>>1321878For cleaning, citrus solvent is good. Dumonde, Finish Line, etc make it.
If your chain is only slightly dirty, lubing it will get rid of a bit of dirt, but if it's bad, go with the solvent.
You can use rags, an old toothbrush, etc as well.
For lubing, wet lube holds up better than dry lube. Some people complain about wet lube getting their drive train dirty, but that's mostly the dumbfucks that don't know how to lube a chain properly so they leave it covered in lube that attracts dirt. If you wipe it down well, wet lube is great. If you want to spend money on expensive stuff, Dumonde Tech Lite is good stuff (and is a dryer lube) but any regular wet lube is a good versatile option.
When lubing the chain, have the bike (or at least rear tire) off the ground, be it on a work stand or just hanging on something by the saddle. Apply lube to the full length of the chain (rotate the cranks/pedals to rotate the chain). You don't want to be getting any lube on the cassette, derailleur, etc. Only the chain needs lube, and lube on other components will just attract dirt.
After lubing the full length of chain, let it sit 10 minutes. This lets it sink into the internals of the chain and also lets the carrier solvent evaporate.
After letting it sit, wipe it down. A good way of wiping it down is to rotate the pedals with one hand, and grip the top stretch of chain with an old rag or old sock with the other hand. (be careful not to let your fingers get sucked into the chainrings). Keep rotating the pedals and wiping it down until the outside of the chain is dry and clean.
The point of lube is to get into the internals of the chain. The outside of the chain does NOT need lube, so you should keep wiping until no more lube/dirt is coming off onto your rag. This can take a few solid minutes of wiping to get all the lube off. Lube only belongs on the internals of the chain links, it's all about getting lube sunken into the internals.
