No Oranges Were Harmed to Make this Degreaser

Pedro's Oranj Peelz Citrus Degreaser

If your preferred form of two-wheeled travel entails sweat, exertion and the occasional sore butt (as

opposed to loud mufflers, gray braids, and Harley-shop tee shirts), you’ve probably learned that one of the keys to keeping your machine at peak performance is keeping the chain in top condition. That means regular attention in the form of cleaning followed by treatment with a suitable lubricant. Whenever my chain feels like it needs some attention, I pull out the work stand and my Park Tool Cyclone Chain Scrubber and get down to business.

Although a small bottle of Park's Citrus ChainBrite came in the kit with the Cyclone, it was empty and the last time I hit my LBS they only had Pedro’s Oranj Peelz Citrus Degreaser in stock. It’s noticeably less expensive than the Park brand, and Pedro’s is a respectable name, so I bit.

The Oranj Peelz does the trick at least as well as the ChainBrite, I will grant you that. I used it first on my work bike, which sees a lot of crudded-up city streets and frequently splashes through puddles – a kind way to say the drive train was in serious need of attention. The Oranj Peelz worked just fine in the scrubber, cutting through the crud like a knife. It’s my practice to run the scrubber once with degreaser and a second time with soap and water, then wash the bike before lubing the chain. Worked just fine, even down to stripping the lube out of the upper jockey pulley so the drivetrain squeaked every time I shifted (a couple drops of Finish Line took care of that). On the “Does it work?” question, Oranj Peelz rates a solid five stars – better than the ChainBrite, in fact.

One of the things I do like about the ChainBrite is that it’s sort of environmentally friendly. The Oranj Peelz, though; not so much. A main ingredient in this formula (according to Pedro’s MSDS) is something called Stoddart solvent, which is better known as mineral spirits. There are some fairly nasty hydrocarbons dissolved in this stuff, along with some chemical (not d-limonene, though – maybe it’s 2-butoxy ethanol?) to give it a fresh, citrusy scent. But don’t let the nice smell fool you…

In other words, wear gloves (latex or nitrile) while you use this stuff – it defats your skin and dries it out, and some of the unpronounceable ingredients are suspected carcinogens. Also wear safety glasses – you do not want it to splash in your eyes. No way you should use this to clean gunk off your hands! All of this raises another concern: how does Mr or Ms average homeowner dispose of used degreaser? Well, I asked Pedro’s and this is what they said: it’s supposed to be disposed of as a hazardous waste, like paint thinner and paints.

They also suggested that, instead of dumping the used degreaser, I decant it into a bottle and let the crud settle to the bottom, after which I can pour off the good stuff and re-use it. Next time I went them one better: I ran it through a coffee filter. It was slow going, but eventually... Overall? An excellent degreaser, but one that must be handled with care and disposed of properly. I like it better than ChainBrite and it costs less, but there’s an added cost to the handling and the disposal. Summary Plus: works well... very well Minus: hazardous waste, should be handled with gloves and glasses What They're Saying: If someone says he cleaned his chain with Pedro's Oranj Peelz, be impressed: if he says he cleaned his hands, be suspicious.

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