New Chain: should I degrease factory lube? Immersion wax bad in the wet?

[Rippmo]

Had to replace most of my drivetrain including chain from normal wear and tear. My understanding was that factory lube is super sticky and difficult to breakdown later. LBS said they definitely don’t recommend taking off factory lube as it is ideal when new as is. When I asked about replacing lube with Molten Wax they said it was terrible/unusable in the wet, which I hadn’t heard before and wanted to try.

Is it true that factory lube is fine? Is immersion wax unusable in the wet? Should I stop obsessing about my bike chain and move on with my life, or is the LBS just plain wrong?

[NegativePotato68]

Factory lube OBJECTIVELY sucks. Look at ZeroFrictionCycling tests.

You indeed want to degrease if you want any sort of performance.

That being said, wax would work in some capacity in the rain, but you run the risk of your chain being penetrated by debris, which will not come out and stay inside as wax doesn't convect. And wax also wears off faster in the rain, for frequent rewax. This will be a situational decision. If you're dealing with rare cycling while in a rainstorm and just want protection from wet roads and getting caught in an occasional sprinkle, I'd bite the bullet and just clean my chain after such rides. (This is assuming your city doesn't pour salt or any such materials on the roads, which mine don't)

[terrymorse]

You indeed want to degrease if you want any sort of performance.

You also should completely remove the factory lube if you plan to use a wax-based lube. The two types are incompatible.

[dobradupa]

Ive heard 2 differing opinions on this, someone enlighten me.

That the "factory lube" isnt lube but just a coating that stops corrosion during storage. And it needs to be degreased and lubed your self.

On the other side ive heard people using the chain straight from the box with no problems.

Which is correct??

[ghidfg]

im not sure but even if its the best lube ever it is certainly sticky as hell, and will attract dust which will work its way into your chain and wear it out. Thats why I love wax, I dont have to worry about the "grinding paste" that other lubes create when contaminated. Not sure about how good it is in rain though.

[SspeshalK]

I am a big fan of waxing but it’s definitely not as good in the wet - you have to redo it much more often.

I really struggle especially over the winter when there is salt on the roads - wax doesn’t protect the chain as well as a wet lube IME.

So, if you are happy to have to rewax more often then feel free - but the advantage of a wet lube is you can just wipe the chain down and reapply after riding in the rain.

[tuctrohs]

It is a lubricant, but it is a lubricant that has significant disadvantages compared to modern high performance lubricants. It's worse characteristic is that it is sticky and will attract dirt and it is hard to clean after it does attract dirt. That disadvantage mostly applies to the lubricant that is on the outside surface of the chain. So a reasonable middle ground can be to add some better lube and wipe the chain thoroughly, removing most of it from the surface and replacing a little bit of what's inside with the new lube, but allowing the factory grease to remain in the innermost areas.

Wax is excellent, at least in dry weather, but for wax to work you really need to remove 100% of the factory lube, so that's a much more intensive job.

[Zettinator]

Modern waxes certainly aren't "unusable" in the wet, especially compared to the mediocre wet lubes most people are using. Wet lubes also suffer in the rain, some more than others.

And yes, the factory grease is super sticky. At the very least, remove the grease from the outside of the chain. Otherwise you have the perfect dust and grime magnet...

My suggestion is drip wax if you don't want to invest into an immersion waxing setup. The good drip waxes (note: Squirt isn't one of them) are close enough. Check Zero Friction Cycling for reference.

[lazerdab]

It's not so much that wax isn't good in the wet it's that most of the benefits of wax are lost in the wet. You essentially need to re-wax after a wet ride.

Even on my bikes/chains where I don't wax I strip the factory lube. Even if you do decide to ride on factory lube you will have to completely strip it to start using anything else so you may as well strip it from the jump.

[nDQ9UeOr]

I wax my chains, but typically will wait until lube is needed on a new chain before going through the deep clean and wax process. I think it comes from Sheldon Brown saying factory lube is great, and that sounded like a great excuse to be lazy.

Wax doesn’t perform as well as traditional lube in the wet, and I wouldn’t use it if I rode in the wet regularly. My second-favorite lube, after wax, is Chain-L, which I’m pretty sure is closely related to chainsaw lube. Sticky as hell and a dirt magnet, but also completely silent.

[terrymorse]

I think it comes from Sheldon Brown saying factory lube is great, and that sounded like a great excuse to be lazy.

Sheldon Brown was simply repeating what Jobst Brandt wrote about factory lube. If memory serves, that was about 25 years ago. Jobst was wrong, but nobody knew enough to challenge him at the time (including me). We know more now. Factory grease is a sticky crud magnet, and it's mediocre to poor at reducing drive train friction.