Well, what are you going to miss out on if you remove it? 100-200 miles of 'free' chain lubrication that will also attract dirt and leave you cleaning your cassette, chainrings and jockey wheels when it is time to remove it anyway? Are we saving big money here? And what is the downside of removing it right away? None. The problem is that the sticky stuff is hard to remove. That's why I buy SRAM chains. You can get them without the goo. bk