What to use to clean a derailleur? I'm not sure what type of solvent to use to clean a derailleur.
Step 1

Clean the derailleur pulleys by holding the blade of your screwdriver against the sides of the pulleys and turning the crank. You can do this with the wheel in the dropouts, or with the wheel removed.

Step 2

Brush the dirt off of your derailleur using a combination of brushes with bristles of varying length and stiffness, like the ones in the Finish Line Easy-Pro Brush Set.

Step 3

Degrease the derailleur using Finish Line Speed Clean, a powerful degreaser that dries almost instantly. You won’t have to wait before applying lube, or worry that the lube will be broken down by excess degreaser that didn’t dry.

This is also a good time to go over the pulleys again. First spray down the jockey pulley with Speed Clean while turning the crank, then take your rag, hold it between your thumb and forefinger, and pinch the pulley while continuing to turn the crank. Any dirt that didn’t come off on the screwdriver blade will come off on the rag. Repeat with the bottom pulley. This is most effective if the pulley is still moist with degreaser when you run it through the rag. Because Speed Clean dries so quickly, ensure this by spraying down only one pulley at a time, so that the bottom pulley doesn’t dry before you’re done with the jockey.

Step 4

Lubricate the derailleur by first spraying it down with Finish Line Dry Teflon Lube, then injecting Extreme Fluoro, a fully fluorinated grease, into all points of friction.