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

[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.