SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING

to check out suitability, say if you have a special paint job, by a quick application in a hidden nook. Moreover, Oxford do not recommend it for carbon or plastics – they have their Silicone Detailer (review to follow) to include those.

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Application 3/5

 

As ever, a good shake sets the process off. Actually, before that you need to clean whatever it is you are applying it to. There’s no point spraying it over a later of dirt. So, get out your Mint Bike Wash, or similar, wash away the grime, clean you drive train, and so on.

 

Although this is a water dispersant, give things time to air dry or get out a cloth and dry by hand. I prefer the former, but that might not be possible, if, for example, you are tidying things up at the end of a jaunt before loading the bike into the back of the car.

 

Apply carefully – avoid braking surfaces as if your life depended on it: it may do. The spray leaves a thin oily film. So best take the wheels out and be very careful around disk brake callipers and brake pads.

 

I’ve wiped off excess with a cloth, although there has been little obvious wastage.

 

Performance 3/5

 

Following a sudsy wash for the commuter, I’ve treated moving parts – drivetrain, headset, axles to a dose of Mint Protectant. Impact is not easy to asses, but quick release skewers seem to have fared well – springs and acorn nuts have avoided the all-to-usual rusting after a few weeks of commuting, Seat posts have benefitted from a shot, too. Impact on seals and bearing races is harder to judge. I’m a fairly gentle washer, although those who hose-down bikes – especially with jet washes – may find it efficacious.

 

Dirt-wise, remember this is a protectant. The oily film may make it harder for dirt to grip, but you should not expect it to keep your bike clean. I’ve found that dust – from crushed limestone cycle paths, for example – wipes of easily, revealing a livelier looking paint job without a proper wash. Larger conglomerations of dirt find it harder to get a grip, but will, inevitably take hold at some stage. However, when it comes to creating a dirt-repelling surface and maintaining a really rich colour, it does not match protectants with a silicone element, such as Muc-Off’s version.

 

On the topic of the oily film, it is pretty clean stuff. I’ve tended to limit use to the forks, hubs, lower parts of the frame, chain-stays, rather than the top-tube and other parts likely to come into contact with shorts or – when commuting – smarter trousers.