Given a dg category
C
\mathcal C
, we introduce a new class of objects (weakly product bimodules) in
C
o
p
⊗
C
\mathcal C^{op}\otimes \mathcal C
generalizing product bimodules. We show that the minimal generation time of the diagonal by weakly product bimodules provides an upper bound for the Rouquier dimension of
C
\mathcal C
. As an application, we give a purely algebro-geometric proof of a result of Burban and Drozd that the Rouquier dimension of the derived category of coherent sheaves on an
n
n
-cycle of projective lines is one. Our approach explicitly gives the generator realizing the minimal generation time.