Like many people, I use isopropyl to clean the brake pads and braking surfaces. Sometimes I also wipe dirty spots on the frame with it. It works well and evaporates quickly. So I started wondering recently if it would be a bad thing to use it to wipe down the chain? So I did some quick searching, and I found an article that actually recommends this.

So my question to the mechanics is whether this is actually a good idea or not. Specifically, I wonder whether it is a good idea at all to wipe down just the outside of the chain with rubbing alcohol, and further, would it be bad to just drip it from the bottle directly onto the rollers. Could this have any negative effects?

For the sake of clarity, I'm not specifically asking whether it is an effective degreaser per se. Although I'm not actually sure whether it technically qualifies as one or not. Nor am I asking whether it can take the place of one. I'm merely asking whether the practice itself would be safe for the drivetrain.