Cleaning your bike isn't just about making it look nice, it's impoꦦrtant to keep your components free of encrusted dirt and the potential for rust. That's where the best pressure washers for bikes will come in handy.
Washing the grime off post-ride is the best thing you can do to keep your steed running happier for longer. This is especially true when it comes to 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:winter cycling, as that's the time of 🎃year when there's a plethora of dirt, road grime and mud lurking, ready to coat your🌟 drivetrain.
After a muddy ride, it’s important to make sure you get the muck off your frame before it solidifies because once it's dry, it’s harder to remove than a chainring mark on your brand-new white 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:cycling socks.
There is a fair bit of controversy when it comes to pressure washing bikes, but as long as you're sensible and don’t point a stream of high-velocity water directly into bearings seals at point-blank range, we think they c🐎an be a beneficial tool to simplify your post-ride clean up.
Read on for our picks of the best pressure washers for bikes, head to the bottom for our advice on what to look for in a pressure washer, or educate yourself on the best cleaning practices in our guide to 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:how to clean your bike.
The best bike-friendly pressure washers you can buy today
Touted as ‘the world’s first bike-specific power washer’, Muc-Off’s take on the jet wash isn't all that different from a light-duty unit from your local hardware store, requiring both a power and wa🌜ter source. It has a flow rate of 6.5-litres per minute and a max pressure of 145💜0 psi.
It comes with three lances, including a low-power head specifically for bikes — Muc-Off is also offering a snow-foam head, which has an inline mount for a bottle of your favourite bike wash to give your bike a bubble bath. For the time being, the Muc-Off Pressure washer isn't available to our Aus൲tralian readers, but can be found in the US and Europe.
The Aqua2Go pressure washer holds 17 litres of water and runs off of an internal 110v rechargeable battery allowing foꦯr about 12min of spray time. W𒁃ith the included ‘pistol’ sprayer, the pressure can be adjusted from 44psi up to 115psi, and the 5m hose means you’re not tethered directly to the unit.
It’s one of the more weighty portable washers on this list, with the fixed battery tipping the🐷 scales at 7kg before it's filled wit൲h water - the washer does have wheels for easy manoeuvrability though we would like to see some slightly larger wheels fitted. The washer also comes with a showerhead and brush with an inline mount for soap or bike wash.
With a 7.5-litre capacity, the Rinse Kit requires no b💞attery or pumps, instead utilising an internal pressure chamber to drive water through the end of the nozzle. When it's time to spray, the Rinse Kit will give you about two minutes at full blast before the pressure starts to drop off - about enough time to de-mud a bike. If you’re cleanܫing multiple bikes by yourself, there is a pump accessory that allows you to top up the pressure.
The tank is insulated (R♛inse Kit also offer🐼s a car cigarette-lighter-powered heater), so you don’t need to freeze cleaning up in a trailhead parking lot, and the washer can be filled either using a garden hose or your kitchen sink.
Roughly the size of a small cooler, it ꦜcomes with a 1.8m hose, 🎃meaning it can be left in the back of your car while spraying off bikes.
The Mobi V-15 utilises a 12v accessory plug to power the pump which pushes water fr♕om its 15-litre reservoir out of the spray nozzle at up to 135psi. From full to empty, the washer will spray for just under seven minutes at full chat.
The hos﷽e is long enough to leave the reservoir in the back of your car, and the washer uses a clever anti-lag system to deliver a constant stream from the moment you press the trigger untilꦉ it runs out, preventing air from finding its way into the pump.
Mobi also includes a showerhead and brush attachment, though we didn't think eithe🦩r was particularly useful 🐽for bike cleaning.
Best if you want to use the same batteries across a tool eco system
☆☆☆☆☆
Specifications
Capacity: N/A
Power source: 2v or 4v Battery
Portable : Yes
Unit Weight : 1.3kg (without battery)
Reasons to buy
+
Adjustable Power
+
Multi-spray nozzle
+
You can interchange batteries across Worx tools
Reasons to avoid
-
Heavy and can be difficult to handle
-
You will need a water source at hand
With the pump located inside the lance; Worx claims the Hydroshot offers about 363psi of pressure on tap, and the multi-spray no💟zzle allows you to customise the sღtream, you'll just need to find a water source.
It comes with a hose, a collapsible bucket and works with fittings fr𓆉om a standard garden hose — you c✨an even screw a bottle into the bottom.
Worx makes an extensive range of power tools, and the Hydroshot uses the same battery as the drills, saws, grinders, and leaf blowers in the range; so if you’ve already bought in༒to the ecosystem, all your tools batteries will be compatible.
(Image credit: Bosch)
6. Bosch Fontus
Best if your at a muddy race or are manning the cyclo cross pits
Reasons to buy
+
Large water tank
+
Long battery life
Reasons to avoid
-
The hose is a little unruly
-
Higher retail price
Roughly the size of a piece of carr👍y-on luggage, the Bosch Fontus is a fully self-contained unit which runs on th💯e brand’s standard 18v cordless power tool batteries. For a portable unit, the Fontus has a sizable 15-litre water tank, and weighs nearly 10kg empty — luckily there are wheels and an extendable handle, so you don’t have to lift and carry the hefty unit.
The spray gun looks like a garden hose head and offers four spray patterns and tღhree pressure settings. We think this is handy as users will be able to choose a less intense setting for more sensitive areas of the bike such as headsets, hubs and bottom brackets. This should help minimise water ingress into these sensitive areas. There is also accessory storage and an in-operation gun holder which we like.
(Image credit: Karcher)
7. Karcher K2 Full Control
Best for all out spraying power
☆☆☆☆☆
Specifications
Capacity: N/A
Power source: Mains
Portable : Yes
Unit Weight : 4.3kg
Reasons to buy
+
A boat load of accessories
+
German build quality
+
Twist pressure adjustment
Reasons to avoid
-
Snow foam attachment sold separately
-
Can be a little noisy
When it comes to electric power washers, there is a whole hardware store full of units that will turn your water tap into a concentrated stream. For bike cleaning (and general domestic use) we like the Karcher K2 Full Control. It's a bit more powerful than the Muc-Off unit with 1600psi on tap but included is the Vario Power Spray Wand which allows you to adjust the wa💎ter pressure with a twist.
A snow foam nozzle can be purchased separately, which allows you to attach a bottle of bike wash and cover your bike in a layer of fo꧋am. Although snow foam is a fun way to clean your bike, it also helps protect the paintwork. Loosening and transporting mud and dirt off the paintwork without the need to agitate it by hand, thus reducing the risk of adding swirls and scratches to the paintwork.
What to look for in a pressure washer
How much power do I need in a bike-friendly pressure washer?
If you are looking at a pressure washer for your bike, you only need enough power to un♌stick stubborn mud.
When it comes to flow rate, the lower end of the spectrum will be more than enough to clean your ride; look for a jet washer with a max pressure below ~100-bar or about 1400 psi - even then you won’t n⭕eed the full power - and a low flow rate to minimise water usage.
Will a pressure washer damage my bike's paintwork?
Yes, at point-blank range, it can, but not if you stand back and allow yo🍌urself a good distance. It's true that even with a light-duty pressure washer, at point-blank range, you can still strip the paint off your frame, not to mention grease from the inside of bearings. Take a few steps back to the distance where the stream begins to transition to mist, and only move closer for really tough mud.
Look for a nozzle that fans the water out into a sheet as ☂this will help to get rid of the stickiest mud while alsꦇo spreading the water pressure out over a wider area.
Based on the Gold Coast of Australia, Colin has 𒉰written tech content for cycling publication for a decade. With hundreds of buyer's guides, reviews and how-tos published in Bike Radar, Cyclingnews, Bike Perfect and Cycling Weekly, as well as in numღerous publications dedicated to his other passion, skiing.
Colin was a key contributor to Cyclingnews between 2019 and 2021, during which time he helped build the site's tech coverage fꦇrom the ground up. Nowadays he works full-time as the news and content editor of Flow MTB magazine.
