Better value alternative to using muc off?

[ambuletz]

I've bought some muc off cleaner probably about 2 years ago. admittedly i don't wash my bike very often. maybe 3-4 times during a year.

however I've noticed that I've almost finished the bottle! I'm sold on the stuff cos it makes washing the bike so much easier.
- rinse bike
- spray mud off
- agitate very dirty areas areas with a brush
- leave for 5 min
- rinse off
- pat dry or allow to dry normally then lube up again.

however I can't help but feel that I'd like something that will stretch further while still doing as good of a job. A quick google suggests many people are happy using fenwick concentrate that can be found on wiggle. I'm quite keen on this idea, i could easily use my muc off bottle for this once it's empty. Some suggest cheap stuff from the pound shop..however i kind of feel this stuff might not be safe and would damage/corrode parts (like in a popular youtube video i've seen).. What are the thoughts of the PH massive?

on a side note if anyone has any thoughts on cheap brushes that'd be great. as I'm using some old (clean) soft-ish paint brushes you buy for a quid. and i'll be damned if I'm going to spend £10 on a 'detailing brush'.

[Blink982]

I have used car shampoo as I didn't see the point in buying something different for a bike. It's probably dearer than MucOff in that respect.

[Craikeybaby]

You can get Muc-Off concentrate. Or you can often get the bottles cheap.

[ambuletz]

Craikeybaby said:

You can get Muc-Off concentrate. Or you can often get the bottles cheap.

i suppose i made the mistake of paying full price for one in halfords.. nonetheless. if there are alterives then i'm all ears. I figure muc-off is so popular it must be charging a premium over others who probably do the same thing.

[griffter]

Fenwick is brilliant and works on all sorts of things. I use it on the underside and the backs of the wheels of my car for example. I also fill an old muc off bottle with it. From what I remember of muc off Fenwick is at least as good. There’s also the advantage that you can use it concentrated if needs be.

[timbo999]

I use the cheapo bike cleaner from Wilco... but then I use a lot more of it than you do.

https://www.wilko.com/wilko-bike-cleaner-spray-1l/...

[The_Jackal]

Poundland do a similar bike cleaner in a very similar bottle.........and it's a pound.

[mikey P 500]

Yes used the pound land one and its just as good as muc off.

[8.4L 154]

I've been using the halfords bikehut extreme bike cleaner. £13 for 5L but then i get a 10% AA discount and then a 10% corporate gift card discount so about £2/L.

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-maintenance/...

I also use a cheapo toilet brush (new) on the cassette and chain ring which works a treat.

[Barchettaman]

Bilt Hamber Surfex at 10:1

[smifffymoto]

Be careful with cheap stuff.Some brands are so aggresive they can fur up alloy.

[Fetchez la vache]

smifffymoto said:

Be careful with cheap stuff.Some brands are so aggresive they can fur up alloy.

Funnily enough the guy from Fenwicks at the free bike wash after battle on the beach a few years back said the same about Muc-Off, and that Fenwicks was much less harsh...

[SoliD]

I usually use FS1 from fenwicks concentrate.

[P-Jay]

I’m impressed the OP would go to such lengths to chip away at a £3.50 a year expense.

Most bike cleaners are based on ‘TFR’ (Traffic Film Remover) but they’re NOT just diluted TFR in a spray bottle as someone will no doubt claim.

I’ve used cheaper cleaners in the past, they don’t half shift mud and dirt, but they also dull paint and really do a number on anodised aluminium.

Personally I stick to MucOff, Fenwicks and Hope Shifter. The Guy Martin stuff is meant to be good, just remember to dilute it in 750ml and not a litre as most bottles are.

You can make it cheaper either buying concentrates or buying in bulk, but a bottle every 2 years? Who cares.

I spend thousands on my bikes, I don’t want to dull them or worse to save a few pennies cleaning them.

[P-Jay]

Oh Halfords sell a small alloy wheel brush that’s perfect for getting into tight linkages and on hubs etc. I use a harder brush for the cassette.

[henrycrun]

As it's pistonheads - just clean with WD40

[keith2.2]

I use Meguiars Gold Class and poorboys wax...if it was good enough for the TVR, it's good enough for tbe bianchi

[opieoilman]

If you can get hold of Power Maxed Bike Wash Concentrate, it's spot on. I think it was about £14-15 for a 5L can a couple of months ago, but I can't see it for sale now. I think it says the 5L can will make 100L, it's at home in the shed, so can't check right now. I've tried a few others, including Muc Off, and this one leaves the paint looking the best. One or two I tried affected the discs/pads and made them a bit noisy, no problems with that one.

One that was mentioned earlier was the Poundshop one. I tried that, thinking it was going to be basically the same as Muc-off. Yeah, that was a bit optimistic. It cleaned okay, but left what looked like an oily residue that was pretty obvious on the black paint (stem and handlebars). I thought I hadn't rinsed it properly, so tried it again and rinsed it well, but still had the oil slick looking marks on the bars.

I also bought a really cheap 12V power washer. Way better than I expected and ideal for a bike as it's not too powerful, but better than a hose.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Pressure-Washer-Pow...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7OEkHuh3TU

Combine that with a couple of 5L cans (one with bike cleaner and water, the other just water) and it's a very convenient way to wash off my bike after a muddy ride. I had put my bike away wet and the mud had dried onto it, but five minutes with the washer and the cleaner and it was like new.

Edited by opieoilman on Friday 29th March 14:10

[TwigtheWonderkid]

The_Jackal said:

Poundland do a similar bike cleaner in a very similar bottle.........and it's a pound.

I use that, No More DIRTY BIKE it's called, one litre of pink fluid in a spray bottle....for a pound. Pre wet the bike, spray on the cleaner, leave for 5 mins, hose off. Just brilliant stuff. I reckon a litre bottle is easily good for 25 washes, so 4p a pop. I could probably get double that if I really tried but fk it, you only live once so spend spend spend

[Mazinbrum]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

The_Jackal said:

Poundland do a similar bike cleaner in a very similar bottle.........and it's a pound.

I use that, No More DIRTY BIKE it's called, one litre of pink fluid in a spray bottle....for a pound. Pre wet the bike, spray on the cleaner, leave for 5 mins, hose off. Just brilliant stuff. I reckon a litre bottle is easily good for 25 washes, so 4p a pop. I could probably get double that if I really tried but fk it, you only live once so spend spend spend

Sounds perfect for the OP as he was spending a fortune on Muc Off - a bottle only lasted him 2 years. A pound every 5 years is much more reasonable.