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SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING
LATEST UPDATE: JUNE 28th
HOW DO WE DECIDE OUR OVERALL RATINGS FOR PRODUCTS WE REVIEW?
Blub Brake Cleaner
450ml £10.99
An aerosol spray, the BLUB Brake Cleaner has worked effectively on all brake components. Whilst comparatively profligate, some of us like the raw power that it offers compared to the precision of some others. I’ve found it to be easy to use and effective: and that is what you want for your brakes.
Pros: powerful, especially on lumpy grime.
Cons: can be on the profligate side.
Spec
The BLUB Brake Cleaner aims to cater for all brake surfaces and components. It claims to clean and protect, and improve braking. It’s safe on all surfaces, including carbon and anodised components – except your eyes or your skin, which may be irritated by it. It isn’t good for children, pets, or aquatic life. Personally, I’d keep it away from plant life, too, although it has not done anything useful to the weeds that dominate my garden. Long lasting effects are warned of, with regard to water and its inhabitants. Sounds to me like one for the workshop rather than the trail-head. Oh, keep it away from heat, too – but that’s true of aerosols in general.
BLUB give nothing away on their website, although there’s clearly a gas propellant and a cleaner, both of which evaporate.
There’s a straw taped to the can, an aid to accurate application – unless you are like me and usually mislay the thing. Still, I can’t blame BLUB for that.
Application 3.75/5
Fundamentally, just shake, point, spray.
The mist is propelled at a pretty rapid rate. Be prepared for a good old blast the moment you press. Whilst this may mean that you use more than you need, it is likely that any lumpy bits of grime clinging onto discs, pads, or anywhere else, will simply be blown away. That counts for straw or straw-less delivery.
I found getting close up to the target area helped accuracy, although the straw helps considerably. The aerosol for Dirt Wash Disc Brake Cleaner, for example, has narrow nozzle enabling a narrow stream of cleaner to be directed with a greater degree of accuracy (and no chance of losing the straw). The straw enables you to get close up if there are obstructions, such as racks. Without the straw, the Blub Disc Brake Cleaner is less subtle, spraying the potion more widely. This is not necessarily a major problem. It seems friendly to all surfaces (check this out before getting it on posh paint jobs), but it seems to be more profligate. On the other hand, the power and breadth make for a thorough coverage of discs, callipers, and pads.
Some disc brake cleaners should be left to evaporate, according to their manufacturers. BLUB – and their products do seem to have charming little idiosyncrasies – instruct the user to wipe surfaces with a clean cloth, ideally cellulose, or, even better, a paper towel. I have to say, that I was surprised at just how much light dirt came away on the kitchen towel. Equally, it makes sense to wipe away residue on the callipers etc., anyway.
Performance 3.75/5
I’ve already mentioned that the powerful spray tends to blast away lumpy dirt. Whilst this diminishes as the spray gets close to empty, it still holds true for most of its life. That is not its only virtue. Wiping the brake parts, including rotors, has lifted small, but significant amounts of dust – visible on a paper towel if not on the rotor. Of course, it is not just grime that we want stripped from rotors and pads, its splashes of oil that can cause contamination on or off road. Thus, I went for an extra spray – first time – and left the second dose to evaporate. Braking was certainly sharp and clean. Silence accompanied braking without annoying whispers as the wheels span round.
Second clean around, I dropped the extra dose. Visual inspection suggested that the rotors were spotless. Use, too, made it clear that a single dose and a wipe had proved sufficient to cleanse pads, rotors, and other components.
Cleanliness can be achieved with a good bike cleaner. However, even with cleanliness being next to Godliness, one may want to put one’s faith when in pristine rotors and pads when barking. Does the Blub Disc Brake Cleaner do this better than others. I’d say possibly, but marginally. Having said that, it does have an edge also if one is not doing a full wash but just want to blast the brakes.
It lives up to being safe on all surfaces – although you may want to check things out if you have matt or particularly fancy paint jobs. Although I have usually cleaned rims (not all my bikes have disc brakes) as part of a bike wash prior to focussing on the brakes, the BLUB works perfectly well on rims as braking surfaces.
Value 3.5/5
Weldtite Disc Brake Cleaner comes in marginally cheaper, whilst my old friend Dirt Wash Disc Brake Cleaner comes in around the same price. In fact, BLUB disc Brake Cleaner certainly falls into the ball-park price bracket for disc brake cleaners. That, given that I think it has the edge over some others in certain circumstances, would seem to make it good value, even at a slightly higher price.
Summary
An effective spray for getting grime off your disc brakes in a rush. This may suggest trail-head convenience as well as home fettling.
