pepperbelly

Does a new chain need to be lubed or do they come pre-lubed?

cyccommute 

They come lubricated. It will last a bit (a few hundred miles) and then need to be lubricated.

pepperbelly

Thanks

SpedFast

Basically to keep them from rusting while in storage. Some will run as is like cycocommute replied and some will degrease them and put their own choice of wax or grease or other lubricant on them.

cyccommute 

Oh, I don’t run them as is. They get stripped before installation. It’s far cleaner that way.

zandoval 

Ya know this is really a good question. I have always assumed they were pre-lubed and I use SRAM or KMC chains. But what of the other brands. It could be other chains are lubed for packing and storage and not use. Either way even though I don't ride off road dirt they pick up enough gunk to need cleaning frequently so I will lube them even when newly installed.

Lazyass

Whatever they put on new chains is usually kind of sticky which would get crap stuck to it. I always run mine through a rag with wd40 to wipe it all off then lube it.

GhostRider62

Leave the factory grease on if you want to replace chains in 1000-1500 miles, cassettes in 4-5,000 miles and rings in 10,000 miles and you want to throw 5 watts in the toilet as the pumice wears away your bank account.

andrewclaus

Right on. I just got three hundred miles on a new KMC chain and it needs lube now. That's my normal interval anyway.

Only once did I need to relube a new chain out of the box, and it was obvious. I had to apply new oil twice to get it quiet. Bad day at the factory, I guess.

pdlamb

I just wipe a new chain with a rag with mineral spirits on it to get the stuff off the outside, and re-lube when it starts squeaking.

mprince

As stated by (mostly) others, nothing wrong with the factory lube inside the chain. I normally do a good wipe down with a solvent before install to get a lot of it off the outside of the chain though - the lube does no good out there and just collects junk.

pepperbelly

The chain is an Sram.
What type of lube do they usually use?
I have been using White Lightning wax lube. If the factory uses a petroleum lube I will need to strip it before lubing.

cyccommute 

The factory lube is a soft wax that’s a bit like Vaseline. White Lightning is a harder wax. You don’t need to strip the factory lubricant for the White Lightning (WL) to work. The solvent in the WL will dissolve the factory lube when you apply it, just as any applied lubricant will.

I have used WL for the better part of 3 decades. I’ve applied it over factory lubricant and I’ve stripped the chain before installation. Either way will work without any issues. Stripping or leaving it alone won’t have much impact on chain life but I’ve found that stripping prior to installation results in a cleaner drivetrain over time.

That’s the way I proceed with all chains now. I strip them with mineral spirits, install, and lubricate. If I don’t have the facilities to strip the chain, I just use it out of the box.

pepperbelly

Thanks. I like things being made easy.

Iride01 

Understand that any oil or grease on the outside of the chain is doing nothing for the chains lubrication. It might help keep your chain from getting rusty. But I only see that on bikes I've let sit in storage for a while. While as in years.

If you want to just wipe it clean that's okay. It might not get as gunky. Don't saturate the rag with cleaner too much or it'll get down in to the places of the chain you can't see. And those are the places that really need the lube. Unless of course you also intend to lube the chain afterward.

pepperbelly

When I lube a chain I try to direct the lube into the barrels of the chain.

mprince

A good practice, along with wiping off extra/external lube after application, as you really can't control where it goes very well and there is always lube (and flushed out dirt) on the outside of the chain

davidad

I have ridden a new chain as much as a thousand miles before I remove it, clean and relube it. I believe the factory is made by Fuchs Lubritech.

SoSmellyAir

After joining Bike Forums and reading this and the Road Cycling sub-forums, I have become a waxed chain convert, because I never ride in the rain.

With a new Shimano chain, I would wipe the heavy factory grease off the outside as much as possible, then put it on the bike and go for a single short (< 25 mile) ride to break it in, then use multiple rounds of odorless mineral spirits to strip it, then wax.

cyccommute 

Why? Chains don’t need to be “broken in”. They are ready to ride out of the box.

If you don’t like the factory lubrication, you can strip it but you don’t need to clean room strip the chain. A round of mineral spirits is all that is needed to strip the factory lubrication before applying any other lubrication, including wax. People keep acting like “wax” is a substance that is entirely different from oil and solvent. It isn’t. Wax is just solvent that has a higher molecular weight. Mineral spirits (a mixture of hydrocarbons), mineral oil, and wax are just a homologous series that will readily dissolve each other. Frankly, leaving the factory lube…i.e. soft wax…would not be a bad way to soften the hard wax that most people use for waxing chains.

Just because a process is complicated doesn’t mean it’s better. Just because you have a lot of steps doesn’t mean you chain will last longer or rob you of less power. A bicycle chain drive mechanism is perhaps the most efficient mechanism ever invented and you can’t do a lot to make it bad…nor make it significantly better.

SoSmellyAir

Someone else here gave me the impression a chain should be broken in over about 100 miles (3 to 4 rides for me) so that the chain can articulate and its various components can rub against each other to polish any microscopic rough spots, and that this process is better with the heavier factory lube. That seems a bit excessive so I just do a single ride of my usual loop. If this step is unnecessary I would rather strip the Shimano factory lube (which feels like heavy grease to me) as soon as I open the package before it has a chance to pick up any road debris. The main reason I went the waxed chain route is for cleanliness. I like tinkering but hate getting my fingers and clothes all greasy. Bonus if it also increases drivetrain longevity, especially during the current supply chain issues. The measurable difference in friction shown by Friction Facts and others is probably not noticeable to me.

vespasianus

I highly recommend that you degrease it immediately and add the lube of your choice. Chains come with grease that will pick up dirt and get dirty really really fast.

SpedFast

I agree with you 100%. I was just reiterating what you said about they 'can be' run before needing lubing. Not saying you necessarily do that. Hope that clarifies.

GamblerGORD53

I used to strip chains right out of the box. NOT anymore, but they are now all 1/8" SS. Spring last year I put a new SRAM chain on and rode it. Still have NOT lubed it, way over 3,000 miles now, with 2 IGH wheels. It does have a DIY CF chain case, that does have a big hole around the crank.
ALL lubes I've used over the years have held dirt like a magnet. White Lightning was the worst for wear and so says most guys.
My latest lube applied is the Rohloff brand.

LeeG

cyccomutte hit the high points. I avoid aerosols mostly because they are messy and waste more. In my racing years it was Triflow, later White Lightning in the dirt, then in the old fart years and commutting in rain and sleet I went to FinishLine Wet, Sonetimes I precleaned a new chain and most times didn’t. Just wipe it down a lot after oiling.