Using Muc Off drive chain cleaner & a Muc off chain doc cleaner.

[Midsrider]

Hi all,

My son is loving his new mountain bike, so much - its full of mud every time he takes his Trek Marlin 5 out !
Like myself, he loves the Muc off products we have and wants to stick to this brand.

I used to use some other cheaper brands in the past and now we want to buy a few more thing to look after our bikes.

Every few rides and each ride if really dirty, we wash our bikes. We really enjoy it and take a lot of pride in doing so.

Now for the drive chain, we have seen the yellow spray that muc off have and we are going to buy 1 of these. If we do buy this and clean the chain really good with it by brushing all the dirt out of the chain, is it still worth getting the Muc off chain doc cleaner that they do too? or is it an over kill to get both?

Drive Chain Cleaner LINK
Chain cleaner Doc & spray LINK

My son also wants the Muc off brake disc covers too !!! as he has seen on YouTube people cleaning there bikes and it keeps all the sprays off that will contaminate the brake pads....he is 13 years old - so anyone use any other options (other than being careful?..lol) LINK

Thanks all !

 

[fossyant]

It's massively overpriced. I clean my MTB every ride. Hose off then use car shampoo, water and a sponge to clean off. Wipe the chain down with an old rag (old cotton t-shirts are ideal), then lube chain with a 'dropper' bottle and then wipe again.

Every so often I'll remove the chain and drop it in a diluted solution of water and screw fix no-nonsence degreaser (£8.99 for 5 litres). I'll then use an old paint brush to remove the dirt, rince off in water, then oil and wipe. Same with the cassette.

 

[fossyant]

You could also get a big 5l container of TFR and dilute this massively - that works well. I avoid using the muck off cleaner as it's quite agressive and can damage the annodising on some parts - the stem on my old MTB goes matt black if muck off goes near it. Same with TFR, it strips anything off the paint - e.g. if you've polished the bike, and resdiue will be stripped off, so mud will stick more.

The only muck off I do use is their oil and the protect and shine. Protect and shine is good for stopping mud sticking on the frame - works well.

 

[Sniper68]

I always used Fenwicks F1 on my MTBs.1L(£9.99) dilutes to make 11L.There are other dilutables out there.MucOff is overpriced and one of the more abrasive ones IME.
I've used Disc brakes on MTBs since the early 2000s and never contaminated pads with any degreaser!There seems to be a lot of mis-information out there.....

 

[fossyant]

I do buy brake cleaner cheaply from the motor factors (europarts) when I pop in. I only use it on the discs if I've been maintaining the bike - just in-case, otherwise I just wash them as I do the bike.

 

[Sniper68]

I do buy brake cleaner cheaply from the motor factors (europarts) when I pop in. I only use it on the discs if I've been maintaining the bike - just in-case, otherwise I just wash them as I do the bike.

I get IPA(not that kind) free from work.Brilliant for removing road grime off rotors

 

[fossyant]

I get IPA(not that kind) free from work.Brilliant for removing road grime off rotors

There is only one sort of IPA I like, and it's not going on rotors !

 

[nickyboy]

I use the Muc Off motorcycle degreaser. 5 litres usually can be had for about £15. I suspect it's all but the same as the bicycle stuff and much cheaper

I just decant into a 1 litre container with a spray attachment. Does a good job on the chain and the sprockets

 

[mickle]

Assemble: car wash shampoo, a bucket of hot water, car brush. Starting with the non-drive side. Wash the tyres and rims, turning them as you go. Then wash the rest of the bike down from top to bottom. Turn the bike around and repeat. Wash everything but the oily bits (chain, sprockets and rings) - you don't want oil on your shampoo brush. Now rinse the whole bike down with clean water from a hose. Don't use high the pressure nozzle, this is just rinsing off. Re-do any bits that you missed with the soapy brush if/as you find them. Wipe it down with an old towel.

Now turn your attention to the tranny. Dry it with a rag. When it's more or less dry use a fresh rag to clean the chain rings, derailleur cage plates and then go to town on the chain. Wipe all the crap off it. Lube it. Turn the pedals a few times. Wipe it. Re-lube it. Turn the pedals a few times. Wipe it thoroughly.

When I rode a mountain bike regularly I rarely bothered to clean the bike - but I did always maintain the tranny as above. Really it's the only bit on your bike which matters if it's dirty.

 

[TheDoctor]

The Wise One has spoken, and verily @mickle speaketh the sense.
We're not worthy!

 

[Midsrider]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all your messages - some good tips and alternative products.

I have always washed my bike with Turtle Wax car shampoo! same as I wash the car with and then cleaned the drive train with WD40 de-greaser spare I had and then used a all purpose bike lube - that was cheap and cheerful and did the job.

We had some muc off products last year and to be fair - it has been pretty good and he loves the image they give off - advertising & image does pay off i guess - I will chat to him about cheaper alternatives - but I know he will want the Muc off products. I have plenty of the pink spray, just the drive train spray cleaner and was not sure if its worth getting the bike chain cleaner from muc off too.

I will put everything forward to him and see what he says.

I am after a good bike work stand too for doing work and washing the bikes on. I normally just use the kickstand to hold them up and get someone to lift the bike up when cleaning the chain!!! I have seen so many mixed prices on these so some advice on good ones for washing and working on the bikes would be appreciated.

Thanks all.

 

[si_c]

I clean my bikes with a soft sponge from Wilko and washing up liquid - plus a bottle with a squirty lid which I fill with washing up liquid and water. Wash from top to bottom.

Once I've finished they are immaculate. Use a microfibre cloth for all the drive train bits and with hot water you'll clean it all off nicely - run the chain through the soapy cloth a few times rubbing hard to get anything adhering to the side plates off and then clean the cassette and sprockets with the same cloth. Run the side of the cloth between the cassette sprockets to get all the greasy stuff off.

Then either use the hose or a fresh bucket of hot water to sluice it all off.

For the wheels I take them out and wash them directly with hot soapy water and a sponge and pay no attention to the disc rotor - but even if you did scrub it clean then that's no problem, just remember to bed your brakes in before using again.

When it's dried off use a dropper bottle to lubricate the pivot points on the rear/front mech don't use an aerosol as it'll get in the air and onto your disc brake pads which is a nightmare.

 

[mickle]

I clean my bikes with a soft sponge from Wilko and washing up liquid - plus a bottle with a squirty lid which I fill with washing up liquid and water. Wash from top to bottom.

Once I've finished they are immaculate. Use a microfibre cloth for all the drive train bits and with hot water you'll clean it all off nicely - run the chain through the soapy cloth a few times rubbing hard to get anything adhering to the side plates off and then clean the cassette and sprockets with the same cloth. Run the side of the cloth between the cassette sprockets to get all the greasy stuff off.

Then either use the hose or a fresh bucket of hot water to sluice it all off.

For the wheels I take them out and wash them directly with hot soapy water and a sponge and pay no attention to the disc rotor - but even if you did scrub it clean then that's no problem, just remember to bed your brakes in before using again.

When it's dried off use a dropper bottle to lubricate the pivot points on the rear/front mech don't use an aerosol as it'll get in the air and onto your disc brake pads which is a nightmare.

Dishwashing liquid is salty. Salt is bad for your bike, particularly where differing metals are in proximity to each other. Hence car shampoo.

 

[si_c]

Dishwashing liquid is salty. Salt is bad for your bike, particularly where differing metals are in proximity to each other. Hence car shampoo.

That makes sense, not had any problems myself though, but I do give it a very thorough rinsing down afterwards, I'll keep it in mind for the future though. Mrs C has some car shampoo in the shed somewhere so I'll dig it out.

 

[weareHKR]

Assemble: car wash shampoo, a bucket of hot water, car brush. Starting with the non-drive side. Wash the tyres and rims, turning them as you go. Then wash the rest of the bike down from top to bottom. Turn the bike around and repeat. Wash everything but the oily bits (chain, sprockets and rings) - you don't want oil on your shampoo brush. Now rinse the whole bike down with clean water from a hose. Don't use high the pressure nozzle, this is just rinsing off. Re-do any bits that you missed with the soapy brush if/as you find them. Wipe it down with an old towel.

Now turn your attention to the tranny. Dry it with a rag. When it's more or less dry use a fresh rag to clean the chain rings, derailleur cage plates and then go to town on the chain. Wipe all the crap off it. Lube it. Turn the pedals a few times. Wipe it. Re-lube it. Turn the pedals a few times. Wipe it thoroughly.

When I rode a mountain bike regularly I rarely bothered to clean the bike - but I did always maintain the tranny as above. Really it's the only bit on your bike which matters if it's dirty.

This is what I love about this forum... you ask a question about a particular product & get a lecture on how exactly to clean your bike...