You either love it or hate it. I used them at races but not worth the trouble otherwise, just bring the bike home. I've seen various attachments for pressure washers - are these universal or brand specific, i.e could I get some car cleaning lance/brush from Karcher and fit it to a muc off one? If the washer is wet, the bag will stop water seeping out and creating a soggy mess in your garage, utility room or wherever else you wish to store it. That's kinda under powered for a gas pressure washer; most of the really cheap electric ones like Greenworks go over 2000psi (their slightly more expensive ones do 3000) and typically gas ones start at 3000psi. Id say 80% of the bearing swaps we do are from over zealous cleaning either with a jet wash or use of powerful degreasers rather than from wear . And impossible to say whether a rusty bearing died due to jetwashing, or just being used in the conditions that require jetwashing afterwards! Sadly common sense doesnt seem to come into it. The wands nozzle can be rotated, adjusting the spray pattern, reducing its focus and therefore intensity and power. When it comes to electric power washers, there is a whole hardware store full of units that will turn your water tap into a concentrated stream. Can a bike-specific pressure washer be better than a hose when the dirt is still wet, or any one of the power washers available on the market right now? Alex Evans is BikeRadar's mountain bike technical editor. I dunno, I rarely jetwash my bikes, I did kill a BB after a mid-wales trip. By The hose is long enough to leave the reservoir in the back of your car, and the washer uses a clever anti-lag system to deliver a constant stream from the moment you press the trigger until it runs out, preventing air from finding its way into the pump. Cliff Richard has taken everybody on a summer holiday. OneUp Components Launch Their Third Generation Dropper Remote. Hose your bike down, a bit of turtle wax in warm water, dry, done. He's one of BikeRadar's lead testers, knows how to push bikes and products to the limit, and wants to search out the equipment that represents the best value for money. This kit also has a fancy dry-bag to house your new toy and a couple of bottles of Muc-Off to clean your bike with. Colin Levitch I jetwashed my bike for years. I have an old Karcher that I use for patio etc and it looks like the different lance options for this new one could cover that too. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Touting its pressure washer as the first designed entirely for motorised and pedal bikes, its fair to say that Muc-Offs claims are about as bold as they come. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Once out of the bag, its exceptionally easy to assemble. Pete's happy place is elbow deep in an Iron Maiden riff. Itis an extremely well made, easy to use, and versatile cleaning machine. Includes Pressure Washer, Bag, Snow Foam Lance, 1L Bike Wash, 1L Concentrate, Only jet wash designed specifically for bikes, Lower pressure lance attachment to spare bearings and seals, Foaming wife may lead to marital disputes. The unit weighs around 6kg and is easy to carry whether its in its bag or in use. And spend a fortune on bearings as you blast water past the seals, Ah, the old pressure wash your bearings. Bike washing now takes minutes to get them acceptably clean. The bike lance effectively lowers the water pressure to help preserve the life of bearings and seals on expensive mountain bikes. You want a good one, 3000 psi or higher if you are gonna use it. Whats special about the Muc Off washer? That was it! Tested : Petes Vitus Sommet 297 CRX Review. The actual pressure washer seems fairly standard, in a good way, and very similar to the Karcher K2 that I have at home in size and power. But thats the point the things need to be portable so you can clean at the trail/carpark/race. It is worth reading the instructions to make sure you understand the correct order for turning the jet wash on, though. Surely if de-greaser is getting in then so is water? No accessory can be left behind thanks to each having its own storage area either attached to the washer itself (in the case of the wands) or in/on the bag itself. Included in the standard pressure washer package is one bike-safe lance, a slightly higher-pressure motorbike lance and an adjustable-pressure fitting that can be turned up to blast out the most stubborn mud or, if youre feeling a bit naughty and wish to disobey Muc-Offs assertion that the washer is only for bikes, be used to clean your car or patio. As for the seals I think you are mistaking the usual standard fitted OEM bearings for something with a bit of quality. Look for a nozzle that fans the water out into a sheet as this will help to get rid of the stickiest mud while also spreading the water pressure out over a wider area. Is there anybody there? I have used those plant sprayer things, they are a bit rubbish. Tested : Petes PNW Components Ozone Trail Jersey Review. The higher-pressure lance does have a distinguishable difference, though. With the pump located inside the lance; Worx claims the Hydroshot offers about 363psi of pressure on tap, and the multi-spray nozzle allows you to customise the stream, you'll just need to find a water source. Worx makes an extensive range of power tools, and the Hydroshot uses the same battery as the drills, saws, grinders, and leaf blowers in the range; so if youve already bought into the ecosystem, all your gadgets will be compatible. Would you like to receive offers, updates and events from BikeRadar and its publisher Our Media Ltd (an Immediate Group Company)? After moving house and installing an outside tap thats actually situated between the car and the garage rather than at the opposite end of the garden or having to run hoses out the kitchen window (shoes off, connect hose, tap on, shoes back on etc), and a shelf with muck-off, water dispersant / spray lube, brushes, sponges, etc nest to it (and using putoline). Check out our feature on gravel vs cyclo-cross), a pressure washer can make quick work of claggy mud. Ben tests the Muc-Off Pressure Washer to see if the hype is real. Most of them should come with adjustable nozzles, and the key to washing bikes is to keep the nozzle further away from the bike so that you don't end up blasting water into bearings. The in-built electricity cable is also 5 meters long. In the more expensive kit weve got here, youre also treated to a snow foam lance. In the streets of Reading you would often find a kid riding his Raleigh Hello? This is crucial because if its on without a water supply it can damage the motor, rendering it useless. Washing a bike with one is retarded. No it looks the same as any cheap washer, but with a wand that reduces the output pressure to a level deemed safe. Colin was a key contributor to Cyclingnews between 2019 and 2021, during which time he helped build the site's tech coverage from the ground up. Touted as the worlds first bike-specific power washer, Muc-Offs take on the jet wash isn't all that different from a light-duty unit from your local hardware store, requiring both a power and water source. Likewise, if where you keep the washer isnt bone dry then you dont need to worry about it getting wet from external sources. It certainly looks cool, I love the bold colours. But hard to say if several miles of submerged riding on the strata florida did it, or the jetwash afterwards.. As you say, most bearings are behind shields of some sort anyway. Read on for our picks of the best pressure washers for bikes, head to the bottom for our advice on what to look for in a pressure washer, or educate yourself on the best cleaning practices in our guide to how to clean your bike. They're strong enough to do a driveway, but not so overpowered that they'll strip the paint of your bike. But, as a mucoff fanboy myself, I also really want their washer, even though I don't really have a need for it. Claiming to be the worlds first bike-specific jet wash, does the Muc-Off pressure washer make light work of dirt, grit and grime? can you use if for anything else other than bikes or is it as everyone seems to be suggesting just not powerful enough? In the UK so I am fine to be able to get one :-) although reading all this I am even more lost now hahah! Look at the Sun Joe or Greenworks brands for cheap, but decently powerful electric pressure washers. Unless you absolutely have to snowfoam your bike a Mobi or other genuinely portable washer is a better bet. So well done. See also spraying lube/WD40 over disc pads and rotors. Otherwise hose, brush, bucket and sponge. Alex moved to Morzine in the French Alps at 19 to pursue a career as a bike bum and clocked up an enormous amount of riding. I do kinda need/want a snowfoam lance, the one that came with my lidl jetwash appears to just dump a whole canister of shampoo in minutes without actually doing anything. I use it to get soap on the car and to rinse it off, but I still scrub with brushes rather than trying to strip dirt with a high pressure stream of water. a 8 Hozelock spray gun will give you the right sort of pressure to remove soap and bulky mud without sodomising your bearings a splash of cleaner in a bucket, a 5 alloy wheel brush and a little elbow grease will actually give you a clean bike. However, the slightly more expensive washer and accessories kit that weve reviewed looks like better value than Karchers 139.99 K 2 Full Control Home kit, especially if youre not interested in cleaning patios. That now also includes the Muc-Off Pressure Washer, claimed to be the worlds first bike-specific jet wash. As its first true hard goods product, Muc-Off has gone big. After that is does exactly what it promises and you can control how much pressure you want to use for different applications and bike parts. At the Sharp End | Part 5 | Vallnord World Cup. With the bike lance fitted it will easily shift wet mud and debris immediately after a ride. The casual observer will struggle to notice a significant difference between outputs from the bike-specific (whether thats motorbike or bicycle) wands. MTBs you are better off getting a plastic water can and a car 12v 25 washer pump system off ebay or get a Worx etc if you need to wash away from home. Wed hate to give you a short-lived dopamine hit upon receiving it. I loved reading your review of the Muc-Off pressure washer kit. |, Muc-Off Pressure Washer and accessories kit, Easy to use with great performance; snow foam attachment is fun to use and agitates dirt well, Whether it preserves bearings or increases seal life remains questionable, Muc-Off has successfully expanded into other realms, first designed entirely for motorised and pedal bikes, Karchers 139.99 K 2 Full Control Home kit, Pressure washer, bag, snow foam lance, 1 litre wash and 1 litre concentrate. Alex then moved back to the UK and put his vast knowledge of mountain biking to good use by landing a job working for MBUK magazine as features editor. Nowadays he works full-time as the news and content editor of Flow MTB magazine. Anders Engberg embarks on a short illustrated series examining the changing world of mountain bike media. Muc off is dumb, and lower power ones won't do stuff like stone. The whole unit has a waterproof rating of IPX5, which means water can be shot at the washers body from any angle. It's true that even with a light-duty pressure washer, at point-blank range, you can still strip the paint off your frame, not to mention grease from the inside of bearings. The other attachment included in the full kit is a Snow Foam Lance that basically sucks Muc-Off from the bottle and then sprays it on your bike so it looks like has been to a late 90s Ayia Napa foam party. It looks like a rebadged GW one anyway for more money. You are immediately aware that it is pretty noisy. I found this article very informative. If you are looking at a pressure washer for your bike, you only need enough power to unstick stubborn mud. I was hoping someone here would have bought one. The first time I used the washer I didnt require any instructions. You might want full pressure for getting crusty mud off your tyres and low pressure for your forks and shock and this lance lets you do that. Worx Hydroshot is a revelation. Use a bit of common sense, be careful where you direct the jet, especially at close range and there shouldnt be an issue. Tested : Petes Specialized 2FO Cliplite MTB Shoe Review. Yes, at point-blank range, it can, but not if you stand back and allow yourself a good distance. Roughly the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, the Bosch Fontus is a fully self-contained unit which runs on the brands standard 18v cordless power tool batteries.For a portable unit, the Fontus has a sizable 15-litre water tank, and weighs nearly 10kg empty luckily there are wheels and an extendable handle, so you dont have to lift and carry the hefty unit. It is made up of the actual washer which retails for 79.99 on its own and that includes the 3 lance attachments which I will explain later. Ohh, and is there a pump of choice for making a DIY 12V pressure washer? Likewise, you can preserve them with sensible cleaning either with or without jetwash. Its one of the more weighty portable washers in this list, with the fixed battery tipping the scales at 7kg before its filled with water - the washer does have wheels for easy manoeuvrability though. Id say 80% of the bearing swaps we do are from over zealous cleaning either with a jet wash or use of powerful degreasers rather than from wear. Also, the blog loads extremely fast for me, Your email address will not be published. It does go through your bottle of Muc-Off cleaner very quickly, however, and if youre a penny-pincher we recommend using the snow foam mode sparingly. And my bearings last ages. Contact UsPrivacyForum RulesClassifieds RulesLink RemovalLogin/cookie issues?Newsletter SettingsAdvertising, Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 43 total). You can jet wash mud if you really fancy and it will still leave some residual mud behind, equally you can cover your bike in MucOff leave and rinse it like your supposed to, but unless its just a mild coat of dust it wont actually make it all clean. A snow foam nozzle can be purchased separately, which allows you to attach a bottle of bike wash and cover your bike in a layer of foam. To that end, this is a stay-at-home, garage or shed accessory rather than a travel companion. That's where the best pressure washers for bikes will come in handy. Maxxis Relaunch the Forekaster as a Downcountry Tyre. Ultimately it all boils down to whether you actually need a jetwash? Surely if de-greaser is getting in then so is water? They are easy to clip on and off and all accessory attachment points seem sturdy and well built. As soon as a I saw it I thought it looked like a good way to use a lot of MucOff very quickly but I was interested to know if Im wrong, but without the benefit of using one the pressure element seems pretty useless to me. Tested : Bens Rimpact Tyre Insert Review. I have used it for cleaning any outdoor surface as well as my garage floor to remove stubborn stains. But is it any better at cleaning bikes than e.g. I have an electric pressure washer, probably stronger than the Muc Off one. Theyre lower pressure. *Disclaimer* I used to work a bike mechanic, I know, I know don't use a pressure washer on a bike least not on parts with bearings etc. My wife and I ride Road, MTB and CX, daily, I wash the bikes probably once every two weeks or before races / after cx races / after particularly muddy MTB rides. Fire them at your hand (please DO NOT try this) and they both hurt at a similar point as your hand gets closer to the jets source. Hmmm. I just have one of these that I throw in the car when I head out somewhere with the bike. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Karcher has a long-standing reputation for reliability that Muc-Off will have to earn over time, given how new the company is to the pressure washer market, but we had no problems during testing. Im sure Ive seen a review on a reliable website somewhere now where did I see that..? Be it a river, a pond a bucket or tap. My neighbor asked me to do his retaining wall and while I didn't think it was dirty it looked brand new after washing it. without any need for a spray or brush. I'd go Muc off between those two but I chose the Worx hydroshot because I already have their battery packs and it's absolutely brilliant. What else do you use a pressure washer for? It comes with three lances, including a low-power head specifically for bikes Muc-Off is also offering a snow-foam head, which has an inline mount for a bottle of your favourite bike wash to give your bike a bubble bath. buy a mobi if you need a portable one or a hose if you dont. Daft-ish question, if we have all been convinced for years that muck off is just re packaged tfr. I must say youve done a awesome job with this. Ive got an adapter for the lance that reduces the pressure for car washing speaking of which; the jury is out in the car detailing world on the benefits of snow foam. Sign in to manage your newsletter preferences. Itll quite happily clean anything you point it at too, such as cars, clothes, patios, etc just dont tell Muc-Off! Ive never been one to pressure wash a bike, however the marketing blurb says its not much more pressure than a hose and fully bearing friendly. That said, its certainly worth pointing out that this sort of washing routine is more akin to how people wash cars that have large, flat, swirl-prone painted surfaces than bikes that are regularly rammed through the grottiest of conditions. The tank is insulated (Rinse Kit also offers a car cigarette-lighter-powered heater), so you dont need to freeze cleaning up in a trailhead parking lot, and the washer can be filled either using a garden hose or your kitchen sink. Tested : Petes Royal Racing Matrix Jacket Review. Bravo, you win the Internet Master of Judgement Award for the night.. . Without the need for a jetwash! Most are not as its a hidden way to cost cut for product managers when speccing bikes. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a68860d0aa4d03d47e22ae77d5a7bebc" );document.getElementById("ff3ca51e76").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Tested : Bens Muc-Off Pressure Washer Review. At this point, it is certainly worth noting that the Muc-Off pressure washer isnt something youre going to be taking with you to an event or on holiday if you know you arent going to have access to 220 to 240-volt electricity. If you clean at home then you might as well get a bucket, brush and hose out. The real question is what cant you pressure wash once you have one in your life youll find all sorts of uses for it . Nicely made, really surprisingly powerful and in theory will do my bike 4-5 times per charge.
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