Originally Posted by
vandeda
Nah man ... a well maintained and lubed chain will stay rust free. Winters by me is what got me into fixed gear riding because I was tired of cleaning out my derailleurs with all the road grime. Some winters I find its nearly impossible to keep my bike from having a white film from road salt. However, I've never had a problem with my Sram PC-1 chain rusting when I've kept it well lubed and some basic cleaning hear and there.
The only stainless chain I know of is the whipperman, and I've only heard bad things due to high failure rates. They stamp their name on the plates causing stress risers and the plates begin to crack. I would just get a decent chain and keep it well lubed personally.
From some one who rides all winter and clean and lubes his chain regularly I can say that's just not so. I've ridden to work on a freshly cleaned and lubed (Finish line XC) and ridden home on a rusty chain (SRAM PC-59). Whatever combo of salt and chemicals they put on the roads here rusts things very quickly.