I have been told by the local bicycle shop that I should use a citrus degreaser to clean the chain and gears prior to re-lubricating.
Thing is, the citrus degreaser they had was $20 Aus. I can get engine degreaser (“safe for use on painted surfaces”) from an auto shop for $1.50 Aus.
Is using the engine degreaser bad for the bike? If so, why?
Sorry I can’t help with the engine degreaser thing, but I can tell you here is the U.S. we have aproduct called Simple Green. It is a household degreaser and works on everything. It’s all I’ve used on my bikes for years with no ill effects. Maybe you have a similar product there?
Flat…
Yeah, the bike shop degreasers are way overpriced. I don’t know about engine degreasers, but a lot of people use the Simple Green household cleaner. Just make sure you wash the chain throroughly with water afterwards.
The most effective chain cleaner is kerosene. Remove the chain from the bike, put it in a bottle with some kerosene and shake vigorously. It’s far more effective than any degreaser I’ve tried. The only problem is you can’t pour it down the drain afterwards. Take the waste kerosene to a gas station, or leave it in a bottle so the dirt settles down and reuse it the next time.
I used to use kerosene all the time. Lately I’ve gotten lazy and just use Simple Green in a Park Tool Cyclone chain scrubber.
If it’s just the solid metal chain and gears, I might be able to make a suggestion.
I work in a museum, and I often have to clean metal which is encrusted with various kind of axle greases. I often soak the metal part overnight in paint thinner, and then use a toothbrush to scrub the remaining gunk out of the small parts.
Paint thinner is a great solvent, and it’s cheap.
Thanks for the replies. I haven’t heard of Simple Green but I’ll have a look around the grocery store for something similar.
What are the active ingredients in Simple Green?
There’s a mineral sodium carbonate, which is sold as sal soda, washing crystals, or washing soda. Use water to make a paste, apply, let work for an hour or so and rinse. It is great at degreasing.
Auto part stores sell degreasers of all types…great stuff too. Stronger than Simple green.
I guess this isn’t an important bike but just a regular one?
The citrus based cleaners are “environmentally friendly” so will be promoted by environmentally friendly bike shops and bike magazines. I agree with scr4 that kerosene (maybe known as parafin in Australia as it is in Britain) is cheap and effective, but will pollute ground water if not disposed of correctly. The citrus based stuff can be safely poured down the drain.
I think Simple Green is a citrus degreaser. It’s water soluble and the active ingredient is 2- butoxyethanol. Over here it’s sold in hardware stores.
I don’t think there is any danger using an automotive degreaser. The chain is metal so it’s not going to dissolve right away. The only danger is that it stays on the chain and cause corrosion over a long term or interfere with the action of the lubricant. These effects can be prevented by thoroughly washing the chain with water. (Assuming it’s a water soluble degreaser.)
Besides, it’s not a big deal if you mess up the chain. It’s a cheap component and easy to replace.
yeah, you’re not going to damage the bike using automotive degreasers. You will, however, damage the rest of the planet if you pour them down the drain 
See, most people who do their own bike work don’t generate enough dirty solvents to have established a way to deal with them safely, so it’s worth buying the less toxic ones at a premium. If you have some way of dealing with the toxic gunk, then go for it.
A few places I’ve seen a dealy that looks like a large gas can on its side with a molded tub on top. It has a small hand-pump-hose on one side. So you dump your dirty solvents through a drain hole into the can, then the dirt settles out, and next time you clean the bike you can pump almost-clean solvent back up into the tub…
Na, it’s just the one Lance Armstrong used to win the Tour de France a while back
The auto degreaser I have says it’s good for driveways, that doesn’t really gell with it being environmentally unfriendly. Or maybe they’re a bit backward like that here.
Oven cleaner will do wonders. I have cleaned several engine blocks with it.