I can only tell you what I do and to say that it has worked for me, more or less, for more than ten years.

For cleaning the gears, firstly I invert the bike, either somewhere outside or on a towel/sheet/newspaper. (I cover my leather Brooks saddle with an old towel to stop any oil drips from above. You may also want to protect your handlebars/saddle from abrasion against the ground with something soft). I wipe off any excess mud/grit from the bike. I then spray GT85 onto the moving chain, the rear cassette and the rear derailleur, rotating the pedal arm with my other hand. I get an old toothbrush and work the GT85 oil into the inside and outside of the chain. (Watch out for your clothes as the brush flicks spray everywhere - wear old clothes when doing this!) I then wrap a towel around my fist and then around the chain and keep the chain moving. Keep doing this, with fresh bits of towel, until the chain is coming through almost clean.

Depending on how dirty your chain is you might want to repeat all of he above, to respray and use the toothbrush again (clean the brushes first with GT85) and to wipe off with the towel.

When the chain is clean, or as clean as you can get it, I then clean the rear cassette, spraying GT85 onto the sewn edge of a towel/absorbent cloth and using it in a sawing motion to clean each of the spaces in between the cogs, rotating the rear wheel in the process using the spokes. (Watch out for getting your fingers caught!) You may need to change gear to get the chain onto the smallest or biggest cog, basically just out of the way. Work front to back or back to front, cleaning each cog.

When this is done I do the same thing with the front cogs, sawing a GT85 impregnated edge of towel between them. Move the chain out of the way when necessary.

I then use GT85 on the derailleurs, and clean up after with a towel. (Make sure you clean the gunk off of the teeth of the small wheels of the rear derailleur using a finger in a towel on the moving wheels - front and back).

Finally I also spray a bit of GT85 on the towel and clean the rims, the frame, the forks, the brake arms, basically giving the bike a once over. GT85 is good for cleaning, will protect the bike a bit from water, I quite like the smell(!), and it does no harm.

When all is done and gleaming, I'll take my chain lube and squeezing gently, apply it to the INSIDE of the moving chain, i.e. on the surface of the chain that gets the action. Do a few (2 or 3) revolutions of the chain. Wipe off excess oil - once it's inside the chain it's there - you need less than you'd think. Put on too much and it'll end up getting everywhere, your trouser legs probably. I then spin the newly oiled chain and engage every gear, every cog, so the oil has a chance to lubricate all of the teeth surfaces.

I also put a drop here and there on other moving parts - on the derailleur pivots, on the brake arm pivots, on the cable guides below the bottom bracket.

GT85 is a light oil, containing silicone. It is excellent for cleaning and as a light lubricant. It is excellent for dissolving oily goop, excellent to prevent water ingress. (It is also excellent when starting a stubborn log fire!). It is not for use as a heavy duty lubricant on moving parts and shouldn't be used alone on the chain. It is too lightweight for this, evaporates too fast (tho' the silicone element will stay).

I use the Finish Line Wet Lube as I live in Cornwall, UK and it's frequently wet here, but Dry Lube is perfect too.

So that's what I do. It's not a perfect system, but has seen me through the last ten years. There ARE ways to better clean up a chain. You can take it off and degrease it, boil it in detergent, and then add lube again after. There are plastic chain-cleaning degreasing 'machines' available - a sort of plastic container with a wheel and an arm into which the chain rotates. They make less mess but are fiddly in their own way. The rear cassette can be taken off and taken apart, stripped, degreased, lightly re-oiled and reassembled. (In fact most parts on a bike can be stripped, cleaned and reassembled if you know how - pedal/wheel/headset bearings, etc.) It depends how much of a mechanic you are, how much time you have, how long you want your chain and cassette to last, how much of a gleaming perfectionist you are. I'm guessing this is something for further down the line for you.

My system takes me about a half hour. I do it after I've been out on a wet and muddy ride, if the chain needs cleaning, or every once in a while when I have the time and inclination. There WILL be traces of grit left in the chain, this is inevitable. This grit will eventually wear the chain out. But this system gets out at the very least three quarters of the offending goop and is good enough for me, my patience/perfectionist levels and my level of riding.

For a quicker alternative and quick chain wipe I sometimes just spray GT85 onto an area of towel, wrap it and my fist and around the moving chain, changing the towel for fresh areas, giving the rear cassette a going over afterwards. Less mess, less spray, less fuss, less time. But a less thorough clean.

Bike cleaning seems to be one of those things that everyone does a little differently. Everyone has their own opinion. I've just worked out a system that sort of works for me, on my own in isolated western Cornwall over the years. I don't have many bike buddies to share this arcane knowledge with, to help me improve. I'd be interested, if anyone reading this has more light to shed on the subject, if you'd please add your knowledge/techniques to this thread.

Anyway 'leedsrider', that should get you started! Happy riding, clean chain and all.

As Josie Dew once said, (and countless others): "May the wind be in your wheels!'