Originally Posted by
Camel
I'll disagree with you. My understanding is that lubricating a chain prevents "stretch" or wear in several ways. The term "stretch" is actually a misnomer, it's the roller bearings wearing out over time, which usually causes the chain to lengthen overall. Once "stretched" a chain will no longer mesh properly with cog teeth, causing premature gearing wear.
Lubrication can help remove grit & sand etc out of the rollers, decreasing wear.
Solvents that flush out the previous lubrication can remove grit and sand. Lubrication applied to a chain that already has grit on it will only get the grit further into the system and result in a chain that wears out faster. The grit that you have to worry about on the a chain is, for the most part, silica (quartz) in origin. Quartz is very hard...harder than the steel in the chain...and acts as a lapping compound. It grinds the chain down faster.