Originally Posted by thurstonboise
If the chainring is true, and it happens on 2 different cogs:
Use real lube on the chain. You've obviously eliminated everything else. That packaging lube is thick and if it's cold out it can gum up.
If it doesn't work, measure the chain and return it.
yeah...i think its gonna come down to returning the chain. The grinding is so bad that its way beyond a lube issue. I mean, despite any nit picking about which lube is ultimately better, there is plenty of lube on there and the chain is plenty slicked up. A completely unlubed rusty chain should run better than this. Its not a temp issue either. Its only 55 degrees out and the problem persists inside my apartment and outside. Despite the fact that the chain and surly cog are 1/8 inch, it just looks to me like the surly cog is too thick and burly to easily accomodate the Izumi chain, which is also pretty thick and burly. The EAI cog (also 1/8 inch) is slighly thinner than the surly cog and accomodates the chain a little better, but not nearly to my satisfaction. In the past I've had better luck with higher end (~$20) KMC BMX chains. I'll probalby go back to that and see how it works out. Thanks for all the suggestions guys...