Gritty chain lube???

[lauraelmore1033]

Is there a type of chain lube that has tiny particles in it? I cleaned the chain of my brand new bike last week and was alarmed that it was full thick, black gritty gunk. I ran it through my washer thingie and it was still gritty and gunky. I then spent what seemed like hours wipe,wipe,wiping away at that grit. I never did get rid of it compeletly. The lube I use is clear, thin and entirely grit-free. I happened to take the bike back to the shop this week because of a braking issue (I was having to use my feet to stop on hills) and was assured that the bike was going to get a thorough "tuneup". When it came back, it was loaded with thick, black, gritty gunk! (and had a rattle it didn't have before). The grit is very very fine, but seems to me to be about the same consistency as an abrasive cleanser. To my newbie brain, that seems like something you would absolutely NOT want in your chain! Am I wrong?

[Eden]

How old is your bike and how much have you ridden it outside? Right now up here in the PNW even a little outdoor riding can gunk up your bike pretty darn quick, since that ice storm we had meant a lot of roads were sanded and none of it was cleaned up (at least around here it wasn't).

Generally if I've ridden and its been at all wet (this creates that lovely fine grit slurry that you are seeing on the road and throws it right up into all your bike parts) I rinse down the bike and dry it thouroghly as soon as I come home. Even if it hasn't been wet you may want to clean your chain fairly often with all the sand that is out there right now.

A really fast build up of thick black gunk can indicate that you are over oiling your chain too. Ideally you want to wipe most of your excess lube off after it has had a chance to penetrate the chain.

[lauraelmore1033]

I've only had the bike for three weeks and have put about 150 miles on it. I hadn't ridden it at all when it came back from the shop full of goo and grit (after I had cleaned it). I had actually noticed the grit on the roads (after you mentioned it on another post) but this is much finer than the road grit which is evident on my other bike.

[Eden]

Sounds pretty weird if you took it in clean and it came back gucky....
How sure are you of your LBS? could they be swapping parts on you?

[li10up]

Since you were getting a tune-up maybe the took it out to test drive it?????

[TsPoet]

I had the exact same thing on the bike I got last year. It was built up for me in Colorado, so I blamed Colorado-based wet lubes vs. what I thought I needed in my dryer environment.
I don't know what kind of lube they put on your bike, but it turned out mine had been lubed with Dumonde Tech lube. People who use this lube love it, and the guy who put my bike together new that.
What he didn't tell me was that this particular lube requires a wipe-down after every ride for several rides after it is applied and occasionally thereafter.
I have since switched back to it - now that I know it requires this extra care.
It is the best lube I've ever used, but the first few months with it, not knowing to wipe it down, were miserable - I shed horrid little black gritty particles and ruined cloths, etc.
this all could be completely irrelevant, or maybe you can try just wiping down the chain after every ride for a week and see what happens.
On the other hand, if it were me, I'd either go and ask or wash the bike thoroughly and start over with my own lubing.

[lauraelmore1033]

I had the exact same thing on the bike I got last year. It was built up for me in Colorado, so I blamed Colorado-based wet lubes vs. what I thought I needed in my dryer environment.
I don't know what kind of lube they put on your bike, but it turned out mine had been lubed with Dumonde Tech lube. People who use this lube love it, and the guy who put my bike together new that.
What he didn't tell me was that this particular lube requires a wipe-down after every ride for several rides after it is applied and occasionally thereafter.
I have since switched back to it - now that I know it requires this extra care.
It is the best lube I've ever used, but the first few months with it, not knowing to wipe it down, were miserable - I shed horrid little black gritty particles and ruined cloths, etc.
this all could be completely irrelevant, or maybe you can try just wiping down the chain after every ride for a week and see what happens.
On the other hand, if it were me, I'd either go and ask or wash the bike thoroughly and start over with my own lubing.

That does actually sound like what's on my bike. These guys seemed totally reputable and competant, so I wasn't really worried that they were up to anything shady. It just seemed counter-intuitive that there would be grit on a clean chain. I guess I could have asked, but....well, it seemed like a stupid question. Thanks for all the input. I will definitely wipe down after every ride.

[Kalidurga]

I guess I could have asked, but....well, it seemed like a stupid question.

I've learned the most important stuff through asking the stupidest questions. Never hesitate to ask, even if the LBS dude does look at you as if you're from Mars. I usually preface my stupid questions with, "OK, this is the dumbest question you'll probably get all day, but I'm gonna ask it anyway..." ;)

[lauraelmore1033]

I've learned the most important stuff through asking the stupidest questions. Never hesitate to ask, even if the LBS dude does look at you as if you're from Mars. I usually preface my stupid questions with, "OK, this is the dumbest question you'll probably get all day, but I'm gonna ask it anyway..." ;)

Oh, I'm usually the Queen of stupid questions. Maybe I was hesitant to ask because of the possibility of adding insult to stupidity. There is a bit of a language/cultural barrier, and my question could have seemed to insinuate either incompetance or fraud. Now I think I can actually frame the question in a way that insults no one:cool: .