Clean Chain Ecological Degreaser RRP: £3.99
Green Clean Ecological Bike Cleaner £7.99
Bicycle Brush £9.99
www.upgradebikes.co.uk
As the weather has got wetter over the last few months that’s meant that bike cleaning has become far more frequent so how happy was I to receive some new cleaning and lube products from Green Oil. I’d heard of Green Oil before for just the lube and cleaning spray, but didn’t realise that they had a range of products too. I’ve been using Muc Off for years, plus a separate chain cleaner and various lubes and because I clean my bike in my garden not far from my veggie patch I’ve often wondered about the chemicals in the cleaners and lubes and their effect on my food.
Anything that claims to be ‘green’, ’sustainable’, ‘organic’ etc has to be so much more than that to be credible. When I buy something I’m drawn by the packaging, the price, and most importantly whether it’s up to the job, if it’s also kind to the environment then that’s a real bonus. I was a little sceptical the first time that I used the Green Clean ecological bike wash. I thought I’d set it a hard task to begin with: washing the Kinesis KM810. If you’ve ever owned a white bike, you’ll know what I mean.
one dirty bike in my garden: grit, mud, sheep sh*t
It sprayed well, and I also used my Green Oil Bicycle Brush to scrub at the dirt (note that sheep sh*t will need a double hard scrub as it stains white bits). The proof was in the rinse; under the soapy mud out came a white bike. Happy days! My chain also needed a bit of a clean up. I used to use Park Tools Cyclone Chain Cleaner with their Citrus ChainBrite Chain Cleaner, however Green Oil’s Clean Chain ecological degreaser gel is more than an equal. You apply it to the chain like a lube, then wipe off and apply again and rinse off. Or for a really dirty chain I use the Park chain cleaner to give it a good scrub. The other beauty of the degreaser gel is that it is super concentrated Green Clean, so you can use a bottle of Degreaser Gel in your old Green Clean bottle and top up with water. This means it’s miles cheaper to replace than other cleaners on the market, and saves on packaging too…genius!
clean and shiny race bike not looking like it spent all day last Sunday riding around the Dark Peak
I’ve also made use of the Green Oil. So far so good, but it might need a few more outings in wintery, wet conditions to see how well it fairs, but it is on all of my bikes now so plenty to test it’s capabilities. Finally, the grease: the bottle makes it really easy to use, I’ve given this a bit of a test too it’s been packed into my bottom bracket bearings (that had become dry, gritty and a little rusty in places), everything’s still running smoothly with no notchyness.
All in all, I’m impressed and I’m sound in the knowledge that my garden won’t suffer and neither will the rest of the lovely places that I ride in.
