Has anyone tried the brand name "Zep" for a degreaser? If so, do you recommend? If not, what do you suggest?

Thanks

I am pretty sure we use "Zep" if they sell Big Orange degreaser. If so, it works good, strong stuff.
-jk

I used zep soap to wash my truck (when I was a truck driver). It was very strong. It was great for getting the road grime off but if you didn't wear gloves it would wreck your hands and even start to eat through the rubber on the tires if you didn't rinse it fast enough. I'm sure if they make a degreaser it will do the job, but it might be too strong. I read on here somewhere that you don't want to get the oil and grease out so much that the pins in your chain are dry.

dont use the zep big orange on plastic or rubber parts as it will eat them. We use zep degreasers in our solvent tank at the shop and it works pretty well. I do have cans of big orange for the nastier stuff as it melts the old grease away but will also melt the plastic away if not rinsed off in a timely fasion.

Zep's got a huge catalog of solvents, lubes, hand cleaners, etc. A PN would help out a lot.

Thanks for the replies. At a closer look, the bottle says not to get continous contact with paint or plastic. It is the "Industrial" Degreaser....purple in colour. Maybe this is too strong? I heard "Simple Green" works well.

IMO Simple Green sucks for bike work. Apparently people are convinced to accept lousy performance because it's "ecologically correct". I use petrochemicals.

IMO zep products are supposed to be used in industrial applications and that's it. I think you'll do more harm than good if you use it on you bike.

Well I bought some degreaser from MEC (Mountain Equipment Coop). It's MEC's brand called "MEC Bio-Cycle." I'm sure it's probably the same thing as Simple Green or equivalent.

Anyways, it works great. I had a ton of grease and grime build up on my chain, cassette, and rear derailleur. Never had a problem taking off any of the grease. Worked like a charm. And yes, it is bio-degradable so the environmentally friendly stuff does work.

It's also cheap. $13 CAD for a 4 litre jug.