I seem to have run out of my various bike cleaning products and I’m wondering what STW uses.

Muc-Off/ Sh1t Shifter etc seem to do the job but they’re pretty expensive. I’ve used diluted traffic film remover in the past but I’ve no idea where the bottle of it came from.

What do you reckon?

fenwicks

Rhino goo, best cleaner on the market

A brush to, er, brush the mud off. Water and elbow grease if it’s particularly bad.

Rock’n’roll lube to clean and lube the chain.

Poundland bike cleaner does an alright job for me

you will find it hard to beat this

http://www.motocleaningproducts.co.uk/special-offers/2-x-mukjunkie-off-road-dirt-bike-cleaning-2-x-5-litre-2xmj250015mb

Fenwicks by the barrel for cheap, fairy liquid for cheaperer still.

Poundland bike cleaner does an alright job for me

How much does that cost?

Fenwicks fs-1 I think can be diluted down 10-1, I think. Costs about a tenner but that’ll get you 10 litres of cleaner that should last a while…

Turtle Wax Zip Wax. Always on sale in Halfords, big bottle lasts absolutely years. Washing up liquid on transmission.

Washing up liquid on everything.

Fenwicks ate the bottle it came in, then the masonary paint underneath it, then the stone lintle! No idea what’s in it but it didn’t like being left in the sunshine on the windowsill all year.

Got a litre spray bottle of bio/green/sometjhing or other stuff from halfords, cheep and seems to work.

Aldi caravan cleaner or washing up liquid

fairy.

washing up liquid

+1 for Fenwicks. The fact that you can get 10 litres for a tenner out of diluted FS-1 or use it neat as a degreaser is a huge bonus.

Poundland bike cleaner does an alright job for me

+1
I use it really diluted for simple ‘washing’ duties, spraying in on neat on only in those hard to reach areas 😉

Fenwicks

Washing up liquid contains salt. Good for rusting up things. I’m not a great fan of cleaners as the degreasing properties are just what you don’t want in most areas on a bike. I use it sparingly on road bike rims and some other areas but I have stopped using it on cassettes and brake rotors, chainrings etc. It finds its way into the seals over time. If you clean often enough you don’t really need it do you? I use fenwicks at the moment. Seems gentle on paint when diluted properly but has good degreasing properties.

+1 for muk junkie, cheap on ebay especially if you buy a big pot to share with your mates

Washing up liquid contains salt. Good for rusting up things

Depends what you do with it; if you cover your bike with it neat and don’t bother washing it off it’ll promote electrolytic action between different metals, but a few drops in a bucket and then hosing down after cleaning seems unlikely to cause damage.

washing up liquid will make all those bolts & nuts rusty over time.
far too much agressive salt in it .

does not like seals either & eats into grease in a bad way bearings etc .

avoid you tight arses 😉

Another vote here for Fenwicks although that Muck Junkie stuff looks intersting.

washing up liquid will make all those bolts & nuts rusty over time

Especially the aluminium ones 🙂

So won’t water do that? You know, over time.

LBS had one called “Duck Smart” recently instead of the normal fenwicks and it’s great. Much better at getting of greasy marks of my Genisis CFD which has a white frame, which seems to always look filthy 🙄

You could try buying this and diluting with 900ml water in an old Muc off bottle? Works well and only £3.99.

http://www.green-oil.net/Clean%20Chain%20degreaser.html

Genuine question – what is the advantage of these products over plain water?

Anyone used dirtwash cleaner, orange stuff in a spray bottle?

The fenwicks stuff, do you need to use it neat for degreasing chains or can you get away with it watered down a tad?

The fenwicks stuff, do you need to use it neat for degreasing chains or can you get away with it watered down a tad?

Don’t have to use it neat. I tend to dilute it slightly for stuff like chains and cassettes.

Genuine question – what is the advantage of these products over plain water?

Something to do with the cleaning solution breaking the surface tension of the water. And maybe something to do with -ve ionisation.

But that’s me getting a bit out of my depth.

Bikes were in a stinking state and I was after an easy clean earlier in the year so grabbed some of the road film stuff we use at work.
Little worried for the seals at first, but seem to have survived so far. No idea what’s in it, but my bikes have never looked so clean. Just hosed down bikes, sprayed on stuff, hosed off – didn’t even need a brush or sponge down.

Genuine question – what is the advantage of these products over plain water?

It’s like washing an oily frying pan in just water, it wont lift it off because the oil is not usually soluable in water.

Detergents allow the oils to be carried away in the water. As mentioned above it’s all to do with the charge carried by the molecule although other products work in different ways.

Just cleaned the bike tonight with water only – was much ‘harder’ and more streaky than when I used fenwicks (the dilutive stuff) which I’ve ran out of.

Think I’ll just get more fenwicks…..

DrP