What does Muc Off actually do?

lostboysaint

bompington wrote:

Are you all seriously trying to say that we're supposed to clean our bikes? Is this where I've been going wrong all these years?

No, you just have the same will power as me

Nick Cod

Not a fan of Muc Off, I have found Hope Sh*t shifter to be better. Although I'll admit if I look at the make up of it it's probably not a lot different only green rather than pink

on-yer-bike

I thought washing up liquid was bad to use for washing cars and bikes because it contains salt? Baby wipes are very useful but the bulk of dirt should be washed off with water first.

imposter2.0

Baby wipes just move the dirt from one place to another.

ugo.santalucia

on-yer-bike wrote:

I thought washing up liquid was bad to use for washing cars and bikes because it contains salt?

Sodium Laureth Sulphate... if I wanted to strip off your paint I'd use something a bit more aggressive than that!

It's all bollox that the parasites selling you an alternative whisper in your ears.
As a matter of fact, Muc Off also contains anionic surfactants... :shock:

KnightOfTheLongTights

I'm with ugo on the back-to-basics approach to bike cleaning fluids and utensils.
But I have just contravened that with the purchase of this:
http://www.scottoiler.com/uk/products/u ... ution.html
Have just moved from a house with a garden into a 1st floor flat and it's put a severe dent in my bike-cleaning regularity.
I'm hoping that by keeping this 'wonder spray' in the garage at work and wafting it over the drivetrain every other day, I might get away with not cleaning my commuter properly all that often .... :oops:

NeXXus

I've been using the equivalent of fairy liquid for years and none of my bikes are a rust pile.

Plus I get it from work free in 5L drums with all the microfiber cloths I can care for

flasher

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Fair enough, but I won't "invest" 20 quid to future proof the washing of my bike for the next decade. I use what I've got, often is the leftover liquid which only comes off the plastic bottle if you chuck water in and shake... and that can be washing up liquid or shampoo, it's what needs to be finished... I don't think I have purposely ever spent a pound to wash my bike... sponges are those that are no longer good for dishes... same applies to oil. I have used the oil that was around, over the past two years it's been the leftovers from a can of diesel engine oil that I had to buy in Italy as it was running low. Rags are clothes that we no longer wear and too ratty for the charity shop.

There is an all industry of parasites making money selling you stuff which is completely unnecessary. The chain cleaner with rolling brushes never stops amusing me.

Do the grown-ups who run/own this commercial site realise that you're so anti-capitalism

FWIW. I use Muc Off spray, and quite like it, but I've never spent money on it, my brother buys me a bottle every Xmas, generous I know, does that make me a commercial sell-out?

lostboysaint

Of course it doesn't.


It makes him a commercial sell-out!

ugo.santalucia

Flasher wrote:

Do the grown-ups who run/own this commercial site realise that you're so anti-capitalism

I'm against the tail end of capitalism. I understand the need for money to recirculate for a western economy to thrive, but I would rather see people spend more on a quality bike than to throw away money to buy some junk they don't need.

Basically what's happening is that people constantly look for the bargain, not because they don't have the money to buy the stuff they need, but because this way they can buy more shot, like Muc-Off with the money they have saved elsewhere... I would endorse a system where there are fewer offers, better quality and less crap, that's all...

ugo.santalucia

This is another great product for your bike...

http://www.green-oil.net

The guy started in a shed bottling vegetable oil with a green additive. Of course vegetable oil has low to inexistent lubricating properties, but it is good enough for chains and sprockets... I got a bottle of the stuff for free at an event and used it for a while... I found bizarre that the dog wanted to lick the chain at every opportunity... then I found out why...

flasher

ugo.santalucia wrote:

This is another great product for your bike...

http://www.green-oil.net

Thanks for the heads-up............now ordered

NeXXus

ugo.santalucia wrote:

This is another great product for your bike...

http://www.green-oil.net

The guy started in a shed bottling vegetable oil with a green additive. Of course vegetable oil has low to inexistent lubricating properties, but it is good enough for chains and sprockets... I got a bottle of the stuff for free at an event and used it for a while... I found bizarre that the dog wanted to lick the chain at every opportunity... then I found out why...

Saved you money on degreaser though

darkhairedlord

I have my bike cleaned for me..

Joeblack

on-yer-bike wrote:

I thought washing up liquid was bad to use for washing cars and bikes because it contains salt? Baby wipes are very useful but the bulk of dirt should be washed off with water first.

Washing up liquid is only viewed as a poor soap for washing paint that has been waxed, as it will strip the wax and some people spend a lot of time and money on car wax, professional detailers however will actually use fairy liquid to wash a car if they are prepping the surface for a fresh coat of new wax.

apart from that its completely safe to use on any paint.

NB If you have recently applied a good coat of wax to any paintwork be it bike or car then you need a PH neutral soap with a low detergent count, most good quality wax companies will recommend their own soap to prolong the life of their wax.

NBB I don't buy into the horrendously expensive world of car waxes

Manc33

Imposter wrote:

Manc33 wrote:

You find out what carbon fiber is about when you hacksaw it. I went through 2.5 blades cutting a fork steerer.

Really? I've been using the same old hacksaw blade for years...it's been through loads of carbon steers in that time..

Yeah but mine are £2.49 for 10 blades and it was only a junior hacksaw. A large hacksaw with expensive blades wouldn't do that. I posted pics of the blades in my bike build thread. 6061 aluminium handlebars take under 10 seconds to saw through with the same crap blades lol.

darkhairedlord

Joeblack wrote:

on-yer-bike wrote:

I thought washing up liquid was bad to use for washing cars and bikes because it contains salt? Baby wipes are very useful but the bulk of dirt should be washed off with water first.

Washing up liquid is only viewed as a poor soap for washing paint that has been waxed, as it will strip the wax and some people spend a lot of time and money on car wax, professional detailers however will actually use fairy liquid to wash a car if they are prepping the surface for a fresh coat of new wax.

apart from that its completely safe to use on any paint.

NB If you have recently applied a good coat of wax to any paintwork be it bike or car then you need a PH neutral soap with a low detergent count, most good quality wax companies will recommend their own soap to prolong the life of their wax.

NBB I don't buy into the horrendously expensive world of car waxes

Surely it depends if you have straight or curly carbon fibres :shock:

pippi_langsamer-2

Fenwiçks is better than Muc Off anyway

I got some Juice "Frame Juice" free with a frame I bought. Used to finish carbon tubes off to leave that slippery polished finish. Pledge will do exactly the same thing, but the Juice stuff smells lush :oops:

rodgers73

I use Muc Off neat on a cloth to give lots of stuff on the bike and off it (shoes, helmet etc) a good clean - just a few sprays are enough for this sort of thing so I get through a 1ltr bottle every year or so.

It works really well when neat but the other day I used it "as intended" and sprayed it all over a dirty bike after a hosing down. I was amazed how much of the bottle I got through in just one wash! Next time I'll use washing up liquid I reckon and keep the Muc Off for the details.

stoveman

matt-h wrote:

darkhairedlord wrote:

Just strip it down and shove it in the dishwasher

oh how you mock.
i did this with some interior parts for a restoration




Mrs was less than impressed

Matt

Back in my 4x4 off roading days,had a mate who insisted that his wife had the latest dishwasher model with biggest capacity.
So he diligently measured each one in the showroom till he was satisfied he had the biggest.First day she was out he used it to strip the head of his Defender engine and clean it all up prior to a rebuild!

wishitwasallflat

To answer the OPs question ....

Efficiently removes grease from cartridge bearings ... and cleans your bike (just as well as washing up liquid does).

il_principe

Imposter wrote:

florerider wrote:

Actually it eats carbon fibre.

really?

It took the paint off one of my Carbon frames...

gimpl

stoveman wrote:

Back in my 4x4 off roading days,had a mate who insisted that his wife had the latest dishwasher model with biggest capacity.
So he diligently measured each one in the showroom till he was satisfied he had the biggest.First day she was out he used it to strip the head of his Defender engine and clean it all up prior to a rebuild!

Really ? The dishwasher stripped the head of his Defender engine - I'm impressed. What model was it ?

on-yer-bike

ugo.santalucia wrote:

This is another great product for your bike...

http://www.green-oil.net

The guy started in a shed bottling vegetable oil with a green additive. Of course vegetable oil has low to inexistent lubricating properties, but it is good enough for chains and sprockets... I got a bottle of the stuff for free at an event and used it for a while... I found bizarre that the dog wanted to lick the chain at every opportunity... then I found out why...

You rub your ciabatta on your chain to save buying olive oil.

lostboysaint

Gimpl wrote:

stoveman wrote:

Back in my 4x4 off roading days,had a mate who insisted that his wife had the latest dishwasher model with biggest capacity.
So he diligently measured each one in the showroom till he was satisfied he had the biggest.First day she was out he used it to strip the head of his Defender engine and clean it all up prior to a rebuild!

Really ? The dishwasher stripped the head of his Defender engine - I'm impressed. What model was it ?

It's a Landrover, it could have been any one of them!

simon_masterson

ugo.santalucia wrote:

This is another great product for your bike...

http://www.green-oil.net

The guy started in a shed bottling vegetable oil with a green additive. Of course vegetable oil has low to inexistent lubricating properties, but it is good enough for chains and sprockets... I got a bottle of the stuff for free at an event and used it for a while... I found bizarre that the dog wanted to lick the chain at every opportunity... then I found out why...

I really like Green Oil products - been using them exclusively for chain lube, grease, degreaser and bike wash for the past 2-3 years. The degreaser doesn't compete with paraffin, but it's great for regular chain cleaning.

Bordersroadie

ugo.santalucia wrote:

The chain cleaner with rolling brushes never stops amusing me.

Me too.

Chain cleaner: KMC missing link, remove chain, plastic jar + white sprit, shake well, refit, lube. Done.

Bike cleaner: Fairy liquid.

ugo.santalucia

Simon Masterson wrote:

I really like Green Oil products - been using them exclusively for chain lube, grease, degreaser and bike wash for the past 2-3 years. The degreaser doesn't compete with paraffin, but it's great for regular chain cleaning.

As long as you are happy to pay for someone to bottle a put a sticker on rapeseed oil... I would assume he applies the same metrics for the rest of the range, gets a generic anionic tensioactive and sticks it in a bottle with water and a label.
The all market for this stuff is based on people rebranding existing products developed by Henkel and the likes with a huge markup.
Let's put it this way: if you bought an expensive branded frame only to find out it's made in a generic mould in a factory in the far east, where they also make the same thing but sell it for 1/3rd of the price with no stickers on, you'd be gutted, wouldn't you?

Ops... :shock:

gimpl

lostboysaint wrote:

Gimpl wrote:

stoveman wrote:

Back in my 4x4 off roading days,had a mate who insisted that his wife had the latest dishwasher model with biggest capacity.
So he diligently measured each one in the showroom till he was satisfied he had the biggest.First day she was out he used it to strip the head of his Defender engine and clean it all up prior to a rebuild!

Really ? The dishwasher stripped the head of his Defender engine - I'm impressed. What model was it ?

It's a Landrover, it could have been any one of them!

What model of dishwasher - I'm aware what a Defender is.

Daz555

Imposter wrote:

Baby wipes just move the dirt from one place to another.

As a father of two I beg to differ.