Lubricate new chain?
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Lubricate new chain?
When installing a new Shimano chain (Dura-Ace), should the chain be cleaned and lubricated before first use?
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No.
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When cleaning the jockey wheels in the RD, is there a particular type of lubricant to use? Also, are the wheels directional?
Last edited by Robert A; 06-01-20 at 08:19 AM.
#5
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They come with grease from the factory. You need to take them apart to lubricate them. Cleaning the outside can be done with a rag. There usually is a top/guide pulley and a bottom/tension pulley. Ive never seen directional pulleys, but take a closer look before taking it apart.
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They come with grease from the factory. You need to take them apart to lubricate them. Cleaning the outside can be done with a rag. There usually is a top/guide pulley and a bottom/tension pulley. Ive never seen directional pulleys, but take a closer look before taking it apart.
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I clean mine with fuel & WD-40. Works like a charm.
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#12
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I have found the neccessity of cleaning a new chain before installing, then lubing. The stuff coating many chains from the factory is some form of rust inhibitor, like they use on cast iron machinery so it doesn't rust while in a warehouse someplace. I think it's called cryoline (?). It doesn't have desireable properties as lubricant. It's very sticky and attracts everything in dry or wet weather. I solvent bath new chains now.
#13
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I have found the neccessity of cleaning a new chain before installing, then lubing. The stuff coating many chains from the factory is some form of rust inhibitor, like they use on cast iron machinery so it doesn't rust while in a warehouse someplace. I think it's called cryoline (?). It doesn't have desireable properties as lubricant. It's very sticky and attracts everything in dry or wet weather. I solvent bath new chains now.
Its NOT cosmoline. Bike chains are ready to use out of box. You think Giant or your LBS washes 50 mio chains a year in solvent?
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Yep, nothing better than the factory lube. A few years ago we got that info directly from a mfg, KMC I think.
#15
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Seeing as I use Squirt dry wax on my chains I completely degrease/clean a new chain then apply Squirt. If I was going to use a wet oil based lube I wouldn't bother but for Squirt you need to clean chain before initial application.
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This. When I put a new chain on, I just wipe down the outside and ride it. Then when it needs to be cleaned, I'll run it through the chain cleaner and use my regular lube.
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Welp, first time I heard it was lube so I wasn't even aware it was a myth. Just my experience with the few new chains I've put on. Gums up in my opinion. In any case, this guy is going to clean it off even if smells like a bottle of top shelf Clive Christian and has been drawn through the thighs of Miss Universe!
#20
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They come with grease from the factory. You need to take them apart to lubricate them. Cleaning the outside can be done with a rag. There usually is a top/guide pulley and a bottom/tension pulley. Ive never seen directional pulleys, but take a closer look before taking it apart.
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Here's an interview with a Shimano guy. He explains it pretty well. https://bikerumor.com/2011/06/28/cha...-with-shimano/
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#22
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The typical factory lube is a product at least similar to cosmoline. Watch the video at the Campy chain factory. The chains go through a bath of heated lube with a low viscosity that turns into the sticky gunk as it cools. It's fine if you want a dirty drive train. I remove the stuff and apply my own wax based liquid lube from day one.
The new SRAM AXS chains come with a light oil on them, not the sticky stuff. I remove that too.
The new SRAM AXS chains come with a light oil on them, not the sticky stuff. I remove that too.
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The grease that they pack it with from the factory is a grime magnet. And based on what I've read from friction facts, I don't see how it could have less rotating resistance than oil, even if it was used in an environment where dust isn't an issue.
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BF: waxing chains is too much work
Also BF: strip that awesome factory lube off of your brand new chain for no good reason
Also BF: strip that awesome factory lube off of your brand new chain for no good reason
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My new chain approach? Install. Do a couple of chain revolutions through a clean rag to get the surface cleaner and attract less dust. From there, lube with Tri-Flow or Finsh Line wet lube (drip bottle, not spray) as needed, (Tri-Flo for summer and good bike chains, wet lube for the others.)
Every once in a while I will take a too-disgusting chain off, clean it in solvent and re-lube. Probably half my chains don't get that until they have hit 1/16" stretch and get set aside to use when all those cogs are worn enough that a new chain won't run smoothly but the shifting, etc is still OK.
Simple routine, Doesn't take a lot of time. (Yea, dripping lube, two drops per pin is a little slow, but in the long run, worthy it.) Not a whole lot of solvent wasted or breathed. Chains (and teeth) last respectably long. (Now I don't use $50 chains. I run 9-speed SRAMS at around $12 each, 8-speed for less and Izume 1/8" at $22 (they last forever).
Ben
Every once in a while I will take a too-disgusting chain off, clean it in solvent and re-lube. Probably half my chains don't get that until they have hit 1/16" stretch and get set aside to use when all those cogs are worn enough that a new chain won't run smoothly but the shifting, etc is still OK.
Simple routine, Doesn't take a lot of time. (Yea, dripping lube, two drops per pin is a little slow, but in the long run, worthy it.) Not a whole lot of solvent wasted or breathed. Chains (and teeth) last respectably long. (Now I don't use $50 chains. I run 9-speed SRAMS at around $12 each, 8-speed for less and Izume 1/8" at $22 (they last forever).
Ben