A couple of noob maintenance questions...

[Throttle]

try not cleaning your chain, and just lubing it, the lube will protect it. road bike chains don't need to be cleaned (in my humble opinion - and years of not cleaning a chain on my bikes - although i must admit - they where all o-ring chains).
a tight spot will cause the wheel to be hard to turn, but to verify it is the chain (not something else), just keep pushing the chain up and down like you do when you adjust it, while slowly turning the wheel, if there is a tight spot in the chain, you will notice the chain go tight and you wont be able to move it up and down so much.

I agree with Glegge, cleaning the chain with Kerosene strips the oil from inside the chain rollers (if not an O-ring type). I use a spray chain lube and apply it after every second tank of gas (approximately 500km). If I want to clean the clumpy grime off the chain I simply wipe the chain down with an old pair of undies. Good on ya for doing your own maintenance, but be warned... people may work on their cars, but they love on their bikes! Cheers.

[magicmonkey]

I agree with Glegge, cleaning the chain with Kerosene strips the oil from inside the chain rollers (if not an O-ring type). I use a spray chain lube and apply it after every second tank of gas (approximately 500km). If I want to clean the clumpy grime off the chain I simply wipe the chain down with an old pair of undies. Good on ya for doing your own maintenance, but be warned... people may work on their cars, but they love on their bikes! Cheers.

at the moment I'm lubing the chain every 2-3 days (I usually ride for 2-3 hours a day) and then cleaning and lubing every weekend but there's still rust developing. I think it's more to do with the bike living outside in windy, rainy wellington though. I'll be moving into a place with a garage early next year though so I'll keep on top of the rust with overly regular maint. until the and replace the chain when I know I'll be able to keep the new one in a decent condition...

[The Pastor]

at the moment I'm lubing the chain every 2-3 days (I usually ride for 2-3 hours a day) and then cleaning and lubing every weekend but there's still rust developing. I think it's more to do with the bike living outside in windy, rainy wellington though. I'll be moving into a place with a garage early next year though so I'll keep on top of the rust with overly regular maint. until the and replace the chain when I know I'll be able to keep the new one in a decent condition...

no the rust is because its a cheap chinese chain and sprockets. replacement will stop the rust

[Slyer]

no the rust is because its a cheap chinese chain and sprockets. replacement will stop the rust

100%.
Change the chain and rust will DEFINITELY not be a problem anymore.

[The Pastor]

100%.
Change the chain and rust will DEFINITELY not be a problem anymore.

on the chain, the rest of the bike will rust.

[magicmonkey]

Well, I had the chain repaced this morning, I'll post again in a couple of weeks and let you know if the new one can stand up to the wellington weather

[enth]

Also, the chain, after being left for 2 days, had a huge and unattractive rust patch on it, I was really pissed off on seeing that. Got the kerosene and tooth brush out and cleaned it right back then lubed and adjusted the chain, only to find a tight spot, I was even more pissed off! I've made sure it's tensioned properly and just taken it out for a ride to, hopefully, loosen it up a little and get all the oil to where it needs to be but should I be worried about that at all or is it just part of general maint?

Someone may have answered this or commented about it. You shouldn't use kerosene or petrol or anything that cleans oil on the chain. When you buy a chain it comes pre-lubed. It strips all the oil off and you'll never get it back to how it was by lubing it. Not such a massive issue if you regularly service your bike. A good thing to do if you see rust is get a fine steel brush and brush it away then get some good chain lube and lube it like there was no tomorrow.