The Friction Facts chains get what I think is roughly equivalent an hour of use for a break in. Then they are cleaned and dipped in the secret sauce.

I am assuming you plan on cleaning and waxing the chain after riding it a bit. If you aren't cleaning the chain then don't worry about a break in. New chains have a ton of nasty little medal filing and the lube is horrible, so you really need to be getting rid of that garbage before anything will improve.

If you are lazy, you could buy a chain from Premiere Tactical.

Do you clean a new chain any different than otherwise?

I’ve always just put a new chain on and rode it, OP

"Do you clean a new chain any different than otherwise?"


Optimally, you would want to remove all of the sticky lube that the manufacturer put on it.

Found out my drive train is blew out. I'm having it put on the week before my 70.3. No worries whatsoever. At least this one won't skip every time I hit a bump on the road. Just put the tight new chain on and roll with it.

This^

The packing grease they use to protect the chain until it is installed is not optimal for racing. It'll work but it has unnecessary friction.
And yes, there is an echo in here.

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

Ride it for a couple of hours. Then give it a thorough cleaning and waxing.

Lots of little asperities to be broken off and surface gets a bit smoother. The finishing that Premier does is an accelerated version of this.

Zerofrictioncycling is the best info source, IMO.

If you are replacing chain and cassette there ought not to be a break in period. I would want to get a few rides in to make sure nothing got botched with the chain install.

If you are just replacing the chain, and the cassette is worn at all it can be unusable with the new chain.

Personally, if everything is working I wouldn't go messing with it until after your race.

PS what criteria are you using to say you are due for a new chain?

The chain wear tool says it is time to replace it. Is there another reason?

The Premier chain is great but of all chains I've ever used this is the one that most definitely needs a break in period. The lubricant it comes with is very solid and will take a few hours of riding before it'll actually work and shift smoothly.

Why do you think it needs a break in period?

That is why I asked?

You can hold the chain like it's a stick when it's fresh out of the package. First time I bought a Premier chain (and I have bought 3 in total, so not trying to bash a product here) I also replaced my shifter cables and simply wasn't able to fine tune my cables with my bike in the bike stand because the chain was so rigid it didn't allow the derailluer to move enough with a shift to allow the chain to change cogs.

The chain is loaded with teflon-like particles that need to break off before it has some flexibility and will work. I've bought 3 chains, they were all like that, install them and they'll rattle and be slow and not shift well for maybe the first hour or so. Then the chain will become very nice if you keep it lubricated.

Our chain requires 3-4 miles before all the excess wax flakes off. Then its super smooth.

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Dan Kennison

facebook: @triPremierBike
http://www.PremierBike.com
http://www.PositionOneSports.com

I believe you're referring to the solidness of the wax, not the Teflon. That takes a short ride to loosen up and bed in. During this time, don't try to adjust your derailleurs, as the lateral stiffness is affected as well until some load has been put through the chain.

Zero Friction Cycling goes into this as well.

Wearing in the chain itself (i.e. smoothing the metal-to-metal interface surfaces) is a separate matter, one that Premier do (via electropolishing I believe) but typically not done on new chains regardless of lubrication method.

Well yes, knowing now what to expect I would simply put the chain on and start riding away but when I got it the first time I wasn't aware of that and nothing seemed to indicate that being the case. So installing it together with new shifter cables made it more difficult than needed. And I thought I had a bad chain or did something wrong or whatever. But after the break in period it was awesome (and has been on my bike for a year with at least 5000 miles on it and still seems to be perfect). So I'm a fan, my only point was that it does indeed have a break in period and you need to be aware of it when buying one.

The break in period is about 15 minutes.