+1, I always consider dish soap as the go to first line cleaner and work up in harshness as the situation warrants/requires especially when trying to preserve whats still there if it is cracked, peeling, lifting or fading.
Simple green, Windex and cleaner wax like Meguiars #2 can be used with care and good results where the finish is in good shape.
Originally Posted by
Barrettscv
Mild dish soap.
I spray a fine mist of plain water on the bike and wait 5 minutes. the water lifts a significant amount of grime. I then take a soft terry cloth and a few drops of dish soap and wipe down the top-tube and seatstays, these are normally much cleaner than the rest of the bike. With a new, clean cloth, I then clean the head-tube, fork and seat-tube. finally I clean the Bottom Bracket Shell and the chainstays, first with one of the dirtied cloth to remove grease and then with a clean cloth. I then repeat the above process, without soap, just plain water.
Do this multiple times during the first season of riding and most of the superficial grime will be gone without any risk of damaging the decals (unless it's a Pinarello).