Grease and degreaser

[Tsundere]

About to embark on my first complete overhaul of a bike, so I guess I'll be needing some degreaser for the chain and gears etc as well as for the bearings and other greasy bits. I'll also need grease to reapply to the bearings, seat post, stem and various threaded bolts.

Are all degreasers born equal? Can I use the same stuff for cleaning bearings, cogs, seat posts and chains?
And which grease is best for bearings, threads and seat posts?

I'm also wondering about things like the brake and gear lever interiors, would they benefit from a degreasing? And what lubricant is best for those parts?

Any other grease related tips and/or advice would be appreciated.

 

[2manyoranges]

This is a hornet’s nest of different approaches...but in the degreasing box I have

- MucOff pink all purpose cleaner
- Finish Line citrus cleaner
- GT85
- WD40

When something is gritty - ie the grease has collected grit, then I start with MucOff and rinse with hot water, then expel the water with a hair dryer and WD40 - WD40 specifically expels moisture. This includes bearings - eg enduro bearings when I have popped the seals and am flushing them out prior to refilling and resetting seals.

But any degreaser has to be completely removed from the system before regreasing, or it will dilute the grease.

Chains - remove chain, lots of MucOff, lots of rinsing, put in a jar with more MucOff and shake shake it off (Taylor Swift is a closet XC racer) and then dry completely, wiggle more to get all grit out, then re-mount and spray with MucOff chain spray - see below.

For other parts of the bike, if things are not gritty, a quick wipe over with a rag wetted with citrus degreaser to clean, then regrease.

Regreasing: for me, essentially:

Chains - spray on MucOff WET motorcycle chain lube. Brilliant stuff.
Bearings - FinishLine synthetic waterproof
Everything else - cheap red synthetic grease
Assembly - red grease, copper anti seize, nickel anti seize depending on materials

But others may have different, and better, routines.....

 

[Tsundere]

This is a hornet’s nest of different approaches...but in the degreasing box I have

Thank you, very helpful

 

[mk one]

Dont oil my bike chain, i dry run them, but if i need to de-grease anything i just use WD now, de-greases and cleans all in one. When i did use bike de-greasers it was always Fenwicks FS1, the best.

For grease i use Silkolene Pro RG2, some of the best and no silly bicycle specific tax added

 

[Tsundere]

no silly bicycle specific tax added

Nice to know

 

[captaincowelly]

Comma Hyperclean is a good degreaser.Used it for years,around £20-£25 for 5L.Find it in local motor factors etc.Will make latex go soggy so use with nitrile gloves.Has a corrosion inhibitor too.
For cables,a bit of grease on the inners helps.
Shimano gear shift mechanisms (rapidfire etc) are renowned for sticking after time as the grease hardens so,if you have them,and depending on how far you want to go,it's not a particularly difficult job to remove them and give them a good soak/degrease/regrease.Probably a few threads on here regarding that.
A drop of oil on the brake lever pivots wouldn't hurt but they don't usually have many issues.
As mentioned,everyones got their favourites.I use Morris K2EP grease.Inexpensive,bit thicker than general purpose grease,the only thing I don't use it on is freehubs,It's perhaps a little thick n sticky for those.
And the missus' electric toothbrush is great for using in the degrease bath.

 

[captaincowelly]

Dont oil my bike chain, i dry run them, but if i need to de-grease anything i just use WD now, de-greases and cleans all in one. When i did use bike de-greasers it was always Fenwicks FS1, the best.

For grease i use Silkolene Pro RG2, some of the best and no silly bicycle specific tax added

Interesting.No chain lube?Or do you use dry lube?

 

[FluffyChicken]

Ultrasonic bath, even the sort you get from Aldi Lidl do a grand job.
Warm water and a squeeze of Lidl's finist washing up liquid*.
Can clean up mechs, shifters, pedal, bearing, a batch of cable adjusters, etc with little effort.
(a quick general whipe and brush down to get the worst off, and play around and see what works for you with the bath, some benefit from a WD40 before hand, some some IPA or other spirit (white) in there)

Recently found the joys of used vibrating toothbrushes. Either the replacble head one or the disposable (but you can change the battery in it for bike use). For getting in bits and cleaning the dirt from chainring and crank when on the bike.


*antibac of course, you don't want your parts getting ill.

 

[captaincowelly]

Good option with the ultrasonic there.
"a quick general whipe and brush down to get the worst off, and play around and see what works for you with the bath"
Well that's just a good Saturday night in if you ask me!

 

[Tsundere]

Recently found the joys of used vibrating toothbrushes.

Genius! And I have one spare.