Review: Muc-Off Bike Care Essentials Kit

Winter rain makes keeping your bike clean essential. Find out what I thought of this kit from Muc-Off

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As an all-weather, all-seasons cyclist, my bike tends to get pretty mucky, and obviously I want to keep it as clean and shiny as possible. I had been using just soap and water, but this wasn’t really up to the job. Roads in winter tend to be quite oily and it wasn’t easy to get the layer of black off my bike, especially the wheels.

The kit in full. Cleaner, protector, brush, sponge and tote
bag to keep it all together. Photo by Idoru Knits.

That’s where Muc-off’s Bike Care Essentials Kit comes in. The package includes a sponge, a wheel and component brush, a Nano Tech bike cleaner and an after-clean bike spray, which protects and shines, and it comes with a tote bag to keep it all together. This all represents the first two parts of a three-part programme; the third, lube, is sold separately, and all elements in the kit can be bought separately too.

It’s much less labour intensive than soap and water and the end result is cleaner and shinier

It’s really easy to use, especially if you have a garden hose. Just wet your bike, spray it all over with the cleaner and then leave for a few minutes. Give it a good going over with the brush and sponge and rinse it all off with the hose again. Then spray with the bike spray to get rid of excess water and help protect against grease.

It works, too. It’s much less labour intensive than soap and water and the end result is cleaner and shinier. The bike spray really does help keep your bike clean between washes. You do use an awful lot of the cleaner, though. About a quarter of the bottle each time, so just four uses until you need a replacement, costing £8.50. There are various other kits to buy, however, which might save you some money.

My only real criticism is the sponge, which after just two uses has started to fall apart, with bits coming off. This is because I used it on the wheel spokes, so possibly my own fault, but I would have expected a sponge meant for cleaning bikes to hold up when attending to the spokes.

The sponge has unfortunately already started to fall apart.
Photo by Idoru Knits.

Cost: £25
Available from: Muc-Off
Disclaimer: this product was bought and paid for by me

New bike alert

I’m looking to upgrade, and this is what I want

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I think it’s safe to say that in just a short time I’ve become something of a cycling convert. I’ve had an awful lot of use out of my little hybrid. Commuting to work most days as well as heading out for rides on Sundays, through rain or shine (mostly rain!).

When The Chap bought me this bike we deliberately went for a cheap model as I had no idea if I’d carry on cycling – we didn’t want to spend hundreds of pounds just for the bike to end up in the shed for the next two years before getting Freegled. I also particularly wanted a hybrid so that I could use it for both commuting and for cycling along the River Lea towpath if I so wished.

At £599 this is apparently an entry-level road bike, although 600 quid sounds quite expensive to me

But now I feel it’s time to move on. I’ve always loved road bikes, or racers as I called them when I was a kid. After doing some research and trying out some bikes, including the very lovely Bianchi Women's C2C Nirone 7 Dama Sora, I have made my decision: the Felt Women’s ZW100. At £599 this is apparently an entry-level road bike, although 600 quid sounds quite expensive to me.

The bike has been specially designed for female riders and made for comfort, with a ‘relaxed geometry’, which allows a more upright riding position than some road bikes. This means it should be ideal for regular commuting.

I’ll be ordering the bike after payday (end of the month!), and will of course blog about it when it arrives.

The Felt Women's ZW100

Review: Craft ladies’ performance bike stretch jacket and dhb ladies’ merino zip neck base layer

The winter weather has really tested my cycling kit this month. Find out what I thought of my new jacket and base layer

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The last couple of weeks have provided me with the opportunity to really test out my winter cycling wardrobe. While this winter on the whole has been really rather mild, the last couple of weeks have included at least one very cold day and lots and lots of rain.

The base layer
When I took the dhb base layer out of the packaging my first reaction was “This is too nice to keep as a base layer – I could wear it to the pub!” The fit is absolutely spot on and I love the bright raspberry colour (it’s also available in grey).

The merino mix fabric is so light and thin it seems impossible that it could keep you warm, but so far I’ve mostly only needed the base layer and my winter jacket. In fact I’ve only twice had to wear another layer. It’s also incredibly comfortable to wear, and I speak (type?) as someone with very sensitive skin.

The dhb base layer. Love this colour.

The top is great at keeping you toasty while wicking away sweat. Unlike my other (cheaper) ones it doesn’t start to smell sweaty after a couple of outings, which is a bonus. I tend to push myself pretty hard on the bike, so yes, I do sweat, and I don’t want to start smelling a bit musty after just a couple of rides, or be constantly washing my kit.


My only gripe is the lack of choice regarding colour. All women’s cycling kit seems to be either pink or black/dark grey. Now I actually like pink, but that doesn’t mean I want everything I wear to be in this colour, and I don’t really want to be head to toe in black either. The combination of black leggings and top is just too ‘mime artist’ for me. A nice purple or turquoise would just add to the choices available.

The jacket
Combined with my Craft ladies’ performance bike stretch jacket, I haven’t really needed any other layers this winter. The jacket got a proper testing a couple of weeks ago, when, about halfway home, a light rain turned to a downpour of biblical proportions, complete with hail stones and high winds – I can reliably report that hail stones blown into the face while riding sting a lot.

By the time I arrived home my bottom half was absolutely drenched. In fact my shoes were still wet the next day, despite being left on a radiator all night. My top half, however, protected by the jacket, was completely dry.

By the time I arrived home my bottom half was absolutely drenched – my top half, however, was completely dry

It’s pretty hot in the looks department too: dark purple with turquoise stripes and silver light-reflective accents. I like long sleeves and the jacket doesn’t disappoint. The elasticated cuffs keep the wind out when I’m riding, but what I really like is the long ‘over-cuff’ which covers part of my gloves and provides an extra layer of warmth.

I’m generally not keen on tight clothing, so I’ve had to get used to the ultra-fitted look of cycling gear, and when I first put on this jacket I was a bit unsure. However, on the two occasions that I’ve had two layers on underneath it was fine. The fit is actually really good now that I’m more comfortable with the snugness of cycling clothing.

The Craft jacket. Sorry no photos of me wearing the clothes.
I tried but couldn't do it with my iPhone.

Both these items were given to me by family members as presents and were bought from www.wiggle.com; the jacket is no longer available.