Bicycle Spa Collection in the test
A perfectly clean road bike can save around 15 watts of power compared to a dirty bike - at least that's what Silca boss Josh Poertner, former Technical Director at wheel manufacturer Zipp, claims. He doesn't say how dirty a racing bike has to be for so much more wind resistance, but he does refer to his four-piece cleaning and waxing set for a rather sporty 160 euros for a maximally slippery speedster. The brake and drive cleaner from the Bicycle Spa Collection is used to remove grease and dust. It is easy to spread and dissolves oil and grease well.
The universal cleaner is not sprayed onto the bike, but diluted and spread onto the bike with a sponge. This requires a little more effort, but gives a better result. The spray wax is then applied to the cleaned surface and polished. The resulting protective layer should prevent dirt from sticking. We tried this on two test bikes, one on the down tube and one on the fork blades, and found no effect: The waxed and unwaxed surfaces were equally dirty.
Care set from Silca in detail
>> Prices (480 millilitres each)
- Brake + Drivetrain Cleaner: 35,95 Euro
- Ultimate Bike Wash: 29,95 Euro
- Ultimate Graphene Spray Wax: 54,95 Euro
- Ceramic Waterless Wash: 35,95 Euro
Strengths: The cleaner cleans well
Weaknesses: The spray wax hardly prevents dirt adhesion
Matthias Borchers
Editor
