dddd

I ride year-round, both on and off-road. I never clean a bike's chain per se, I just lube it up with a continuous stream of solvent-diluted chain oil applied to the moving (backwards) chain, then as it approaches saturation (definitely before any dripping along the chainrings has begun), I wipe down the moving chain with a terrycloth shop rag.

All of that can take under a minute, including the wiping or scraping off of the rotating derailer pullies!(!)...(!).

I use a TriFlow or WhiteLightning squeeze bottle with a narrow applicator straw (as from the TriFlow bottle) inserted into the bottle's tip.
The flow rate and "aim" is very well regulated with this approach, such that a tidy, precise stream of lube can have your chain fully lubed within ~2-10 turns of the cranks, depending on chainring size and whether you are applying one, two or perhaps three "passes" worth of lube to the chain. I rest my knuckles against the spokes to steady my aim along either side of the chain where the sideplates overlap. A single pass can actually be seen to penetrate through to the other side of the chain (visible if the chain is dry and dusty).

The level of dilution can be "seasonally" adjusted to leave more or less actual oil in the chain, which determines how much of a tendency there will be for the oil to migrate to the outside of the chain and onto the cogs while riding. Dilution solvent is normally mineral spirits, and my preferred oil is Nashbar chain oil.

A very fast-drying mix can be formulated using one of the dry-lube hexane-solvent aerosol lubes (see below, also known as RV slider lubricant) that can be sprayed into your squeeze bottle, with something like 15-25% oil then mixed in. These aerosols contain a butane-like propellant that will make the lube annoyingly effervescent like soda until it has sat in a warm place for a good while. You can ride soon after lubing though with this mix, and without getting lube/solvent spatter on your back rim.

That's about it. Grungy chains respond well enough to the change to this routine, but will not readily shed hardened deposits. A dirty and neglected drivetrain should first have it's rotating rings, pullies and cogs stripped of crud mechanically using a narrow "machinists rule", just hold the ruler against the rotating part and the crud strips and fall off. Then the drivetrain is ready for the lube and wipe.

I think that my method on on the environmentally-safe side, compared to all of the other options.
I like that it is also relatively economical, time-sparing and clean, while providing adequate lubrication to a modern chain with good resulting chain service life. I do also get about a full season of riding out of a single one of the terrycloth shop rags.

Here's the large photos:

mtnbke

White Lightning Clean Ride. Apply every ride.

When used you should have a pretty clean chain always.

old's'cool

My thoughts exactly...

How much riding does it take before the chain is ready to serve?

Am I the only one that puts the chain in the dishwasher, along with helmet, gloves, riding shorts, saddle and whatever dishes also fit, once a week or as needed?

Desertdweller

I like it!

poprad

I've migrated to Rock n Roll lube. Properly applied it's worked very well for me in non-muddy conditions. L'Eroica was the only time it's let me down, and that was a bad time to be let down (story here: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...bulations.html.

I used this stuff from work once, we use it on machine guns. I put a drop on each pin of my mtn bike chain and it was the smoothest, quietest chain ever. You have to figure an oil designed to work under high loads and heat would work pretty well on a bike chain, and it does. Now that I can't scam it from work I went back to Rock n Roll.

RR3

Like others mentioned, I can also easily afford to replace a $50 dura ace chain but an improperly maintained chain costs 5-15 watts and wears out the $300 cassette. The power loss is actually hard to swallow.

I ride 300-500 miles per week and thus, tossing chains every fortnight could get pricey.

I lube once or twice per week with Rock N Roll Gold.

About every thousand miles, I remove the chain and soak in Mineral Spirits. Then, it gets stripped in lacquer thinner. Tons of Rock N Roll Gold. Then, a wax to seal it. I do this routine before a big event irrespective of how many miles are on the chain.

I get 4-5,000 miles from a chain and twice that from a cassette.

jeirvine 

I figure I don't want to remove grease and oil, just dirt. So I don't use solvents, which would remove the factory lube which is pretty good these days. Just wipe off grime with an oily terrycloth rag, add a little chain lube, then wipe off with a dry rag. Works for me.

Rocket-Sauce 

This topic again???? I thought we settled this once and for all.

ShelBroCo Bicycle Chain Cleaning System:
The ShelBroCo Bicycle Chain Cleaning System