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Been looking at various brands &types of chain lubricant/anti-corrosion stuff....
Bit overwhelmed & still very new at this so-

Thought I'd ask you good folk if you'd recommend anything as there's soooooooo much choice & variety and the prices seem to be all over the place.
You guys all know what you're doing and I'm learning. slowly.

have a tin of that tf2 stuff that someone just gave to me but only had the bike a short time but want to take care of it.

I am loving the bike & want to treat her well

Been there when i first got my new bike, spoke to various people and they all recommended different ways to clean it and products to use, in the end it was trail and error.
I've settled on cleaning the chain after every ride, it doesn't take that long and that way i know its ready to go for the next ride.
i use a chain cleaning tool that i picked up from halfords for £18, it fits on the chain, you fill it up with degreaser and rotate the pedals and the brushes inside work wonders on getting rid of all the dirt etc and leaves the chain really clean. I've also got a small brush that gets right in the links for extra stuborn dirt and grime. once its clean and dry, i use finish line dry lube that i spray into the links and then wipe off any excess.
job done!
the other way of course is to remove the chain from the bike and clean it that way but i find the above works well enough.

I remove the chain, put it inside a 1 pint plastic bottle of milk (empty) and add some white spirit (or use some degreaser) and water. After a while I rinse in water, brush what remains dirty and dry it with an old piece of cloth. Once sparking clean and dry I fitted in the bike and put squirt lube (wax based)

I used to be meticulous about chain cleaning and the whole bike come to that. I would take it off and give it a really good clean with a chain cleaner and sometimes a toothbrush very often but that's not really necessary in my opinion anymore. I also used to do that to many of the components and I was a bit ocd. However having ridden mountain bikes for more than 20 years I now give the whole bike a wash down after every muddy ride using my muc off brushes including the chain. I wash it all down and wipe off the excess water and pedal the chain backward wiping it off with paper towel. I will then lube up the chain with dry lube in the summer and wet lube in winter if conditions are crap and wet/muddy. It is important to lube after washing to prevent corrosion.
I do give the chain a good clean with a chain cleaner tool every so often. Some will say using a chain cleaning tool shouldn't be done as it pushes the factory lube out of the joins/plates etc.
Since being less ocd about cleaning the bike I have not noticed any deterioration in performance or longevity.
So coming back to your question, do as often as you see fit and whatever method you find best and use the correct lube for the conditions. Dry lube will attract less dust in summer and wet lube will stop it being washed out quickly. I quite like finish line lubes but there are so many different lubes to choose from.
Also when spraying lube be careful not to spray your disc rotors and pads.

If you ride regularly and get the bike muddy, i'd recommend a chain cleaner like this:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=5783

50 crank revolutions using any degreaser, then do it again with fresh water. (give the cassette and chainring(s) a scrub too and rinse
use a water displacer like GT85 or WD40 on the chain and cogs then dry it
put a wet lube chain oil on in the winter/rain OR a dry lube in the summer/dry

how often depends on how dirty you get your bike, in the summer you can leave it longer...

Hope this helps!

I know loads of people hate it but i love wax lube. As long as you start with a clean chain and apply it often it should stay spotless. Thats my 2p's worth

I agree with Greg. When I started riding I bought loads of different lubes, chain cleaning devices / degreasers. Now I just hose down the bike (if it's muddy) and give the chain a few spins backwards whilst gripping it with a dry rag. Then spray on some wet lube (so it doesn't rust) and job done. Takes about 2 mins. Haven't noticed any difference whatsoever between doing that and spending half hour degreasing/relubing it - shifting is no better or worse and it never slips.

Probably wrong, but it's worked for me for the last 3 years: I use wet lube all year round. If it isn't muddy/raining and the chain didn't get wet during the ride then I do nothing.

The single most important thing is to replace your chain when it's worn and before it starts wearing out your cassette. Chains need replacing when they have stretched and no amount of scrubbing it with a toothbrush is going to prevent that.

I'm slack - when it squeeks lube it, dry in the summer wet in winter. Most of the times its covered in mud.

I spray it down when cleaning the bike
then dry it
apply epic ride lube then wipe it down again, if it hasn't covered well i repeat