Purple Harry Bike Floss

As a polishing zealot I appreciated Purple Harry Bike Floss and its straight from the packet grime purging practicality. Available in three versions (including a carbon friendly fleece) these pipe cleaners on steroids will speed your steed to a showroom shine, refresh those parts traditional brushes cannot reach and better still, theyre made right here in Blighty. However, the abrasive bristles can clog very quickly and aren't reusable in the washable sense so would work out expensive if you're fastidious about the entire fleet and were too lazy to give cassettes a quick brush/comb through first.

The soft jumbo fleece is designed specifically to meet the proliferation of carbon, anodised and thinly plated goodies for a gentle yet efficient cleaning action. Adding a quick shot of furniture polish restores the carbon weave to its concors glory while the bendy cores allow bespoke contortion for those irksome dirt-traps beneath the crown, bottom set race, callipers, cantilever bosses etc. Ours cut through congealed traces of turtle wax deep in the otherwise inaccessible areas of hub flanges in a few deft motions. Be warned this level of detailing can lead to full-blown obsessive compulsive behaviours, with hours, nay evenings lost in the quest for perfection on brake/gear controls, lugwork, saddle rails bottle cages and similar goodies.

Then we come to the nylon bristles, which work by harvesting grime and dirt from the drivetrain. Medium is for really closely spaced 9 and 10speed clusters, pedal cleat mechanisms, derailleur cages and jockey wheels-the large siblings do much the same, although better for tickling between older triple cranksets and six speed blocks. Technique determines whether the floss becomes a practical addition to the toolkit or costly indulgence since grime collects very quickly within the bristles-especially that attracted by wet lubes. As far as I can tell these are not designed to be reusable in the way the washable Finish Line Bike Floss we've also reviewed is. Our Purple Harrys ddn't come with any care insuruction though of course you can clean off most of the gunk with degreaser - which I did, it works but performance does start to degrade, but then their pipe cleaner bendiness is very useful so they are worth taking care of… and they are three quid cheaper than the Finish Line floss.

I found the best way to use them was was to start by giving the most heavily soiled regions a preliminary brush through with more traditional tools before introducing the abrasive floss to the cleanest areas, working in a delicate scrubbing motion. Used gently, this lifts light tarnish from polished alloy hoops without unsightly swirls or scratches, leaving 75% free to treat derailleur cages, jockey wheels and between polished alloy chain-rings-minimising the risk of cross contamination.

Verdict

Effective easy to use detailing brushes but servicing a large and varied fleet of bikes could prove expensive