lohump

This question may make me sound like one. What is the protocol when installing a new chain?
Clean off the packing grease and lube it? Or ride it until you need lube?

FastJake

The original grease is the best thing the chain will ever have. Leave it completely alone, just install it. Clean/lube it once it gets dirty or noisy.

LesterOfPuppets

I leave factory gunk on, but typically add lube within 50 miles, frequently oil over the factory gunk right away.

FBinNY 

+1,000

I like to believe I make a pretty decent chain lube, but always leave the original lube in place on my own chains, though I do add fresh lube immediately while the chain is still clean.

You may add fresh lube immediately or hold off at your option. If the outside is sticky, you can help the chain stay cleaner by dampening a rag with mineral spirits or naphtha and wiping down the outside.

cyccommute 

Yep, the factory lubrication might be the best thing the chain will ever have...until it gets dirty. Then the new lube will carry any grit on the outside of the chain to the inside of the chain where it will act like a wonderful lapping compound and chew the chain to pieces. And most people will then remove the chain, remove the lubrication and add new stuff, repeating the process ad infinitum because the chain leaves icky black marks everywhere...I never have been able to figure out how I got chain ring marks on the back of my neck All this so that you can get 50 to 100 miles benefit out of that 'superior' chain lube

Since I live in a place where dust and sand are more of a problem then water, I clean the chain before I install, apply a dry lube which is far less messy, and never clean the chain again. In my experience and contrary to what most people will tell you, lohump, dry lubes don't have to be added after every ride, they last longer than 50 miles and they don't cause excessive wear. I lubricate my chains less often than every 6 weeks...often only after a rare rain ride...and don't change chains more often 4000 or 5000 miles.

Clean the chain and save yourself the headache further later.

peripatetic

Seal beach has moist, salty sea air. Unless the OP is riding by the beach a lot, dust or sand may not be the main issue. OP, if you do follow cyccommute's advice about stripping the factory wet lube and adding a dry, wax-based lubricant, beware that you'll need to be vigilant in (a) rinsing saltwater off the chain with fresh water and (b) wiping moisture away from the chain with a rag. If you fail to do this, then chain will begin to corrode and rust, and then the rust will migrate to the insides of the links, and it will then be getting chewed up by those particles rather than road grit.

cyccommute 

The same could be said of any lubrication in those conditions. Dry lubricants aren't water soluble so they do provide some protection. They just happen to not pick up as much grit as oil based lubricants. Grit, especially beach sand which has a high percentage of quartz in it, is highly abrasive. More so than any rust that could form. You are correct that vigilance is the key but that holds for any lubricant in a salt environment.

peripatetic

Yes. My only point was based on my experience trying dry lubes in wet conditions--once the wax has dried inside and the solvent has evaporated, the chain has zero protection against moisture. I learned that the hard way from trying to use the dry lube here in a NEastern fall. My chain got very rusty very quickly. I since switched back to a wet lube, and I've found the thin film of oil that spreads onto the chain protects it far better from corrosion in wet weather. It is a pick your poison situation; however, as someone who rides and has to keep my bike in wet conditions on a frequent basis, I've found it's easier to just be vigilant about regular road dirt than about premature chain corrosion. My own experience says dry lube isn't great for these conditions, and since I know Seal Beach (used to live near there), I thought it best to inform the OP about the possible drawbacks.

davidad

I ride a new chain for at least 1000 miles before I remove it to clean and relube it. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/chain-care.html

bradtx

lohump, As I understand it the chains are run through their 'packing grease' while the grease is hot allowing it to penetrate the hard to reach places. It's the best lubrication they'll ever have. On the road bikes I leave them alone for quite awhile, on the mountain bike I'll run a rag soaked in WD40 over the surfaces while back pedaling and then use a dry lube before the chain is actually used.

Brad

JiveTurkey

If you feel like you have to preface a question with, "Not a Noob, but...," then you're a noob. No shame in it. We're all noobs to something around here.

lohump

Wow....You posted an opinion based on nothing. But you are correct. There are some things I've never done and never will. And thanks for your opinion on lubing a new chain!

mikeybikes

I've found the ShelBroCo method of chain maintenance is far superior to even the factory lube.