what do you use as a de-greaser

granda

with all the changeable weather lately ive found i'm have to clean the chain and cassette more often than normal in the 'summer' but have found de-greasers to be expensive and was wondering is there anything else besides the bike specific stuff that people use

robertxxx

wd-40 spray oil.

snailsong

Jizer. Available in any motor factors about €20 a gallon. Miraculous stuff, doesn't damage paintwork.

on_the_nickel

I bought this stuff once when I was stuck in Dublin, can't remember the shop, but I can't find it locally in Cork. It was magic, can't find anything to match it.

Gavin

White spirits is probably the cheapest you can get.

G rock

anyone use the "mickle method"?

have seen its virtues extolled on couple of other forums

granda

G rock wrote: »

anyone use the "mickle method"?

have seen its virtues extolled on couple of other forums

sounds 'dirty' what is it

G rock

http://www.cyclorama.net/blog/advice/51/

courtesy of cyclechat via the ctc forum!

have never tried it

Slydice

muc off degreaser from halfords

Flandria

Jizer/Slicksol in liquid (same product, Burgess Galvin make Slicksol but can't call it Jizer in Ireland) - by a mile. Ambersil spray degreaser is also very handy.

doozerie

On those chains that I use ProGold ProLink I don't use cleaning solvent at all. The ProLink is a lube which also acts as a cleaner. Starting with a clean chain apply ProLink, wipe off the excess and you are done. After some amount of usage (usually 1 ride in my case, since the bikes I use it on only get used once or twice a week), wipe off the relatively small amount of crud that has accumulated on the outside of the chain, apply more ProLink, wipe excess off, and you're done again. Might be a bit tedious for a bike used every day, but possibly fine if you are happy to leave the chain go a few days between applications.

There are alternatives to ProLink, such as White Lightning (tried it, didn't like it) and Chain-L (not tried it but it gets good reviews). The stuff can seem expensive to buy but a bottle of it lasts a long long time, unless you use its own spray top to apply it that 'cos it sprays twice as much stuff on every surface other than the chain than on the chain itself.

On my commute bikes I use Park Tool degreasing solution with a chain cleaning tool. It works reasonably well. Fenwicks FS-1 is another option though I've only ever used it in diluted form to wash the bike, never in its undiluted form as a chain degreaser.

manwithaplan

on_the_nickel wrote: »

I bought this stuff once when I was stuck in Dublin, can't remember the shop, but I can't find it locally in Cork. It was magic, can't find anything to match it.

That stuff is great but you have to rinse it very thoroughly or it will make **** of your rear hub. It tends to penetrate much more than dry degreaser and it will wash the grease out of your hub if you're not careful.

The tax man

on_the_nickel wrote: »

I bought this stuff once when I was stuck in Dublin, can't remember the shop, but I can't find it locally in Cork. It was magic, can't find anything to match it.

Mcconveycycles(dot)com sell it up north. Free delivery. I buy the F1 cleaner and degreaser from them when ever I need it. Great crowd to deal with.

on_the_nickel

manwithaplan wrote: »

on_the_nickel wrote: »

I bought this stuff once when I was stuck in Dublin, can't remember the shop, but I can't find it locally in Cork. It was magic, can't find anything to match it.

That stuff is great but you have to rinse it very thoroughly or it will make **** of your rear hub. It tends to penetrate much more than dry degreaser and it will wash the grease out of your hub if you're not careful.

I used the pink foamy stuff, that the one your talking about?

EMYVALE CC Monaghan

gt 85 from Halfords

manwithaplan

on_the_nickel wrote: »

I used the pink foamy stuff, that the one your talking about?

Yep. Absolutely melts away the grease but can do damage if it gets in where it's not wanted.

torydiver

Gunk engine degreaser,
available from most auto-factors....

Seweryn

I do not use any degreaser, as it is not needed on my chain. I use the "Rock N Roll" Gold chain lube, which keeps my chain very clean and I just wipe the chain and re-lube it every second day or every day (depends on the distance cycled and the weather conditions).

Cork24

Muc-Off

great stuff,

Dermot Illogical

Rain

Carlosthejakal

http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_22559.htm
Bargain

granda

thanks for all the replies and i'll try a few of the products out and see which i like the best

FISMA

granda wrote: »

thanks for all the replies and i'll try a few of the products out and see which i like the best

A degreaser? Why? Do you really want to remove all of the grease? Or, do you just want to clean the chain?

I spray the chain down with a lubricant NOT WD-40, something like this. Then I take a soft white old t-shirt and clean the chain.

Next, I drip a bit of oil on the chain, when clean, something like this.

I usually get thousands of miles out of my chains. They stretch-out before they rust or otherwise die.

If you use WD-40, beware - I hope you know what you're doing. WD-40 is a penetrant, not a lubricant. It will, as many other degreasers, remove all of the grease - good and bad from the surface and internal bits of the chain.

You use WD-40 to displace water and gunk from the chain. However, if you do not lubricate it, the chain will soon rust.

History lesson: the US Navy was looking for something to get water out of machinery, that is to displace water (WD) they got the formula right on the 40th try, hence the name WD-40.

Canis Lupus

For the chain use an sram power link, pop it off into a coke bottle filled 1/4 or 1/2 with diesel and shake vigourously... Fish chain out and voila. Sparkling.

Mycroft H

Kerosene. 90 cent for

kuro_man

FISMA wrote: »

A degreaser? Why? Do you really want to remove all of the grease? Or, do you just want to clean the chain?

I spray the chain down with a lubricant NOT WD-40, something like this. Then I take a soft white old t-shirt and clean the chain.

Next, I drip a bit of oil on the chain, when clean, something like this.

I usually get thousands of miles out of my chains. They stretch-out before they rust or otherwise die.

If you use WD-40, beware - I hope you know what you're doing. WD-40 is a penetrant, not a lubricant. It will, as many other degreasers, remove all of the grease - good and bad from the surface and internal bits of the chain.

You use WD-40 to displace water and gunk from the chain. However, if you do not lubricate it, the chain will soon rust.

History lesson: the US Navy was looking for something to get water out of machinery, that is to displace water (WD) they got the formula right on the 40th try, hence the name WD-40.

don't believe everything you read on d'interweb...if it stops something squeaking, then it is a lubricant. http://www.wd40.com/about-us/myths-legends-fun-facts/

GT85 is better, though.

granda

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_734045_langId_-1_categoryId_212648
got this today to try and i can honestly say its pretty good so i'll wait till it runs out and then try the next thing till i find the one for me but at the moment muc-off will be hard to beat

robertxxx

FISMA wrote: »

A degreaser? Why? Do you really want to remove all of the grease? Or, do you just want to clean the chain?

I spray the chain down with a lubricant NOT WD-40, something like this. Then I take a soft white old t-shirt and clean the chain.

Next, I drip a bit of oil on the chain, when clean, something like this.

I usually get thousands of miles out of my chains. They stretch-out before they rust or otherwise die.

If you use WD-40, beware - I hope you know what you're doing. WD-40 is a penetrant, not a lubricant. It will, as many other degreasers, remove all of the grease - good and bad from the surface and internal bits of the chain.

You use WD-40 to displace water and gunk from the chain. However, if you do not lubricate it, the chain will soon rust.

History lesson: the US Navy was looking for something to get water out of machinery, that is to displace water (WD) they got the formula right on the 40th try, hence the name WD-40.

WD-40 is great for removing old grease and dirt, spray and use cloth, then like you say apply some new grease, spray grease.

Vélo

Diesel