Bike Cleaner

JustinLeeAtkinson

Can anyone suggest a decent bike cleaning liquid that you put into a bucket with water, as opposed to the Muc Off type spray on stuff?

Camcycle1974

Its green and you wash dishes with it.

Davdandy

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Its green and you wash dishes with it.

Bogies? :shock:

JustinLeeAtkinson

Ok, anti-bacterial or the normal stuff?

But seriously people use washing up liquid? Now it'd be ok for the car, but for the bike I'd much rather fork out on some expensive cleaner that was safe for carbon bikes...

Camcycle1974

What do you think the expensive stuff is ffs? Forget all the nano tech bs. Its just detergent, you wash your bike with it. End of! Why would it not be "safe" for carbon? it's your money I suppose but to waste it on something that does the same job as fairy seems daft.

drlodge

Car shampoo

herb71

Washing up liquid is pretty harsh stuff, and some brands contain salt so personally I would not use it.

I use muc off, but if you prefer to use a bucket and sponge you would be better off with car shampoo if you can find one without wax.

passout

I use muc off chain cleaner which is a great product - works quickly. I then 'sometimes' use muc off spray too but often just use a hose pipe & soft brush for the frame. I don't go through much bike spray at all but lots of chain cleaner.

Jon_1976

As mentioned, washing up liquid isn't a good idea. Fair enough, if you want to use it. I certainly wouldn't use it on a bike or a car.

As driodge mentioned, I just use car shampoo and hot water in a bucket. I normally take the wheels off and clean separately with just water to eliminate the chance of the tyres and braking surface becoming slick from any wax content in the shampoo.
Isopropyl alcohol and a rag on the braking surfaces and pads (also deglazing if required)

VTech

NEVER use washing up liquid, it destroys metals and has high salt content.

Non-sented baby wipes.

smoggysteve

Davdandy wrote:

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Its green and you wash dishes with it.

Bogies? :shock:

Wouldn't want to have a meal on your plates.

smoggysteve

VTech wrote:

NEVER use washing up liquid, it destroys metals and has high salt content.

Non-sented baby wipes.

Utter Bollox - What are your pans and cutlery made of FFS? Also most bikes are either Carbon and or Aluminium which is not very corrosion prone unless submerged in water for a long time. Yes gears are steel , but I would think you are going to dry them and oil them afterwards. Add to this the soap liquid is going to be diluted in the water. I have used washing up liquid to clean chaines and frames for years with no problems. Don't scare monger. Car shampoo is also good if you are really bothered but all you are doing is removing grease and dirt. Not rocket science

pkripper

SmoggySteve wrote:

VTech wrote:

NEVER use washing up liquid, it destroys metals and has high salt content.

Non-sented baby wipes.

Utter Bollox - What are your pans and cutlery made of FFS? Also most bikes are either Carbon and or Aluminium which is not very corrosion prone unless submerged in water for a long time. Yes gears are steel , but I would think you are going to dry them and oil them afterwards. Add to this the soap liquid is going to be diluted in the water. I have used washing up liquid to clean chaines and frames for years with no problems. Don't scare monger. Car shampoo is also good if you are really bothered but all you are doing is removing grease and dirt. Not rocket science

+1
If you're worried about the salt in washing up liquid on a bike, you'd never take one out on the road, especially not in winter. Fair enough on a car, where it's continually exposed to light, but a bike will be fine.

FWIW, I use either that or car shampoo - whichever is closer to hand. My bikes look fine.

Oh, and baby wipes leave a residue.

wills1880

Baby wipes for me! Very quick and hassle free cleaning imo.

danlikesbikes

VTech wrote:

NEVER use washing up liquid, it destroys metals and has high salt content.

Non-sented baby wipes.

Why never use washing up liquid?

It contains circa 45% salt as a bulking agent however you tend to use about 5-10mls of washing up liquid in a 10 litre bucket to wash your bike & then rinse off with water. Your bike would be exposed to much higher levels of salt in the form of sweat from the rider in the summer than the small percentage from the first stage of a wash. In winter your going to see much more salt kicked up onto the bike from road grit too.

FWIW I have used it for 20 years of cleaning bikes and its never done any damage to any of the bikes, your more likely to see metal damage from water being left of bikes IMHO

BTW baby wipes are a good call but muc-off do their own version which are much better & often used by me in an emergency when I need to clean the bike down quick after a race or ride. V good at getting an mess from me or drips from the bottle or gels off the bike.

VTech

Car shampoo is not the same product and cutlery made from steel or poor quality plating soon ages from using washing up liquid.
Search ANY one of millions of threads online about using washing up liquid for cleaning metalsnetc and all say no.
Why risk it ?
I know it won't destroy the bike, I'm not saying that but it will age the bike far quicker so why not spend a couple of quid on proper shampoo or baby wipes ?

Why is it that people argue against fact so much in this forum ?

smoggysteve

You say its dangerous to use washing up liquid. I have over 15 years experience cleaning bikes made from steel, aluminium and carbon with it and I have had no problems. Search the internet for all the facts you like, I have solid proof for a decade and a half its fine. I wash my bike, I rinse it off and its clean. Its not sitting in contact with it for more than a few minutes before its washed off and dried.

danlikesbikes

VTech wrote:

Car shampoo is not the same product and cutlery made from steel or poor quality plating soon ages from using washing up liquid.
Search ANY one of millions of threads online about using washing up liquid for cleaning metalsnetc and all say no.
Why risk it ?
I know it won't destroy the bike, I'm not saying that but it will age the bike far quicker so why not spend a couple of quid on proper shampoo or baby wipes ?

Why is it that people argue against fact so much in this forum ?

Vtec what facts? People on the internet say don't use it so its a fact? Or the fact (as per my post) that there is less salt in a bucket of water than sweat from the rider in summer or road salt in winter?

VTech

Why argue with me?
I posted a fact, fact is its stupid to wash a bike with high salt content, forget sweat as we can't stop that but you can stop yourself from washing something in salt.
You can't wipe off all residue as it gets into nooks and crannies.

Asbestos doesn't kill everyone who works with it but you wouldn't take the risk knowing that it could kill you !!!

Camcycle1974

The amount of contact time would not be sufficient to corode anything as it is rinsed off soon after cleaning. Anyway i don't use washing up liquid, i use industrial strength degreaser to clean my bike. People who pay £10 for a bottle of detergent want their heads tested. The marketing boys must love cyclists.

danlikesbikes

VTech wrote:

Why argue with me?
I posted a fact, fact is its stupid to wash a bike with high salt content, forget sweat as we can't stop that but you can stop yourself from washing something in salt.
You can't wipe off all residue as it gets into nooks and crannies.

Asbestos doesn't kill everyone who works with it but you wouldn't take the risk knowing that it could kill you !!!

Vtec I like you I really do but stop being so melodramatic will you I'm not arguing with you.

All I said was whats wrong with washing up liquid, it has a high concentration of salt around 45% but if you add to water in a ratio of 10mls to 10ltr that is much less than your bike would be exposed too from either you as the the rider or what the bike gets from the road.

Either way you clearly don' t want to listen to a reasoned debate & you think everyone/me is arguing with you as they have a different opinion than yours. So in the words of dragons den "I'm out"

smoggysteve

Has anyone here got first hand experience of their bike falling apart from using washing up liquid to clean it?

There are numerous countering your claim here VTech so why call us stupid? I never had a problem and many here say the same. HARD SOLID FACT there mate. Do you automatically believe something you read on the internet?

Never have I had a bike break, fall apart, rust or in any way fail because of the way I clean it. That is all the evidence I need.

VTech

Dan, my comment was aimed at the other reply referring to my comment as utter Bolox which was wrong because what I wrote is correct.

Also, about minimal contact time, that's wrong also as salt leaves a residue even after seconds of contact and is much harder to clean than the crap you want to clean in the first place.

It's a fact that cars cleaned with washing up liquid deteriorate faster than those not using washing up liquid. It's a definite DO NOT USE product in car cleaning.

I didn't intend this to become an argument with anyone as I simply wished to give good advice.

It's laughable to suggest I am saying a bike will break after using washing up liquid, it will however deteriorate much faster though. Paint finish will also become faded far quicker.

pkripper

To be honest, I did get some bubbles on the stem once. Took me ages before I got over the fear of it dissolving mid ride!

Given the concentration of salt in my sweat and on the road, a highly diluted solution, most of which will probably react to soften the water is the least of my worries. Still, each to their own.

VTech

Also, it's a fact that washing up liquids contain abrasives so the more you wash, the more you scratch. Maybe only tiny scratches but scratches none the less. These in turn also fade the finish of the bike badly and quickly.

Plates, cutlery, cups etc are much harder materials but they also age after washing so think of your expensive bikes with salt residue and abrasive washing.

I'm not saying its going to kill the bike but come on, treat it with respect.

smoggysteve

What are bikes made of? Fooking rose petals? Its not going to damage it. Cars shouldnt be cleaned with it cos it would damage the lacquer on the paint. No other reason. The salt and crap you get from the roads, the acid in the rain, the sweat from your brow are more likely to damage the metal which has paint on it btw, than washing up liquid. Aluminium oxidizes differently to steel. thats why it can get away without being protected. Steel would rust if left in contact with water over time but even then it would take a hell of a lot of standing water to make a frame rust so bad it fell apart. Carbon is 100% uneffected as its not metal so why the big song and dance about not using it?

VTech

I didn't make the song and dance, I just said don't use it then was told it was Bolox which it wasn't.
Paint oxidises regardless of wether its on a car, bike or carbon fibre.

Under-scented baby wipes, 99p for 500 @ tesco. Enough to safely clean your bikes for a year, great for all you tight wads

Jon_1976

I resent being called a tight wad. I paid £2 for my bottle of car shampoo! :P

bgfalll123

VTech wrote:

I didn't make the song and dance, I just said don't use it then was told it was Bolox which it wasn't.
Paint oxidises regardless of wether its on a car, bike or carbon fibre.

Under-scented baby wipes, 99p for 500 @ tesco. Enough to safely clean your bikes for a year, great for all you tight wads

Is this all you use ? No shampoo/liquid at all ? Just baby wipe down the frame forks etc ?

FatTed

My Wife washes my bikes, have to ask her what she uses!

JustinLeeAtkinson

Thanks for the interesting discussion.

Have a look at the OPQS team mechanic about 2 or 3 minutes in:

http://www.omegapharma-quickstep.com/en ... our-bike/3

"we are just using water and soap" looks like water and washing up liquid to me.