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I've seen ads for https://hydrouk.co/collections/bundles/products/hydro-bike-bundle on insta, and quite interested in the pump bottles and the soaps as I'm kinda lazy when it comes to cleaning bikes, so anything that works better than muc off and better to apply would be a bonus.
Anyone used it?
I'm thinking it would be easier than my foam lance on the jetwash for my car too, as that tends to blow foam all over the place.
However, I assume the sprayers aren't just normal pump sprayers and they have a special foamy nozzle? Or if there are alternatives?
Fwiw spray things like mucoff, Fenwick's etc I've found a bit iffy. And no, a jetwash doesn't go anywhere near my bikes 🙂
Are these not just garden sprayers that are branded as bike washers?
Are these not just garden sprayers that are branded as bike washers?
I don't know if they are just that, or have different nozzles. If they are, easy job, but I don't know.
I dunno, but every few years I go though a phase of using Muck-off and related products, my bikes sieze up and break, and I remember why I stop using them.
Hosepipe, sponge, bucket of warm water with cheap car shampoo, and a stiff brush with minimal muckoff for the cassette (after taking the chain off).
Why does it need to be more complicated than that?
Hosepipe, sponge, bucket of warm water with cheap car shampoo, and a stiff brush with minimal muckoff for the cassette (after taking the chain off).
Why does it need to be more complicated than that?
That sounds horrifically complicated to someone who hasn't washed their mountain bike since building it up two years ago. Wipe off the chain and cassette with a rag after a ride, apply R&R blue as per bottle instructions, wipe off excess, put away bike...
That sounds horrifically complicated to someone who hasn't washed their mountain bike since building it up two years ago. Wipe off the chain and cassette with a rag after a ride, apply R&R blue as per bottle instructions, wipe off excess, put away bike...
You obviously don't ride somewhere with clingy mud 😉
But otherwise, yea I agree, less washing, especially avoiding chemicals, is definitely better.
Car shampoo seems to be just enough surfactant to lift the mud and grime off the frame, but not start stripping grease out of the bearing. Some of these products make sense on cars where there are practically no moving parts visible, on a bike practically everything is a moving part that you shouldn't let degreasers anywhere near!
Bucket with car shampoo, soft brush and a sponge. Hose off excess mud first. Yes it's a bit of effort. My commuter get's this every wet ride due to a mix of mud and road salt on my commute (mixed mode) and on weekend rides, cleaned every mucky ride - means you've never got a build up. The mud here (Peaks) isn't too claggy. You'd need more regular cleaning if down near South Downs etc as that mud is disgusting chalky orribleness
currently my bikes get a hose down, chain wiped with a rag to remove water and then sprayed with Flaer. then dried off in the kitchen overnight.
an additional step of spraying it with foam to help would be fine, anything else eats into breakfast time.
the bonus of having a suitable spray bottle and product to prewash the car would be great.
an additional step of spraying it with foam to help would be fine, anything else eats into breakfast time.
I'm not convinced the faff of filling a spray bottle is any less than the faff of filing a bucket TBH.
the bonus of having a suitable spray bottle and product to prewash the car would be great.
I use a garden sprayer on the cars, primarily as no one has actually managed to explain how "foam" could work better than the same chemical just sprayed on. Logically if it's a foam then 99% of your expensive bubble gum scented surfactant is doing little more than providing an interface between the water and air.
In industrial applications the presence of foam is usually the indicator that you've added too much surfactant because you've now dispersed all the oil and particles and it's doing the next thing and trying to create more even surface area (bubbles).