There are different chain care ideas.
Chains have a useful life in miles depending on care and conditions. They are assembled with good grease between the inside wear surfaces of the pins, rollers and plates. I can't improve on that once the chain is in use without a lot of work like multiple chain rotation, solvent cleaning and wax or grease soak.
I wouldn't use solvent without going through this entire process to get good grease back into the inside wear surfaces.
Some have good luck with that type of regimen.
I wipe the outside side plates of a new chain with a dry cloth to get it off so dirt doesn't stick.
After a few rides I wipe the chain with a old bath towel and run the chain through a wrap of the towel.
Black grease wipes off. I use a plastic hypo to add a drop of Stihl bar oil to the inside of the chain on each roller area. Then cycle the chain a few times and let it sit. So far I'm getting good life out of XT chains. This is a pretty easy chain care method for me.
I stumbled on a product accidentally when I needed to lube my chain after cleaning it. It is a motorcycle chain lubricant called "Pro Honda HP Chain Lube". It is, by far, the best chain, derailer, suspension, etc. spray lubricant I've ever used. It repels dirt better than anything I've ever seen. I ride on typically very dusty trails and with this stuff, the chain is spotless after a simple rinse with a hose. I almost never have to do a big production chain, cassette, derailer cleaning because it just repels dirt so well. My friends look at my drive train after a long dirty ride and are continually amazed at how clean it always looks. GREAT STUFF. My suspension pivot points are silent since I started using this stuff.
I picked up parktool citrus cleaner and its much better than icetoolz cleaner that I had earlier. I put a few drops on rag and wipe the chain. I am trying to find a way to remove metallic crud between rollers.
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