and a quick wash down, even the gearchange feels infinitely better and somehow 'box fresh'.

I think it's all in the mind, but I'm not willing to find out empirically by letting the bike get gritty and grotty.

 

[HLaB]

LOL, You'll have gained on efficiency by having a clean drive train but not to the extent of 1-2mph; I think it was mostly pyschological

 

[Rob3rt]

You just felt like you were going slower because you could sense other cyclists looking at you with disgust as you squeaked on by and you were embarrassed!

 

[Cyclopathic]

You just felt like you were going slower because you could sense other cyclists looking at you with disgust as you squeaked on by and you were embarrassed!

It is possible that they were going slower in a sub concious attempt to make less noise and attract fewer looks from the proper, real cyclists who never squeak.

 

[snailracer]

From John Hopkins University:

"The Johns Hopkins engineers made another interesting discovery when they looked at the role of lubricants. The team purchased three popular products used to "grease" a bicycle chain: a wax-based lubricant, a synthetic oil and a "dry" lithium-based spray lubricant. In lab tests comparing the three products, there was no significant difference in energy efficiency. "Then we removed any lubricant from the chain and ran the test again," Spicer recalls. "We were surprised to find that the efficiency was essentially the same as when it was lubricated."
The researcher speculates that a bicycle lubricant does not play a critical role under clean lab conditions, using a brand new chain. But it may contribute to energy efficiency in the rugged outdoors. "The role of the lubricant, as far as we can tell, is to take up space so that dirt doesn't get into the chain," Spicer says. "The lubricant is essentially a clean substance that fills up the spaces so that dirt doesn't get into the critical portions of the chain where the parts are very tightly meshed. But in lab conditions, where there is no dirt, it makes no difference. On the road, we believe the lubricant mostly assumes the role of keeping out dirt, which could very well affect friction in the drive train."

http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/home99/aug99/bike.html

 

[Kiwiavenger]

From John Hopkins University:

"The Johns Hopkins engineers made another interesting discovery when they looked at the role of lubricants. The team purchased three popular products used to "grease" a bicycle chain: a wax-based lubricant, a synthetic oil and a "dry" lithium-based spray lubricant. In lab tests comparing the three products, there was no significant difference in energy efficiency. "Then we removed any lubricant from the chain and ran the test again," Spicer recalls. "We were surprised to find that the efficiency was essentially the same as when it was lubricated."
The researcher speculates that a bicycle lubricant does not play a critical role under clean lab conditions, using a brand new chain. But it may contribute to energy efficiency in the rugged outdoors. "The role of the lubricant, as far as we can tell, is to take up space so that dirt doesn't get into the chain," Spicer says. "The lubricant is essentially a clean substance that fills up the spaces so that dirt doesn't get into the critical portions of the chain where the parts are very tightly meshed. But in lab conditions, where there is no dirt, it makes no difference. On the road, we believe the lubricant mostly assumes the role of keeping out dirt, which could very well affect friction in the drive train."

http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/home99/aug99/bike.html

spoilsport

 

[Sittingduck]

What a pointless experiment. Why didn't they run the test outdoors in real world conditions...

 

[biggs682]

so if i lube my chain , pump my tyres up how much faster will i go ?