Bicycle Mechanics - Cleaning sticky/dirty hoods

Is there a solution to sticky Shimano hoods. I clean them but they remain sticky. I used to know a trick but it has left my brain and I cannot remember. Thanks if you can reboot my brain.

The non abrasive version of Go-Jo worked so well in the foam bar tape that I'd suggest trying it on the hoods.

Also if these are really, really old hoods then they may have just been exposed to too much UV from the sun, soaps and skin oils and the rubber has perished. Natural rubber in particular can turn into one really terrible gooey mess under such conditions.

If they remain sticky after a thorough soap and water cleaning, the rubber has probably deteriorated and the hoods will have to be replaced. A dusting of talc should mask the sticky feeling and may let you use them for a bit longer.

You can replace them pretty cheaply. A friend of mine had deteriorating brake hoods on her old road bike. She had Shimano aero levers (not STI) and I replaced them with "105SC/RX100 Black Aero Brake Hoods" ordered from Niagara Cycle for $9.10. She has been riding it for a couple of weeks now and said the new hoods plus new cork tape are much more comfortable, and she no longer has flakes of deteriorating rubber coming off on her hands.

To clean I used some Mr Clean stuff and it worked pretty good. For the sticky part, I tried Lemon Pledge on mine, let it soak for a few minutes, and it seemed to make them more shiny and less sticky...