De-oil new chain?

Just icked up a new DA chain as well as some White Lightning lube. Seems that I'm supposed to clean
the chain of the oil that comes on it. Should that oil be removed in all cases, or just when you're
going to use a wax-based lube?

Thanks.

> Just icked up a new DA chain as well as some White Lightning lube. Seems that I'm supposed to
> clean the chain of the oil that comes on it. Should that oil be removed in all cases, or just when
> you're going to use a wax-based lube?

Some will tell you the oil thats on it is good stuff, leave it. Some will say clean thoroughly.
There are lots of varied and valid opinions out there depending on circumstances, but If I were
gonna use wax-based lube (White Lightning) on a new chain with factory oil/protectant on it, I'd
clean it up really good first.

Cheers

Paul J Pharr

"Paul J Pharr" <pjpharr@seaborne.net> wrote in news:T_KcnT7RE5uqDS-jXTWcog@arkansas.net:
> Some will tell you the oil thats on it is good stuff, leave it. Some will say clean thoroughly.
> There are lots of varied and valid opinions out there depending on circumstances, but If I were
> gonna use wax-based lube (White Lightning) on a new chain with factory oil/protectant on it, I'd
> clean it up really good first.

If you're going to use any kind of lube, thoroughly clean off the factory stuff first.

If he's using White Lightning and doesn't want to waste alot, he should degrease it first.
Otherwise, as Jobst and others have pointed out, the factory lubricant is as good as any, if not
better, so the advise is to leave it if you plan on using real oil.

--
Robin Hubert <cv2572@earthlink.net>

"Paul J Pharr" <pjpharr@seaborne.net> wrote in message news:T_KcnT7RE5uqDS-jXTWcog@arkansas.net...
> > Just icked up a new DA chain as well as some White Lightning lube.
Seems
> > that I'm supposed to clean the chain of the oil that comes on it.
Should
> > that oil be removed in all cases, or just when you're going to use a wax-based lube?
>
> Some will tell you the oil thats on it is good stuff, leave it. Some will say clean thoroughly.
> There are lots of varied and valid opinions out
there
> depending on circumstances, but If I were gonna use wax-based lube (White Lightning) on a new
> chain with factory oil/protectant on it, I'd clean it
up
> really good first.
>
>
> Cheers
>
> Paul J Pharr

"Ken" <nospam@no.spam> wrote in message news:Xns936F57F2B3989fubar123@66.134.198.18...
> "Paul J Pharr" <pjpharr@seaborne.net> wrote in news:T_KcnT7RE5uqDS-jXTWcog@arkansas.net:
> > Some will tell you the oil thats on it is good stuff, leave it. Some will say clean thoroughly.
> > There are lots of varied and valid opinions out there depending on circumstances, but If I were
> > gonna use wax-based lube (White Lightning) on a new chain with factory oil/protectant on it, I'd
> > clean it up really good first.
>
> If you're going to use any kind of lube, thoroughly clean off the factory stuff first.
>

Baloney. Perhaps you can explain why? See my other post and also sit back and listen to the experts.

--
Robin Hubert <cv2572@earthlink.net

Ken wrote:

> If you're going to use any kind of lube, thoroughly clean off the factory stuff first.

Why?
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://www.terrymorse.com/bike/

donald.specker@verizon.net wrote:
>Just icked up a new DA chain as well as some White Lightning lube. Seems that I'm supposed to clean
>the chain of the oil that comes on it. Should that oil be removed in all cases, or just when you're
>going to use a wax-based lube?

There's this little gem on the SRAM site: http://www.sram.com/tech_info/faq_display.asp?faq_id=14

I emailed for more info. They seem to think the lube they used is good enough and you should just
clean the chain externally. I'm having trouble believing I can clean the chain without soaking.

Pete Geurds Douglassville, PA

Terry Morse <tmorse@spamcop.net> wrote in news:tmorse-5788BE.09112802052003 @news.covad.net:
>> If you're going to use any kind of lube, thoroughly clean off the factory stuff first.
>
> Why?

In my experience, most high tech lubes won't bond with the chain metal if it is covered with the
factory protectant. If you're using plain motor oil, that might not be a problem.

"Richard Ney" <rtn@pobox.com> writes:

[snip]

> Stick with regular motor oil.

Gear oil, unless you'r chain gets very hot.

--
__o | Øyvind Røtvold _`\(, | http://www.darkside.no/olr/index.html (_)/(_) | ... biciclare
necesse est ...

> > If you're going to use any kind of lube, thoroughly clean off the
factory
> > stuff first.
> >
>
> Baloney. Perhaps you can explain why? See my other post and also sit back and listen to the
> experts.

If you're going to use some other lube (than the stock stuff on the chain) and actually believe in
the merits of the alternate lube, then it doesn't make a lot of sense to just apply it over the top
of whatever's there. For example, let's say you're sold on White Lightning, because you think it's
not going to collect gook and leave black greasy marks on your legs if you brush up against it (this
is actually a true reason some people give). Won't do you much good applying a wax-type lube over
the top of the stock stuff, because it's most likely not going to penetrate much, and certainly
won't alter the properties of the original oil in such a way that it won't leave black marks on your
legs if you brush against it (unless, of course, it hasn't collected any road grime yet).

Please keep in mind I'm not defending White Lightning; I've become tired of all the goop that builds
up around cogs etc, and found that it didn't have much staying power. The stock lube found on new
chains works very well, and I'll generally just leave that on until it's time to clean the
drivetrain maybe 500-1000 miles down the road. At that point I admit to a fondness for Rock'N'Roll
"gold" or this new weird stuff called DuMonde Tech.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Pete Geurds writes:

>> Just icked up a new DA chain as well as some White Lightning lube. Seems that I'm supposed to
>> clean the chain of the oil that comes on
>> it. Should that oil be removed in all cases, or just when you're going to use a wax-based lube?

When using an oil, there is no need to remove original lubricant although for wax type lubricants,
the original greasy oil should be removed to convert to solid lubricant, although these have
problems of their own, such as not working after riding in rain.

> There's this little gem on the SRAM site: http://www.sram.com/tech_info/faq_display.asp?faq_id=14

> I e-mailed for more info. They seem to think the lube they used is good enough and you should just
> clean the chain externally. I'm having trouble believing I can clean the chain without soaking.

I have trouble believing they didn't get that text from wreck.bike where this type of care has been
promoted by "don't touch that dirty thing" proponents. They don't seem to understand what cleaning
is, the most important grit being that which is inside the chain and in the crevices leading to that
inside. This dirt cannot be wiped off. Only the external, cosmetic dirt can be "wiped" off.

SRAM:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Here are steps to cleaning your chain:

A. We suggest leaving the chain on the bike.
B. Wipe off any excess dirt, water, etc.
C. Apply your favorite bio-degreaser, agitate and then rinse/wipe it off.
D. Apply a coat of your favorite chain lube (hopefully something with at least a little Teflon in
it) and then be sure to let it dry or at least sit for a bit.
E. Using a rag/shop towel remove any excess lubricant and "clean" off the side plates of
the chain.

- lastly, feel free to repeat steps C and/or D more than once. You may find a combination that
works better in your area.

Additionally, a lot of people that replace their chains often would actually skip step C and just
go straight to step D. Also, if you feel the need to degrease the chain while it is off the bike,
we would warn against letting a chain sit in solvent of any kind (kerosene, gasoline, SimpleGreen,
bio-degreasers, etc.) for any length of time. And be sure to follow all dilution recommendations
found on degreasing products."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't understand how to agitate bio-degreaser on the chain when it is on the bicycle but then none
of this makes any sense.

Jobst Brandt jobst.brandt@stanfordalumni.org Palo Alto CA

<jobst.brandt@stanfordalumni.org> wrote in message news:1ozsa.10757$JX2.645884@typhoon.sonic.net...

> I don't understand how to agitate bio-degreaser on the
chain when it
> is on the bicycle but then none of this makes any sense.

I guess it makes sense to tell people this stuff when you're in the business of selling them chains.

Matt O.

Øyvind Røtvold writes:

>> Stick with regular motor oil.

> Gear oil, unless you'r chain gets very hot.

Extracted from the FAQ item:

Lubricating the chain with hot 90W gear lube works but it is also efficient fly paper, collecting
plenty of hardpack between sprockets and on the outside of the chain. Motor oil is far better, but
motorcycle chain and chainsaw lubricants are better yet, because they have volatile solvents that
allow good penetration for their relatively viscous lubricant. Paraffin (canning wax), although
clean, works poorly because it is not mobile and cannot replenish the bearing surfaces once it has
been displaced. This becomes apparent with any water that gets on the chain. It immediately squeaks.

The article:

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8d.2.html

Jobst Brandt jobst.brandt@stanfordalumni.org Palo Alto CA

tbgibb@aol.com (TBGibb) wrote in news:20030502225023.08129.00000449@mb-
m01.aol.com:
>>If you're going to use any kind of lube, thoroughly clean off the factory stuff first.
>
> Why? What's wrong with the lube that comes on the chain?

It's going to wear out sooner or later; maybe just a few weeks at the rate some of you folks ride.
At that time, you need to thoroughly clean off the factory lube before applying anything else.

jobst.brandt@stanfordalumni.org writes:

[snip]
> Lubricating the chain with hot 90W gear lube works but it is also efficient fly paper,
[snip]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

The manual for my motorcycle, a Honda with O-ring chain, actually suggest gear oil, and that's what
put me on the idea of using this on my bike. It appears to work well on my road bike, haven't tried
it on my MTB.

I used to use some "Finish Line" teflon, dry stuff but that wouldn't last for one road trip so I put
gear oil on the chain last autumn and haven't touched it since. I haven't been riding this winter
but that must be something like 1000 dry kilomters on road without any chain maintainance.

--
__o | Øyvind Røtvold _`\(, | http://www.darkside.no/olr/index.html (_)/(_) | ... biciclare
necesse est ...