Pedro’s currently offers three degreasers: Oranj Peelz, Degreaser 13, and Pig Juice. All three are generally interchangeable and intended for degreasing tasks, such as degreasing chains, drivetrain parts, bearings, or other parts where grease or oil needs to be removed. As a side note, the ability to remove oil and grease effectively is the difference between a degreaser and and bike wash (Green Fizz). Green Fizz effectively removes dirt, grime, mud, etc but won’t remove oil or grease which allows it to be safely used all over the bike.

Pedro’s Degreasers – Overview
Since the beginning, Pedro’s degreasing technology has been ahead of the curve for safety, environment and most importantly performance. Oranj Peelz, first offered in 1994, contains less than 30% solvent content; far less than our competitors even today who often rely on solvent content as high as 75-95% in their “citrus” degreasers (only 0.1-1% actual citrus solvent in a competitor’s citrus degreaser). Aside from user safety and environmental issues, these high solvent degreasers leave residue on the drivetrain after use and require more cleaning. Oranj Peelz’s unique solvent/surfactant formula leaves parts residue-free and is more effective removing the wide array of contaminants found on bike drivetrains when compared to these high solvent degreasers. Additionally, the high-solvent degreasers are more prone to damaging plastic parts, paint, and recently the advanced chain coatings found on high end chains. Shimano and Campagnolo even went so far as condemning use of all “citrus” degreasers on these chains. Though we disagreed with these suggestions based on Oranj Peelz’s lower solvent content, we were glad to have already started on our next generation chemistry. Oranj Peelz’s secret sauce has always been its non-solvent ingredients and further developing this chemistry technology resulted in our first fully solvent-free degreaser chemistry used in Pig Juice and Degreaser 13. We’re proud to say, they are the best degreasers we’ve ever used, and can be safely used on any material. All the advantages of Oranj Peelz carried through to our new degreasers, and performance is even better, without any of the negatives of solvents. In all side by side tests we completed, we found Degreaser 13 to outperform or match Oranj Peelz. Pig Juice has less raw power than Degreaser 13 and Oranj Peelz but is still impressively effective and is not far behind in most uses. The other significant difference of Degreaser 13 compared to Oranj Peelz or Pig Juice is the high viscosity. Degreaser 13 can be very efficiently applied with almost no dripping/waste and the concentrated power allows less to be used.

Degreaser 13 vs Pig Juice
Degreaser 13 and Pig Juice share a similar solvent-free base chemistry but differ in power, viscosity, and price. Both are biodegradable, non-hazardous, non-flammable, zero V.O.C., plant-based, and safe to use on any material. The chemistry technology behind both is engineered to fight its way to metal surfaces, then attack and break free the bonds holding oils, soils, and grime in place, and finally dissolve and contain to carry it all away. Both are designed to work in conjunction with water which acts as the “solvent”.

Degreaser 13 is more powerful and concentrated with a higher viscosity and price point. The extra power tackles the toughest degreasing jobs and the concentrated formula is perfect for the mechanic that likes to play with dilution to match the job at hand. Used straight from the bottle, the high viscosity is perfect for applying to drivetrain components because it doesn’t drip off and is very efficient. It is further activated by water and also requires a bit more rinsing than Pig Juice because of the high concentration. Pig Juice feature a little less raw power but is pre-activated to make sure it flows nicely into tight spaces like chains and also to require less rinsing. Pig Juice was designed for optimal performance in the Chain Pig chain cleaner when used straight out of the bottle. It works great for all other degreasing tasks as well. Pig Juice is also fragrance-free and dye-free.

Our preferred usage is to use Degreaser 13 and Pig Juice together for cleaning drivetrains. Apply Degreaser 13 to the cassette and chainrings using the Toothbrush. Then run Pig Juice in the Chain Pig on the chain, rinse the Chain Pig out, and run a again filled with water. Next add a little water to the Toothbrush bristles and quickly scrub at the cassette and chainrings to further activate the Degreaser 13. Finally give everything a rinse with water and dry with rag. Results are pretty incredible! This process can also be done using only Degreaser 13, only Pig Juice, or only Oranj Peelz.

A clean bike is a happy bike! Keeping your bike clean is an essential part of bicycle maintenance ensuring better performance, increased safety, easier repairs, increased life of all parts of the bike, and more fun on your next ride! Check out our Bike Wash Guide: Complete Cleaning and Bike Wash Guide: Quick Wash & Lube to learn the proper techniques and make your bike look and run like new.

Read on to learn more about these two important types of cleaners.
Bike Wash: Used for general purpose cleaning of the entire bike.  Bike wash is designed to remove dirt, dust, mud, road salt, and other general grime.  However, bike wash will not remove oils or grease (see degreaser).  This makes bike wash safe to use anywhere on the bike without risk of accidentally washing away important grease.  Using bike wash frequently will make each cleaning easier and your bike looking like new.  Pedro’s bike wash is called Green Fizz.  Bike Wash can also be used to clean drivetrain parts, but as mentioned above, will not be effective as a degreaser to remove oils.  That said, if you don’t plan to use a degreaser, bike wash will be better than nothing.

Degreaser: Used for heavy-duty cleaning of drivetrain parts (gears and chain).  Degreasers are designed to be very powerful allowing them to remove grease, oils, and tough grime.  Many degreasers achieve their cleaning power with solvents.  Many different types of solvent ingredients are used from naturally derived citrus solvents to other common solvents such as mineral spirits.   Because of the solvents, most degreasers are considering hazardous and require care to make sure they are used only on metal parts and not plastic, paint, or rubber.  Pedro’s had always used as little solvent as possible in its degreasers.  Our Oranj Peelz degreaser was developed more than 20 years ago and contains less than 30% solvent content; far less than our competitors even today.  Oranj Peelz’s secret sauce is actually in its non-solvent ingredients and we’ve recently used this knowledge to develop our first fully solvent-free degreasers: Degreaser 13 and Pig Juice.   We’re proud to say, they are the best degreasers we’ve ever used, and can be safely used on any material.  That said, because of their cleaning power, they can still potentially remove grease and oil that you might want to keep, so care should be used when applying to your bike.

Oranj Peelz and Pro J are designed for drivetrains specifically. However, they can be used on other portions of the bike for stubborn grease and grime, but need to be rinsed well with water within 5-10 minutes of application to prevent damage. Pedro’s recently introduced two new solvent-free degreasers, Degreaser 13 and Pig Juice, which can safely be used on any material or finish and are better choice of degreasers for use on non-drivetrain parts.  Green Fizz bike wash is also a great option for risk-free cleaning on any material.  If Pro J or Oranj Peelz or Pro J comes into contact with non-drivetrain parts unintentionally, rinse well with water as soon as possible.