Pro-GreenMTB Bikewash and After-Shine101

I have a cleaning regime for my bikes. I need one with commuting as I found the hard way that it is much easier to keep bikes clean on a per ride or weekly basis than let them get really dirty and then spend hours trying to get rid of all the baked on filth. With this in mind I was very interested in the Pro-Green Bikewash. Particularly as it claims … “No brush or sponge required by allowing Pro-Green to soak and penetrate dirt and grime for upto 15 minutes before rinsing off“.

Sounds excellent so far. There is an issue though. The product assumes you are happy firing a pressure washer at your mountainbike.

“Remove excess soilage from your bike first using a pressure washer”

“Allow 15-20 minutes soak time before rinsing off with your pressure washer“.

I used to ride a Yamaha WR450 Enduro bike. I trail rode and entered the WOR Off Road Races. A days racing or trail riding in North Wales saw the bike return wearing a new coat of mud and dirt. I used Putoline cleaners which were much the same as this. You *had* to use a pressure washer as a hosepipe would not clean the mud off the bike. It was ONLY used reluctantly on areas where it would not damage the bike as it was easy to blow decals off the bike or strip grease from bearings. So, there is no chance I’d put a pressure washer lance anywhere near a delicate mountainbike.

I decided to crack on with testing the Pro-Green, but using a strong hosepipe which has proved more than adequate for cleaning my mountainbikes, roadbikes and cars where I don’t trust the power of a pressure washer.

I decided to try the Pro-Green out on my Mondraker Dune (I’d just ridden a wet Roman Lakes route) and my Fondriest winter road/hack bike (which had just done 75 miles commuting in mainly wet conditions over three days).

Before:

I left the Pro-Green for a full 15 minutes. This was annoying as I’d probably have cleaned the bloody bike by now if I’d just got on with my normal wash routine. Still, Keep with the instructions. I then spent a fair time cleaning the bike off with the hosepipe.

After: 

All looks ok, but on close inspection the bike isn’t nearly as clean as it needs to be. I resisted the urge to wash the bike as I normally do, and instead got degreaser our for the chain and block as I wasn’t prepared to leave them dirty. I sprayed the bike with Pro-Green After-Shine101 whilst the frame was wet (as directed) and left the bike to dry. Once dried I had a close look at the Mondraker. It looked dirty. On the plus side the After-Shine had worked well on the frame and that did have a glossy look to it.

You will notice no ‘After’ pictures of the Fondriest. Thats because I had to wash that ‘my way’. The Pro-Green Bikewash didn’t get near the roadgrime. 20 mins later the bike was washed and degreased and looked like this:

Conclusion

The Pro-GreenMTB Bikewash isn’t a replacement for washing and degreasing your mountainbike. At best it’s a rather pointless prewash. You need to use a lot of it per wash too. This is how much was used just to clean off the Mondraker …

So, one bottle will probably give three or four (at the most) washes. I personally don’t see the point. Unlike cars (where you can pre-wash with snowfoam) there just isn’t the need for this with mountainbikes. The Bikewash won’t do anything with road grime/oil, so despite it’s green credentials you still need to reach for the trusty degreaser to reach the parts that Pro-GreenMTB bikewash just won’t touch.

One positive was that the Aftershine-101 did what it said on the tin and left the frame looking glossy. But, I prefer to dry the frame, chain, discs off to get rid of excess water so prefer to not leave the bike wet to dry off (as is required for the Aftershine to work).

So, it’s a no from me. I definitely don’t want to pressure wash my bike(s), the Pro-GreenMTB Bikewash leaves the bike dirty, delays you by upto 15 minutes waiting for it to work and the end result leaves you washing the bike again anyway.