Originally Posted by
Brushy
Also, cleaning my chain - is this hard? Am I going to risk damaging it doing it myself if I screw it up? Or is it pretty easy?
Spray it with degreaser, but be careful not to get any degreaser in your hubs or bottom bracket. That's about the only thing you can do that will break anything. You should also avoid getting degreaser on your rims as that could make them slippery, but that can be cleaned off.
Let the degreaser sit for a few minutes, then grab a middle section of the chain with a rag and back pedal. Rinse if necessary and then let it dry.
When applying lube, be sure it doesn't drip on your rims.
Alternatively, clean your chain like this:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html