off-road.cc

The line up of Peaty’s own gear is expanding with the new addition of Loam Foam Bike Cleaner. It’s a minty fresh bike wash that will shift dirt well as long as you employ the helping hand of a soft brush.

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Peaty’s Loam Foam Bike Cleaner claims to be a professional cleaner that shifts dirt fast, I’m not sure quite what constitutes a ‘professional cleaner’ but I guess if this is good enough to use on World Cup race bikes in all their custom painted glory then this is probably it.

• Buy Peaty's Loam Foam here from Greenover

The Loam Foam is, as you would expect these days, biodegradable and safe for use on all bike surfaces from the carbon bits to the alloy bits to brake discs and pads. The directions for use say there is no need for a pre-rinse, just spray on, wait 3-5 minutes where the organic gelling agents to help it cling to the bike, then simply wash off with clean water. They do say stubborn dirt may need to be agitated with a soft brush to before washing the product off. It’s also worth noting the cleaner isn’t loam specific, other types of muck are accepted and cleaned too.

Loam Foam, produces foam as soon as it hits the frame

Getting home from a dirty ride in the UK usually means you’ll have enough mud attached to your bike that you will need to hose it off if the cleaner has any chance of contacting the frame so not needing to rinse first isn’t really a selling point here. Spray on the bike wash and the cleaner foams up as soon as it hits the frame with a minty fresh hint in the air. You need a fair amount to cover the whole bike but once done it sits on the frame and goes to work. Given the amount of mud that is usually dried onto my bike after a ride and a car journey home, I needed to use a brush with the cleaner every time to get rid of the dirt, it didn’t disappear on its own.

Post wash is a streak-free affair but I did notice the cleaner did make my disc brakes squeal somewhat for the first section of trail next time I rode but whatever residue was there was quickly removed with no impact on the braking.

Peaty’s Loam foam comes in 1 litre bottles with a spray nozzle for £9.99 and 5L tubs for £29.99. In comparison with other brands the price of the cleaner sits well, 1L bottles of Muc-Off are the same price and Duck Smart comes in at just £1 cheaper. There is another celebrity cleaner on the market too though, Guy Martin’s cleaner is £6.50 for 1.5L of cleaner but we’ve yet to review that one – watch this space.

With the use of that brush (my weapon of choice is a paintbrush) the Loam Foam removes mud from the frame and grease from the drivetrain with relative ease. For the former, it’s not head and shoulders above any other cleaner but it does foam well and smells nice. With the latter in mind, it does a good job, bearing in mind it’s not a full-blown degreaser or specific drivetrain cleaner. In all, it’s a nice smelling product that works from a famous man that knows a thing or two about bikes. Performance is good and the price is on par with its peers but there is nothing really noteable to put it head and shoulders above the rest.

• www.peatys.co.uk
• www.greenoversports.com

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