A few more questions...
 

It's coming time for me to lube my chain again and I have a question. I used DuPont Teflon spray to lube my chain last time, and I gotta say, its great. The chain isn't dirty at all, so I was wondering if its really necessary to clean the chain with kerosene, or if I could just spray some more lube on it and be done with it?

Also, what is your all's favorite lube for lubing the brake lever? I was thinking about trying the Teflon spray since it works so well for the chain but I'm not sure if I would be better served using a heavier grease instead. Any comments?

Re: A few more questions...
 

After just reading through the chain cleaning threads last night, it seems that if the chain isn't that dirty or gummed up, then you shouldn't have to do a thorough cleaning with kerosene or another cleaner. Just lube it up and be good.

I use 3-in-1 machine oil for my levers and pretty much everything else on the bike except the chain.

I think my brake lever needs something a bit more substantial than oil. I used Militec grease about a month ago and it seems to have disappeared after 3 weeks. I'll try 3-in-1 oil and see if it lasts longer, though.

Is it sticking? You are just talking about the brake lever, not the cable itself? It may just need to be removed and cleaned really well. There might just be some gunk sticking to it. I use 3-in-1 on the cable, but I don't think I've every really HAD to put any on the lever hinge itself.

Yes, just the brake lever. Besides, the front brake is hydraulic... no cable. ;)

I cleaned the bolt and lever with gun powder solvent (unorthodox, I know, but I knew it wouldn't harm the metal). There's no gunk making it stick.

What "substantial" property do you think you need that oil doesn't have ?? :??:

On a pivot point like that, oil will "soak in" where grease won't.

I dunno, I guess I imagined that grease would stick around longer whereas oil wouldn't... but now that you mention it, I guess oil makes more sense.

Civilized forums are nice. 642 heads are (usually) better than one! :tup:

Sorry. I'm an idiot sometimes.

The lever is just held on with a pin and it comes off very easily. Maybe the pin or lever is bent a little.

Well like I said, I've already used grease on it, and it worked beautifully while the grease was still in there. I do remember that the bolt (pin?) that holds the lever on was a bit rusty... I'm tempted to go at it with a bit of steel wool, but I don't think I have anything to "seal" the metal (other than grease or oil) to keep it from rusting again...