Googling around, I find a bunch of different recommendations on what to do with a new chain, ie, install it as is with factory grease, degrease it a little bit, degrease it completely.


Going to the sourcehttps://www.kmcchain.eu/service/how-...at-a-new-chain


it says


A new chain usually feels sticky at first. These are residues of the high-performance grease used during assembly. Remove this grease with a thin-bodied oil or cleaner (no aggressive grease solvents!), lightly oil the rollers and remove excess oil with a cloth. After that you're ready to roll.


We recommend never to degrease the chain completely.


Stupid question: what is a thin-bodied oil?

Well, tri-flow is super light. When I oil a chain with it my rims get filthy, though. I guess it gets flung off. Love it for cable housings, though. Gets sucked right in.

Maybe WD-40? That's a light oil in a carrier that mostly evaporates, I think. Those instructions include putting a different oil on after, so it's just using it for cleaning first, not long term lubrication.

so someone says remove the outer grease, but leave the inner grease...
wow..

there are dozens of lengthy threads on this site regarding chains and lubing them... you should read one of those threads.
you will be even further misled by several of the replies .

get a good chain lube product, use it regularly,,,, and don't get it on the brakes, EVER.
or you can go with the witches' brew cauldron method of ritualistic removals/cleanings/waxings/re-insallings...
i use Maxima Chain Wax spray. A Big Can is under 20 bucks, and will last indefinitely if you don't waste it.

cue the endless discussion team!

A thin bodied oil is one that is any light lubricant you can easily saturate your shop rag with. I've used light lubes of many different kinds to clean off grease and other gunk from most anything. Including bicycle chains. Many times it was a can of WD-40 that was close by. And that is a mixture of both lubes and solvents.

But put them on a rag if your only intention is to clean the lube or gunk off the side plates of a chain. If you spray or drip it on, then you are probably replacing the better lube in the places that can't be seen. And those unseen places are where the lube is actually needed.

If you look around, you will see that there are endless discussions of chain lube. Some people hold their opinions with religious fervor. I suppose all of this is because there is not -- and can never be -- the perfect solution. Some don't last long. Some attract dirt more than others. Some promote grime. Some are noisier than others. Some require frequent re-application. Your preference will develop based on your needs and your willingness to follow a routine. It can also depend on the climate you ride in, how humid it is and how dusty it is.

I've used many kinds of petroleum-based lubes. Sometimes a chain lasts a long time for me, and sometimes it doesn't. The length it lasts probably is because of how clean I kept it, not which lube I used. I don't like cleaning chains. It's messy and unrewarding. Often, I will replace a dirty chain before it's fully worn out, just to avoid the hassle of cleaning. Replacing a chain soon enough can prevent wear of the chainrings and cogs. Replacing a chain prematurely might be wasteful, but I'm conservative with most other materials I use, and I generate as little garbage as I can, so I assuage my guilt about chains with that rationale.

Chain lube wasn't the OP's question.

Tri-flo is not oil.

Neither is WD-40, though there is petroleum-based oil in it.

interestingly, it's so high in solvent content, WD-40 can run an IC engine for short periods... we used it to test-fire old Motorcycles that came into the shop, before pouring endless hours and cash into cleaning/rebuilding carbs and lining fuel tanks....
the "oil" amounts to a very low percentage of VERY light machine oil.

i switched to PB Blaster decades ago, and never looked back.
Honda, Kroil and CRC make some great penetrant oils too.
i keep a can of WD-40 around for test-firing things...it smells remarkably like KEROSENE, for some odd reason...

Hmm, their own site disagrees with you:

Next you are going to claim if I add PTFE to my wax pot, it's no longer wax, right?

next you'll learn that you showed a new product of theirs, and it has next to no oil in it... here's their product that most attach to that brand name.

TRI-FLOW SUPERIOR DRY LUBRICANT

Tri-Flow® Superior Dry Lubricant is an elite formula created for dry and dusty conditions. The drip bottle application, with a convenient straw, allows for deep penetration in hard to reach moving parts. Featuring paraffin wax and high-grade petroleum oil to allow the lube to go on wet, but then set up in a dry, ‘wax-like’ film so it will not attract or absorb grit and grime. Perfect for dry, dirty, dusty conditions, while still providing adequate wet weather performance. Holds up to extreme pressures and resists water wash-off. Provides incredible efficiency without attracting an excessive amount of contaminants.

it says "Dry" not oily... dust adheres to actual oils readily.

the expensive little drip bottles look amazingly similar, so i can understand how it tricked you so badly.

PS.. your repetitive attempts at defending yourself with flimsy imagined opponents is amusing, but feeble..
straw men always catch fire under heat.

It's fluid oil (vs sticky grease).

Heard of using SeaFoam for that, never had need of trying it for m'self. News to me WD-40'd run an IC engine. Prolly not for long, as you indicate.

Certainly is popular seller at the ACE Hardware store where I work. Cases fly out the door during our annual Sales Fair event. I keep a can handy as well.

Kroil's an outstanding penetrant. Discovered it when I was shooting competitively, works great for loosening copper or lead barrel fouling. Smells pretty neat too for a solvent. Only drawback I have with it is availability; it's not commonly stocked anywhere I can get to conveniently these days.

Tri-flow drip bottles have been around for decades and are what you’ll find in most shops. I suspect that’s generally what’s referred to when mentioning tri-flow, not the dry stuff.

i prefer to clean a new chain then wax it...don't much care what others think or recommend...

Mercans are born knowing better about everything. Simple facts have no impact on that.

a easy way to clean the new chain is to get a water based degreaser and I use a old insulated water bottle like a hydroflask. I put the chain in with some of the degreaser put some boiling or close to it water and then shake with with a lid for a bit. then rinse off. this will clean the chain well and fast

Those who truly know give PB Blaster Chain lube a Five Star Double Plus Good rating

So now we are getting into discussions of what oil or solvent is better to put on a rag to wipe the stuff off the outside of a new KMC chain? <grin>

It's still winter some places

What they are referring to is called a “severely hydrotreated heavy naphthenic oil (CAS No. 64742-52-5)” or something similar. The oil isn’t “heavy” but is produced by cracking a heavy naphthenic oil. It has a relatively low viscosity compared to other oils. 3-in-One uses it as their oil and you’ll find something similar is just about any other oil based bicycle chain lubricant.

Yes it is. It’s an oil in a carrier but an oil nevertheless. Once the carrier evaporates, the oil is left behind.

If something has oil in it in addition to a solvent that evaporates but leaves the oil behind, it is an oil.

If you are going to make an argument that something doesn’t have oil in it, you should probably check to see what the information you provide says. The bolded part pokes a big old hole in your argument.

Yep. But even the “dry stuff” says it contains oil.

Is it wrong for me to have to struggle to care ?

so you're saying the oil in TriFlow is so thin it is nearly useless for chains....
and PTFE evaporates....?
TriFlow DRY LUBE is mostly a carrier that carries PTFE... and has a very very small percentage of "3 in 1" oil, as described by you.
i used TriFlow on M/C cables way back in the early 1990s. we switched to Zep45, from TriFlow, at the Tractor/Ag/Lawncare Dealers. it's a much better value, and is also the best way to remove built-up grass gunk off of painted surfaces, Ever.

i'd just buy and use the 3 in 1 oil, and skip the teflon/carrier expense... if i wanted an extremely thin oil on my chains.
i recall 3 in 1 washing off really quickly.. i used it when i was a kid, then used messy old 90 weight for a few tries.
my dad just smeared used motor oil on the chains, let it set for a while, then wiped the excess off.
it all seemed to work.

i'll stick with the maxima spray-on Chain Wax i've been using for 3 decades+.. since wax is what so many recommend anyway.
clean with pb blaster on a rag, spray on chain wax. done.
they make a nice little, but EXPENSIVE, drip bottle for the drip crowd, too!

the thing i see the most often is a TOTAL LACK of lube on chains.... and need for a new chain. :-D
"Wadda ya mean i 'need a new chain' ?... it 's not broke!"
any lube is better than no lube.

which brings us back to the thread subject... why wipe off the packing grease in the first place?
have fun... i'm out of this train wreck.

OP here....

Well...... I asked "how best to do it" because the manufacturer (KMC) thinks I should do it
https://www.kmcchain.eu/service/how-...at-a-new-chain

I had no idea that I was going to kick up a hornets nest....

Going back to the "howto", anyone has any comment on this suggestion (SimpleGreen)