Clean new chain before using?

Wayne Pein said:

My first new Campy 10 chain gooed up chunks of grease for weeks,
which I kept wiping off.

Quoted message said:

It seems to make sense to clean it with some kerosene first and
lightly oil to prevent the mess.

From your description, you have struck oil. You're rich! On the
other hand, I don't believe you wiped off all excess lubricant when
you started, otherwise, from where is all this lubricant coming? It's
not as though chains have large voids in them for storing excess
lubricant.

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

Jobst Brandt
[email hidden]

"Wayne Pein" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My first new Campy 10 chain gooed up chunks of grease for weeks, which I
kept wiping off.

It seems to make sense to clean it with some kerosene first and lightly
oil to prevent the mess.

Wayne

I asked the same question about a month back and got 50 responses. Google
"Do you clean a new chain?" and you'll find the thread.

HTH

wpien-<< My first new Campy 10 chain gooed up chunks of grease for weeks, which
I
kept wiping off.

It seems to make sense to clean it with some kerosene first and lightly
oil to prevent the mess. >><BR><BR>

That's what we do to new chains, clean off the preservative first, then lube. I
use WD-40. The goop really gets the chain dirty quickly.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Wayne Pein <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My first new Campy 10 chain gooed up chunks of grease for weeks, which I
kept wiping off.

It seems to make sense to clean it with some kerosene first and lightly
oil to prevent the mess.

Wayne

Hi Wayne, go to your local bike shop, and buy yourself one of those
neat Plastic Chain Cleaners (Park or Prolink) that clip/attach to your
rear derailleur, and a large bottle of their Eco-Solvent/Chain
Cleaner, and a bottle of non-oil base chain lube (Something like
Paraffin based "White Lightning" works great).

With a few dozen rotations of the crank, your chain will be clean as a
whistle lickety-split, and as clean as it will ever get, without
having to resort to more agressive means. (ie: Chain removal) You will
not believe how filthy the solvent will be after this procedure!

Wipe dry with a clean lint-free shop towl making sure to wipe fully,
the chain side plates, and also the rollers too, and let the chain
fully dry. Then apply White Lighting Lube liberally making sure to
apply to every link/roller on the chain, (Read the instructions), and
then let it also fully dry before use.

The cleaner you keep a chain, the better it will perform, and the
longer it will last. I think many will agree with a comment Jobst
Brandt once made about the disadvantages of using oil based lubes on
chains. While yes, oil will help prevent chain rust, but oil winds up
acting as a media for attracting dust/dirt/metal particles, and will
accelerate Chain wear. I live in very dusty/dry conditions here in
the southwest part of USA. The White Lightning Chain Lube attracts
considerably less dust/dirt.
Hope this helps! Mark D.

Mark said:

I think many will agree with a comment Jobst
Brandt once made about the disadvantages of using oil based lubes on
chains. While yes, oil will help prevent chain rust, but oil winds up
acting as a media for attracting dust/dirt/metal particles, and will
accelerate Chain wear.

I think you're mis-quoting Jobst, Mark. He advises against oiling a dirty
chain, but does not recommend using non oil based lubes.

Oiling a dirty chain will force grit inside the chain where it accelerates
wear.

There's nothing wrong with oiling a clean chain. And if you wipe off the
excess oil, it will not attract dirt.

Art Harris

Quoted message said:

Wayne Pein said:

My first new Campy 10 chain gooed up chunks of grease for weeks,
which I kept wiping off.

Quoted message said:

It seems to make sense to clean it with some kerosene first and
lightly oil to prevent the mess.

From your description, you have struck oil. You're rich! On the
other hand, I don't believe you wiped off all excess lubricant when
you started, otherwise, from where is all this lubricant coming? It's
not as though chains have large voids in them for storing excess
lubricant.

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

I did not wipe the chain before using it, which I realize in retrospect
was a mistake. Sachs chains, which I previously used, haven't seemed to
have the same voluminous amount of protectant on them. But I wiped the
Campy chain, chainrings, and pulleys several times over the course of
the first few weeks as bits of dirty grease became exposed.

Wayne

On 16 Sep 2004 12:37:01 GMT, [email hidden] (Qui si parla

Campagnolo ) said:

wpien-<< My first new Campy 10 chain gooed up chunks of grease for weeks, which
I
kept wiping off.

It seems to make sense to clean it with some kerosene first and lightly
oil to prevent the mess. >><BR><BR>

That's what we do to new chains, clean off the preservative first, then lube. I
use WD-40. The goop really gets the chain dirty quickly.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Dear Peter,

I assume that you clean off the grease-from-the-factory with
WD-40 and then re-lubricate the chains.

If you use wax, I can see that the chain won't get dirty as
quickly.

But if you use oil, why doesn't it capture just as much road
dust as the factory grease?

Curiously,

Carl Fogel

Wayne Pein said:

My first new Campy 10 chain gooed up chunks of grease for weeks, which I
kept wiping off.

It seems to make sense to clean it with some kerosene first and lightly
oil to prevent the mess.

Possibly with a Campag chain. New SRAM chains are coated with a good
purpose-made chain lubricant from GLEITMO, and should be fitted and
ridden as they are.

carl-<< I assume that you clean off the grease-from-the-factory with
WD-40 and then re-lubricate the chains. >><BR><BR>

We use Prolink, not really an 'oil'.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

On 17 Sep 2004 13:27:08 GMT, [email hidden] (Qui si parla

Campagnolo ) said:

carl-<< I assume that you clean off the grease-from-the-factory with
WD-40 and then re-lubricate the chains. >><BR><BR>

We use Prolink, not really an 'oil'.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

I found that Prolink will let you know if the chain is clean. If the
chain is dirty, the Prolink will come off black, immediately. If the
chain is clean, when applied, the Prolink is nice and clear.

I recently bought a Spin Doctor chain cleaner from Performance.The
degreaser they included was not good, but the tool itself, works well.
I bought a gallon of Castrol Super Clean degreaser from our local
Fleet Farm, which I use straight. Put some in the cleaner, run it
through a good 15-20 revolutions, change fluid, and do it again. Then
dry chain, chain wheel, pulleys, and cogs. Apply Prolink as
recommended and I'm all set. Actually I was really pleased with the
results. I usually do some kind of chain maintenance every 300-500
miles, so about once every 3-4 weeks. But I reapply Prolink once or
twice, in between cleanings.

It works for me, doing it this way, riding in conditions that are not
extreme in any way.

Life is Good!
Jeff

yawl ride with Luft?

g.daniels said:

yawl ride with Luft?

I use air for respiration and tire inflation when I ride, so the answer
is yes. Unfortunately, the air also significantly resists my forward
progress.

--
Tom Sherman

Tom Sherman said:

g.daniels said:

yawl ride with Luft?

I use air for respiration and tire inflation when I ride, so the answer
is yes. Unfortunately, the air also significantly resists my forward
progress.

Better get your act together, Tom. You're either for air, or you're
against it. Criticism is not welcome.

--
Benjamin Lewis

I regret to say that we of the FBI are powerless to act in cases of
oral-genital intimacy, unless it has in some way obstructed interstate
commerce. -- J. Edgar Hoover

In article <[email hidden]>,

Jeff Starr said:

I bought a gallon of Castrol Super Clean degreaser from our local
Fleet Farm, which I use straight. Put some in the cleaner, run it
through a good 15-20 revolutions, change fluid, and do it again. Then
dry chain, chain wheel, pulleys, and cogs.

Be careful with that stuff - it's highly corrosive. You'd better do more
than just let it dry (i.e., flush thoroughly with water). After seeing
it discolor aluminum and rust my chain, I switched to Simple Green.
Simple Green may not work quite as well, but it is much less corrosive.

--
Mike DeMicco <[email hidden]>
(Remove the REMOVE_THIS from my email address to reply.)

Mike DeMicco said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Jeff Starr said:

I bought a gallon of Castrol Super Clean degreaser from our local
Fleet Farm, which I use straight. Put some in the cleaner, run it
through a good 15-20 revolutions, change fluid, and do it again. Then
dry chain, chain wheel, pulleys, and cogs.

Be careful with that stuff - it's highly corrosive. You'd better do more
than just let it dry (i.e., flush thoroughly with water). After seeing
it discolor aluminum and rust my chain, I switched to Simple Green.
Simple Green may not work quite as well, but it is much less corrosive.

Pedro's Orange Peelz works great, doesn't corrode anything, and is
environmentally friendly, unlike the other products mentioned above. It
may be a little more expensive, but worth it IMHO.

...mj