Degrease new Dura Ace chain??

dangardner27

Was reading a review on a TCR and the Cycling Plus reviewer said the first thing he did was to degrease it and stick it in the oven in some wax....So many conflicting views...

I'm thinking of just putting it on with the factory grease and then degreasing in a couple of hundred miles or so.

What does everyone do?

webboo

Ride it, then when it’s black or got wet, clean it and re lub it.

imposter2.0

dangardner27 said:

Was reading a review on a TCR and the Cycling Plus reviewer said the first thing he did was to degrease it and stick it in the oven in some wax....So many conflicting views...

Did he say 'why' he did that? There doesn't seem to be any logic behind it. In which case, I would dismiss it as journalistic nonsense.

The factory coating is usually good for a few hundred miles or more. After that, just do as webboo says...

amrushton

it's got cosmolene on. use the chain then when it's time clean/relube

ugo.santalucia

amrushton said:

it's got cosmolene on.

I thought for Dura Ace they used Kryptonite oil

akh

I've done both. Performance wise I can't tell the difference, but the grease that comes on the chain attracts a lot more dirt than a good dry lube (and I guess wax too).

darkhairedlord

Sram chains on my old eight speed used to stick to the chain ring and slap about when new but fine if the factory grease cleaned off first.

DeVlaeminck

Some modern lubes including at least some of the wax ones require you to degrease the chain removing old lube etc to allow the new lube to penetrate properly. If you buy into that then you may as well do it from new as it's easier to degrease the chain before fitting and you may as well get the new lube penetrating before a build up of crap does - the idea of these lubes being they prevent the crap building up.

dannbodge

I normally wipe down the outsides of the chain before I ride with it. The plates don't need lube on.

One advantage of the factory grease is it's super quiet because it's so thick

zest28

I only degrease and grease it when it starts getting too noisy.

First.Aspect

I'm just going to post this on every chain-related thread.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

shimanobottombracket

dangardner27 said:

Was reading a review on a TCR and the Cycling Plus reviewer said the first thing he did was to degrease it and stick it in the oven in some wax....So many conflicting views...

I was reading something about UFOs once. That was just a load of crap too. Just relube it when it needs it. A new chain doesn't need it as it's already got lube on it. "stick it in the oven in some wax". If you read on you will likely come across something about him microwaving his underwear too, the daft 2@.

If you need to scratch your árse, use your fingers. And don't bother scratching it when it isn't itchy. Many internet people seem to struggle with the most basic of concepts.

david37

First.Aspect said:

I'm just going to post this on every chain-related thread.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

navrig2

I don't subscribe to degreasing a new chain and waxing it but if you Google it there seems to a whole subculture surrounding the process some of which come from "credible" sources. Here is one such example:

https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/chain-waxing-tutorial/2633

Personally I suspect that the practice comes from motorbiking in the 1950s when lubes were probably not as well engineered and were less likely to reach the inner surfaces of a chain. Then again I may have taken that view from the likes of Ogri!