New chain… To lube or not to lube, what do you do?

As per title really, seems to be a bit of a personal thing I reckon. I usually use mine till it dries up then de-grease and re-lube. Is this wrong or right?

According to Sheldon Brown……

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.

I use dry lube even through winter. Needs lubing before every ride but worth it for a clean chain.

Edit: new chain needs lubing imo

I’ve always thought the grease on the chain as it comes in the packet is not for lubrication, it’s to protect whilst in the packaging. It’s very thick and sticky stuff, so not best as a lubricant and will only attract grit and sans to create a nice grinding paste. I’ve always cleaned this off then re-lubed.

I never de-grease a new chain and then re-lube.

They apparently come covered in a protective grease, which is not a lube.. degrease/lube away, I just lube mine.

I never lube chains. Any lube will have to be sticky to work, otherwise it comes off. If it sticks then grit will also stick to it.

That will wear it out.

Its not like say a camshaft chain in a car engine – under extreme load and temp etc. Its a chain on a bike.

I just use WD40 on mine after I wash the bike. Stops it going rusty, but does not leave anything to allow grit to stick to it. Also means it stays very clean as it not covered in anything and mud tends to drop off.

Right now after a week of riding in the shit its actually pretty clean.

My chain and whole drive train last a year, then I replace the lot in one go. Cheap stuff, chains less than £20, cheap cassette. I ride 2-4 times a week.

So, dont bother, just clean your bike.

KMC recommends you to take away the excess grease from the chain’s outside by spraying some (eco) cleaner along the chain and immediately wiping it. By removing the grease outside you will prevent it from atracting too much dirt. Make sure the grease inside the chain is not affected!

So no, do not degrease before use!

Amazing, people will give the wrong advice and then delete their posts so as to not look daft!

I never lube chains. Any lube will have to be sticky to work, otherwise it comes off. If it sticks then grit will also stick to it.

That will wear it out.

Its not like say a camshaft chain in a car engine – under extreme load and temp etc. Its a chain on a bike.

I just use WD40 on mine after I wash the bike. Stops it going rusty, but does not leave anything to allow grit to stick to it. Also means it stays very clean as it not covered in anything and mud tends to drop off.

Right now after a week of riding in the shit its actually pretty clean.

My chain and whole drive train last a year, then I replace the lot in one go. Cheap stuff, chains less than £20, cheap cassette. I ride 2-4 times a week.

So, dont bother, just clean your bike.

This is pretty interesting, I always thought lube was essential. However, I never clean my bike!! 😉

I use Putoline chain wax in winter and squirt lube in summer. Both need to start with a degreased chain so yes, I strip and wax brand new chains.

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.

That’s no bike ever then.

Scaredypants recommends you to take away the excess grease from the chain’s outside by spraying some (eco) cleaner onto a rag, and immediately wiping the chain. By removing the grease outside you will prevent it from attracting too much dirt.

I’m with shermer75. My chain care routine is pretty much identical. It’s not absence of lube that wears a chain out, it’s presence of grit and rust. And I always remove the stuff that chains are covered in when new.

It’s not absence of lube that wears a chain out, it’s presence of grit and rust.

Nonsense. A well lubed chain has some protection from corrosion, as well as helping the rollers from wearing away. Metal to metal with no lubrication doesn’t take long to wear.

Take the bearing covers off your wheel bearings, whip out all the grease and see how long they last.

A well lubed chain has some protection from corrosion, as well as helping the rollers from wearing away. Metal to metal with no lubrication doesn’t take long to wear.

What you are saying is entirely correct but is not very relevant to where I ride. If I put lube on a chain, it ends up covered in very fine grit. I might just as well cover it in grinding paste.

Depends what lube you use, I used to get that using the finish line green stuff, but have been using rock n roll extreme for years now. Nice clean chain, reasonably well lubed, not caked in black shite.

Also, I can’t abide the noise of a dry chain!. 😯

I’ve been using X-sauce wax chain lube for a couple of years with great results its clean, doesn’t attract dirt, waterproof, but is not compatable with oil based lubes so you need to clean and dry your chain before application. In a moment of madness i thought i’d try something different and bought some muc-off wet lube, what a mistake! Horrible messy stuff! I’ll be changing back to X-sauce pronto. Oh from what i understand this is different to pedros wax lube as its very thin and seems to last.

Seriously, try a new drive chain, dont waste money on lube. Just wash your bike and hose the the mud off the chain. Then WD40 it.

My cheap chains last a year. I dont change them because they fail or get too slack, I just change the whole lot as a once a year refresh. I think in the last 25 years of biking Ive only snapped one chain.

The lack of lube and the WD40 probably mean the dirt dosent stick too well.

Your little legs are really not putting that much power or speed into the chain. So even in a very clean environment any lube will make a small difference. But we dont ride in a clean environment. We ride in the real world.

Ive been doing this for probably the last 6 years and really do ride all year quit a bit. Try it for yourself and see if it works for you.