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review
Lubrication
Effetto Carbo MoveEffetto Carbo Move

Effetto Carbo Move

8
by Shaun Audane
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published May 28, 2012

0
£8.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Excellent freeing spray and not just for carbon goodies.
Weight: 
207g
Contact: 
www.upgradebikes.co.uk
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Effetto Mariposa Carbo Move is an effective penetrating lube designed to be kind to carbon fiber components: think of it as Plus Gas for the composite age. It's sensitive enough to shift stuck-fast carbon goodies without damaging the resins that hold them together, but still has enough penetrating power to free up fasteners you overlooked last winter. It'll even tackle one of those notoriously quick-seize fluted posts beloved of retro road bikes.

Nudging nine quid for 200ml might sound expensive but is a drop in the ocean compared with shop labour or frame repair after brute force component removal.

What we have here, then, is a mightily potent secret formula that goes a very long way if used methodically. A quick squirt is all that's required for removing its companion product Carbo Grip on a properly pampered bike, but neglected winter hacks still call for some appliance of science.

We used Carbo Move to shift a royally stuck alloy post from a steel frame - a lugged & brazed eBay find. The process goes like this. Work somewhere well away from naked flames. Undo the binder bolt and give the Carbo Move a vigorous thirty-second shake. Spray a quick shot around the binder bolt, where the post meets the frame and leave for five minutes or thereabouts.

Get a couple of zip ties and an old jiffy envelope and tear it down the sides. Grab the post (preferably via the saddle) and see if it'll twist free.

No joy? Wrap the old envelope around the post, and secure it with the zip ties. Apply a series of short blasts of Carbo Move at five-minute intervals to the affected area.

By now the solvent should be cascading nicely along the bubble wrap and creeping inside the seat tube.

Leave to penetrate for an hour or so and try again. A quick tap from a rubber mallet can break the corrosive seal, allowing you to wrestle it free.

This technique freed up our stuck post in an hour, but extracting the bottom bracket from a friend's slave bike required an overnight stay, six repeat applications, a quick tap, a long-handled splined tool and lecture on the importance of greasing threaded parts.

Verdict

Excellent freeing spray and not just for carbon goodies.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Effetto Carbo Move

Size tested: n/a

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

"Carbo Move, 200 ml size, is a chemical blend that acts at the same time as penetrating oil and as powerful solvent". Does just that and with great gusto.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Easily cleans Carbo Grip traces

Very effective at removing seized parts (give it the time to work, 24 hours maximum)

A must to remove stuck aero seatposts

Doesn't damage carbon composites or metals

Available in 200ml bottle

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

No nasty side effects (save for evaporation) left longer than 24hrs.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Essentially a penetrative spray for the modern workshop, it's not just for carbon fibre and will free stubbornly seized seatposts, stems, bottom brackets/fastenerrs without resorting to damaging "brute force" techniques.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Extremely effective when used intelligently.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 38  Height: 1m 81  Weight: 70 kilos

I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset  My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

 

penetrating lube
Effetto Mariposa
Carbon Fibre
Shaun Audane

Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)

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