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About to put a new 11 speed Sram chain on but of course it’s covered in a sticky residue which is a shit magnet. Seen conflicting info about you should v you shouldn’t. If yes, what household stuff can I use as no bloody degreaser in ATM? 😖
No, smack it on, not a problem if you're going to be using wet lube anyway.
I don't bother, but prepare for a proper strip after a few rides (maybe one, if off road this winter). My trusty jar of petrol after a good brush with fairy liquid works for me. I haven't pledged allegiance to the cult of wax yet, so what lube you're using might affect cleaning choices.
No, just ride it.
Wet weather use?... then leave it as it is, once its starts to get washed out wipe clean and re lube with the wet lube of your choice
Dry weather use...? personally i run a dry weather chain with the OG shimano lube until it needs re lubing and then i just wipe it clean and re lube with a dry lube without stripping out any of the old lube
These days i cant be arsed with all the stripping out the old lube, allowing it to dry then re lubing using an air fryer/slow cooker/deep fat fryer etc...
Dont think ive stripped the lube out of a chain for over 10 years now, can honestly say ive not noticed any difference in my drivetrain wear or performance
I hate the stuff that comes on new chains, it's really sticky and you end up attracting a mess of dirt and grit really fast. I also find it to be noisy in use. I always remove it from the surface as best I can and add my own lube.
It makes a difference how you plan to lube it but have a look at Zero Friction Cycling for actual test data.
Alternative degreaser? Petrol, diesel, white spirit, paraffin.
I currently have two brand new SRAM 11 speed chains sat in jars of white spirit.
Is methylated spirit any good?
I’ve never bothered, I don’t think its ever made a material difference to chain life.
It probably doesn't make a difference, but ZFC have measured how good the rust prevention grease is as a lube and the results were fairly poor compared with proper chain lubes.
TLDR (and he does rant a lot).
Factory grease is;
Ø A lot slower vs top known lubricants / waxes.
Ø Factory grease is a contamination magnet, and mostly what makes a great lubricant day in day out is one that resists absorbing contamination and turning into an abrasive paste masquerading as your chain lubricant.
Is methylated spirit any good?
Generally the recommended degreasing process is White Spirit first then clean that off with Meths...
Factory grease is really designed to prevent the chain rusting while it's sat in a warehouse - it's a fairly poor actual lubricant as it's very sticky and just transfers contaminants to the inside of the chain.
To get rid of it Petrol/white spirit then meths, then IPA for most chains. SRAM needs about 5 white spirit baths as their chains use some very hard to shift grease. Or use the hideously expensive Ceramic Speed UFO Clean which will strip the grease off a SRAM chain in a single 5 min bath. On the plus side you only need 100ml of it and 100ml will do about 5 chains.
Having said all that, if you are going to use a wet lube or Putoline then there might not be much to be gained from removing it.
New chains come with the best lubricant they will ever have inside. It's actually grease and should NOT be removed from the inside of the chain unless you're going on a properly competitive ride and are going to replace it with some lightweight lube for lower friction.
Just wipe the outside with a rag with IPA or similar to take the surface stickiness off, and then leave it until is starts to show signs of needing lubrication (which will generally be a long time, as it's really well lubed inside), then at that point start to re apply lube etc.
I fitted a new SRAM chain before London Edinburgh London and rode 1500km on the factory grease, with no additional lubrication. Smooth running, no issues, chain in excellent condition at the end of the event.
I always used to (must have read it in MBUK or similar) but stopped after reading this: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html
Talking of Sheldon Brown - he's got a guide to the REAL way to do it.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html
I never have. I just put it on, wipe off the excess grease and then ride it. Then wash or wipe and lube before/after a ride. I never understand the point of removing all of the grease out of a new chain when you get it. You might as well just use what’s in there. My chains and drivetrain last as long as anyone else’s and don’t have any more problems than they do.
As someone who has fallen under influence of The Wax I would strip off everything from a new chain with degreaser and then final clear off in a jar of ethanol ready for waxing.
I thought it was an internet fad until I had a go and to be honest, I wont be going back to “wet lubricants” again.
However each to their own I guess.
Talking of Sheldon Brown – he’s got a guide to the REAL way to do it.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html/blockquote >
And people think waxing is a faff!! 😂But back to the OP - even Sheldon says the factory grease is only good for a couple of hundred miles of dry riding. That's less than wax. So then you have to pick a lubricant and if you choose wax then you will need to thoroughly clean the chain anyway so ensure the wax sticks.. 🤷♂️
and if you choose wax then you will need to thoroughly clean the chain anyway so ensure the wax sticks
Not if its putoline wax
Not if its putoline wax
Indeed. Just drop it in the ol' Puto' if that's what you are using. The clean waxes, such as MSW/GLF (and I dare say Silca and others but I've not used any other than MSW and GLF), need a full degrease first though.
I used to degrease new chains fully and relube. Then I stopped doing that with new chains. Now I have started again, since I started using Revolube.