All the above suggestions work as well as yours. If the chain is not real yuked up you can even buy a chain cleaning machine like the FinishLine (I had others but they broke, this one hasn't yet and cleans better) unit that cleans the chain while on the bike better then I found that a rag will do. But if you clean the chain on the bike make sure you spin the chain slowly through the rag or the machine otherwise you will get dirty solvent spray all over the floor, walls, on the bike; a cleaning machine is not as messy as the rag and your hands don't come in contact with the solvent.
As far as never degreasing that's bunk, the biking world has been degreasing chains since bikes were invented. The chain manufactures are pushing this idea so you'll replace a chain every 3,000 miles or when you replace tires you replace your chain thus you pay $30 or so for a new chain instead of $10 for a bottle of degreaser. Don't forget you can get a lot of degreaser for $10 at an auto parts store, that $10 stuff at the LBS is green degreaser supposely.
And cleaning a chain every 100 miles or so is NOT a pain in the butt. With a cleaning machine or a rag and leaving the chain on the bike it takes a whopping 10 minutes at the most! You'll spend a lot more time pumping gas and finding a parking spot, dealing with traffic, lets not forget you have to change it's oil too, etc using a car. Some people will find lame excuses for not doing mainteance.
Last edited by freako; 09-08-07 at 07:04 AM.