ItsJustMe

My derailleur wheels are so dirty you can't see them. There's a mass of dirt/oil in the shape of where the chain hits them.

I don't really bother cleaning anymore. I've tried meticulous cleaning, and also hardly any cleaning at all and barely lubricating, I found it makes little difference to either performance or longevity of parts, so now I just blow the dirt off with a power washer a few times a year, lube it when it looks dry or squeaks, and leave the chain on until the thing starts having trouble, at which point I replace the entire drivetrain, which is < $50 (cassette, chain, derailleur wheels, possibly chainrings). I did this for the first time this spring at 9000 miles on this drivetrain (I had been replacing chains every 1800 miles, and still blew through cassettes in 9000 miles so the life of the cassette is unaffected by not changing the chain). I have a spare crank+chainring set that I paid $22 for but haven't had to use it this time around. It'll be around $50 if I change everything, about $30 without the crank+chainring.