As a mostly daily commuter in most often salty liquidy conditions, even at -15c, I wash all the salty crap off my bike every day.
I've tried the various chain lubes I have, but in the end for a few years have settled on wiping the chain with a rag well after the wash, wiping the chain rings quickly and spraying the chain with wd40.
I figure the water dispersing thing is a good thing, and it does keep the chain from being less gunky and grit accumulating.
caveat-- I'm riding about 5kms, 3 miles to work, the bike is a dedicated winter bike but that I do care about and take care of. Chain and cassette life has been good, and I easily go 2 winters on a chain and the last cassette was there for probably 3 chains, so for me this method works well enough, is fast and keeps the drivetrain less gunky, which = faster clean time.
probably not as good as a good thin proper chain lube, but the convenience outweighs it for me.
My shifting problems aren't chain related, but the usual cable housing and 25 yr old shifters stuff when it's below -10c or so. No idea in F
-10c is 14f
-15c is 5f
Last edited by djb; 01-19-22 at 08:09 AM.