chain info - loose ends

[jape]

The main thing with a chain, after correct tension, is cleaning, getting the shit out of it especially if you go dirt. WD40 is in fact very good for that as it gets in and foams a bit. But read to the end. Once upon a time, the mechanics used to have special secret methods like a half a can of beer or coke in a clean container and shake the chain a lot in it. Again, the foam gets the crap out. Then they used to wash in kerosene /paraffin and then cook them in hot oil! Back then a good chain was good metal and lasted ages.

Nowdays the O'ring keeps the crap out but is also perishable and could be affected by a lot of these cleaning processes so I reckon you may be right, clean (in something certified not to rot O'rings) - then spray lube. Its all I do. The excess comes off on your trousers first trip however careful you are. And it adds up far more expensive, all these special newfangled products in cans, but convenient and fast indeed.