CeramicSpeed UFO Bike Wash

CeramicSpeed's UFO Bike Wash is a spray-on cleaner that boasts good cleaning power and great eco credentials, but you need a lot more than recommended - consequently, per wash, this is a very expensive option.

Like the CeramicSpeed UFO Drivetrain Cleaner I tested recently, UFO Bike Wash is non-toxic, free of PFAS (a group of chemicals which are very harmful to your health and the environment) and is also biodegradable. It comes in the same 500ml bottle, which has a very good trigger spray.

CeramicSpeed recommends you rinse the bike first, then "Spray a brush or sponge 3-4 times with the foaming UFO Bike Wash and gently scrub the bike ... Repeat until the whole bike is covered in soapy foam."

Doing this doesn't give you nearly enough product on the brush to be effective when combined with the water remaining on the bike. Spraying it straight onto the frame is very effective, meanwhile, as it then easily dissolves grime.

The only downside to spraying it on directly is how much you end up using. After cleaning two bikes (one of which was particularly dirty), I had used up about two-thirds. At nearly £20 a bottle, that's not cost-effective at all. With the recommended cleaning regime the company says you can get up to 30 washes from a bottle, but then I didn't find that much gave a good wash.

Also, I personally wouldn't use scrub a painted frame as instructed as I would worry about scratching it. My preferred approach would be to spray the cleaner on the bike, leave it to work in, hose the bike down and follow up with a bucket of soapy water.

Value

For even slightly dirty bikes (let alone off-road bikes) I personally feel the claimed number of uses you're getting is totally unachievable, especially if you don't want to risk marring your paint by using too little lubrication. In my opinion, on a moderately dirty bike, you could probably get about six washes out of the bottle with careful application, which works out at about £3.33 per wash.

There are plenty of alternatives for less. Morgan Blue's Bio Bike Cleaner has decent eco credentials, and according to Emma you get about 12 washes per litre, which seems about right for properly dirty bikes. At £11.95, that works out at almost £1 per wash.

An even cheaper option, as reviewed by Liam over on off-road.cc, is Weldtite's Dirt Wash. It's also biodegradable and for £9.99 you get a litre of decent cleaning performance, with a spray head that offers lot of coverage.

Overall

This dissolves grime very effectively, but you really need to use more than the instructions say – which means the price per wash is very high.

Verdict

Effective cleaning power, but only if you use more than instructed – and that makes it expensive