off-road.cc

The RinseKit portable bike cleaner is a bike wash without batteries and no pumping required. It’s simple to use and move about but the pressure is severely lacking making it disappointing and actually not that great at its principle job of cleaning.

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Simple in construction the Rinsekit is a pressurised container that stores 2 gallons of water (9 litres). Water is added to the container via your hose which pressurised the water chamber at 65psi (standard tap pressure in homes) as the water flows into the sealed unit. The hose is then unattached and replaced with a spray nozzle, with seven spraying stream options, in order to dispense the water.

RinseKit says that that container can be filled within 20 seconds but in reality this is much longer, try 2-3 minutes depending on the water pressure at the hose. The water can be stored up to one month at pressure. The cleaner is supposed to deliver pressurised spray for up to three minutes.

We found that the unit produced good pressure worthy of spraying clean a bike for approximately 30 seconds, after which the spray was quickly diminished. The solution to the lack of pressure of the spray is to top up the unit with water, use a bike pump and the extra adaptor (at £49.99) to re-pressurise the container or just bear with it and wipe the bike down as your spray to remove grit and mud.

The pressure produced and length of time spray lasts for also depends on pressure of the hose that you filled it with and what setting you have the hose nozzle on, we mostly used the flat spray and the shower to similar effects though. 

The unit is a neat shape, it’s relatively small 35.56cm (35.6 x 30.4cm x 43.2cm) and its easy to move around or store in the car to wash down the bike post ride. It doesn’t leak and it also doesn’t need charging or pumping so its pretty much maintenance and effort free to live with too. The hose and the attachments, plus small cleaning brushes or bottles all package up under the lid which is also strong enough to sit/stand on if needs be.  

The RinseKit at £90 is cheaper than most other portable cleaners but given the disappointing pressure spray we reckon you’d be better off saving your pennies and opting for another brand. There are other accessories, however, which may make the RinseKit a more tempting prospect including a heater to warm water for showers, a pressure booster pump to re-pressurise a filled container, a refill bag and a sink adaptor if you don’t have access to a hose for filling. 

In summary, it is easy to fill, albeit it takes longer than they say, it doesn't leak, it fits in small spaces and it does spit out water just not at the rate you'd expect or for the length of time you'd like. If your main concern is that you want a cleaner that doesn't need batteries, plugging in or pumping then RinseKit is right up your street. If you want a super, easy to clean bike, you'd best steer elsewhere.

• www.rinsekit.com

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