When to Lube a NEW Chain
 

Would like to know opinons for when to start lubing a new chain.

S Brown states the OEM lube on new chains is good for 100's of miles. I understand his rationale. Just about how many 100's to wait to start applying your own lube.

I use Pedro's Ice Wax after every 60 to 75 miles.

TIA

John Hawrylak
Woodstown NJ

Common sense will tell you. How dusty/gritty are the roads you ride? How dirty is the chain after a ride? Are you riding on wet roads? Etc, etc,... Cleaning and lubing are two halves of the same coin. If you are collecting too much dirt you are oiling too much. If you wait until you hear a squeeking chain you have waited too long. Somewhere in between...
If you are comfortable with your past schedule and lube then it wouldn't hurt to start right away by cleaning the chain and lubing as you have in the past.
Have ridden with a friend out of Mays Landing and I know that this time of year the lubrication and cleaning are critical...unless you are on the indoor trainer...in that case then you could probably "ride" all winter without lubing a new chain. By the Way I find NJ a surprisingly great place to ride

This is one of the more "spirited" topics on the forum. Some say remove the factory lube, others say to leave it on.

Sheldon says: "The factory lubricant all by itself is usually good for several hundred miles of service if the bike is not ridden in wet or dusty conditions."

I ride on farily dustry trails, so I remove the factory lube before using the chain and apply my fav dry lube.

I've had limited experience with Ice Wax (wax based), and I'm not sure how well it mixes with factory lube (petroleum based).

As said, all depends on driving conditions. Rain, mud, dirt etc. may differ every day.

Before waxing a chain I clean it thouroughly by shaking it in a PET bottle with a petroleum based degreaser. (I never use water based degreasing products).

After drying the chain, I submerse it in melted wax. My "devil's" mix of paraffin (candle wax) + motor oil lasts more than 100 miles in wet/muddy conditions. The waxed chain feels "dry", does not attrackt grit and keeps the cogs clean. Besides, it runs very silent.

I put on a new chain last week. Lubed it before the first ride sat. morning. Just like to stay in habit. And besides, lubing and keeping chains clean is something that can't be overdone.

Does 500 miles in normal road conditions (not wet, dusty) seem excessive before lubing?

i think this is on of those personal things....so, personally, i remove that stuff right when i pull it out of the box and put my lube choice immediately before riding.

"Lubing and cleaning chains is something that can't be overdone." SoonerBent has that right. The odd thing; the more you do it, the easier it is. bk

Shimano advice - wipe the new chain with a cloth and a bit of solvent to remove outside oil, ride and lube as normal.

I have so much grit in my chain that I can hear it when I reverse pedal the bike on a stand. Too bad I don't have my chain cleaner tool over here. The chain is well lubed, I just can't get the grit out of it with a cloth...

I need to clean the cassette and the RD and the Chainrings as well as use a chain cleaner tool on the bike.

Remove the chain pop it in a PET-bottle with some degreaser and shake, shake, shake.;)

I've heard some say that cleaning a chain may actually allow the grit to penetrate further into the critical areas, and cleaning / relubing should be kept to a minimum. Does this have any credibility?

i clean my chain every few hundred or so, in between I oil and wipe off excess
my last chain lasted over 2000miles and I only replaced it because it was making a lot of side play noise but was still within length spec

just think of a chain as a part which needs the regular oiling/cleaning etc and the occasional replacement

my lbs buys some belray bulk oem oil and puts it in little bottles for cheap and it works a lot better than the prolink i was using previously