After a few muddy cross races recently I have been made aware of how great it is to clean a dirty cross bike in a car park/immediately after the race while the mud is still wet and I'm wearing muddy and wet clothes, and then have it clean for the drive home. It's also far more relaxing once you get home.
So, I've been looking up all the different bike cleaners at it seems there is a bewildering number of different types, all promising this and that.
So first off:
1) are they all really the same?
2) Doing a full clean do you use a 'bike wash' and a 'drive chain cleaner' or just one or other?
3) any particular brand you would recommend? A few I've seen are MucOff, Hope, FinishLine, Weldtite, and Crankalicious
4) it would be good to get an eco as possible cleaner if possible.
Any advice appreciated.
I've found you only really need something to clean the frame for road grime - mud etc just washes off if you use water and a sponge.
Park chain clean tool plus a good degreaser and a stiff brush on the gears, chain etc is a must, though when it's muddy plus a good rinse after.
I use Fenwicks bike cleaner all over, which I got concentrated in a big container ages ago for much cheapness. Mix it up with water in a spray bottle from the garden shop. When (or if) that runs out I'll look for it again or similar. Couple squirts of that and wash of with a Worx Hydroshot, couple squirts more and a rub with a brush followed by another rinse with the Worx Hydroshot. Only takes a few mins.
