Needless to say, hard, robust plastics do not go away, which may well distress those with eco-cred, but may make these, and their like, a family heirloom (you can have my bikes too my son, but all the money has gone) provided the bristles stay put. Early days, but sixteen through cleans done and only grime has come loose. Of course, the brushes will get dirty, so giving them a clean, especially those used on the drive train is a good idea. A quick spurt of degreaser on those and a good wipe with an old rag should be enough to prevent cross contamination. Again, this is common in brushes of this type.

The broad brush pretty much cleans itself in a sudsy bucket wash, but when used with sprays or after coming into contact with greasy bits – maybe chain rings or derailleurs – it will benefit from a clean. On that front, the Zefal model seems, in my experience, to be less prone to matting than some others, such as the Oxford version I’ve used for many years. The latter has thicker, bunchier bristles, which may have something to do with it. It is, in any case, a marginal gain. Keep your brushes clean, anyway.

On another note, I’ve had reports of solvent based cleaning fluids destroying some brushes. I’ve sampled the Zefal ZB with some, but not noticed any rapid deterioration, but time might tell.