precleaning new chains?

Boatman wrote:
Does anyone clean the wax or whatever off new chains before
installing them? What is that stuff?

Boatman

Thanks for all the interesting replies. What I ended up doing is plopping
the new chain in a water bottle with Simple Green: shake, shake, shake and
rinse. Then I layed the chain out, sprayed with WD40 to help remove the
water, dried for a bit, then put on some Finish Line Dry Lube, dried for a
bit, and wiped clean. The chain looks clean and looks like it will stay
clean for a while. I didn't like the looks of that sticky, greasy gunk that
the chain came with. Then I found that the SRAM PC-48 I put on had 1 fewer
link then the chain I took off! Bike works great, though, and shifts through
all the gears fine.

Boatman

Leo Lichtman writes:

It seems to me if the manufacturers used preservatives that look
like grease, but which need to be cleaned off to insure good chain
life, the chains would come with instructions that say that.

Besides that, can you imagine companies like Trek not asking chain
manufacturers to ship them ready to install if that isn't what they
are? SRAM chains in bulk packaging have the same greasy lubricant as
all the others past and present brands. This is a religious issue.

Jobst Brandt

"Diablo Scott" wrote in message
news:1099067461.hSZS3MF66w1jv7mGf8AVEQ@teranews...
Boatman wrote:
Does anyone clean the wax or whatever off new chains before installing
them?
What is that stuff?

Boatman



The stuff is called cosmolene. You can leave it on, but if you want to
use your own brand of lube you're better off removing the cosmolene
first so your stuff can get where it needs to go.

This has been investigated & reported in this NG before. It's not
cosmolene, at least not on SRAM chains.

Boatman Wrote:
Does anyone clean the wax or whatever off new chains before installing
them?
What is that stuff?

Boatman
I just bought a new shimano chain it was covered the stickiest stuff I
ever seen. I could not remove it, so I had to no choice. Now the chain
is dirt magnet and greasy as hell.

I really wish shimano didn't put such sticky crap on their chains


--
velomanct

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 04:51:54 +1100, velomanct wrote:

I could not remove it

You need a strong degreaser such as Simple Green, alternately you can
remove and soak the sucker in kerosene.

"velomanct" wrote:
I just bought a new shimano chain it was covered the stickiest stuff I
ever seen. I could not remove it, so I had to no choice. Now the chain
is dirt magnet and greasy as hell.

I hang a new Shimano chain vertically, spray WD-40 onto a clean rag, and
wipe the excess grease off the exterior. It takes a while, but you can get
rid of the sticky feel. But the inner sides of the plates will still be
sticky and attract grit.

I'm seriously considering changing sides on this issue, and giving my new
chains a thorough cleaning in mineral spirits.

Are SRAM or other brand chains as bad as Shimano in this regard?

Art Harris

Arthur Harris wrote:

Are SRAM or other brand chains as bad as Shimano in this regard?

Art Harris

The SRAM PC-48 I just put on had what I think a very sticky dirt-attracting
gunk all over. As I posted earlier, a quick clean in Simple Green (in a
water bottle), then a spray down with WD-40 cleaned it up great! Of course,
I oiled it up with my favorite oil (Finish Line Dry Lube) as well.

Boatman