Can bike degreaser ever be environmentally friendly?

Eco-friendly cleaning products are worth buying but how you use them also counts

Rewind 30-odd years and I remember asking my cycling peers how best to rid my chain of the black gunk that seemed to encase it, my frame and if you’d asked my mother, pretty much all my cycling kit. Without hesitation, each replied either petrol or white spirit. So for a long time I used to keep a jar of white spirit in the shed for the sole purpose of dunking my chain in once a week. It certainly was effective but even then I knew it wasn’t good for the environment.

Leap forward to today and cyclists are a much better informed group. The environmental impact of our passion is something most of us are aware of and (hopefully) do as much as possible to mitigate any untoward damage. Making informed choices in the products we use and the way we clean our bikes is one of the most obvious areas we can make a difference.

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James Bracey

James Bracey's career has seen him move from geography teacher, to MBR writer, to Cycling Weekly's senior tech writer and video presenter. He possesses an in-depth knowledge of bicycle mechanics, as well as bike fit and coaching qualifications. Bracey enjoys all manner of cycling, from road to gravel and mountain biking.