This year I decided to try a new regimen. When the two chains (recumbent) were new, I completely removed the factory gunk. Since then I have wiped the chain clean with a dry towel after each ride and added lube after every three rides. I lube it by wetting a spot on a washcloth with pro-link and wipe the chain with it as I rotate it. After a few minutes, the chain is re-lubed and lots of the black gunk had come out onto the washcloth. Sure, the innards aren't perfectly clean, but they would be dirty again within 5 miles anyway.

It's working well and the chains are holding up well too. Of course, this winter I'll replace them as I usually do. Much less work and holding up fine. That's all I need. bk

A stretched chain will wear the sprocket and chainring teeth because the chain no longer mates with them correctly. These are costly to replace.

Clean and lube your chain as you'd like, but don't remove the factory lube. Maybe wipe off excess from the exterior surfaces if it feels too sticky, but don't "completely remove it." The factory stuff is the best lube your chain will ever see.

I keep a 5 Gal. plastic bucket under my work bench, every piece of metal scrap goes in the bucket. Chains, old brake cables, bottle caps, spark plugs, broken drill bits, etc. When the bucket is full I give it to a guy who collects scrap and sells it. Every once in awhile he picks up an old bike and if it's something he thinks I'd be interested in he'll bring it by. Been quite awhile since he's picked up anything good though. It's all been X Mart crap and pretty well trashed at that. :(

But it just doesn't work with my clean/lube system. So, off it comes. Besides, so what if the chain doesn't have the "best" lube for the first two hundred miles. Pro Link, and lots of other lubes are plenty good enough. bk

Oh yeah, there's way less solvent used.

Getting the black gunk off the outside of the chain is great, but it's the innards that need to be lubed.

People like you and I do that stuff with scrap, but unfortunately for every one of us there are at least 20 that are not.

This method cleans and lubes the innards quite well. The dry towel does the outside of the chain, the lubed towel does the innards. The gunk doesn't come out unless the lube is going in. Try it sometime, just to see. You'll be surprised at what capillary action can do. It works best with a heavy nap washcloth.bk

I leave the factory gunk on because Sheldon told me so.

Yeah, I know.......:( It's amazing how quickly that stuff adds up. Someday they'll be mining the landfills for resources.

So we're in agreement that there are lots of ways to clean/lube chains and they all work fairly well? Good, I thought so. bk

Regardless of what any of us may think, Sheldon now knows...

God bless him.

I am with you, I strive to not throw anything away. I have become reluctant to even put stuff in the recycle bin till I am absolutely sure I am not going to find a use for it. I have a bin for compost from food and garden waste and another bin for paper products, cotton fabric and yard waste. I have some like minded friends and we each have certain things we collect to reuse.

Right now I am saving used tubes, aluminum cans, any kind of wood and unwanted clothes, certain types of plastics, and backpacks/bags. I reuse the fabrics and tubes for sewing, I reuse the buckles and zippers for the stuff I make sewing. The aluminum cans are for a non-electric solar powered heater. I have one friend who collects tires, spokes and bike chains belts and jewlery. Another friend collects any and all kinds of wiring, cords or cables for various electrical tinkering projects.

Compared to my neighbors, I have about a fourth of the garbage they have in a month.

Iron ore and mineral oil came out of the ground, when I throw away my old oily chains I'm returning the natural resources to the ground. I also agree washing the factory lube off new chains is dumb, and chain lube needs to be squirted along the top of the bottom run of the chain, inner links, rollers, and outer links,and then wiped off , and wiped off again! This post is getting anal!
Cheers

What do you all use on mountain bikes? My road bike I wax the chain with paraffin which never needs cleaning, only a re-lube every 150-200 miles.
Mountain bike gets Boesheild or a Teflon lube. After every ride the chain is scrubbed thoroughly with a dry brush, wiped down thoroughly, lubed and wiped down again until dry. Both methods work well.

That stuff is no gunk!

It is, or at least contains some cosmoline. And I once saw a show on television on manufacturing of bicycle chains, where the chain is soaked, under pressure in that waxy stuff. I just use a dab of White Lightning Degreaser or odorless mineral spirits on a rag to wipe new chains down (on the outside) right after installation. The lubing comes right after the very first chain cleaning some 250 or so miles later.