Clark W. Griswold
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 13,879
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26
Mentioned: 56 Post(s)
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Lubing a chain takes about 1 minute pedal backwards drip some lube on to the chain and then continue pedaling backwards with a rag and wipe the excess. That is simple and easy and will get you done and at least prevent rusting. Sure you could spend more time and clean and lube but you claim to not have any time which is guaranteed not to be true in any form or fashion, so the quick lube will work.
Laziness gets expensive over time if you keep claiming I don't have time for this and that and the bike falls further into disrepair more and more will fail and you will spend a lot to get the bike working safely and properly again. Just take some time here and there to care for your bike or purchase a bike that requires a little less maintenance like a belt drive single speed.
Light rust can happen and certainly as a commuter in winter on roads that get heavily salted it is problematic but a quick lube and wipe will stop that and rising the bike off once and while will also help and cost little and take little time. I would say spending 10 minutes a week on maintenance which would leave you 10070 minutes the rest of the week will help you greatly or at the absolute barest minimum take those 10 minutes and do it monthly and you will still have about 43790 minutes left to do other things. And 10 minutes is a lot of time and you might find you can do it in less. You don't need a hose or special tools. You can wipe down your bike with an old t-shirt and some lightly diluted Dr. Bronners and put it in a spray bottle to make it easier and you can wipe your chain with that old t-shirt once the bike is clean and lube it with a basic bottle of lube from the bike shop, I like wax lubes personally and then maybe find another part of the t-shirt and wipe the excess. You can do this on the ground without a stand and without flipping the bike over just lean it on the corner of a wall or something and pedal backwards. Nothing fancy no tricks no advanced skills just super basic cleaning and lubing.
Take care of your bike and it will take care of you!