Wash And Shine
A few weeks ago I posted an article about how to wash and wax your bike to keep it sparkling clean. After the article was published the good folks at White Lightning were kind enough to send me a bottle of their new Wash & Shine Cleaner & Polish for review. Prior to getting this product I used Dawn dishwashing liquid to clean my bikes because most bike-specific cleaning products were pretty much the same—they got the dirt off the bike, but no better than Dawn. However, the White Lightning Wash & Shine is in an entirely different category—it not only gets grit, dirt and road grime off your bike but it puts down a protective layer of carnauba wax that will really make your bike shine!
The first time I used Wash & Shine I took one of my dirty mountain bikes outside with a water hose, bucket of water and a soft brush (just like I normally would). However, once I read the directions I realized that those items were not necessary—all I had to do was spray the Wash & Shine on the bike, wait about five minutes, and then wipe it off! The bike I was working was covered with a thick layer of dust and a few seconds after I sprayed on the Wash & Shine the dirt started coming off, so I waited a few minutes and then took a cotton cloth (an old T-shirt) to wipe off the bike—the dirt was gone and all that remained on my bike was a beautiful shine.
To get be greatest benefit out of this product I do have two suggestions. First, once a year you should apply a coat of Turtle Wax Super Hard Shell Paste Wax to your bicycle frame—this will make cleaning it up in the future a lot faster. Second, if your bike is covered with mud you really need to rinse it off with a water hose first. You could just spray on an entire bottle of Wash & Shine to loosen up the dried mud, but that would be a waste of money.
A 32-ounce bottle of White Lightning Wash & Shine Cleaner & Polish retails for $10. I was able to clean four bikes with just one bottle—a small price to pay for a beautiful bike! This product is biodegradable, non-toxic, solvent-free and safe for carbon fiber. You should be able to find this cleaner at your local bike shop—if they don’t have it in stock they can easily order it for you.
elisariva
July 30, 2012 at 8:39 AM
Timing is everything! After riding Saturday after it had rained I have road grime on my bike. Time to clean it. Thanks for the review.
All Seasons Cyclist
July 30, 2012 at 9:51 AM
Glad I could help — this stuff works even better than advertised!
Cary Gossett
July 30, 2012 at 12:45 PM
Great blog! Lots to learn and enjoy here. I’m still exploring. You have a new fan. I’ve been building and riding bikes since childhood–got bike blood one might say. Some of my bikes are on Cyclofiend’s web page http://www.cyclofiend.com/index.html under Cary Gossett, if you are bored and want to have a look. I think I have bikes in each category in the early years when the page was just created. Recently, I started a blog http://rollinwithouttacolon.com/ with some bike posts under the category Bike Shorts — A few short stories and some “how to” posts. Much is on the work bench for upcoming posts. I’d be honored if you stopped by for a visit. I must confess, I’m lazy — I never hose off my built bikes, and the only cleaning is on the parts I’m working on or a frame awaiting a build, and the titanium frames get the rare brillo pad treatment to polish out visible scratches. When I do clean a painted frame, I use Speed Shine, a concours car cleaner and wax in one from Griot’s Garage. Interestingly, the White Lightning is the same color. I’ll have to see which is cheaper by volume. Maybe I’m a bit sentimental too. I still have red dirt on my Bontrager single gear, the frame Keith Bontrager named Onceler, from a 2004 trip to Sedona, AZ. I’ve wiped the frame down, but left the red dirt as memorable patina against the Coca Cola colored paint.
Gears to ya,
Cary
PS: I’m breaking in an Alfine 11 sp belt drive hub. Makes a soft clicking sound in almost every gear, soft or hard pedaling. The cable lines are dead on, so the sound remains a mystery …
All Seasons Cyclist
July 30, 2012 at 7:37 PM
Gary – Thanks for the note! If my garage is absolutely quiet I can hear a faint clicking noise on both the Alfine 8 and Alfine 11 hubs — and I have no idea what causes it. However, the best I can tell, it does not add any rolling resistance so i am not going to worry about it (yet). I can’t hear it at all when I am on the road.
Cary Gossett
July 31, 2012 at 12:34 PM
The clicking happens only while pedaling, but intermittently. Quiet in the stand. No rolling resistance I can detect. Maybe I can find a Shimano Doc on call . . .
All Seasons Cyclist
July 31, 2012 at 1:27 PM
Are you positive the noise is coming from the Shimano hub? It might be from your bottom bracket or even your pedals.
Cary Gossett
July 31, 2012 at 3:35 PM
Yeah, that crossed my mind too and I ruled out pedals and BB, each smooth and torqued to spec. The whole bike (& each component) is new with about 150 miles on it. I can hear the clicking distinctly from the hub. Really appreciate your attention to this! Baffling, huh?
GMSP
August 5, 2012 at 4:31 PM
apparently if you search ebay for “road film remover” (at least in the uk) then the stuff that comes up has the same ‘active ingredient’ as muc-off for a fraction of the price. apparently.
All Seasons Cyclist
August 5, 2012 at 5:03 PM
Muc-Off Biodegradable Bike Cleaner is sold in the US, but I have not tried it yet and I can’t find the “active ingredients” list either. The White Lightning product not only got the road film off my bike, but it put down a layer of carnauba as well.