Dear Mr. Shimano...

greasedscotsman

Open letter to Mr. Shimano (I know he reads the forum...)

Dear Mr. S,

Will you PLEASE stop using that awful grease/lube/stuff on your chains. It has to be the stickest element known to man. Went for a ride this morning and came back with all kinds of junk, mud and even a small cat stuck to my chain.

I've now spent most of the afternoon trying to clean said chain. Can I get it all nice and shiny again like it was in the shop. Can I ****! I have the small thermo-nuclear device on order, I'll strap that to the bike and see if that might shift it?

So PLEASE use something a little bit lighter, I really do like all your nice n' shiny compents, I really. Don't make me use S'ram or even worse, the one begining with a "C".

Love and kisses,

The Greasy Scotsman.

redddraggon

Shimano don't make chains.

KMC do.

freehub

I get my chains as shiny as they come in the shop, until you look close up obviously, cause I can't get into the little bits of the chain.

northernneil

sounds to me like you just aren't trying hard enough, more elbow grease needed

or a decent chain bath investment

balthazar

When you fit a new chain next time, run it through a rag dampened with solvent or degreaser, to remove most of the sticky grease from the outside. Don't use so much solvent that it gets into the chain, because that means you're starting to wash the grease out— which you don't want to do until the chain needs cleaning and re-oiling fully.

Splottboy

Shouldn't it be Shimano San?

Cressers

Just don't buy Shimano...

dodgy

I find all new chains, whatever the manufacturer come with that sticky grease all over them. I just wipe it off like balthazar mentions. No big deal.

alfablue

more chain OCD!

Clever Pun

redddraggon wrote:

Shimano don't make chains.

KMC do.

you saw it on a documentary on BBC2?

dennisn

greasedscotsman wrote:

Open letter to Mr. Shimano (I know he reads the forum...)

Dear Mr. S,

Will you PLEASE stop using that awful grease/lube/stuff on your chains. It has to be the stickest element known to man. Went for a ride this morning and came back with all kinds of junk, mud and even a small cat stuck to my chain.

I've now spent most of the afternoon trying to clean said chain. Can I get it all nice and shiny again like it was in the shop. Can I ****! I have the small thermo-nuclear device on order, I'll strap that to the bike and see if that might shift it?

So PLEASE use something a little bit lighter, I really do like all your nice n' shiny compents, I really. Don't make me use S'ram or even worse, the one begining with a "C".

Love and kisses,

The Greasy Scotsman.

Sounds to me like you want a clean chain as opposed to a well lubed one. Oil has never been CLEAN, so to speak. You spill it on whatever and it's hard to get off. So you have a choice. Soak your chain for a week in gasoline, so it doesn't have a drop of lube on it, then mount it and run it dry and PRESTO, a clean chain. Or you can lube your chain, keep the noise to a minimum, reduce wear on cassette and rings, and have a little bit of black stuff here and there on the rear of your bike. Up to you. Me? It's a bike. I give a sh*t about a few spots of lube here and there.

Anonymous

dennisn wrote:

greasedscotsman wrote:

Open letter to Mr. Shimano (I know he reads the forum...)

Dear Mr. S,

Will you PLEASE stop using that awful grease/lube/stuff on your chains. It has to be the stickest element known to man. Went for a ride this morning and came back with all kinds of junk, mud and even a small cat stuck to my chain.

I've now spent most of the afternoon trying to clean said chain. Can I get it all nice and shiny again like it was in the shop. Can I ****! I have the small thermo-nuclear device on order, I'll strap that to the bike and see if that might shift it?

So PLEASE use something a little bit lighter, I really do like all your nice n' shiny compents, I really. Don't make me use S'ram or even worse, the one begining with a "C".

Love and kisses,

The Greasy Scotsman.

Sounds to me like you want a clean chain as opposed to a well lubed one. Oil has never been CLEAN, so to speak. You spill it on whatever and it's hard to get off. So you have a choice. Soak your chain for a week in gasoline, so it doesn't have a drop of lube on it, then mount it and run it dry and PRESTO, a clean chain. Or you can lube your chain, keep the noise to a minimum, reduce wear on cassette and rings, and have a little bit of black stuff here and there on the rear of your bike. Up to you. Me? It's a bike. I give a sh*t about a few spots of lube here and there.

Pragmatic, succinct and 100% correct. I'm with you on this one.

greasedscotsman

dennisn wrote:

Sounds to me like you want a clean chain as opposed to a well lubed one.

Hmm, not really. Maybe I'm being fussy, but I'd just like a lube that's a bit lighter, not so sticky, is that asking too much? Maybe if Mr. Shimano San would use some Finish Line Wet Lube then I'll be happy!

rake

he cant do that. youl wreck it for the rest of us who want good grease. its viscosity that counts on a chain.

dennisn

greasedscotsman wrote:

dennisn wrote:

Sounds to me like you want a clean chain as opposed to a well lubed one.

Hmm, not really. Maybe I'm being fussy, but I'd just like a lube that's a bit lighter, not so sticky, is that asking too much? Maybe if Mr. Shimano San would use some Finish Line Wet Lube then I'll be happy!

I know what you're saying. I would bet that they may use "sticky" lube in order to make sure that the chains don't corrode while waiting on shelves or aren't sold for a year or two(for whatever reason).Reminds me of the "gunk" that the military coats rifles and pistols with when new. Cosmoline(spelling???) I believe it was called. Although that was some years ago.

greasedscotsman

I always thought they used a heavier lube for the lower end bikes which never get cleaned or re-lubed. Mind you judging from the many bikes you "hear" round Oxford, maybe an even heavier, stickier oil is required!

dennisn

greasedscotsman wrote:

I always thought they used a heavier lube for the lower end bikes which never get cleaned or re-lubed. Mind you judging from the many bikes you "hear" round Oxford, maybe an even heavier, stickier oil is required!

Maybe, companies who make chains for many different applications feel(and probably rightly so) that what they put on them protects and lubes just about any chain in ANY application. What else can they do?

mrushton

That sticky stuff is Cosmolene and it's probably better than what you use. Have a look at at http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#factory

balthazar

dennisn wrote:

Cosmoline(spelling???) I believe it was called. Although that was some years ago.

Though I'm sure the grease serves a useful preservative purpose, I suspect that it was confusion with Cosmoline that led to the "must clean it off before use" myth.