How to choose your bike degreasers and cleaners?

Every self-respecting cyclist takes care of his equipment and regularly cleans his bike (road, gravel, mountain bike...). Degreasing, cleaning, rinsing, drying, lubricating... This routine often comes up if you ride intensively, especially if you don't hesitate to get out in the rain and mud.

Riding a clean bike is always very motivating! Beyond the aesthetic aspect, cleaning your bike helps to maintain its components. Your attention should be focused on mechanical parts, which easily attract dirt. Remember that a chain regularly cleaned extends the life of the entire transmission.

To make things easier for you, here are a few tips for choosing the right degreaser and bike cleaner.

OUR RANGE OF DEGREASERS AND BIKE CLEANERS

Cleaning begins with degreasing to remove any grease that has built up on the drivetrain components. If they are particularly dirty, the disc brakes can also be degreased. Once the last greasy residues have been removed from these strategic parts, the cleaning product is applied to the entire bike.

There are a wide variety of products available to effectively degrease and clean your bike. Bicycle degreasers clean heavily soiled mechanical parts (chain, cassette, rollers, chainrings, brake calipers). Bicycle cleaners are more versatile products, designed for the cleaning ofmaintenance general bicycle maintenance. 2-in-1 cleaning and degreasing products are also available, including wipes.

Main selection criteria :

Application: general or specific bicycle maintenance (chain/transmission, electronic transmission, disc brakes, rims (preventive fluid and glue), etc.) ;

Packaging: aerosol, spray, refill can (ready-to-use or concentrated solution), jar/box of wipes;

Capacity: 200 ml to 5 L;

Formula: classic solution or eco-friendly, biodegradable plant-based solution.

BICYCLE DEGREASERS

Bicycle degreasers are used to remove the grease and grime that accumulate on ride after ride. This dirt easily builds up on chains, sprockets and rollers, causing premature component wear.

Which degreaser for my bike?

A bike degreaser is a cleaning product that every cyclist should have in their workshop. A powerful solution, with a special chain or transmission formula, is essential to care for the parts most exposed to dirt and wear. Degreasing should be carried out as regularly as possible.

Specific degreasers are not suitable for bike maintenance other than on mechanical parts (transmission, brakes). It should be applied with care, avoiding bearing areas.

For the rest of the bike/mountain bike, a multi-purpose product such as "Bike Cleaner" is sufficient to remove surface grease residues, especially from chainstays, spokes, under the fork head, behind the bottom bracket, etc.

Which degreaser for my transmission?

Regardless of the type of riding you do, transmission components inevitably attract dirt. Old lubricant, oil, dust, grime... Bicycle degreasers remove the dirt usually found on the surface of sprockets, rollers, chain links and chainrings. Once again, to degrease a transmission properly, you need a powerful product specially formulated for these mechanical parts.

Brands use different names to describe their products:

• Bike Degreaser;
• Drivetrain Degreaser or Drivetrain Cleaner;
• Chain Cleaner.

Special degreasers are available to take the utmost care of electronic transmissions.

Some concentrated cleaners (to be diluted with water) are also used in their pure state to degrease the transmission.

An increasing number of bicycle degreasers use biodegradable, environmentally-friendly formulas. Some are of plant origin and are extremely effective!

Which degreaser for brakes?

Disc brakes are safety components that need to be cleaned regularly to maintain constant performance. A special disc brake degreaser ("Disc-Brake Cleaner") is useful for removing brake pad dust, which can interfere with piston action and cause squeaking under braking. Disc-Brake Cleaner is safely applied to the disc to remove surface residues.

Disc brake degreasers are specially formulated to act and dry very quickly.

Bicycle degreaser packaging

Aerosol cans are the most common form of packaging for Bike Degreaser. It's ideally equipped with a nozzle and precision hose, enabling the product to be carefully applied to all transmission parts, without touching the bearings. The classic spray makes it easy to target the cassette, chainrings and chain.

Bicycle degreaser in liquid solution (bottle or can) is used with suitable tools. You can apply the product with a brush to the chain and cassette. The degreasing solution can also be poured into a chain cleaner, a device that scrubs the links thoroughly, simply by turning the cranks backwards.

Bicycle degreaser capacities

Depending on your budget and how much you ride, your degreaser needs will vary. For regular cyclists, a standard 500 ml aerosol can will keep you going for several weeks. For more occasional cyclists, a 200-400 ml can is more than sufficient for the season.

BICYCLE CLEANERS

Visit bike cleaners are used to remove dirt from the surface of frames, wheels, tires and peripherals. (saddle, seatpost, cockpit). They attack mud, dried earth, sand, oil and grease residues, and traces left by wet road spray, sweat or your energy drink.

Which cleaner for my bike?

All brands use foaming liquid solutions that can normally be applied to any material (metal, carbon, plastic). Make sure the product you choose respects your material, especially anodized aluminum, matte paint... All bicycle soaps can be used on transmissions, suspensions, calipers and brake discs.

If you have several bikes to clean on a regular basis, it's a good idea to opt for an easily refillable cleaner.

To help you choose the right bike cleaner, consider the environmental criteria. More and more brands are making the effort to offer biodegradable products. With these eco-friendly solutions, there's no risk in cleaning your bike outdoors.

Which cleaner for my bike frame?

Frame cleaning must be carried out in such a way as to ensure a flawless, aesthetic finish. To make the task easier, you can use a bike cleaner that leaves a shiny finish on the surface. Alternatively, you can use a bike polish to finalize the cleaning and give the frame an attractive finish.

If your bike isn't too exposed to dirt and you like to take good care of it after each ride, a cleaning wipe is an interesting solution. Used in conjunction with a microfiber cloth, they offer an immediate, clean and highly motivating result.

For electrically-assisted bikes and mountain bikes, there are effective dry cleaners that use less water.

Which brake cleaner?

If your brakes aren't too dirty, you can make do with a general bicycle cleaner.

Disc brake cleaners allow you to insist on cleaning particularly dirty calipers and discs. Their degreasing power is superior to that of conventional cleaners. They remove brake pad residues, brake oil, grime...

Which transmission cleaner?

For thorough cleaning of chain, sprockets, chainrings and rear derailleur pulleys, regular use of a specific degreaser is essential.

If the condition of your drivetrain remains satisfactory, you can perform a quick cleaning with a standard "Bike Cleaner" or degreasing wipes. These are only occasional solutions. They do not replace regular, thorough cleaning with a product such as Drivetrain Cleaner.

Which cleaner for forks and shock absorbers?

For suspensions, we prefer an aerosol cleaner for more precise use. This will enable you to clean your equipment effectively, removing all dirt. What's more, make sure it dries quickly for residue-free results.

Bicycle cleaner packaging

Spray packaging is particularly practical and effective for cleaning your machine. The spray makes it easy to dose your product, targeting all parts of the bike. It ensures that even the most inaccessible areas, such as wheel arches, behind the gearbox and under the fork head, are treated.

Some brands offer easily refillable cleaners, with cans of ready-to-use or concentrated solution. Refills in bottles or cans are very economical. Concentrated refills have the dual advantage of being usable as both a degreaser (pure) and a cleaner (diluted solution). They also make it possible to combat the overproduction of packaging.

Last but not least, cleaning wipes are a very practical solution. They're ideal for quick maintenance between outings. The microfiber cloth is applied after the action of the wipes. It leaves a layer of protection and shine for an impeccable finish.

Bicycle cleaner capacities

Depending on your budget, your riding style and the roads or trails you ride, you need to adapt the capacity of your cleaning product. For occasional cyclists, a capacity of less than 500 ml seems to be a good start. For regular cyclists, you can go up to 1 liter to be equipped for several weeks.

For more in-depth, high-quality maintenance, it's advisable to use a specific product for each stage of cleaning. Today, complete cleaning kits are available, providing all the products you need to maintain your bike.