IMO if you have dirt in the bushings, it’s time for a new chain because it’s trash now and no amount of soaking will fix it.
jaretj -
You have a fairly good argument about not disturbing the factory-applied chain lubricant. However, it doesn’t seem like you’re 100% committed to this type of chain maintenance.
By applying WD-40 on your chain, you have effectively done two things: 1) you have moved contaminants from the exterior of the chain to the bushings, and 2) you have diluted the factory-applied lubricant.
But hey - I know everyone likes to do their own thing when it comes to chains, and it doesn’t really matter to me what you do with your chain. I’m just trying to be helpful.
According to my LBS mech (former pro-team and Shimano-certified mech) the chain comes from the factory coated with preservative, not lube or “grease”. The preservative is to keep the chain from rusting during shipping/storing/etc. This preservative tends to dry out and harden as it ages. It should be entirely removed from the chain prior to use, and replaced with a lube such as Pro-link. Adequately applied lube will work its way down into the pins and rollers. A chain should never be greased. Grease will gunk it up and make it stiff and wear it out. Again–this is the gospel according to “Vic” and I follow it religiously (not wanting to start another religion thread)!
You have a fairly good argument about not disturbing the factory-applied chain lubricant. However, it doesn’t seem like you’re 100% committed to this type of chain maintenance.
By applying WD-40 on your chain, you have effectively done two things: 1) you have moved contaminants from the exterior of the chain to the bushings, and 2) you have diluted the factory-applied lubricant.
But hey - I know everyone likes to do their own thing when it comes to chains, and it doesn’t really matter to me what you do with your chain. I’m just trying to be helpful.
Bru,
looking at this long discussion on how to clean the chain, I pulled out some old euro bike magazine from 2001. They pulled the chains apart after cleaning it with various methods. The chain that was cleaned with degreasers was clean on the outside but the internal factory lube was diluted and destroyed from the degreasers. The chain that was just wiped off on a regular basis without any chemicals was clean on the outside and the well lubricated on the inside. Even the chain that was hardly cleaned was well lubricated on the inside. Hence they highly recommened not to use degreasers and cleaning boxes, but to just wipe the chain off as often as possible (takes a bit more time off course)
I try to follow their advise but still go back to some heavy duty degreasers sometimes. It is just so much easier - and looks much cleaner as well.
I agree with you. If you’re not going to degrease/lub, then the best thing you can do is just wipe down.
But if what tri_bri2 says is true about factory-applied lub not being lub at all (which I tend to agree with because that stuff always seems sticky and gooie), then the best thing you can do is completely clean and re-lub.
You said “A dirty chain doesn’t make it stretch”. The dirt inside the chain will abrade the roller surfaces, which will lengthen the pitch of the chain, which will cause the teeth on the cogs to wear into a hooked shape, thereby making said cogs incapable of being used with a non-worn chain.
You then asked “If the factory grease was never intended to be there permanently, then why do they grease it?”
One reason is that it would cost (for example) Trek a lot of money to have to clean and lube each individual chain that it puts on its bikes at the factory. I’d guess they buy huge lengths of pre-lubed chain from the manufacturer, break 'em to size and slap 'em on the bike. The LBS doesn’t want to clean and lube every chain on the bikes it gets, either.
You finally said “My last post on the subject, feel free to have the last word”. That really means “My mind is made up, and I’m not going to listen any more”.
So when Trek buys, say, 1,000,000 links of chain (enough for about 100,000 bikes) from their chain supplier, who cleans and lubes them? Trek? I doubt it. The LBS? I doubt that, too. A large LBS just can’t take the chain off every bike that comes in, clean and lube it, and reinstall it.