Concept2 Forum

Just wondering if anyone experienced this condition? New ERG with a dozen sessions and i noticed a slight noise - not there at the beginning - so i decide to oil the chain on my C2E.

After doing so i noticed a large brown/orange stain on the oil cloth and so i'm wondering if this is normal or? The chain ops was quieter after oiling but the stain needs a little explaining for my mind. I understand the chain is nickle plated and the sprocket is steel but this is a NIB ERG from Concept...perhaps something from the assembly process? Thanks.

Haven't gotten a new erg in years, but have gotten many new bicycle chains. They are always covered with a heavy grease, more for protection than lubrication, I would guess. It comes off after several cleanings and lubings. Likely the same thing on the new erg chain.

Congratulations on your new erg, have fun!

Yes just because it is nickel plated it doesn't mean it doesn't need lubrication. The nickel is just for anti-rust and good appearance on the outside. The chain will have still been assembled with grease. Once you have wiped this off the outside it should be gone. You can run the chain for years without any furthur lubrication but sooner or later it needs additional lubrication for it to remain smooth and low noise.

OK good to know but when i asked Concept they were surprised and had no idea....so thanks.

The chains come to us lubed from the factory so I'm pretty certain the color stain is oil. C2JonW

Thank you....runs great so no issues in the ops area...

Greypuller wrote:Just wondering if anyone experienced this condition? New ERG with a dozen sessions and i noticed a slight noise - not there at the beginning - so i decide to oil the chain on my C2E.

After doing so i noticed a large brown/orange stain on the oil cloth and so i'm wondering if this is normal or? The chain ops was quieter after oiling but the stain needs a little explaining for my mind. I understand the chain is nickle plated and the sprocket is steel but this is a NIB ERG from Concept...perhaps something from the assembly process? Thanks.

This happened to me with a C2 that I got a few years ago. Maybe it is something they started doing in recent years, or that I had not noticed previously.

Someone from C2 said it was a protective layer on the chain, would not affect functioning (I think), and the way to remove it would be to completely clean the chain, as is done with bicycle chains.

I didn't like the stuff and think that I just kept lubricating the chain with the C2 chain oil and wiping it off, which helped to get off the gunk. By the way, I found the best way to wipe off the chain has been with an old nylon sock, as the nylon does not come off on the chain.