taz777

There seems to be quite a divided opinion out there.

KMC FAQ says leave the factory sticky stuff on a new chain until it needs to be cleaned.

As the chain is new, would it do any harm to put a lube on top of the factory lube or should I clean the chain first?

My fear is that leaving the factory lube on will attract a lot of dirt very quickly.

Amt0571

Factory lube is superior to anything that you can apply after it. Leave it until it goes of or you have to clean the chain.

Self Evident

Unless you intend to use parafin wax to lube your chain, leave the original factory lube. Then, just clean and lube as/only when needed. However, I would thoroughly wipe off the new chain before installing it, removing as much lube as possible from the external portions of the chain, in order to reduce collected dirt & grit.

JonathanGennick 

+1. There is so much sand where I live that factory lube on the outside of the chain is a bad thing. Usually I spray a rag with brake cleaner, and use the wet rag to wipe down the chain. It helps to have something potent to cut that factory grease and get it off the outside of the chain.

I doubt it really matters much if one leaves the factory lube or just strips it and puts on whatever lube one prefers to use.

taz777

Thanks guys. I'll wipe down the exterior surfaces.

Iride01 

The only positive thing the lube on the outside of the chain does is help prevent surface rust. So I'd wipe the excess off with a dry rag or slightly oily rag if it's thick and gummy.

If I lived in a dry area and didn't ride in the wet conditions much, then I might use some solvent on the rag to completely get it off the outside of the chain using the same thinking that a dry lube free outside won't gather as much dust.

zacster

I changed the chain on my two bikes at the same time. On my road bike I removed the factory lube after about 200 miles and applied Squirt wax lube. On my commuter bike I still have the factory lube. They both run equally well, except that wax lube requires frequent re-application.

I'd just leave it on until it needs to be cleaned again,

grizzly59

I always used oil / OMS mix on the chain. Then I rode in OBX NC with blowing sand, you need a dry lubed chain there. Or maybe run / swim instead. I think a good answer depends on where you ride, if your chain gets gritty from dirt, sand, whatever, you need to go dry. If not, then wet and wipe off the excess.

zmalwo

i feel like the new chain is too sticky and thick without lubing, so i usually just put on some thin lubes and ride it a few times then lube it again. that should mixed the thick manufacture lube and the thin chain lube together, and wipe them all off when you lube them second time!

davidad

Chain care, wear and skipping by Jobst Brandt

Bigbus

For my current riding conditions, I put wax over the factory sticky stuff to prevent sand sticking to it. When it needs cleaning, I'll give it a thorough clean and hot wax treatment. If I don't put something over the sticky factory stuff within a few miles of riding the shifting starts acting up.

cpach

Current higher end chains seem to have a less sticky lube than chains used to have. If you're really worried about attracting dirt, you can use denatured alcohol or similar solvent to lightly degrease the exterior of the chain. Really though, dirt is mostly not going to easily travel to the moving parts of the chain with the factory lube. I definitely just install chains as is on customers bikes, and do the same for mine as well. I usually give the factory lube a little longer before relubing, then lube on top of the factory lube for a while, then eventually degrease the chain and lube some more.

squirtdad

Just to note different new chains have different amounts of lube on them.
Do to a perfect storm combo of cutting too many link off, late in the day, and wanting to get a build done I have in the last week played with two 11 speed
chains a KMC and a Shimano ultegra. The KMC was very dry, with a little slightly sticky waxy feel. Wiping it showed no residue. The shimano felt oily and wiping it showed a lot of residue.

I ended up with the Shimano on the bike.....and being a belt an suspenders type, put rock and roll gold lube on it...... but the factory lube probably would have been ok

taz777

I gave in to my cleanliness and bike detailing OCD and couldn't bear the dirty, dull grey chain on my new bike. I've given it and the drivetrain a good clean and will leave it overnight to dry. It'll be lubed tomorrow. i used the Park Tool chain cleaning machine and the cleaning liquid was black at the end of the cleaning routine!

It's still grey but a tiny bit shinier now. I think it's going to be replaced with a chain that is more bling in due course. Whilst it's probably a decent quality chain (KMC X11L), I just cannot put up with the sight of it.

trailangel

OK.. get it cleaned and lubed and don't ride it.

TimothyH

If you don't have sand sticking to the chain and assuming that it isn't a show bike then cleaning factory lube off a new chain is just unnecessary work.

kcblair

I never remove the manufacturers lube. I do wipe the chain down after each ride. I ran this test on 2 chains recently. At 1000 mi., I cleaned the chain in OMS, dried and re-lubed with Chain- L. Three other bikes, I'm running a test on, (1-9 speed, 2 10 speed), which includes initially lubing those chains with Chain-l.

All new chains, I do wipe them down with a rag , with a little OMS, to remove the sticky lube from the outside of the links. KB

Retro Grouch 

Occasionally we have a topic in which guys, who I otherwise respect, strongly hold mutually exclusive opinions. How to service a bicycle chain properly is one of those topics.
When that happens, my theory is that it probably doesn't matter very much or one of them would get bad results and change what he's been doing.
That sure cut down on my chain maintenance activity.

Gresp15C

Very well put. I've noticed that for every binary choice, there's an ongoing debate and camps that can't be reconciled. This even extends outside cycling. Google "french versus german bow" and good luck.

AnkleWork

+1
And yet the greater truths continue to lie in the middle ground; they always have.

ThermionicScott 

Even though I think factory lube is decent stuff, I apply Chain-L to fresh chains and then wipe them thoroughly. Love that Chain-L smell.

taz777

Two days ago I cleaned the chain and, as I mentioned previously, the cleaning fluid in the chain washing machine was an oily black colour. I found this quite odd as the bike had only done 20 miles or so in dry, sunny weather. Visually, the chain did look a dirty grey colour.

After cleaning the chain and entire drivetrain thoroughly, I left the bike overnight to dry and, yesterday, I lubed the chain in the morning using Muc-Off C3 Dry Ceramic lube. I checked each link using the UV torch supplied with the lube and every link had lube on it on the inside surface. I then left it for several hours for the lube to dry on the chain before wiping off any excess - there was no excess on the cloth so I presume that the lube had penetrated very well and had dried to a waxy finish.

I then put the bike up on my work stand to check the gear shifts and ensure that all sprockets and chainrings shifted well, before going for a few short test rides.

The bike felt smoother and quieter.

My conclusion would be that for the specific chain that I had on the bike, the factory lube was inferior than the aftermarket lube that I used. YMMV.

Doug5150

Well they oughta know, right?

In general--I would assume cleaning and applying real lube is required before use. Metals and machine parts are usually stored and shipped with a rust preventative coating, but not an actual lubricant.

mrblue

It seems that whenever I get a Campagnolo chain it is caked with a thick yellow grease. I try to wipe as much off as I can, then after a ride or two I degrease and lube the chain. As for Shimano and KMC chains, I just leave the factory lube on there.

Shimagnolo

BikeRumor:
What is Shimano’s official stance on the chain lube that comes stock on a shimano chain? Is it actually a lube, or a grease? And is it best to leave it on until the chain gets noisy and relube, or strip it right away and relube before riding?

Shimano’s main tech guru, Nick Murdick:
So that brings us to lubrication. I mentioned that the chain wears because of friction as the chain moves to wrap around a gear. Well, that friction is reduced if there is lube on the chain. If there is dirt mixed in, the lube makes a bigger difference in reducing friction. If there is water mixed in, the lube helps displace the water. The grease that comes on a Shimano chain is applied at the factory to the individual pieces before the chain is assembled. The grease does a better job of reducing friction than aftermarket chain lubes and it lasts longer. The main reason we use liquid chain lube, whether it is one that stays liquid or a dry lube that has a solid lubricant in a liquid carrier (like a PTFE lube) is because we need to get the lube on a part that is not accessible without disassembling the chain. So the best thing to do when installing a new chain is to leave the factory grease on, not apply any other lube, ride until it wears out and then start applying liquid chain lube. In dusty conditions you can wipe off the outside of the new chain with a rag that is wet with a gentle degreaser to keep dirt from sticking to the grease. The factory grease also keeps the chain nice and quiet. After soaking a chain in degreaser and then lubing the chain with liquid lubricant the chain gets noticeably louder.

Source: https://www.bikerumor.com/2011/06/28...-with-shimano/