Originally Posted by Tnark .
Choice and method of chain lube, cleaning etc must be one of the most hotly debated topics in forums, everybody has their own best treatment.
I'm a strong believer that over-lubing just attracts grit onto the chain, and creates a great grinding paste that wears out the chain. The lube is meant to stay within the links of a chain, not on the outside where it attracts dirt, and smothers the drivetrain with black mess. The one good thing about dry wax type lubes is that they don't attract so much grit - but I don't think they lubricate as well as oil based products.
Here's my two cents worth...
- Regular cleaning and lubing is more important than choice of lube.
- I use good synthetic engine oil, watered down around 50% with thinners. Soaks into the chain like a sponge, lubricates the inside, and after drying, the outside can be wiped off with a rag to keep the outside of the chain dry. After the first two or three rides, I wipe off any excess that makes its way out. I'm sure many of the commercial products are very good, I'm not knocking them - this method is soooo cheap!
- I clean with citrus based degreaser about once a fortnight, with the chain on the bike. A good scrub with a toothbrush and blast off with a high pressure garden hose. Repeat if necessary, and then wipe down with a good dose of Methylated Spirits (Ethanol) to speed drying and prevent rusting.
-About once every two months, I remove the chain, store it, and install a second chain. Next time I use a third chain. Why three chains? That way you get three chains worth of wear out of the rear cluster, that is if you let the chains wear considerably. If you replace them earlier, you may get six chains out of a cluster - thats heaps of miles, and sure beats having to replace a cluster because you have let one chain wear too much (clusters wear into a chain, and if you let the chain go too long, a new chain will skip on the old cluster)
When I have three dirty chains, I clean them all in solvent. I use mineral turps, followed by citrus and then a rinse with metho.
Had my current bike for 5 years now, done about 20,000 km on just two chains, recently installed a third new one and it still meshes perfectly with my clusters.
So this regime works well for me.