Hygiene is as important for a bicycle as it is for a cyclist. The sooner you realize this, the more grateful and long-lasting your bike will be, and the Muc-Off set of bike care products can help you with that.
What and why?
Let’s face it, I’m not crazy about washing either and I’d rather spend my time on the bike instead of next to it, but simply put – one thing leads to the other. Namely, riding a bike inevitably gets it dirty while riding a dirty bike causes premature wear of components, which then directly affects performance and riding pleasure, as well as your wallet. Not to mention the impact on Instagram photos :). Therefore, it is important to acquire these habits of importance to bike’s health and to be regular with it.
In the case of a MTB, it is perhaps more obvious, considering the riding off asphalt, often on muddy terrains, while a road bike can deceive you and – only when you wash it – you realize how neglected it actually was. Also, road bike is considered “gentleman’s bike” and must always be neat and tidy 🙂
But – we’re not just talking about the frame here. Even if you wipe it after every ride, the oil on the chain inevitably attracts a lot of dirt to itself, which affects its functionality and it has the effect of sandpaper on the gears and cassette.
I am not referring to the case that occurs with most city bikes, which is that the chain is never washed, and is lubricated only when the owner is embarrassed by the sounds the bike makes. No, I’m talking about modern 10/11/12-speed systems here, which are very precise mechanical devices with a low tolerance threshold for any deviations from ideal settings (which is not to say that “regular” bikes don’t deserve the same attention).
So, in addition to the fact that the chain (and by that I mean the complete drive train) must be clean, it must also be adequately lubricated. The same applies to the wheel rims on bicycles with rim brakes, at least in terms of cleanliness, while you don’t want any oil on them 🙂
“WASH ME”
Just as kids love to write “wash me” on dirty cars, I have – after more than three years of exploitation – felt that my Scott Addict RC deserved a little more than a quick wash at a self-service car wash “for a pound”.
I was interested in what results can be obtained by using modern means of bicycle maintenance, and this is where M-Bike Shop enters the scene, which has recently become the general representative of the prestigious British brand Muc-Off for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Admittedly, I got a little carried away, that is, I didn’t pay attention to the contents of the MucOff 8-in-1 bike wash set, so I didn’t take their dedicated tool for degreasing and washing the chain. So, for this occasion, I used a general degreaser that I normally use for that purpose , but I have no doubt that Muc-Off’s product is more suitable for the purpose.
8 in 1… plus another 4
However, what does come in the mentioned and shown 8-in-1 set is the following:
– bucket for storing and mixing detergent
– 1 liter of detergent, with spray nozzle
– a large soft brush, primarily for the frame and rims
– medium brush, for spokes, smaller tubes and awkward places
– small brush, for hubs, forks on MTB and the like
– flat brush for removing mud and washing drivetrains
– microcellular sponge for general washing of various surfaces
– protective spray for after washing, for water repellency and surface protection of parts
In addition, I also took special gloves for washing the bike, which have hedgehog-like needles on the palms and fingers, as well as protective neoprene covers for the disc brakes – for use when applying the protection spray, but also suitable for transporting the bike with the wheels removed.
Since I’d been thinking of getting slightly better oil for the chain for a while, I used the momentum and the occasion to do that as well, while due to some strange trend of hitting potholes in the roads and puncturing the tubes lately, I also got self-adhesive patches for patching the tubes.
Let’s do some elbow grease
You can use the detergent by mixing it with water in a bucket (if the bike is extremely dirty or if you wash several bikes) or by spraying it directly on the frame (as in my case). The product is fast-acting, so you can immediately brush it over with suitable brushes and then simply rinse the bike.
With the aforementioned special gloves, you can attend to hard-to-reach spots or remove more stubborn deposits without the risk of damaging the lacquer. I would say that for the full effect you need to use them in combination with the detergent prepared in the bucket, but you can also spray the detergent directly on the gloves.
The product, along with dirt, is easily wiped off and leaves no traces, so you don’t have to wipe the bike additionally afterwards.
The only drawback of such a thoroughly washed bike is that now I can see the surface scratches very clearly, literally every dot.
This brings us to the included Muc-Off bike protector spray. Of course, it won’t help you not to scratch your bike, but it has a triple effect. The first effect is that it repels water and protects components from moisture, the second is that it gives a special look to both shiny and matte parts of the bike, and the third is that it does not allow dust and dirt to stick to the bike, so it is very easy to wipe the bike after every ride.
As someone who does not like to use creams or do other treatment on myself or on my cars, I didn’t take treating my bike with this protector spray lightly, but I can say that it makes perfect sense, because the bike now really looks, to put it in jargon, “better than new”.
This brings us to the final act – lubricating the chain. I chose “all weather” lube, as that describes most of the rides this year very well. This oil is a “shade” thicker than standard oil, which is exactly what I wanted.
Of course, you don’t need to “pour a liter of oil” on the chain – you lubricate it by putting a drop of it on each link, rotating the cranks for a few times and then wiping off the excess oil.
I am also very satisfied with the lubricant because it provides significantly better lubrication properties, there’s much less excess oil coming from the chain links during riding and therefore lasts longer, while the chain attracts less dirt to itself at the same time.
Summa summarum
My bike is ready for new adventures and, all in all, my final conclusion – and that’s coming from someone with rather old-fashioned views – is that advanced bike care and protection is not just a hype but that this segment of cycling industry has also progressed along with the development of bicycles.
Of course, I still don’t have a complete picture of what is possible, because I only had the opportunity to try a small part of the Muc-Off product range, which covers many more segments than just bike care and you can see the complete offer on the M-Bike Shop website.