Muc-Off Pressure Washer

Muc-Off's new pressure washer for bikes is a good pressure washer for bikes, so that's alright then. It's also versatile enough for a range of other cleaning-related tasks. If you're thinking that a pressure washer might be a handy thing to have, and bikes are among the things you'll point it at, it's certainly one for the shortlist.

• Pros: Good range of pressures for various tasks
• Cons: Switchable lances not as user-friendly as an adjustable one

What you get is, fundamentally, a pressure washer like a lot of other pressure washers out there. The 1200W motor will squeeze out six and a half litres of water at 100 bar of pressure, and in that sense it's very similar to many of its competitors. The form factor is similar to a smaller Kärcher washer or one from a wealth of other brands. It's pink, though, to make it stand out.

> Order this online here

If you lurk around on the internet asking whether you should use a pressure washer on your bike you'll get plenty of people letting you know that a high-pressure lance will force water into the delicate bits of your bike and cause them a premature death. So as well as a full pressure lance you get two others with the Muc-Off. One's designed for bicycles, running at a much lower pressure so it won't squeeze water through your bearing seals. The other one is a motorbike one, which runs at a pressure in between the other two; it's a bit more aggressive, but still okay on well-sealed motorbike bearings. And probably higher quality bicycle bearings too, if you take care.

The three lances cover pretty much any cleaning job you're likely to want to do with a pressure washer. Most of the time you won't need to switch between them for a certain job, but it's not quite so elegant a solution as an adjustable pressure lance that can be more easily tailored to the job in hand.

All the bits and bobs can be housed in a roll-top dry bag (£24.99) which Muc Off supplied with our washer. It's handy for not losing any of the components and not tripping over the hose in the garage, and it also means that you could keep the washer outside in the yard if you didn't have room in the house for it as it's well protected from the elements. It's definitely worth having.

There's also an optional foam lance; our washer didn't come with that, but for £119.99 you can get a bundle with the bag, the foam lance, a litre of Muc-Off Bike Cleaner and a litre of concentrate to make up another four litres of bike wash. That's about a £20 saving over buying all the bits and fluids separately.

All of the components are 'coated in a soft touch matt black finish, not only for user comfort but to lower the chance of damage if the nozzle knocks accidentally against a bike' according to Muc-Off. I can't say I've ever damaged my bike with a pressure washer lance, but I guess it doesn't hurt to have thought about it.

I've used the Muc-Off pressure washer on the bike, obviously, and also on the driveway. I don't have a motorbike but I did use the motorbike lance on the car. The difference in pressure between the different lances is immediately obvious: the high pressure one can easily blast moss and grime from brickwork, whereas the bike one is just a bit more powerful than your garden hose would be. If you've ever been to a trail centre and used a washer there, it's a similar kind of cleaning power to those machines, although it probably doesn't push quite as much water. The motorbike one is good for general cleaning of surfaces and non-critical bits and pieces of your bike.

As a kit, this is well thought through. If you don't already have a pressure washer and you think one might be useful for more than getting your bike clean, the Muc-Off has a lot to recommend it. A quick douse, maybe some higher-pressure attention to non-bearingy bits, some general scrubbing of really dirty parts and then a rinse with the bike lance and your bike will look dandy. After that you can tackle the patio or the car or the dog*.

In terms of value, it's decent. You can buy a similarly powerful washer from Halfords for 50 quid, but you don't get the low pressure lances with that so you'd have to be a lot more careful. A Kärcher K2, which features an adjustable power setting instead of separate lances, has a similar RRP to the Muc-Off. The bottom line is that you're not really paying a bike premium for a bike product here, like you sometimes do with more multi-purpose equipment.

Do you need a pressure washer to clean your bike? No, you don't. If you want a pressure washer for cleaning your bike, or just generally cleaning stuff, bike included, is this a good one? Yes, it is.

*don't pressure wash your dog

Verdict

A good pressure washer for bikes that'll tackle your patio too