SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING

Purple Harry cleaner and degreaser is another two-in one bike shampoo that blitzes most light to medium four seasons grime without doing nasty things to precious composites, or pretty finishes. 

 

It follows the familiar aim; shoot and rinse narrative and is active on contact-no need to pre wash filthy machines. Water based, other active ingredients include Butoxypropan and Alkalidimethylbenzycammonium. These are popular industrial chemicals, one a cleaner cum biocide, the other a cationic surfactant providing the sudsy component. Unfortunately, they are toxic to aquatic life and irritating to eyes/skin, so use carefully, avoiding prolonged exposure.

 

Common sense precautions aside, it’s an absolute doddle to use. Park bikes outside, blast them top to bottom and give the solution three minutes gobble time while you nip indoors to fill a bucket. Less visually active than some, second helpings and localised agitation from soft and medium brushes were necessary on ingrained dirt.  

 

This was particularly true of bikes plastered with winter’s caustic, slushy, salty cocktail, although most organic and light petrochemical mess slithered away during the first warm water rinse.  Using a different trigger spray produced a thicker, foaming layer, accelerating this process and ideal for tainted handlebar wraps.  

 

Extending waiting times to five minutes hasn’t resulted in streaking or dulling. This favours modern matt finishes, which can respond unpredictably-there’s been no hint of discolouration to date, save for a few oily splodges that were easily banished using a specialist protectant. 

 

Grease busting prowess is reasonable when used liberally and in conjunction with their bike floss, or transmission claws but we are talking several minutes. Contrast this with dedicated degreasers that will lick congealed gunk from cassettes and rings in seconds- if not on impact. 

 

When all’s said and done, it has a lot to offer riders seeking a single wash n’ go shampoo that will cater for all their bikes and who don’t mind buying a separate degreaser, or working a bit harder to get drivetrains up to scratch.