Duragrouch

I wipe off the solvent, and usually clean on a rainy day, so the rest evaporates, but the solvent is compatible if any remains. My reason for cleaning is to remove the metal dust, always the main contaminant.

I have been using liquid lube, but the results I saw on zerofrictioncycling only a few days ago, have convinced me that wax is better, even candle wax, and waxes with teflon micropowder and moly or tungsten disulfide are superior. I waxed all through the 1990s for cleanliness (fancy road bike, never in rain), but liquid lubed in recent decades (townies), thinking that it gave better chain life, but I guess that wax was better. I did my own maintenance but didn't know what I didn't know, never measured chain stretch until very recent years. I used that original nickel uniglide chain, hot waxing as soon as it started to squeak, for 15 years, I think it's still on that bike, long since retired to storage since I now use a townie. That chain (and cogs) has gotta have at least 50,000-70,000 miles. In the last years I used it, I noticed the UG cogs were visibly cupped, I just flipped them over, which you could do. IIRC, the chain rollers were all slightly cupped on the outside. 52/42 crank had almost that many miles, until commuting in hill country, I swapped it with a triple from a bike bought cheap and then sold, getting rid of the Bio-Pace rings, was never a fan.

So yeah, I think I'll go back to wax, after I clean the derailleur pulleys, cogs, and chainrings of sludge, the Park chain cleaner does nothing for those, that's a big job and my current residence has no workbench. Probably after the rainy season here ends.