SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING

Carbon pro sports heavy duty cleaner is a three in one carbon specific bike wash cum degreaser designed to purge tough grime and leave a glossy protective barrier behind-great if you’re short on time, or prefer riding to polishing.  

 

Available in 500ml and 1gallon workshop sizes, exact ingredients are Coca Cola secret, though apparently 100% biodegradable, free of salts, solvents and other harsh chemicals that can cause skin irritation and dull finishes. These supposedly work on a molecular level, dissolving the mucky stuff before imparting its UV and dirt repelling barrier-rather like sophisticated car products.  

 

We all know the drill by now. Pop bike(s) outside, flick the trigger nozzle open and fire over the bike in short blasts, working top down. The mixture looks surprisingly insipid and inactive on contact compared with others on test. Without any hard n’ fast directions, I’ve kept marinating times to approximately three minutes before rinsing with warm water.  

Mud and general spatter  lifts pretty much immediately, although filthy winter/trainers required more liberal helpings of cleaner, especially along the fork blades, down tube, bottom bracket and rear triangle. Ingredients also worked better on handlebar and saddle covers when agitated with a medium-firm detailer brush, thirty seconds or so in.  

 

Deliberately extending waiting times hasn’t left streaks or similar blemishes and when towel dried, carbon, plastics, painted, plated and anodized finishes literally gleam.  

 

Broadly comparable with high quality, silicone based detailers; this lustre has lasted around ten days through typical March and April conditions. 

 

I was initially sceptical about its degreasing prowess compared with concentrates, which seem visibly more aggressive and generally faster acting. That said and despite a visibly slow start; the heavy duty cleaner made surprisingly short work of my Univega’s unusually gungy drivetrain and rear triangle.  

 

Three generous helpings left standing for five minutes followed by warm water rinsing saw the witches’ brew of leaked frame preserve, congealed wet ceramic lube and embedded grit literally slither away, forming a mucky puddle below. Cassette and rings still needed some stiff brush persuasion but mission completed in ten minutes flat.  

 

Overall performance is good and it also protects in a way traditional cleaner concentrates don’t, which differentiates it from bog standard potions-if this is important to you. Playing devil’s advocate, traditional bike fare is more potent, cheaper and shouldn’t damage painted or lacquered composites so long as waiting times are religiously observed.