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Comment by stavros | Hacker News Reader

I took my (cheap and heavy) bicycle to the shop. The guy was going to oil the chain, but I told him not to, as my commute is fixed and I want it to be good exercise.

I guess that, when you're racing, you want to win, not necessarily to expend max effort. For a commute where I use a bicycle instead of motorcycle specifically for the exercise, I want the opposite.

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This would lead to increased component wear though.

Yeah, definitely. I expect I'll have to pay something to keep fit, and the chain and gears are probably cheaper than a gym subscription. They're also not very good components, which puts them in the bottom end of the price range, so that's good too.

Please do be careful and monitor the condition of your chain if you're going to deliberately let it degrade. You can cause yourself quite a nasty accident when your chain snaps, or even slips on the teeth at an unfortunate moment. I'd personally find a different way to increase the effort e.g. carry more mass

This is real, it happened to me and it hurt.

Not to mention that a broken chain means an inoperable bike, and replacing a chain on the go is a messy job. And if the chainrings are worn due to a poorly maintained chain, a replacement new chain may not even fit correctly.

So, even without injury, a broken chain even two miles away from town and a bike shop is no fun.

The only good thing about not lubricating your drivetrain is that replacing/fixing it won't be so messy!

I was going to say the same thing. A poorly maintained chain wears and “stretches,” and in turn wears gears faster. There’s no need to intentionally wear out components for better exercise - just ride a longer route faster, throw rocks in a backpack, etc. A poorly lubed chain only adds maybe 5-10 Watts, which is not much in terms of fitness improvements. And a worn chain and drivetrain is more prone to slipping or breaking, which is a good way to get injured.

Edit: I just realized nsteel said pretty much the same thing below.

A trailer is another nice handicap that has the benefit of greatly expanding cargo space. Cumbersome in an urban environment, however.

If you want it to be even harder to bike, try releasing some air from the tires :)

Oh I do! I pump them up to considerably less than full.

You think that having a dirty chain is improving your fitness as compared to not having a dirty chain?

Obviously yes, as it has more friction.

But you could just ride harder with a smoother chain, or like, carry a pack of gum with you? If you carried an extra water bottle, it'd be orders of magnitude harder for you than the difference the dirty chain makes. This is hands down one of the silliest things I've ever seen discussed in my decades of being a cyclist and working at bike shops, etc. If you want to exercise there's a million better options than purposefully neglecting your bike.

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