I fitted KMC chains to our rando bikes before departing in early June for Canada. Machka's started to squeak after just 200km of riding. Mine has lasted a bit longer -- now about 600km it is starting to make that irritating little squeak every pedal stroke.

It seems that KMC isn't using as good a lube as Sheldon would have had us believe back when he wrote those articles.

In future, I will be doing what others have already been doing -- dunking the new chain in mineral spirits and cleaning it well before putting it on the bike and lubing with Tri-Flow.

And, if what I read is true, and that Shimano and other chains are produced in the same factories as KMC, then it follows that the same treatment should be applied to other chains.