That Muc-Off v Nilfisk pressure washer and foam question

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Washing an ebike? I'd think twice about using my worx cordless washer, let along a full-fat one!

Have you thought about a Worx or similar?

That's a big post. Ill just say buy nilfisk and enjoy it's reliability for years.

I'll echo that, my Nilfisk hose has only just sprung a leak (fixed with a wrap of self-amalgamating tape) and it must be a decade old.

Yeah, Nilfisk are miles better quality. They build road-cleaners, so these things are at the lower end of their skillset.

But... I wouldn't go near my ebike with any pressure washer! Bucket, Rhino Goo (or similar), brushes and a hosepipe on gentle setting.

I'd be cagey about blasting my bike with 100+ bar of pressure, let alone an E-bike with all the electronics in there.

Garden hose with some muc off is far kinder to bearings. I do use my 25 bar worx hydroshot before putting it in the car on filthy rides and that's enough to get anything, but I don't like to do that very often and when I do I avoid spraying directly on bearings.

I've got a Nilfisk washer.

A wheel broke of it within 6 months of being new. The whole machine was replaced just because of where the wheel had broken.

Less than 3 years on it has developed a fault where it wont switch off/get full pressure. It now means that it will need sending away to be fixed that will cost a minimum of £100. Basically not worth fixing.

I use snow foam to wash my car, and I bought an aftermarket Snow foam thing, it works very well. I cant see the need to use it on a bike

My Nilfisk has been great, but I wouldn't point it at any bike, let alone an ebike.

I have a Nilfisk 140, as it has three different power settings (on the unit, not on the powerlance), as not everything needs 140bar. I did try the Nilfisk OEM snow foam tool and found it pretty poor, ended up buying another to do the car. I'd not rush to use it on on the bike, as it simply too powerful (even on low), & a faff to get out to only use the snow foam tool. I'd suggest a bike specific version is much better, as I used to have a the original mobi which did the job fine (but 12v transformer was a pain at home), or even one of those chinese versions you can get now.

Personally a quick spray of muc off bike cleaner and hose works for me, I found having a decent stand to hold it upright, makes the job much simpler (

FJMCUSTOMBIKESTANDS.COM "https://www.fjmcustombikestands.com/)."

Thanks all, good tips, I understand about bearings etc and pressure washers, I wouldn't even hose bearings.

SO, yeah, the KSL gets washed with a bucket and soft brush and a very light rinse off (with a flower waterer attachment)

- but the tyres in clay can be a right pain!

Good to have the snow foam tips - avoid, good advice. I remember Chris at Mojo telling me he'd not use the Muc-Of cleaner on his Geometron.

I know it sounds crackers, but if a pressure washer saves me 20 minutes tyre scrubbing after every local ride on wet (or drying, which is worse) ground then its worth getting. The old one did the tyre job well.

I'l look at Worx and again at the Nilfisk, I know it’s a good brand but wonder about their bottom of range build quality? FunkyDunc's seems to have only later 3 years - not ideal. I hate binning stiff when the repair becomes uneconomical.

thanks all

I use a hozelock finespray arc on their multifunction head for getting mud off my tyres. Watering can setting for rinsing the whole thing off. Works well enough and way cheaper than a nilfisk, and no bearings involved.

I know FD's experience isn't fantastic but he's the only one reporting issues, when Nilfisk have been a forum favorite for quite a while (sold them to me). Everyone suffers failures..

 I remember Chris at Mojo telling me he’d not use the Muc-Of cleaner on his Geometron

I've been using it for 20 odd years and can't say any of my bike have suffered for it ..my oldest bike from 2016 , & that still looks/works great and has suffered no premature failures, I'd prefer to have a clean bike, than one with grit being ground into hidden parts, as the area I live is particularly sandy

Thx again all, it's looking like Nilfisk is the way to go.

Z1ppy, good to know on the foam

Nilfisk Core 125 bar High Pressure Washer ? that the one?

Nilfisk Core 140 power control is looking tempting, extra £15.

susepic, the hose with a proper Geka pro metal nozzle doesn’t touch the clay mud here sadly.

thanks

!result! apart from having to buy from Amazon (who had the best price anyway), I got a Nilfisk Core 140 power control,  which appears to be a returned order, big saving, one left there in stock.

Reviews mentioned the hose connection for the feed being a bit awkward, I guess that’s down to which QR hose termination you have. My old RAC was finicky about that. Only wanted plastic Gardena, the metal Geka one.

appreciate the feedback and advice everyone

20 minutes tyre scrubbing after every local ride on wet

I can save you the twenty minutes for free, just don't clean the tyres. They're only going to get dirty again in a few minutes, you crazy person.

Does the motor only actuate when the trigger is pulled and water is passing

The muc off one does this, the snow thing is fun but a bit pointless get as good results spraying on muc off from squirty bottle. The muc off one I have had been reliable thus far. Had it 3 years or so I think. Looks like a pink mandolorian jet pack so I'd obviously awesome

FunkyDunc’s seems to have only later 3 years – not ideal. I hate binning stiff when the repair becomes uneconomical.

agreed stupidly I didn’t register the 5 yr warranty.

I’ve spoken to a couple of repairers recently and both said they rate Nilfisk above other brands

Trouble is if out of warranty by the time you have posted it to them, paid inspection fee, paid for parts it’s over £100. They thought the part I needed was probably about £25…

I can save you the twenty minutes for free, just don’t clean the tyres. They’re only going to get dirty again in a few minutes, you crazy person

This. I've only ever spent max 1 minute cleaning a tyre and that's when it's going in the boot. For wet clay, if it's already at home, just leave it till next ride. If it's dried on it'll just crack straight off

While the MucOff pink cleaner should never be put anywhere near anything with lubricant in/on, it does do an excellent job on muddy tyres. Spray on, leave for 5 mins and then use a brush and some Autoglym car body shampoo in warm water - which is also perfect for the rest of the bike and then rinse. It’s just about the only MucOff product that’s anywhere near as good as they say it is (except perhaps their tubeless valves). Tyres look like new after that. 👍

@johnnystorm

my Nilfisk hose has only just sprung a leak (fixed with a wrap of self-amalgamating tape)

Don't mess about, replace the hose. (and it's a good excuse to get a better quality flexible hose)

Less than 70bar will pierce the skin which can later become extremely painful and result in infection and/or amputation.  I did my water jetting qualification and they kept giving us examples of injuries to try and ensure we used PPE. One example was a guy using a commercial jetter who had cable strapped the trigger to stop his hand cramping. He dropped the lance (which was long enough to make it impossible to spray yourself), it flew back and sprayed across his hip (as the trigger was held open) and injected into his leg, which was subsequently amputated.  They kept reiterating how home pressure washers can cause similar injuries.

@spooky_b329

Duly noted! 😱

For wet clay, if it’s already at home, just leave it till next ride. If it’s dried on it’ll just crack straight off

All over the floor of my shed 🤐 . So if i've got the hose out anyway - a minute for each wheel to get the worst off is no big deal

A +1 for not powerwashing your bike, but, it's usually worth watching the Nilfisk Outlet. They've got no stock right now but I got my last two from there, both officially "refurbished" but actually just unused returns with damaged packaging, for peanuts. Like, I only got the lsat one because I wanted to replace a kinked hose and to get the slab cleaner, and those 2 things together while not super expensive cost half the price of a totally new washer including those bits + all the other stuff. Ridiculous tbh

mudfish
Full Member

Good to have the snow foam tips – avoid, good advice. I remember Chris at Mojo telling me he’d not use the Muc-Of cleaner on his Geometron.

Maybe the specific finish they were using? Nicolai used to have a fair amount of raw and anodised parts, some cleaners can really attack those finishes.

A friend bought me a cheap Chinese cleaning kit on amazon which included a wheel cleaning brush you put your hand through (a bit like you see people brushing horses with I suppose).

It makes scrubbing my tyres clean so easy without need for a pressure washer. Just agitate, hose down, repeat.

I’d recommend keeping any water away from the tcu display?
I’ve a levo sl, use a hosepipe over the rest of it ( lakes riding is wet and muddy ) it has thrown a wobbly a couple of times, wouldn’t turn on. Took display off, left it on a radiator overnight, reconnected it and all was ok.

<p style="box-sizing: border-box; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.5rem;"><span style="caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;">I can save you the twenty minutes for free, just don’t clean the tyres. They’re only going to get dirty again in a few minutes, you crazy person</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; line-height: 1.5rem; caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; font-family: Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, 'Noto Sans', sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Hey each their own, but you’ve obviously not tried South Downs clay. I’m no clean freak but that clay literally turns the tyre into a slick in appearance. <br />And theres no way it dries and drops off on the garage floor!</p><p>I’ve been riding here for 27 years and when the ground is wet (but not really wet) the mud turns to clay - in Sussex there are over 20 names for mud for good reason.  </p><p>You really can’t leave it on or wait for it to fall off because tyres need to be clean to work right in mud as it sticks to itself really well. Here, when it’s bad, neither wheel will turn after 10 mins pedalling. <br />Muc of fluid makes little difference til the solid clag is gone. It really needs a strong jet of water  JUST ON THE TYRES. Otherwise it really is at least 7-8 minutes per tyre with a stiff brush and suds (car shampoo). And a hose. An XC tyre is quicker, sure, a 2.5 DH tyre holds a lot of mud.  I’ll post a pic when I have one  </p><p>anyhoo I’m sorted. And yeah I’d never pressure wash the frame etc. I’ve changed too many wheel bearings, headsets and bottom brackets to let it near those. Pressure even pushes water up the cable outers. <br /><br /></p><p>thanks all for the opinions. That’s probably right too about raw ally on Nicolai frames not liking Muc Off fluid. </p>

What the hell happened to my post!!!
ah well

Heres me trying to post again:

You guys’ve obviously not tried South Downs clay.

I’m no clean freak - but that clay literally turns the tyre into a slick in appearance.
And there's no way it dries and drops off on the garage floor!
I’ve been riding here for 37 years and when the ground is wet (but not really wet) the mud turns to claggy clay
– in Sussex there is quite a lexicon of for mud for good reason.

cledgy - earth sticking to the spade when digging is cledgy.

clodgy - muddy and wet like a field path after heavy rain.

gawm (gorm garm) - especially sticky foul smelling mud.

gormed up - stuck seized with mud.

gubber - black anaerobic mud of rotting organic matter. grabby - grimy, filthy with mud.

grom - to make dirty or muddy.

ike (hike) - a mess or area of mud. paunch - to break up fairly coherent mud "those cows they do paunch about the mud so". poach - to tread the muddy ground into holes as do cattle. pug - a kind of loam - particularly the sticky yellow Wealden clay. slab - thickest mud.

slabby - sticky, slippery, greasy, dirty mud.

sleech - mud or river sediment used for manure - especially from the River

Rother. slob - thick mud.

slobby - a sate of muddiness where it is difficult to extricate the boot at each step "the way here was very wearisome through dirt and slobbiness".

slough (slogh) - a muddy hole. slub - thick mud - used as slush is elsewhere. slubby - dirty with stiff and extremely tenacious mud. slub-up - to make stiff with mud, he come ome all of a slub.

slubber - to slip in mud. slurry - diluted mud distinct from slub, saturated with so much water that it cannot drain, churned up into a cream or paste with water.

slommocky - made dirty with mud.

smeery - wet and sticky surface mud, not clodgy or slobby.

spannel - to make dirty with mud as would a spaniel on a floor.

stabble - to walk thick mud into the house.

stoach - to trample ground, like cattle, also the silty mud at Rye Harbour. stoachy - dirty, mildly muddy.

stoached -an entry to a field in bad weather is stoached (and poached).

stodge - thick puddingy mud.

stug - watery mud.

stuggy - filled with watery mud. s**** - a bog.

they forgot Pug - mud like bricklayers cement
You really can’t leave Sussex clay [Pug] on tyres - or wait for it to fall off because tyres need to be clean to work right in mud as it sticks to itself really well. Here, when it’s bad, neither wheel will turn after 10 mins pedalling.
Muc of fluid makes little difference til the solid clag is gone. It really needs a strong jet of water  JUST ON THE TYRES.
Otherwise it really is at least 7-8 maybe 10 minutes per tyre with a stiff brush and suds (car shampoo). And a hose. An XC tyre is quicker, sure, a 2.5 DH tyre holds a lot of mud.
I’ll post a pic when I have one

anyhoo I’m sorted. The Nilfisk arrived
And yeah I’d never pressure wash the frame etc. I’ve changed too many wheel bearings, headsets and bottom brackets to let it near those. Pressure even pushes water up the cable outers.
thanks all for the opinions.

Northwind -
That’s probably right too about raw ally on Nicolai frames not liking Muc Off fluid.