There are more spray-on hose-off bike cleaners available now than you can point a scungey toothbrush at. Made in the USA, Slick Wash is a new entrant to the Australian market. Like most of its competitors, you spray it onto your grotty bike, let it soak in and  work its voodoo dirt/oil dissolving magic, and then hose it off. It’s biodegradable and Slick Wash promise that it’ll play nicely with your bearings and nice anodised components.

We opted for the 6-ounce sachet (170ml approx) of super concentrate. Mixed with water it will make you one gallon (3.8 litres) of ready-to-use bike wash.

Because the sachet isn’t resealable, you’ll want to have a 4 litre spray bottle to mix it in, or else you’ll end up with a half full packet of goo just waiting to get spilt across your shed floor. Compared to some other mix-yourself bike washes, it’s quite runny, which makes it easy to mix with water. It smells pleasantly citrusy too, making us think there’s an element of citrus degreaser in the formula.

We used around 400ml of mixed wash sprayed from a pressure sprayer to give our Yeti a good soaking after a muddy rider, and then left it for 10 minutes as per the instructions while the wash soaked into the mud before hitting it with the hose.

A firm hosing produced good if not amazing results. The Slick Wash did a good job of penetrating into the dirt and lifting it clear of the frame, but was less effective on greasy residues and drivetrain grime. We did a second application around our cassette, derailleurs and cranks and used a brush to help the mix penetrate. This netted a better outcome and gave the bike a lustre we’d hoped for.

Compared to some automotive-focused products we occasionally use on our bikes, Slick Wash (and most bike-specific washes) are less aggressive when it comes to removing oils and greasy. This is actually a good thing, as there seals, bearings and lubricants that you don’t want corrosive cleaners to damage.

Assuming around 400-500ml of mixed wash per bike, you’re looking at just over $2.50 per application; value that’s comparable most other bike washes. All up, Slick Wash is another good product in this well stocked marketplace. Decent value, good performance and plenty of options/quantities in both concentrated and pre-mixed formats. We’d happily recommend it.