Stupid Campagnolo chain/der question

[M_A_Martin]

I recently had a bike put together at a shop. I sent them a rear derailleur (campy record 10 speed) that I had pulled apart and cleaned up to put on the bike. It was spotless.

I get the bike back and I'm riding along happily (at maybe 300 miles on the new chain) and I notice the chain is a nasty black grease mess and the derailleur is dragging...the idler pullies are full of nasty black gunk. You know...that nasty stuff that builds up in corners after months of use...*not* 300 miles?

I clean up the mess and ask the shop what lube they used: We don't lube new campy chains when they put them on the bike, that’s the lube that's in them. Its nasty black stuff.

On my recent tour I noticed that my chain was making noise so I borrowed someone's T9. Things started spinning smoothly again and I was a happy camper.

I was prepping the bike this evening and noticed once again that my rear derailleur pullies are bound up with black gunk. AGAIN. ***? (no wonder last night's club ride was so much work!

I've put on two brand new campy chains before and never had nasty black grease like this and no build up on the derailleur pullies. I usually use Dumonde Tech Lite so I prep the chains before I put them on and don't have a build up problem during the season. I hadn't had a chance to prep this chain before it went on the bike.

Is that nasty gunky buildup normal on campy 10 speed chains?

[Tom]

The Prolink bottle says to get that stuff off a new chain so it works better, if I'm lazy and don't do a good job I notice it right away.

I've noticed that whatever it is they ship Campy chains with, it's incredibly sticky.

[Dekonick]

My 9 speed chain gets nasty looking after 100 or so miles - I de-grease it at least once a week and keep it lubed with either LPS50 or similar, or pro-link. Wasnt this discussed a month ago? :confused:

[M_A_Martin]

Oh Dekonick, it probably was in some thread I didn't read and I didn't find the answer when I did a search or two...
And I'm one of those girls interested in an immediate answer...And I really HATE wrenching on my bike the night before a century ride (pulling off the derrailure pullies and cleaning them...yet AGAIN. It bodes no good.

I like to have everything dialed in during the week. No tweaking the night before. Friday ride, wash and double check the bike Saturday, Sunday century. Its my little world and it works for me.

This chain thing is just icky though...repeatedly icky. It only improves my opinion of Dumonde Tech. I haven't had this problem in ages...

I am glad to hear that I'm not alone in the icky campagnlolo chain world. Thanks.

[Orin]

I put a Wipperman (nickel, not stainless) 10 speed chain on my bike last week and had a different problem... it squeaked in less than 50 miles! So much for their factory lube. A liberal dousing of ProLink and it's been quiet since. Very quiet IMO.

As for gunk on the pulleys, I just scrape it off with a flat-bladed screwdriver a few times before bothering to pull the pulleys off. BTW, there was a lot of grease on the outside of the pulleys of a new 2003 Record rear derailleur I installed a couple of weeks ago. It would have attracted dirt, so I wiped it off as best I could.

If my bike is behaving itself, I do nothing more than pump up the tires and lube the chain before a ride of any distance... and that includes centuries and longer.

Squeaks and creaks need to be found though... one creak turned out to be the rear rim cracking.

Orin.

[Dekonick]

:)

No offense meant! - I just cant remember if it was on this site, or RBR etc...

I agree with the instant response - its nice.

[Dekonick]

Creaks??

My HC creaks all of the time! I thought that was normal for Ti bikes. (its not annoying at all, and I cant find the source of the creak. I just assume its because the frame is Ti.)

[Ahneida Ride]

Ginger,

My LBS Guru throughly cleans all chains in a strong citrus degreaser
before use. He claims that the coating on the Campy chain is NOT a
Lubricant but a protectorant. He then lets the chain dry and lubs with
Boeshield.

Remover the chain, Degrease ( I use a product called Finish Line
Citrus Biosolvent ) and lube with you favorite gook.

Betcha that solves the problem.

I just installed a new Campy Chain, precleaned and prelubed, and
no problems.

finishline (http://www.finishlineusa.com)

[Dekonick]

Degreaser - dont spend your $$ on a 'bike' brand - its all the same stuff. Go to COSTCO and get a big container of citrus degreaser - its cheap, and its not harmful to the environment. Someone else posted about using brake cleaner - it works well BUT its nasty stuff.

Do a search on chain lube on the site and you will find all kinds of advice! :banana:

[M_A_Martin]

I have a big bottle of simple green that I haven't run out of yet....

My usual mode of chain prep is: 2 liter bottle and degreaser, meet new chain. Dump it in, soak, shake it around, soak, shake, dump it out. Rinse well, dry, lube properly with Dumonde Tech Lite. Then put the chain on the bike.
I was in a hurry for this bike so I didn't follow my usual mode of operation. That'll teach me!

I do think that your bike guru is right. The grease that ships their chains in is a protectant not an operational grease. Who knows how long those chains are going to sit around before they're sold!