prj71

Water, Dishsoap or Simple green and a sponge. You don't need a specialty product to wash your bike.

NextDIYikeproj

What do you base that on (I’m not saying it’s not true, but would like to hear a broader argumentation about it)?

prj71

Bikes collect dirt, grease, grime etc...Dawn dish soap or simple green mixed with hot water in a bucket and sponge are all you need. Plus a hose to rinse it off. There is nothing magical about muc-off other than it's inflated price.

NextDIYikeproj

Well, I agree that it’s probably not an issue. But car cleaners and other type of cleaners are not tested or made for bike parts, like brakes, bearings and other parts. If you buy a, let’s say $6000 or even $10 000 bike, you might not want to take a chance and buy a cheap cleaner. And besides, the muc off is not that expensive in my opinion.

quite like you probably wouldn’t cleana Ferrari with a soap from the 25¢ store, even if it would do the job?!

Sy Reene

Nothing wrong with Dawn. It works to clean little sea birds when they get covered in oil spills; likely it's safe for a bike. Probably 1/2 teaspoon would suffice to put in a 32oz spray bottle. A 16oz bottle of Dawn therefore would fill about 200 32oz spray bottles, making each spray bottle's worth about $.05

NextDIYikeproj

Again, I don’t say there is anything wrong with it. What I say is that many people prefer a bike specific cleaner on their very expensive bikes. Personally I live in Europe and Dawns i not even heard of here.

KJ43

Maybe, but the point is a good one that something like Muc Off and other "bicycle specific" cleaners are more expensive and not necessarily any better. I don't dislike Muc Off or other soaps marketed towards cyclists, just that they are not necessary and probably cost more than necessary.

For instance, the Park Tools degreaser is much more expensive than Simple Green which pretty much does the same thing for much cheaper.

prj71

"Bike specific cleaner" is just marketing jibberish.

You seriously don't have this there?

https://dawn-dish.com/en-us

prj71

^^^Exactly. I use simple green myself.

Sometimes people get caught up in the marketing of this stuff thinking they are buying a superior product because it says "bike specific"

NextDIYikeproj

A lot of things ar marketing jibberish, if paying a few more $ makes you feel safe about you darling (bike) then it’s probably worth it for them.

And no, Dawns soap is an American brand, but we do have dish soap, probably from the same factory in china but in a different bottle! 😉

NextDIYikeproj

I agree. 🙂

PeteHski

Have you actually used Muc-Off bike cleaner?

I do find it overkill for cleaning a not-very-dirty road bike, like in the demo. But on a filthy mountain bike I find it is a lot more effective than a bit of dish soap and you don't have to worry about it contaminating shock seals etc. like you do with some other powerful cleaners. Not saying there aren't other cheaper products that would be just as good, but it's not expensive enough for me to be bothered looking elsewhere. A bottle of Muc-Off lasts me for literally years.

MrWasabi

Just spotted a deal on Muc Off and am going to try some:
https://tools.woot.com/offers/muc-of...rnet+Brands%29

PeteHski

You will find that it works pretty well. It is quite a powerful cleaner while safe on seals etc.