# Degreasing a new chain



## trap121 (Mar 7, 2011)

Do you guys degrease a new chain for DH bikes? I just took my bike for a ride and realized the chain hasnt been degreased and there were tons a crap stuck to it. 
Any thoughts??


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## Swell Guy (Jan 20, 2005)

I thought a mild detergent (dish soap) was the ticket. Then, lube up as usual.


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## DHgnaR (Feb 20, 2008)

New chains come with a thick sticky grease. Run it till it's dirty, take chain off, soak in degreaser, scrub off old grease with a brush, re-install chain, lube, wipe, ride.


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## boogenman (Sep 22, 2006)

All of my new chains get a wash in white lightning metal prep then a bath in Boeshield T9. After 2 applications of T9 they are bike ready. Nothing will stick to your chain and it will almost always be clean and not greasy. 
]


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

That greasy stuff is a great chain lubricant ... as long as you manage to keep it on the insides of the chain, and to keep everything from sticking to it.

Lately, I've been just wiping a new chain with a rag and then applying some lube that turns waxy over it. Works well until stuff starts to build up anyway. Then degrease.


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## mykel (Jul 31, 2006)

I NEVER remove the factory lube.
Just wipe the outer plates and roller faces until they are clean. This will prevent the chain from becoming a big mess. Do not use a degreaser or similar. The factory lube is very good and after a good wiping is ONLY where it is needed - INSIDE the pin / roller / plate bearing surfaces. It will last a surprising amount of time before a re-lube is required. Just keep the chain nicely wiped down keeps any lube that has migrated to the outside from attracting dirt.

I have a KNC X9SL that I put on this year. It has yet to be lubed with anything other than what came from the factory. It has over 40 hours on it and is still running like butter with no squeaks. This is in dry dusty conditions, with the odd stream crossing etc included.

I use only "oil" style lubes ( Chain-l or Bar oil ) and only use Kerosene as a cleaning agent. Multiple baths until the solvent runs clear. (Filter Kerosene for re-use) Hang chain to drip dry, then blow out with compressor, wipe up any residual Kerosene and let dry. Re-lube and let sit. Wipe down, and lube again, wipe down and store for next usage. ( I run two chains, so I never lube /.clean on bike )

When I tried various bike lubes - Ice-wax, T9, RR etc etc etc I found that I would have to lube every ride or every couple of rides. Soon went back to the old method and now don't deal with dry squeaky chains.

My experience over 35 odd years, your mileage may vary.

michael


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## IntenseMack10 (May 16, 2006)

The factory "lube" is not lube. Its an anti corrosive agent applied to the chain to keep them fresh from the factory to the consumer. Even though the chain is pretty quiet when run with this stuff, its not a useful lube. Clean a new chain with a degreaser (all shops sell nice citrus stuff) then apply your choice of lube.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

perttime said:


> That greasy stuff is a great chain lubricant ... as long as you manage to keep it on the insides of the chain, and to keep everything from sticking to it.
> 
> Lately, I've been just wiping a new chain with a rag and then applying some lube that turns waxy over it. Works well until stuff starts to build up anyway. Then degrease.


That's what I do...

I just installed my new KMC 8.93x chain on and when it got dark grey dirty, I took a rag and run the chain trough it by cranking till the outer plates and rollers, etc are clean... Then I get to wipe off the crank rings, derailleur cogs, and cassette... and do not forget to wipe between the teeth of every cogs and gears, because its dirt that will get back on the chain as soon as you will get back riding... I take about 10 mins (20 min for me because I like it very clean and take my time) to get everything clean after a urban ride, then I just put ONLY 1 drop of wet condition chain oil, then run the crank and holding the chain running between my fingers to feel the oil spreading on the chain till it feel dries again... about 30 secs.

Then next time you will run the bike, the chain will start having that dark grey grease on it, but not too much, so you just have to take the same rag and do it again, but you should be ok for the gears teeth, because you did not overlube the chain last time :thumbsup:

Then when the chain start having too much dirt inside it, degrease and clean good, then dry, then a few drops of oil, run a rag to remove it till dry outside and you're good to go again 

Or just get a new chain when you are too lazy to clean it all... $15 is not the end of the world sometime for lazy butts.

David


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## mykel (Jul 31, 2006)

IntenseMack10 said:


> The factory "lube" is not lube. Its an anti corrosive agent applied to the chain to keep them fresh from the factory to the consumer. Even though the chain is pretty quiet when run with this stuff, its not a useful lube. Clean a new chain with a degreaser (all shops sell nice citrus stuff) then apply your choice of lube.


In your opinion, what is the detriment to running the factory grease?
What is better about removing the factory grease and replacing with some type of chain-lube?

Just wondering your reasoning.

As an aside, I did a little looking and it looks like Sheldon Brown agrees with my experience. Quoted from his website.

http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html
*Factory Lube*

New chains come pre-lubricated with a grease-type lubricant which has been installed at the factory. This is an excellent lubricant, and has been made to permeate all of the internal interstices in the chain. This factory lube is superior to any lube that you can apply after the fact.
Some people make the bad mistake of deliberately removing this superior lubricant. Don't do this!
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. It is best not to apply any sort of lube to a new chain until it is clearly needed, because any wet lube you can apply will dilute the factory lube.

Again, your mileage may vary.

michael


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## deadatbirth (Jul 23, 2007)

IntenseMack10 said:


> The factory "lube" is not lube. Its an anti corrosive agent applied to the chain to keep them fresh from the factory to the consumer. Even though the chain is pretty quiet when run with this stuff, its not a useful lube. Clean a new chain with a degreaser (all shops sell nice citrus stuff) then apply your choice of lube.


im in agreement with this guy.

my mileage varies though


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

*Shimano says...*
(Shimano tech, Nick Murdick, June 28, 2011)

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
BikeRumor: What is Shimano's official stance on the chain lube that comes stock on a shimano chain? Is it actually a lube, or a grease? And is it best to leave it on until the chain gets noisy and relube, or strip it right away and relube before riding?

Nick: ... ...*The grease that comes on a Shimano chain is applied at the factory to the individual pieces before the chain is assembled. The grease does a better job of reducing friction than aftermarket chain lubes and it lasts longer.* The main reason we use liquid chain lube, whether it is one that stays liquid or a dry lube that has a solid lubricant in a liquid carrier (like a PTFE lube) is because we need to get the lube on a part that is not accessible without disassembling the chain. So the best thing to do when installing a new chain is to leave the factory grease on, not apply any other lube, ride until it wears out and then start applying liquid chain lube. In dusty conditions you can wipe off the outside of the new chain with a rag that is wet with a gentle degreaser to keep dirt from sticking to the grease. The factory grease also keeps the chain nice and quiet. After soaking a chain in degreaser and then lubing the chain with liquid lubricant the chain gets noticeably louder.

Shimano does not have an official recommended chain lube. They all seem to work pretty good. Different people have different preferences and different conditions require different lubes.

So there you have it. *You absolutely should leave the original chain grease in place for best performance*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""

http://www.bikerumor.com/2011/06/28/chainwear-challenge-quick-interview-with-shimano/


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## DustyBones (Jun 23, 2010)

*See post by DurtGurl*

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=8268149#poststop

:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Ok. I just got back from riding the boardwalk, 50 feet from the ocean and here's how my new chain is by leaving the factory lube on and not adding any and simply wipe it off after every rides (about 12 now).

First, I simply run the chain trough a rag to remove all major dirt and grey lube from outer plates and rollers. Next I do the same with the derailleur pulleys to be sure that it won't go back on the chain. (Now this part is the first I do it on this chain, because it's brand new and never did it before). I take some Q-tips and clean inside the plates to remove sand and grimes. Next I wipe it off again with the rag, then take a toothbrush to remove any other solids from the chain, then wipe it off again. Then the chain is fully shiny and don't make any noise (it did not before either) and do not need to be lube again. So basically, after each ride, there will be grey grease on the chain, so just wipe it off and do so withe the whole drive train and you should be good for a while. Unless extremely bad conditions. And mileage may vary, but won't affect the chain lube.

Pics :

Before
Before
Wipe it
After wipe
After cleaning inside the plates
Wipe it again
Shiny brand new.

David


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## chauzie (Mar 8, 2010)

Factory grease will last 15 miles on the trail for me. After that it's back to lube lol.

For chain cleaning and degreasing, I use turpentine!
Turpentine is very cheap ($3-4/quart), easily available at almost all hardware stores (eg, Home Depot, Ace, Lowe, etc), and it's relatively less damaging to the environment than many other oil based cleaning agents. And turpentine doesn't have a strong and lingering smell like the others (I keep my bike indoor so odor is important).


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

chauzie said:


> And turpentine doesn't have a strong and lingering smell like the others (I keep my bike indoor so odor is important).


My bike does not stink. It smell natural's outdoor flavor.


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## his dudeness (May 9, 2007)

Not sure if someone has mentinoed this but I'm not a fan at all of using degreaser on chains. The grease (cosmolene) from the factory does a pretty good job if getting deep into nooks and crannies of the chain links, something that applying new grease is difficult to achieve. Degreaser however is nice and thin so it penetrates easily, removes the good grease that you want in there and then it takes up residence in these tiny nooks and crannies. Throw on some lube and the left over degreaser starts to kill it immediately. 

I do one of two things... Either use rubbing alcohol since it will degrease but also evaporate fairly quickly and not leave itself behind. Or apply a very thin and light lubricant and run it through a rag to clean the chain then apply a thicker lube for riding once it's clean. 

Your chain will thank you.


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## Freerydejunky (Sep 21, 2006)

Lube and wipe it down. 

Its a chain. They are cheap. Replace them often. 

Why spend an 20mins cleaning it after every ride?! Just go ride!....


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## HighTitan (Jan 26, 2007)

Do not remove/degrease the factory grease we put on the chain. You wont get full life out of the chain. It will wear off soon after, I have over a couple hundred miles on my x10sl and the chain stretch is only 0.02 very little. I have over 70 hours of hard riding on my XC bike which has x9sl- Ti and the chain barely has any chain stretch, still like new. 

Leave factory grease on, if you totally degrease it you will never be able to get grease back into the pin area. The pin is what stretches on the chain so keep it packed with grease.


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## deadatbirth (Jul 23, 2007)

HighTitan said:


> *Do not remove/degrease the factory grease we put on the chain. You wont get full life out of the chain. It will wear off soon after, *
> 
> Leave factory grease on, if you totally degrease it you will never be able to get grease back into the pin area. The pin is what stretches on the chain so keep it packed with grease.


sounds a bit contradicting.

do you use some sort of magical grease that prevents the pins from stretching?


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## HighTitan (Jan 26, 2007)

deadatbirth said:


> sounds a bit contradicting.
> 
> do you use some sort of magical grease that prevents the pins from stretching?


No, but if you soak the chain in degreaser it will take the grease out of the pin area. Do you degrease your car motor oil from the factory?

If there is no grease in the pin area the chain will be noisy and loose. Also Metal on metal with no grease will wear faster.

But hey what do I know? I just work for the largest chain manufacture in the world. :thumbsup:


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## hampstead bandit (Feb 9, 2009)

*"HighTitan 
Quote:
Originally Posted by deadatbirth View Post
sounds a bit contradicting.

do you use some sort of magical grease that prevents the pins from stretching?
No, but if you soak the chain in degreaser it will take the grease out of the pin area. Do you degrease your car motor oil from the factory?

If there is no grease in the pin area the chain will be noisy and loose. Also Metal on metal with no grease will wear faster.

But hey what do I know? I just work for the largest chain manufacture in the world."*

you work for KMC, correct?

I read some literature from KMC a few years back strongly recommending you should NEVER degrease your chain, just wipe off with a rag or brush and then relube

this information went against everything I had ever been taught about drivetrain cleaning in the bike industry, but then I took the stance that KMC make millions of chains every DAY, so probably know *a little more* than most mechanics of bikes


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

So Shimano and KMC say the "grease" should stay. Anybody work for SRAM?


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## his dudeness (May 9, 2007)

High Titan is correct. Don't degrease your chain. Degreaser on chains is bad as it will remove grease that is in hard to reach places when you want to re-grease. Degreaser also likes to stick around long after you think you've cleaned it off, it will continually break down new lubricant almost immediately after you apply it. 

Just wipe off old muck, re-lube, clean, re-lube. Takes like 2-3 minutes to do.


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## deadatbirth (Jul 23, 2007)

HighTitan said:


> No, but if you soak the chain in degreaser it will take the grease out of the pin area. Do you degrease your car motor oil from the factory?
> 
> If there is no grease in the pin area the chain will be noisy and loose. Also Metal on metal with no grease will wear faster.
> 
> But hey what do I know? I just work for the largest chain manufacture in the world. :thumbsup:


mr dfy:
your comparisons are comical.....grease in engine oil? 

yes metal on metal will be noisy and cause premature wear....but how is grease going to prevent pin stretch over something like a oil or wax-type lube? what happens when the factory grease wears off as you said? youll still be in the same as degreasing it from new

i have several of your chains that i bought new off of ebay (for cheaper then our shop buys them for :nono and all of them get degreased right away...and all of them have hundreds of miles on them with little stretch.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Allright.

So to set this clear, I actually have 170 km of dusty sandy riding on my new KMC 8.93x...

Here's the pic of how it looks after simply wiping it of after each rides... no lube, no degreaser.

So you are the only one to judge.

David


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## Evan55 (Jul 23, 2009)

HighTitan said:


> No, but if you soak the chain in degreaser it will take the grease out of the pin area. Do you degrease your car motor oil from the factory?
> 
> If there is no grease in the pin area the chain will be noisy and loose. Also Metal on metal with no grease will wear faster.
> 
> But hey what do I know? I just work for the largest chain manufacture in the world. :thumbsup:


probably not a very good analogy, you should in fact change your oil after a very few number of miles so that you get the engine break-in metal shavings out of oil circulation.

but back to bikes,

should the chain never be degreased then? just wiped and relubed?

I usually give mine a pretty thorough degreasing, followed by a bath and then brake cleaner to get all the degreaser and water out. But it does seem like my chains wear out faster than they should so.......


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## his dudeness (May 9, 2007)

Evan55 said:


> should the chain never be degreased then? just wiped and relubed?
> 
> I usually give mine a pretty thorough degreasing, followed by a bath and then brake cleaner to get all the degreaser and water out. But it does seem like my chains wear out faster than they should so.......


It's really all about what you want to do Evan. I have been told many ways to do it and apparently all of them have been right and/or wrong at some point or another. Come to think of it, I know a lot of pro race team mechanics that use diesel fuel mixed with dish soap as a degreaser, and they swear by it. Coming from my experience (and many miles put into road and mountain drivetrains) thourough rag cleaning, re-greasing, cleaning, and re-greasing again has worked the best for me. It has also worked the best for customers bikes that I work on.


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