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I have always used degreaser however my mate has always used petrol. Riding on sat both bikes got pitted in mud so now is a good a time as any to see which is better?
Neither. Use diesel.
Seriously, diesel shifts anything and isn't as hazardous as petrol.
Stinks though and both diesel and petrol are oils it doesn`t really clean off the oil 100% imo.
But a 5litre engine degreaser from a motor factors, Got my comma one a while ago, perfect.
Water is best for mud. Or let it dry and brush it off.
Another good alternative is White Spirit. Chain comes up a treat after a couple of spins in a Chain Scrubber. Can be re-used and cheap too.
You caked your bike in mud on Saturday and still haven't washed it by Wednesday night?
As three fish says, water is best for mud. Solvents on mud doesn't make sense.
Paraffin. Cheap, and a 4 litre bottle will last you literally years. You can reuse it by letting the mud settle and tipping it off into a second container so waste is low... Perfect.
Stinks though and both diesel and petrol are oils it doesn`t really clean off the oil 100% imo.
I knew someone would say that! 😉
No worse smell than GT 85 and you don't actually want to remove all the oil from the pivots, bearings and chain do you? I only use it on my drivetrain when it's really filthy. Soap and water everwhere else. 🙂
IMO as a chemist I wouldn't use either diesel or petrol. Petrol contains chemicals which are know to cause cancer. Diesel is safer.
Petrol is pretty much (in terms of the major ingredient) white spirits with additives in. Diesel Parafin (with additives). There is more to it than that but I'd go with either parafin or diesel over car fuels.
White spirits will evapourate more easily, parafin doesn't. On the plus side parafin is harder to set fire to.
My preference is a degreaser like fairy (in the absence of a reliable supply of pure surfactants) but otherwise white spirits.
what about Jizer??
have some in the garage and I am thinking of using that as it brings car parts up a treat
i've used jizer for years without any issues.
cheap and nasty baby wipes, incredible, my chain sparkles...
Who said GT85 smells nasty? It's awesome.
You caked your bike in mud on Saturday and still haven't washed it by Wednesday night?
I can leave it a lot longer than that, just knock the shit off the chain and lube it.
Use both petrol and white spirit, dependingon comes most readily to hand, both are very good.
As a 'proper' degeaser I find Green Gunk to be excellent.
Firstly. Fairy contains salt so don't let that crap get near your bike. Secondly. As a few of said, let it dry and brush it off. Or if your going to use something use a specific cleaner Fenwicks is great. (What I use) FS-1 will make 11LTR's of cleaner so it's cost effective.
But deisel o the chain is idea. Keeps the oils on the chain links. Let it dry completely. THEN, add lube of choice.
The iPhone keyboard sucks. Sorry for the mistakes.
Oh and just quickly to go back to the OP- don't bother cleaning your cassette unless it's got a bad case of Evil Black Ooze. Otherwise, just clean chain. The jury's out on whether or not it's actually a good idea to deep clean a chain, people say it chases out the grease from the pivots and lubing doesn't fix that.
Personally my own experience is that this is utter toss, chains last longer when cleaned regularily and completely then relubed in my experience, no question at all. But, ymmv.
I use GUNK on my cassette, and a wee paintbrush. Chain gets a white spirit soaked rag.
I once used white spirit to soak a screw on cassette overnight, and when I refitted it, it started crunching after a couple of weeks. In hindsight I'd probably washed all traces of grease out the bearing.
I use den jizer on the drive. Have done for years. It's cheap advert effective. Rest of the bike get fairy liquid. I know it contains salts but I do rinse it after!
i've always used boiling hot fairy liquid and water, never had any problems
I have used disel for years. I have tried petrol and parafin but not as good.
If your bikes realy bad a quick spray with a hose and then paint brush the diesel on to the drivetrain and mech's, leave for a couple of minutes and wash the bike down with sponge and car shampoo (not fairy liquid)
The diesel brings all the drivetrain up looking like new, but leaves a very thin film of oil covering the parts, which is good if your lazy too as the chain will not rust. The oil that is left behind doesnt attract trail dust either.
Better than using degreasers IMO as they strip out any oil that is lubricating in pivots etc.
Who said GT85 smells nasty? It's awesome.
Nobody. Are you addicted? 😉
Fairy contains salt so don't let that crap get near your bike
Someone ALWAYS come out with that old drivel! 🙂
So what if it does have salt in it? You're gonna rinse it off anyway, aren't you? And is it worse than caked on mud and/or road grime grinding your bike to pieces? No. It's not. I've been using washing up liquid on cycles and motorcycles for 20+ years and I'll tell you now, it's not a problem. (Muc-Off, however, has taken logos off my tyres before now and I've heard of it dulling paintwork and stripping anodising too. It's actually pretty nasty stuff)
It's not WHAT you clean your bike with that matters - It's THAT you clean it which counts! 😉
Napalm - BOOM.... And the dirt is gone!! Lol 🙂
seriously though guys - where are all these chemicals
ending up??
There are plenty of biodegradable products out there that.... Ok ate not
the best at cleaning, but are getting better all the time!!
Halfords citus degreaser works well
However I prefer prevention - the putoline chain wax I use does not hold dirt - and you don't clean the chains before use as the molten wax does that. So every couple of hundred miles the chain comes off and goes in the tim of molten wax - thats all I do and compared to degreasing and using expensive bike lubes my chain life has increased noticably
+1 MUC OFF will kill your bike and steal your children.
and PeterPoddy is right, it's that you actually clean it, if you keep your chain clean the Drive train stays relatively good too.
It's all personal preference at the end of the day anyway.
If you're happy doing it one way. Carry on.
Petrol and deisel to clean your bike!!!!
Do you wipe it down with £20 notes afterwards?
£6.30 a gallon.
Plus they stink.
Crap off - water, really crappy- Fenwicks caravan cleaner.
Water it with some car wash, and the odd polish stops the crap sticking.
Chain clean in a plastic bottle with white spirit, shaken.
Bruch and bio-degreaser for the cassette (off the bike)
Stripe - Member
"seriously though guys - where are all these chemicals ending up??"
The tiny amount of paraffin waste I end up with, I use on the barbeque 
Pretty sure it's less environmentally damaging to use a small amount of an effective product than a large amount of a less effective product, cutting waste and consumption.