I've installed several new chains on my bike over the years, and I've never really known whether to leave on the grease (or whatever it is) new chains come packed in, or clean that off on put on some clean lube. What does the 41 say?? Clean and lube, or install as is??

I leave the chain as is and just lube normally, once every 2 weeks or as cleaning requires. It prematurely takes away inner mechanism lube to clean intensly. Too much and too often lube also serves as a media for dirt and grime to stick too. Look at your jockey wheels - when they are have build up and are dirty enough to clean then it is time to wipe/brush/clean the chain as well. I get about 5,000 miles (1 year) out of a chain with this methodology.

If we are talking a quality chain such as Shimano, other than wiping down the outside occasionally why would anyone ever remove factory lube applied under ideal conditions by people with vested interests in satisfied customers until in time (100s of miles) it needed re-lube?

Yeah. Factory grease is good. Just wipe the outside of the chain off with a rag wet with solvent, WD40 or similar. Then lube periodically with good wet lube until it's time for a thorough cleaning.

I would at least wipe the chain with a rag dampened with mineral spirits to remove the grease from the exterior of the chain. Exterior grease only attracts dirt and makes it that much harder to wipe the chain off before the first lubing.

This is what I do.

Just a dab of OMS on a rag to just take the stickiness off the chain's exterior.

Sheldon was intensely in love with the factory lube.

There is a SRAM webpage that tells you what it is. It is this:

https://www.fuchs-lubritech.com/cms/?...d_produkt=2993

I suspect the other mfgrs are using the same or similar.

Plus: Excellent lube.

Minus: Attracts dirt like flypaper and quickly gets the pulleys loaded up with gunk.

This is what I do as prep.

The stuff works well, but if it was the ultimate lube, someone would be selling it.

+1

The factory stuff is really sticky and picks up a lot of road grit. I use a rag with a bit of wd-40 and wipe down the outside and then ride until it needs something and then lube normally after that.

It is just not the issue of being a good lube, it is also the fact that it is applied under pressure. I once saw a cable television piece on how bicycle chains are manufactured, and one thing that stuck with me was the fact that the factory lube -while it may not be as good as it gets function-wise- was right up there in terms of getting the lube in all the right places lube ought to be. And under pressure too!

Exactly. It works well, but either buy a new chain every 300 miles, or accept the fact that the lube is gone, and move on.

Back in the day when I used paraffin (let's not start that again), I always pre-treated the chain to remove the factory lube and substitute the paraffin coating. Now, however, that I use an oil type chain lube, I start with the factory lube and wait for the first necessary lubrication to oil the chain.

Robert

That settles that.

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