Originally Posted by BobLoblaw

Simple Green in a spray bottle at full strength, a brush, and gloves for the love of god.

There's no shortcut to cleaning a bike if you want to do good job. I do a three step process in my shop:

1. Dry soft brush to remove clinging dirt

2. Simple Green on the drivetrain and frame where it's greasy or tarry or there's clinging organic (gag) matter

3. Lemon Pledge to shine it all up