Polished Performance

Well, the wetter weather has arrived, meaning dirtier bikes and presenting an ideal opportunity to put this Pro Green MX triple pack through its paces. 

These are a little different to the classic bog standard, blow, scrub and rinse staples.  

Devised by a team with Moto Cross roots, I was expecting something a bit special from the Coventry based brand and generally speaking, I’ve been impressed. First up, we have their hi-performance cycle wash, which is a super rich, lathery, surface-friendly brew. Now, park bikes in your usual scrubbing spot, flick the trigger and apply top to toe from around thirty odd centimetres away.

Give ingrained gloop a quick tickle from your favourite soft brush, then leave marinating for five minutes, yes-five minutes before rinsing off with tepid water. I’d deliberately left the Univega’s middleweight PTFE infused chain prep cultivating gritty, lumpy contaminant to see how their drivetrain degreaser would shape up.

This one is also supposedly surface friendly, although clearly contains some mildly corrosive nasties given the warning labels. It can either be decanted into a clip-on chain bath, or brushed into the chain, cassette, rings and jockey wheels old school mechanic style.

Calling their bluff, I basted a light coating around the tubby tourer’s Shimano dynohub shell, rings, derailleurs and went in search of fresh water. This also needs five minutes to marinate. Time up, I sloshed water over the transmission parts. A tsunami of dull grey sludge pooled by my feet, leaving behind a gleaming chain, cassette and rings, which just needed a quick wipe-dry before being treated to some fresh lube. 

For the grand finale’ I treated paint and bright work to the brands’ After Shine 101. This is a blend of “emulsion silicones and waxes” designed to be applied in a fine mist and left air drying for thirty minutes-without any owner input.

Again, I was a little sceptical about the streak and sticky-free claims, especially since the pump-spray nozzle deposited splodges, rather than a fine mist, resulting in some unsightly runs.

These evaporated within a matter of minutes, almost before my eyes, imparting a really smooth, glossy coat. Not that the enamel was in poor shape but the after shine 101 masked some very minor imperfections and battle scars that come with eighteen years and 113,000 all weather miles.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be testing their prowess on different kinds of grot, more sophisticated lubricants and of course, seeing how effective the silicone infused film is at repelling spatter. 

In my experience, many silicone-based products produce a rich glossy shine but are ultimately sticky, attracting a grimy patina after only a few damp rides, so we’ll see...