citrus degreaser

"Katharine & Paul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello all!!

Just a quick question.

Can the citrus degreaser as sold in hardware shops be
safely used on

bikes?

Quoted message said:

I'm just wondering if it is any different to the very
expensive Finish

Line

Quoted message said:

citrus degreaser sold in bike shops

Paul

You have to be careful not to get any degreaser on plastics.
Doesnt matter where you bought it. Apart from that I see no
problem using degreasers from a hardware shop.

Pete

"Katharine & Paul" <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Can the citrus degreaser as sold in hardware shops be
safely used on bikes?

Yes, but make sure you thoroughly rinse it off with clean
water. If not washed off, citrus degreasers can cause
corrosion, especially to aluminum. They can also cause
premature wear to moving parts like chains or bearings.

I've been using Simple Green which is a citrus based degreaser for the last few years with no problems. (get by the gallon at Home Depot).

Katharine & Paul said:

Can the citrus degreaser as sold in hardware shops be
safely used on bikes?

I'm just wondering if it is any different to the very
expensive Finish Line citrus degreaser sold in bike shops

The citrus degreasers I've bought from Home Depot and
their ilk are a diluted version of what I've seen from the
bike shops.

In my experience, Gunk Engine Brite (an emulsifying
degreaser) does a superior job. Auto parts stores sometimes
carry, and will usually order, Engine Brite in 1 quart
bottles (part #EB-2A).

Try it. It's relatively cheap and highly effective.

Cipher said:

I've been using Simple Green which is a citrus based
degreaser for the last few years with no problems.

I don't think that's correct. AFAIK, Simple Green contains
no d-limonene. Yep, I was right. From the Simple Green FAQ:

"Citrus - Does Simple Green contain any citrus products?
There are no citrus products in Simple Green products. For
more information, please see "Citrus extracts."
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA bike.terrymorse.combike.terrymorse.comOpen ↗

"Terry Morse" wrote ...

Quoted message said:

"Citrus - Does Simple Green contain any citrus products?
There are no citrus products in Simple Green products. For
more information, please see "Citrus extracts."

Simple Green is great and can be diluted into varying
strengths to cover everything from cleaning your chain to
(briefly) soaking components to a
1:10 or so solution for cleaning the bike after a ride
(although I also use windshield washer fluid for that
too). Just don't over-soak things. I once soaked my Campy
brakes in Simple Green for two weeks and pulled them out,
scot-free of any finish at all. As soon as I find a pair
of leftover ergo shifters I'll replace the front brake on
my fixey with my flat grey Campy brakes.

On Sat, 13 Mar 2004 00:34:52 GMT, "Katharine & Paul"

may have said:

Hello all!!

Just a quick question.

Can the citrus degreaser as sold in hardware shops be
safely used on bikes?

I'm just wondering if it is any different to the very
expensive Finish Line citrus degreaser sold in bike shops

In my opinion, the only way to be sure is to test it on
a bit of your paintwork that you don't mind risking. The
chances are good that it will not cause a problem in
most areas.

If you have an SRAM chain, I'd advise against using it on
that part because it will strip the factory-installed
Gleitmo lubricant from inside the links. (The same caution
applies to solvents, and other harsh detergents and
degreasing agents.)

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Quoted message said:

In my opinion, the only way to be sure is to test it on
a bit of your paintwork that you don't mind risking. The
chances are good that it will not cause a problem in
most areas.

If you have an SRAM chain, I'd advise against using it on
that part because it will strip the factory-installed
Gleitmo lubricant from inside the links. (The same caution
applies to solvents, and other harsh detergents and
degreasing agents.)

So how do you clean SRAM chains, I have been doing mine in
petrol and have not noticed any problems but ....

TIA

Jack Russell

On Sat, 13 Mar 2004 16:25:32 +1100, Jack Russell

may have said:

Quoted message said:

If you have an SRAM chain, I'd advise against using it on
that part because it will strip the factory-installed
Gleitmo lubricant from inside the links. (The same caution
applies to solvents, and other harsh detergents and
degreasing agents.)

So how do you clean SRAM chains, I have been doing mine in
petrol and have not noticed any problems but ....

Several months back, one of the regulars on
rec.bicycles.tech did a running test comparison of cleaning
regimens for chains, and the rather surprising result seemed
to indicate that solvent cleaning of an SRAM chain was a bad
idea. SRAM advises just using a brush to get the external
crud off, and then applying oil. They use a rather costly
and apparently quite persistent lubricant during assembly,
and they advise against the use of degrasing cleaners on
their chain. Given the results of the (admittedly not
extensive) test that was run, it appears that the Gleitmo
lube is best left in place; the chain from which it was
stripped wore *faster* than the one that was just lubed as
per their instructions. I concluded that they really aren't
kidding when they say to just brush it and re-lube. Once the
Gleitmo has been removed, though, there is no longer any
reason not to use solvent cleaning methods for subsequent
maintenance.

I checked on the price of the Gleitmo lube. It runs about
$24 for a 400 ml can. That's comparable to the costliest
boutique chain lubes, and would probably be worth it if it
was not for the fact that it has to be bought by the
case...of 12 cans.

Until that surprising test, I'd been solvent-washing all of
my chains. I still do, for the ones that either are not SRAM
or which have already been stripped by a prior degreasing or
solvent cleaning...but I've decided that any new SRAMS I
install going forward will be cleaned as per the SRAM spec.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

In my experience the best citrus degreaser product is made
by Zep. It is called Orange Response. You cannot buy it
retail as far as I know. It is worth your time to find
someone with a business who can buy it for you. This stuff
is extremely fast and does not hurt aluminum. Limit your
contact time to 2 minutes or less and things will be fine...

Do not buy the citrus degreasers from Home Depot or Lowes
under ANY conditions. They contain a chemical similar to 409
or Fantastic. They will disrupt the finish on many cranks
and anodized bike frames. We just had an incident at NORBA
nationals this weekend while demonstrating our new chain
lube product.

Learn from this:

We brought enough Orange Response to clean a bunch of bikes.
Lots of the other wrenches saw how well our stuff worked and
came by with their team bikes. By the time Thursday, Friday
and Saturday were over, we had gone through all 2 gallons of
our Orange Response. Some of the mechanics walked off with a
few of the quarts too. I personally cleaned and lubed 250
bikes in 4 days.

On Sunday morning someone did us a favor and re-filled one
of our dispensing bottles with a retail citrus formulation.
The first bike we worked on was anodized. It ate off the
finish on the cranks and the frame parts that it touched. I
have never seen anything kill a finish that fast. We agreed
to have the bike refinished and take care of the other
problems for the rider (ouch!). By sheer luck and dumb
coincidence, we happen to sponsor the manufacturer's team
with our lube product. They agreed to help us out with the
frame restoring.

If you want to see how to clean a bike very quickly see our
bike cleaning page at:
purpleextreme.comcleaning.htmlOpen ↗

Although we do not mention the product directly, Orange
Response from Zep is the degreaser we use most often.

Bruce

"Terry Morse" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:tmorse-
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Cipher said:

I've been using Simple Green which is a citrus based
degreaser for the last few years with no problems.

I don't think that's correct. AFAIK, Simple Green
contains no d-limonene. Yep, I was right. From the Simple
Green FAQ:

"Citrus - Does Simple Green contain any citrus products?
There are no citrus products in Simple Green products. For
more information, please see "Citrus extracts."
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA bike.terrymorse.combike.terrymorse.comOpen ↗