Which Cleans Road Grime Grease Better Alkaline Or Acidic Wash
Used for stripping the grit, crud and grease from a well-pedalled drivetrain, degreaser is a staple chemical of whatsoever dandy cyclist'south maintenance kit. Yet, unlike the endless marketing propaganda that follows chain lube choice; degreaser is left in the corner, a muddied product that few brands actively promote. And then which is best? Information technology's a question tech writer Dave Rome sought to answer..
Story Highlights
- Pick a chemical based on cleaning method
- Consider health and environmental impacts
- Bio-degradable can nonetheless be toxic
- Avoid harsh, high PH chemicals
- E'er wash degreaser off with water
- Favourite Degreasers: Pedro's Squealer Juice & Degreaser thirteen, Smoove Prep, Stop Line Citrus.
As dish soap is to dishes, degreaser is the secret sauce in achieving a clean drivetrain.
If you've permit your chain run feral and information technology's not something you'd want to affect, it's time for the degreaser. I gear up out to evaluate degreasers based on three parameters: efficient grease removal, homo safety, and environmental safety. I and so looked at different degreasing methods, from brushing it straight on the concatenation to obsessive ultrasonic cleaning, as these methods all phone call for unlike products.
If y'all simply want to know the best degreaser for full general cleaning, I tin strongly recommend Pedro'due south Pig Juice. And the all-time way to avoid the regular need for degreaser in the first place is past selecting a great concatenation lube.
Degreaser basics
Degreasers are chemicals designed to intermission down oils and grease that are resistant to water. Most degreasers are alkali metal in nature (high PH) and utilise solvent agents, often petrochemical or alcohol based. Other degreasers will be acidic (depression PH), such as those which use natural citrus acids. While less mutual, there are more neutral degreasers free of solvents, such as water or plant-based cleaners.
Whole bike washes or cleaners, such equally the pink stuff from Muc-Off, will have some mild degreasing capability but are not intended to strip oils and grease similar a true degreaser. If you're going to the trouble of degreasing your drivetrain, selection the right tool.
With hundreds of unlike degreasing products on the market, testing them all just isn't plausible. To narrow the field, I reached out to select members of our squad along with a few career pro mechanics and industry experts who accept honed their craft over the years and asked for what they've found to be best.
From there, I took a number of those suggestions and put them to the exam. I looked at which degreasers broke down the crud of a filthy chain with little manual input. And then I tested to encounter which of these degreasers would kill grass, a reasonable stand-in for environmental rubber.
Knowing what's in a degreaser
At that place is an international solvent measurement standard, known as Kauri-butanol value (Kb value). It's useful in seeing where various raw chemicals rank, for instance, D-Limonene, a component of the oil in citrus fruits holds nearly double the solvent rating equally mineral spirits. However, very rarely is the base chemical sold in its pure land. Near are diluted at varying percentages. So while a non-toxic degreaser based on D-Limonene should exist more efficient than mineral spirits, if the maker is diluting the D-Limonene by 96%, information technology's going to be far weaker.
Checking Manufacturer Safe Information Sheets (MSDS) is a good way to see what'southward inside specific degreasers. Most mutual degreasers are shipped and so MSDS reports are available with a quick Google search. However, do keep in mind that the ratios or combinations of chemicals used often dictate how well a production will really work.
Bio-degradable does not brand it safe
Speaking with Jason Smith, formerly of Friction Facts and now CeramicSpeed, the degreaser market is rife with confusing and misleading statements. As Smith points out, many degreasers are sold on the idea of beingness not-toxic and/or biodegradable, just those two things are not the same.
An particular may biodegrade, but it can withal exist toxic to its user and the environment. Additionally, the term "organic" in relation to degreasers doesn't mean much. For instance, Benzene is an organic compound and as well a known carcinogenic. Similarly, don't assume a "non-hazardous" sticker makes it safe, this classification is typically used in lodge to save on transport costs.
A whole feature could exist written on this aspect, but in brusque, if you lot're likely to wash your bicycle anywhere near nature or about drains, then look for something that is marketed as both non-toxic and bio-degradable. If the chemicals you're using don't offer such claims, so seriously consider wearing gloves, be aware that the fumes tin can be toxic, and dispose of the chemicals responsibly (most councils offer dangerous waste disposal free of accuse).
Bicycles have unique needs
Most industrial environments cull heavy and frequently unhealthy alkine solvent degreasers for grease-cutting efficiency and with little regard to other factors. Yet, for bicycles, degreaser is often used where braking surfaces, rubber seals, anodised components, greased bearings and delicate pigment are within dripping altitude. These unique demands often require a chemical that won't cause more harm than skillful. However, knowing what that is can exist tough.
"The fastest and near efficient chain degreasers found in local bike shops contain the heavy petroleum/hydrocarbon derivatives. Virtually degreasers of this type contain heptane, acetone, naphtha, and/or alcohols. These solvents are very aggressive when it comes to dissolving chain lubricants and the contaminants adhering to the lubricant. Some examples of these hydrocarbon-based degreasers are Stop Line Speed Degreaser (Heptane, Acetone, Ethanol), White Lightning Clean Streak (Naphtha, Heptane), Morgan Blue Chain Cleaner (Naphtha), and Muc Off Dry Chain Degreaser (Naphtha). Naphtha is a slightly more volatile version of mineral spirits," explains Jason Smith.
"Most heavy hydrocarbon solvents tin can damage cycle frame pigment finishes. They practise a great job dissolving the chain greases, and also paint. Naphtha [as is Mineral Turpentine] is commonly plant as a paint thinner in hardware stores. The chances are that an alternative solvent is easier on paint finishes."
Not-toxic chemicals aren't in the clear, either. Simple Green degreaser is a mutual go-to, and is made more than pop past the fact that information technology is readily available in majority. However, its potent citrus-base is known to fade anodising, something Chris Rex Components specifically warns against. Similarly, Shimano and Campagnolo have (quietly) warned against using such degreasers as it can attack the low-friction coatings plant on premium chains.
The main lesson here is that most degreasers on the market place have the potential to cause finish or component damage if misused. Washing your freshly cleaned components with h2o is a expert way to prevent issues, as is avoiding products made for industrial applications.
The best drivetrain degreasers
I tested a small handful of pop degreasers with segments from the same disgustingly dirty chain, letting them sit for an hr with occasional agitation before rinsing with water. I also tested them undiluted on grass (30ml of each). The outcomes of these tests are based purely on qualitative results, such as visual cleanliness, perceived grittiness of the concatenation and how brown the grass went.
Do take these non-scientific results with a greasy grain of dust as I found some degreasers really showed their strength once agitation and/or h2o was added to the mix. For case, Pedro'due south Degreaser 13 is basically an undiluted version of the company's Pig Juice, and yet, it's thick viscosity meant information technology didn't fare so well in my stationary exam, whereas Pig Juice cut through more than efficiently, and really showed promise once rinsed off. In the case of both of these non-toxic products, the degreasers work by cutting downward to the metal and containing the oils, while adding water acts somewhat like the solvent and draws away the mess. In almost cases, degreasers don't work and then well without water to wash away the mess.
Of the degreasers tested, Morgan Blueish Chain Cleaner, Finish Line Citrus, Pedro'due south Pig Juice and Smoove Prep all offered a finish that was satisfactorily make clean. The Morgan Bluish left a dull residue on the metal (and contains Naphta), while the other three Citrus-based cleaners left a brighter finish.
In this chart, each scale is from one to five. Five is better — more clean, and less expressionless grass.
Every bit you can come across, Pedro's Sus scrofa Juice is both very effective and left our grass unscathed.
Smoove Prep was the absolute all-time with a near spotless chain and no noticeable residue. This combination degreaser and soap-based cleaner is designed to not go out any oily residue and let for a good awarding of the wax-based Smoove chain lube. However, it'due south not the near eco-friendly pick and while you don't need to utilise much of information technology, it'south sold in a relatively tiny canteen.
Certainly, the results testify that Pedro's Pig Juice is worth its reputation. Not only is it prophylactic to utilise, information technology does an impressive job of cutting through tough grime. Notwithstanding, information technology's besides not cheap and and so diluting Pedro'south Degreaser xiii may produce an even better value, albeit more laborious, option.
According to Jay Seiter of Pedro's, the staff uses a mixture of both Pig Juice and Degreaser 13 wherever possible. The Pig Juice was initially intended as a ready-to-pour degreaser for use inside their Chain Hog chain cleaner, while the more viscous Degreaser thirteen offers more power and sticks without dripping. "Apply Degreaser 13 to the cassette and chainrings using the Toothbrush. And so run Pig Juice in the Chain Pig (chain cleaning device) on the concatenation, rinse the Concatenation Hog out, and run information technology once again filled with water. Next add together a little water to the brush bristles and quickly scrub at the cassette and chainrings to farther activate the Degreaser xiii. Finally, give everything a rinse with h2o and dry with rag." I can adjure that this results in a stunningly brilliant drivetrain.
Our favourites
What do we use? Our global tech editor James Huang has been using Pedro'southward Pig Juice to practice on-bike cleans. He says it "smells nice, supposedly won't kill me, and works well." Our founder Wade Wallace hasn't changed his opinion in near a decade, "Babe wipes for quick clean and Park Tool citrus degreaser for a real clean."
Jay SyCip, design director at Chris King is another proponent for Pedro'southward Pig Juice. He says his company chooses information technology because information technology'due south milder on components than many other options. And according to Pedro'southward, this is because it's a "solvent-gratuitous" product (as is Degreaser xiii).
Speaking with Win Allen, a pro race mechanic and possessor of Win'due south Wheels, he shares a similar opinion in using a degreaser that's environmentally prophylactic. "If I'grand working on grass, I never desire anyone to be able to tell I was working at that place. As function of Pedro's testing to show how safe/eco-friendly the Degreaser 13 was, it was poured directly on a patch of grass, information technology never harmed that grass, that's what I've used since." Interestingly, my grass testing showed differently, and while Pedro's Sus scrofa Juice caused no damage, 30ml of undiluted Degreaser 13 led to some browning.
Shimano officially recommends the use of dish soap and warm h2o, a cheap, safe and well-proven method. While dish lather is perfect for cleaning a lightly soiled chain, you'll quickly see it beaten past more stubborn grime.
Personally, I was always a piffling less loyal to a specific product and take plant cleaning success with most bicycle-specific degreasers on the market place. My feel is similar to Jason Smith's, in that the stuff that cuts the grease the fastest is often the stuff you lot desire to avoid using.
Degreasers and disc don't mix
Use degreaser with care around disc brakes. Many degreasers contain oils that can wreak havoc on your braking performance, and even if they don't, the spray from dirty degreaser volition take your brakes screaming and your ears bleeding. Learn more about this in our FAQ to disc brakes.
Degreasing methods
Post-obit the ultimate guide to concatenation cleaning, your choice of degreaser should match your called cleaning method.
The Lube/Rag/Wipe
On a calibration from v (make clean) to zero (greasy mess), this method gets you to around a two.
Simply using a rag and lube, the lazy method is more than most prevention than it is about cleaning. For this method, the suggestion is not to apply any chemicals other than the lube. Dripping on fresh lube will loosen grease and permit for manual rag cleaning. If you must spray on something, look for a chemical that dries without balance, bicycle disc brake cleaner or similar is popular in this situation.
On-bike degreasing
This clean involves using either a brush and/or chain cleaning device along with degreaser and water (and a concatenation keeper). Equally the concatenation is being cleaned on the cycle, y'all want a degreaser that'due south safe on finishes. Likewise, you lot don't desire a degreaser that will aggressively attack the rubber seals in your bottom bracket or pulley wheels. And virtually importantly, it'south likely you'll exist doing the make clean over grass or nearly a drain, and so y'all want a solution that's environmentally safe – your bicycle isn't worth expressionless marine life.
Certainly, there's a long list of petroleum-based degreasers that piece of work extremely well, just please consider the environmental impact for where you'll be using them.
Chemicals for a Thorough clean
This is the method that ensures a pro-level make clean where parts will wait new after. To achieve this, the parts are typically removed from the bike and cleaned separately, with a chain quick link used during re-asssembly. The apply of an ultrasonic cleaner has get popular, but it tin can also exist done with a simple container, saucepan or similar method of holding degreaser.
Given you lot'll be removing the parts, there's more than freedom in the chemicals you can utilize. And while typically more expensive than mainstream chemicals, the degreasers suggested above volition work perfectly too.
So what are mainstream chemical options? Ane example is Mineral turpentine every bit used past our Australian tech editor, Matt Wikstrom. "No fuss, never fail", tells Wikstrom. Though do be warned, Mineral turpentine, or "turps", is often also sold as paint thinner and then should be used carefully around painted surfaces and handled with extreme care – it's poisonous.
Personally, I've long used depression-olfactory property kerosene (Naphtha-based, toxic) in my parts washer. Existence a petrochemical, like turps, you demand to be aware that'due south information technology's highly flammable, not skillful for skin contact and needs to exist washed off the part thoroughly. Otherwise, it'southward an effective cleaner that I've institute to be less ambitious than other pop petrochemical-based degreasers. And bold y'all have a sealed washer to keep it in, information technology'll last for years before requiring disposal.
When not using Pedro's Pig Juice for on-bike cleans, James Huang uses a safer, aluminum-friendly version of Unproblematic Green and does then in a large ultra-sonic cleaner.
With a successful service business concern, Win Allen's workshop is fitted with a premium electric heated parts washer (SmartWasher SW-23). "The degreaser is heated, which makes getting any brand of chain lube or bearing grease off very easy. In information technology is Ozzy Juicy SW-4, the most powerful degreaser that is safe on all materials." What makes this production and then unique is that information technology's bioremediating, it effectively breaks downwardly contaminates itself.
Jay Sycip says they use a like affair at Chris Rex's headquarters, with a Simple Kleen parts washer as the selection for the eco-sensitive company.
Whatever chemical you choose, you'll need to wash it off afterward. For case, Win finishes his process by flushing the components in a large ultrasonic cleaner with heavily diluted Dawn dish soap – something that'south eco-friendly and safe on parts.
Obsessively clean chemicals
The methods above volition get a drivetrain impressively clean, only there's a stride further for those looking to do submersion concatenation waxing or use an ultra-fast wax lube where a residue-complimentary, bare-metal finish is required. This obsessive level of detail will only utilize to a very small segment and it's simply relevant to the chain, other drivetrain components volition be clean enough with the methods already covered.
Jason Smith, the original creator of the Molten Speed Wax recipe, details his methods. "If I need to become a concatenation stripped and sterile, for, say, cleaning chains between lube tests where every bit of the previously applied lubricant has to be removed, I apply Ultrasonic cleaners and heavy hydrocarbon/petroleum-based solvents. Specifically, multiple baths of odorless mineral spirits (OMS) and so follow that up with an alcohol or lacquer thinner bathroom. The OMS does a great task dissolving any pre-existing coatings, lubes or contamination. The alcohol or thinner then acts to remove any rest film left over by the mineral spirits. Simply this is in the lab and not actually suitable for home use."
Personally, I do the steps detailed in the thorough procedure (including something similar to Win'southward ultrasonic cleaner affluent), and and then finish it off with the concatenation shaken in a jar of methylated spirits. This is a proven method to get a chain set up for its initial submersion waxing (humid h2o works to make clean off the wax from so on).
Notwithstanding with me?
I never used to stress nearly what was in my cleaning chemicals and only recently accept I started to pick products with low or no toxicity. Given this, brands such as Pedro'south and Green Oil (not tested) should be applauded, and at to the lowest degree for the former, it seemingly works equally too as more potent products.
Jason Quade, a former pro race mechanic and owner of Abbey Bike Tools summarises degreaser choice well. "The more careful you are about putting the lube on and what lube you utilise, the lazier you tin exist in taking information technology off."
If you carefully consider your lube choice, how much of it yous employ and how well y'all wipe off the backlog, you'll only rarely (if ever) demand to use degreaser, and when y'all do, you've got enough of options. But any you choose, consider the seals in your bearings and those in the ocean.
Source: https://cyclingtips.com/2018/12/the-best-degreaser-for-bicycles/
Posted by: jacksoninswer.blogspot.com
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