LifeLine Bike Cleaner Review

Wiggle's LifeLine range has expanded into the bike cleaning market, with a range of cleaning products from citrus degreaser to chain lube. As you would probably expect from the LifeLine range, these new products are designed to be wallet-friendly as well as functional. With the wet rides of Autumn days here, we gave the LifeLine Bike Cleaner a test.

Don't be fooled by budget looks

If you were to buy a product based on it's packaging, lets face it you probably wouldn't buy this. The LifeLine Bike Cleaner comes in a 1 litre bottle with a screw on trigger-spray. This works well and has a conventional 'spray/OFF' rotating nozzle. Unfortunately the bottle itself is wrapped in a label that screams cheap rather than good value. The contents of the bottle is like a soapy orange squash in it's consistency and may make you question is cleaning power over water. But, and this is the important bit, the LifeLine bike cleaner is (claimed to be) 100% acid-free so it is suitable for using on just about every part of you bike.In use, LifeLine have added a 4-step simple user guide on the label. We literally sprayed the cleaner over the bike, left for more like 38 seconds and then proceeded to wipe over with a cleaning sponge. The consistency did mean that the cleaner didn't cling to the frame of the bike brilliantly but it did clearly put a soapy layer over the surface. I would recommend that if you use this on a warmer or windy day, you will be better to clean smaller areas at a time. The day we tested the bike cleaner, it dried before the 30 seconds and left as smeary residue. After a quick rinse with the hose, you will want to wipe over the bike to avoid further smear marks.

LifeLine Bike Cleaner Review Conclusion

We would always recommend that you clean your bike as often as you can to prolong it's life, especially in the Autumn and Winter months. For a 5-10 minute post-ride wash, the LifeLine bike cleaner is ideal. The fact that you can liberally spray it on just about any part of you bike makes it easy to use. It is not as powerful as a degreaser but it does a good job of cleaning dirt and mud from a ride off your bike, whilst putting a nice finish on your paintwork. Depending on your frame type and finish, you may find this cleaner will leave smear or residue marks after rinsing but a wipe-over with a dry cloth will remove these. At just £4.00 from Wiggle, the LifeLine product is over half the price of some of the top brands and in our opinion works as well.