Review - Purple Harry Bike Floss

Review: Purple Harry Bike Floss

Keeping your bike clean is important for making sure that it keeps running smoothly, reducing wear and for finding any problems before they become big and expensive. Also, if you are like me, there is a sense of satisfaction in making sure your precious steed remains looking new and shiny.

The Bike Floss range is designed to seek out all those little places where dirt, grime and oily abrasive paste build up. There is a choice of three grades:

Large bristle. Less abrasive and softer than the medium, but not to be used on Carbon fibre components. Use on derailleur’s and the drivetrain.

Large fleece. Ideal for polishing/final buffing, and for all Carbon fibre parts.

Medium bristle. The most abrasive floss, perfect for cassette cleaning.

As you can see in the picture, the purple flecks are stiffer more abrasive bristles, while the white ones hold onto the dirt.

There are five pieces in each re-sealable packet, with a recommendation on their use printed on the label.

Be careful when handling the medium bristle version, they are prickly; they caught me unawares even before I had opened the packet! The short stiff bristles had punctured through the bag and I originally thought that perhaps some of the wire core was broken and poking out, but realised that the purple bristles that cover the whole length were to blame. From then on I wore gloves while using them.

How to use them: As their name suggests, you use them in a flossing action, I tested them on my cassette and chain by following the guidelines provided. Purple Harry has produced some helpful videos on their YouTube channel showing how to use them too. http://www.youtube.com/purpleharrybikestuff

Firstly I applied some degreaser and left it to soak into the dried oil and grime before getting to work with the medium bristle floss.

I found it very easy to quickly work my way around the sprockets, moving the floss down to each space in turn, starting at the back one to the front. The thickness of the floss is made to fit snuggly into the sprocket spacing, meaning that you are cleaning both sides at once and the bristles are long enough to clean all the cut-outs on each sprocket too, I was expecting to have to finish off these and the top faces of each one separately, but it was not necessary.

I then used the large fleece bike floss to mop up the remaining degreaser and buffed up the sprockets back to their shiny silver, it was at this stage that I learnt that I had sprayed too much degreaser onto the sprockets because the fleece soon became saturated, alternatively I could have washed off the degreaser with clean water before using the fleece to dry it. The next time I will use less spray and this will make the job much faster.

The results: See my before and after pictures below:

Although it is unclear from my poor photos’ the cassette and chain has had a thorough clean, with every visible place where dirt could hide now a pleasing shiny surface instead.

To achieve this result I had only used two of the floss sticks, and don’t think that once used they should be thrown away – Purple Harry say that they can be cleaned with either degreaser or white spirit and used several times. I left mine soaking in a bath of degreaser overnight, and they will be put to good use on the chain and sprockets again. So if for instance, they can be used five times each, that is twenty-five washes per packet – not bad for the price.

Improvements that I would like to see; Due to the unexpected sharpness of the bristles in the medium floss stick, I would prefer it if the packaging was improved to protect your hands. I suggest that a clear plastic vacuum formed container with a clip-shut lid would work well and it could also be used as a bath to leave them soaking after use.

Also, as they are sold in packets of five items per bag, to clean and dry the cassette properly you will need to buy at least two packets (one medium bristle and one large fleece), a nice option would be to have available a prepared pack that contained all that you need to clean your drivetrain a few times; a couple of medium bristle floss sticks, a couple large fleece sticks, perhaps one large bristle floss and a small bottle of Purple Harry degreaser.

Final Verdict: These products are easy to use and do their job well, my drivetrain has never been so clean. They are not too fiddly to use and will make your bike in ‘showroom’ condition, great for adding that extra smart appearance by ridding those little crevices of dirt.

Be warned! Once you start looking for those little places where dirt calls home, the more places you will find need cleaning. For those inclined, it could become a little obsessive and you’ll spend more time with the Purple Harry Bike Floss than riding!