Muc-Off Drivetrain Cleaner: 500ml Pourable/Spray Bottle [Rider Review]

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A clean bike is a happy bike. Muc-Off is right there to help you make sure your bike is clean like it was brand new. Our friend, Patrick, has been trying out the Muc-Off Drivetrain cleaner. See what they think!

Overview

I have a hairless cat that loves to sit on warm places, especially my router, which is under my bike because of how my old, weird apartment is laid out. This is relevant, I promise.

I’d been putting off a good cleaning until one Sunday morning when the cat came out from under my bike with a lot of new muddy black grease patterns. She was nonchalant about it; I was not, because it told me that it was time to clean my drivetrain.

After cleaning the cat (a two-step process: coconut oil + dish detergent), I got started. I last cleaned my bike in the fall (I know, I know) and it was a warm winter here in DC—so I never really had to stop riding and my drivetrain looked like it! Most of my riding is on the road, with a little flat gravel. So my drivetrain had lots of caked-on road grime with a dash of mud for flavor.

People use a lot of products to clean drivetrains at all price points—I know I have. The cheap ones aren’t necessarily wrong, but this being my first bike I’d spent money on, I sprung for the Muc-Off Drivetrain Cleaner in a prior order from Worldwide Cyclery. Muc-Off is described as a “complete drivetrain solution,” which I was skeptical of—most things in life that have been described to me as whole, complete or honest are not. Kind of a Morrissey moment there, sorry.

Anyway, I suspended my disbelief and began cleaning.

This bottle of Muc-Off comes with a squirt nozzle and a pump spray attachment; I started with the latter, spraying it onto a cloth and wiping down my crankset, bottom bracket and shell as I uninstalled them.

Even without rinsing, Muc Off ran through a half-year of grease and sludge like nothing. I scrubbed gently with a brush, but it was hardly necessary. Muc Off, unlike some degreasers, does a really good job of not spreading around the oily sludge that you clean off your drivetrain, which makes more work for you. On the contrary, it’s easy to wipe off in a pass or two. I love that!

On my cassette, three or four sprays of Muc Off and waiting about a minute did what you see here. If you ignore the wear, it looks like my cassette just came out of the box!

Odor-wise, this stuff isn’t bad.

Most of this cleaning session was inside, and I never felt like I was making a huge mistake.

I found it to be fairly easy on my hands—it’s not, like, my girlfriend’s delicate soap with lotion, but it didn’t hurt.

I would caution that it’s probably easy to use too much of this stuff, especially with the squirt nozzle attachment. Just spray it on and let it sit a minute. It’s good stuff, and a little goes a long way. Hose off regular dirt/gunk first, just to be sure you don’t use more of it than you need. Maybe let it sit a little. You’ll be happy.

Final Thoughts

In short: Great purchase! Will clean again, with less apprehension. It’ll be some time before I need to buy another cleaner.