Zap away the grime and keep your bike in its prime when travel forces you to pull the plug
Cleaning and maintaining your bike is necessary to prolong the life of all its parts, keep it running smoothly and, importantly, looking showroom shiny. However, it can be a real chore, and very hard to do when not at home with access to power, water, and all your usual buckets, sponges, and brushes. Bike cleaning specialists Muc-Off have produced a mobile pressure washer that will allow you to easily clean your bike, or bikes, wherever you are.
If you’ve ever spent any time at a cyclo-cross race, or have hung around the team buses at a pro race, you’ll have seen bike-friendly pressure washers at work. While traditional versions aimed at car or patio cleaning are too powerful for the sensitive areas of a bike – headset, bottom bracket, hubs, essentially wherever there are bearings – Muc-Off has designed its mobile unit specifically for bikes. The basic set-up comes with the washer, four adjustable lances, and a litre bottle of the brand’s Nano-Tech cleaning fluid.
The main unit is built around an integrated 20-litre water tank (no hose pipe needed) powered by a detachable 40V 500Wh lithium ion battery. We found that this amount of water and power was enough to clean multiple bikes. The ability to monitor the water level through the clear plastic lid was a big factor that allowed us to get three to four washes from the tank and the battery.
Should you require it there’s an additional tank available as an add-on. As for the battery life, Muc-Off’s claims of 15 minutes in Boost mode and 24 minutes in Eco mode are pretty accurate, as is the charge time of three to four hours. Pressure for the two modes is 507psi and 652psi respectively. This can be increased to 942psi when using the adjustable lance. The washer is self-priming too, which results in instant pressure as soon as you press the trigger.
Muc-Off’s unit surprised us with its power – we tested it on some wooden decking, which it cleaned better than expected given its battery operation. But it’s the bike-specific elements that are likely to appeal the most.
