Which degreaser?

[Lien Sdrawde]

My lbs doesnt stock a degreaser and pointed me over the road to the motor spares shop - who sold me something called 'gunk' at £6-99 for 500ml.

It smells foul - and the mrs isnt happy cos I keep the bike in the conservatory, and the smell lingers on the bike.

Which do people recommend - also, do you have seperate brushes for your chainset and frame?

 

[black'n'yellow]

gunk is a degreaser - I suppose it depends if you want something that does the job, or something that smells nicer. Having said that, if the smell is still on the bike, then it probably means you haven't washed it off properly...

 

[e-rider]

get a bike specific citrus degreaser, as these generally are formulated not to damage paintwork, plastic or rubber.

IME, Park Tools Citrus chain brite is the best one but certainly not the cheapest.
Finishline do one too, and if you want a cheap option look at Weldtite Citrus degreaser which costs about £9 for 1 litre; but is definitiely not as powerful as the Park Tools degreaser.

All smell nice a citrus like!

And about brushes, if you use your drivechain brush on the main frame, you will simply spread oil and grease all over the paintwork, which unless yo have a black bike isn't good. Keep the brushes separate!

 

[HovR]

I've never seen the need for a specialized degreaser. If the chain's really bad, I'll put it in a bottle of isopropyl alcohol with the lid on and shake it around. I already have left over isopropyl alcohol from other projects that require cleaning.

I recently tried petrol, which works well apart from the fact that when I shook it up pressure started building in the tub I was using, resulting in the lid blowing off.

Both work really nicely, and best of all they evaporate off themselves so you don't have to put water anywhere near your drive chain.

I've also been known in the past to clean cassettes just by scrubbing them down with soapy water and a big bristly brush, which works for me. I then blast the water off with compressed air to prevent rust, although this method may not work for you if you don't have a compressor.

Once the chain is clean, the Mickle method takes care of it.

 

[Alun]

I use swarfega oil and grease remover which is about £7 for 2 litres from Halfords or B+Q, it doesn't smell and is water soluble. I only use one brush and it doesn't seem to spread the oil about at all. Rinse it off with water.

 

[ColinJ]

I bought what will probably be a lifetime's worth of concentrated citrus degreaser from a supplier on eBay - 5L for £16.49. It can be diluted many times - link.

 

[Ozzrahog]

I used to use gunk in the 80s but found it too aggressive, worked its way into bearings

 

[Rhys Williams]

I recently tried petrol, which works well apart from the fact that when I shook it up pressure started building in the tub I was using, resulting in the lid blowing off.

I also use petrol or white spirit, I take the chain off and drop it in the petrol to soak while I do the rest of the drivetrain and come back to it later. However the smell might linger for a while so might not help you in this case.

I've used Jizzer before and it's good stuff, although that was in the parts washer at work!

WD40/GT85 also cut through grease/grime quite well on the drive train.

For normal washing I use muck off or fenwicks fs 10 bike cleaner.

I tend to stock up on whatever is on offer but there is plenty of things that do the job, I also use blue roll & cheap cloths as I find brushes don't seem to last too long before putting more crap on than they take off! I sort of floss the cassette between each gear with the cloth and then ditch it.

 

[Tomba]

Asda, Elbow Grease £1 a bottle.

 

[colly]

I've used Jizzm before and it's good stuff

FTFY

 

[slowmotion]

Please don't tell mickle, but I have been known to drop my chain into a bottle of Jizer. ( Oh the shame ).

About £20 for 5 litres, and that will last you a lifetime. I have only used it on all metal parts...no idea what it does to paint or plastics.. I just wash it off with washing-up liquid and warm water, rinsing it until there are absolutely no bubbles from the detergent.

Jizer....
http://docs-europe.electrocomponents.com/webdocs/0e44/0900766b80e441a0.pdf

Smells good too.