Just watched this
I'm far from the guy that does a full wash and strip down of the bike after each ride. It often just gets hosed down, on special occasions it might get a 5 minute quick wash with car shampoo but I never take the wheels off for cleaning purposes etc.
Considering I'm not going to be standing around admiring the spotless sheen from a 2 hour cleaning session every Sunday, is ceramic coat worth it:
- So less mud to sticks to the bike during the ride
- Hosing off is more effective
- Will never be doing an in depth clean (except to apply said coating)
- How many bikes will a kit do?
- How long does it last?
- What brands do you use?
- Will it go on over invisiframe protection?
Thanks all 🙂
PS My bikes often get put away like this...
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Apologies, hit post early...I have edited my post but its not showing up yet. Can someone feed the hamsters?
Considering I'm not going to be standing around admiring the spotless sheen from a 2 hour cleaning session every Sunday, is ceramic coat worth it:
I watched that video yesterday and immediately thought "oooh, yes!"
I did used to use Finish Line Protectant which was described as a showroom detailer spray. Guess it was a bit like furniture polish for bikes, it did give a nice finish and it worked well at repelling mud (or at least making it easier to clean off) but really only lasted a couple of weeks or so.
I definitely thought it was worth it though. The ceramic stuff looks even better although I think it's one of those things that would work best if you could give the bike a complete strip down before application.
The gravel bike will be due a proper service fairly soon so I'll get some in and use it on that.
The thing is... who cares how clean their frame is?
It's the moving parts that want to be clean and, possibly, lubricated: chain, cassette, mech, brakes, wiper seals, etc. And if you're going to clean that lot, then it only takes a minute longer to do the frame.
I do. A part of me wanting to go out is looking at the bike and it enticing me to go out because looks good and I WANT to ride it.
My moving parts only get enough attention to keep things working. So often that’s a hose off and put away. Maybe every 4th or 5th ride I’ll decrease and scrub the drivetrain. My main bike is belt drive so I do literally just hose the belt and ignore the cleaners lube and brushes.
The frame itself? I don’t care how it clean it looks, its how functionally clean it and the bits that attached to it are I.e do the spinny bits still spin, turny bits turn, and how much excess weight is stuck to it. The more mud that falls off mid ride or hoses off afterwards, the better, and that’s my main interest in the ceramic coating 🙂
If anything, in my eyes a clean bike might make me ride less as I wouldn’t want to dirty and then clean it again. With my method, sometimes the bike will come back from a ride genuinely less muddy than when it went out!
I know someone who did their bike and it does make cleaning easier and it appears you can put it on nearly everything. I have it on my list to do I was sent some from Gtech the kit looks well put together and they have been doing car stuff for years so I expect it will be decent enough.
I’ve never been much of a cleaner, but I fell down a rabbit hole on car detailing a few years ago. I’ve wound that back in and now just do thorough cleaning. I do like a clean car, and the chemicals and products work really well on bikes.
The top coat cleaner / protective spray is hydrophobic and really makes hosing off a lot easier. It also seems to add a bit of sparkle and zing, so makes a clean bike look good.
I'm not precious about it though. As long as my bikes work properly.
I had some free samples from a show and carefully applied instructed, I couldn’t tell any difference. It initially shrugged water off but Derbyshire mud? No!
I used to put GT85 on a cloth and polish the frame - that worked well. Now I make sure that the working bits are clean and clean the frame sporadically to give that “NBD” look.
did used to use Finish Line Protectant which was described as a showroom detailer spray. Guess it was a bit like furniture polish for bikes, it did give a nice finish and it worked well at repelling mud (or at least making it easier to clean off) but really only lasted a couple of weeks or so.
Same with the muck-off stuff, it does look and feel like cheap silicone furniture polish.
The thing is... who cares how clean their frame is?
Me, to an extent. I'm fairly well convinced that muck-off and the like cause more problems than they solve. If bikes were built to a decent standard (i.e. manufacturers built components with more than just Californian dust in mind) they should be able to cope with some mud. Degreaser is just stripping lubrification away and getting water through seals where it shouldn't be. I hardly ever clean my bikes these days, and when I do it's the bare minimum effort. If they looked clean after just a quick hose off (or the mud didn't stick in the first place) then I'd be happy.
It's the moving parts that want to be clean and, possibly, lubricated: chain, cassette, mech,
Solved those with hot wax. The only cleaning any of my drivetrain gets these days is the chain dunked in boiling water or the cassette get's the occasional polish with degreaser on a stiff brush if I want it to shine.
brakes,
Not really something you can clean unless you remove the pads, pump the pistons out and take a cotton but to them. Which isn't a frequent task.
wiper seals, etc.
Again, unless you're stripping the fork lowers, there's not much you can actually clean them. If the seals are in good condition then they're wiping away muddy filth multiple times a second. Just spray with water and wipe with a rag.
Solved those with hot wax. The only cleaning any of my drivetrain gets these days is the chain dunked in boiling water or the cassette get's the occasional polish with degreaser on a stiff brush if I want it to shine.
Yep, waxing the chain has been brilliant for keeping everything clean. Sure, the actual process of waxing (at least initially) is more of a faff but once it's been done, everything just stays so much cleaner than it ever did with lube (even dry or wax lube).
I bought a white road bike last year. I forked out for the silca graphene stuff and the bikes pretty much been a quick skoosh with the hose away from looking brand new.
I've used both the Gtechniq and Muc-Off versions on my bikes. They still get very muddy and probably need cleaning as often as uncoated bikes, for me the biggest advantage is it makes drying easier (I use a Ryobi mini leaf blower and little hand held compressed air thing), works great but in reality towel drying doesn't take long I guess.
I use the Gtechniq stuff, over the invisiframe. its not a miracle cure, but it make washing easier and it also reduces the water marks
When I built my Airdrop I experimented with car wax because I had some handy in the garage.
I did only the downtube and on the next ride out the mud wouldn't stick and water was running off it. It was spotless at the end of the day and the rest of the bike was minging.
It was really impressive but I've not bothered doing it since. Maybe when I do a full service I'll try again.
Standard part of any new-to-me frame is coating it in ceramic stuff. I only use the really cheap stuff but even that's very effective. Any number of products listed as 'Mr 9H ceramic' on eBay or amazon. Also works well on rims to reduce road grime sticking on the commuter.
I am all for Ceramic coating.... on my car.
For a bike - pointless.
Cleaning your frame, is literally, pointless. Its purely aesthetic.
Ceramic coating does absolutely bugger all to protect bearings, moving parts, pivots, suspension etc etc.
Its a great product, but completely the wrong thing to be concentrating on for looking after a bike (particularly a mountain bike).
I came back from a gravel ride yesterday morning - bike was caked in grime. Thick mud in places from a slightly muddier than normal farm track I rode which I thought would be fine and then a load of road grime. An old car washing wash mitt and a bucket of water and the bike was properly clean in 30 seconds. No ceramic coating, no wax, no shampoo, no bike cleaner stuff. Dried it off quickly, cleaned and then oiled the chain and job done.
If you wash your bike whilst the mud etc is still wet then IMHO theres zero need for any coating on frames etc.
I don't think its entirely pointless for a commuter bike (if you have a decent one). I have a Tripster that I don't get time to wash every time I come back with it filthy from riding back roads home in the winter. Being Ti the frame isn't Invisiframed... so I tried the Invisiframe spray on stuff. Erm, could tell no difference at all. Bought a bunch of the Gtechniq stuff for the car, so got the bike coating to try, works ok. But yeah, if you don't care about having a clean/easy-clean frame, it's not worth it really.
Best thing I've found for the frame etc is Green Shield (not the stamps) stainless steel wipes. Great for a quick clean down. Can be used on wheels, chainrings and chain. Good for use on carbon as well as Ti frame. Not for stuff as filthy as the OP's pic though 🙂
Ceramic coating does absolutely bugger all to protect bearings, moving parts, pivots, suspension etc etc.
Its a great product, but completely the wrong thing to be concentrating on for looking after a bike (particularly a mountain bike).
That was my point. None of those moving parts are things you can clean, or I'd argue are pointless cleaning, the pivot bearing might move once while clean when you bounce on it in the car park, then a million times in the wet as soon as you start riding.
If cleaning can be reduced to just a a cold water hose pipe (which for me it already is, the frame just still looks a mess afterwards). And it means degreaser isn't eating those moving parts.
I have a Tripster that I don't get time to wash every time I come back with it filthy from riding back roads home in the winter. Being Ti the frame isn't Invisiframed... so I tried the Invisiframe spray on stuff. Erm, could tell no difference at all. Bought a bunch of theGtechniq stuff for the car, so got the bike coating to try, works ok. But yeah, if you don't care about having a clean/easy-clean frame, it's not worth it really.
I actually think my Ti bike stays considerably cleaner than the others, it definitely looks cleaner after a quick rinse. I don't know if Brushed Ti or Ti oxides are naturally a bit hydrophobic, or if it's just hat the dull grey doesn't show up dirt.
I'm going to give this a go on the summer road bike I think, I already have the stuff for my car so it might be worth a punt.
Obviously keep it away from rotors and pads...
The thing is... who cares how clean their frame is...
I usually only clean my bike if I'm going to work on it, but being able to apply something that repels dirt is an attractive proposition.