I ride year-round, both on and off-road. I never clean a bike's chain per se, I just lube it up with a continuous stream of solvent-diluted chain oil applied to the moving (backwards) chain, then as it approaches saturation (definitely
before any dripping along the chainrings has begun), I wipe down the moving chain with a terrycloth shop rag.
All of that can take
under a minute, including the wiping or scraping off of the rotating derailer pullies!(!)...(!).
I use a TriFlow or WhiteLightning squeeze bottle with a narrow applicator straw (as from the TriFlow bottle) inserted into the bottle's tip.
The flow rate and "aim" is very well regulated with this approach, such that a tidy, precise stream of lube can have your chain fully lubed within ~2-10 turns of the cranks, depending on chainring size and whether you are applying one, two or perhaps three "passes" worth of lube to the chain. I rest my knuckles against the spokes to steady my aim along either side of the chain where the sideplates overlap. A single pass can actually be seen to penetrate through to the other side of the chain (visible if the chain is dry and dusty).
The level of dilution can be "seasonally" adjusted to leave more or less actual oil in the chain, which determines how much of a tendency there will be for the oil to migrate to the outside of the chain and onto the cogs while riding. Dilution solvent is normally mineral spirits, and my preferred oil is Nashbar chain oil.
A very
fast-drying mix can be formulated using one of the
dry-lube hexane-solvent aerosol lubes (see below, also known as RV slider lubricant) that can be sprayed into your squeeze bottle, with something like 15-25% oil then mixed in. These aerosols contain a butane-like propellant that will make the lube annoyingly effervescent like soda until it has sat in a warm place for a good while. You can ride soon after lubing though with this mix, and without getting lube/solvent spatter on your back rim.
That's about it. Grungy chains respond well enough to the change to this routine, but will not readily shed hardened deposits. A dirty and neglected drivetrain should first have it's rotating rings, pullies and cogs stripped of crud
mechanically using a narrow "machinists rule", just hold the ruler against the rotating part and the crud strips and fall off. Then the drivetrain is ready for the lube and wipe.
I think that my method on on the environmentally-safe side, compared to all of the other options.
I like that it is also relatively economical, time-sparing and clean, while providing adequate lubrication to a modern chain with good resulting chain service life. I do also get about a full season of riding out of a single one of the terrycloth shop rags.
Here's the large photos:
