When it comes to chain cleaning and lubrication I'm yet to find a better system than removing the chain,washing it thoroughly in petrol or some other solvent,hanging it to dry while I wash the rest of my bike. Reinstalling the chain,then applying a good quality chain oil. I've tried a few other methods,including the Park Tool Chain Scrubber which I found worked quite well it just seems a little messy and cumbersome. Another product, the name escapes me, some of my friends use cleans and lubricates your chain as you spin the drive train over whilst applying. Whilst convenient, when I used it I always feel like my chain sounds noisy and dry.
 What was the icing on the cake for me was the Connex Link by Wippermann, which makes removing and reinstalling your chain simple and fast. I have them on all my bikes and one link is on it's third chain so they last quite well too. They are pretty cheap at around $10 so wont break the bank. I remove the chain,then using an old bidon I keep specially for chain cleaning, 1/4 fill the bidon with petrol and shake like crazy for 1 minute or so. (Having your favourite high tempo song playing helps to really fire up the shake.ACCA DACCA, You Shook Me All Night Long, could do the job but feel free to experiment). 

I love how you can change the look of your bike just by switching components around. Except the wheels,which I admit are a pretty big change,the rest is bottle cages,bar tape,seat and stem. Whilst it's not something I want to be doing too often, due to the cost involved, I'll keep all the white parts so I can switch back if I get sick of the stealth look.And the Lightweights are really only for illustration purposes, unless I turn up on the Gellie for a race which I may well do.

After changing over to Speedplay pedals a few months ago I have been aware of the fact you have to grease them occasionally.This has been in the back of my mind for some time and just the other day I had an idea about how to achieve it. Having a strong connection to a farming background and a pretty decent workshop, the idea of using a chainsaw bar grease gun occurred to me.It's a little spring loaded grease gun with a pointy end used for lubricating the rollers in the end of a chainsaw bar.The good news was I happened to have one. I have just tried the technique and it was so successful that I just had to blog about it.Plus I get to take close up photos which I love as well.I reckon there would be plenty of other ways to achieve the same result,this was the one I came up with using the tools I had.