I've been using synthetic chain oil for all my bikes, but this one lives in the garage and doesn't get as much TLC as the ones that get carted inside. I think I need to clean her a bit more often. During the spring/summer it didn't seem to matter but with the conditions on the roads at the moment it obviously does. I noticed that the gears in the cluster that don't get much use were starting to rust so I threw on some wd40 and spun the rust away. Then I recoated everything with the chain oil. Hopefully it should keep the rust at bay. I'm a bit worried about the bearings as well. Its a cheaper bike and I bet they aren't sealed.