I can't believe I sat though a whole video of Josh talking about soap and still learned something. Who knew you could get nerdy about soap.

You are perhaps the world’s greatest salesman: I mean this as a pure compliment. Because you are credible, because you present facts, because you are articulate, I am a better informed consumer. And retail, whether people want to acknowledge it or not, is what makes the world turn ‘round. Obviously I don’t take what anyone says as gospel, but when other credible, third-parties with no axe to grind, back up what you say with independent, rigorous testing, that gives me confidence. Thanks for the content.

Josh thinks outside the cultural box that the cycling community lives in. He has a test/improve mentality. Thus he produces great products. More power to him and to Silca. 😊

Josh, well done! I have three cars and none of them have ever been in a carwash. Infact, when I buy a car I tell the dealer to not wash it when it arrives. On my truck people always ask if it's new. They're shocked when I tell them is almost 5 years old because it's a dark color and it doesn't hide contamanets very well. They get hand washed and blown dry often, I use nothing but the finest soaps and waxes. I've used the same for my bikes, until today. I had a matte finish on my Aethos and got tired of it showing every little scuff so I polished it out to a high lustre finish, now its a head turner. My Tarmac is white and is not as flashy, but also a beauty. I'm a huge fan of Silca products and placing an order right now.

15:40 - "I won't say their name, but I'll hover over the tab so it comes up on screen despite me cropping the tabs out" - well played!

@davidlilja9180

11 ай бұрын

Well picked up Alex, I won't say MucOff Nano's name out loud either! He's a clever guy, our Josh. Whilst watching out for his own ass (we should all follow good legal advice), he still wants to help us watch out for our own asses & wallets too, out here in the real world. Informing us of the crap some makers wanna sell us is not popular with many 'fly-by-night' companies, after all!!!

@johnhouston8297

18 күн бұрын

Yes I stopped using MO Nano a couple years ago, it would literally strip the grease away from bearings.

Josh raises the bar in everything he does.

What an amazing video, who would have thought a discussion on soap could be so interesting and illuminating

How refreshing is it to see a vendor actually give a shlt about the product and not how many pennies they can squeeze out of it. Silca fan for life.

We're in the midst of something special... a vendor passionate about quality... with the competence to make things happen. Rare combo.

52 trips around the Sun and I’ve never thought of checking the MSDS of soap🙄. Thanks for the enlightenment. Josh never disappoints.

Everytime Josh makes something new my wallet opens up by itself 🙂

@trbeyond

Жыл бұрын

Haha. So true!

This might explain why the coating on my brake calipers has come ever since I decided to save money by washing my bike with Dawn. I thought it was sweat but I don’t sweat that much and definitely never anywhere near the back tire caliper.

I picked up the Silca brake/drivetrain cleaner today... fantastic product! This will be in my chain maintenance repertoire as long as I can buy it. Afterwards topped off with Silca SS drip. Easy peasy!

Great video, I wasn’t really convinced I needed bike specific soap, but might have to buy a bottle.

as a semi-profesional auto detailer I clean all my bikes with top quality soaps, wax, and ceramics. I also ceramic coat my frame and the paint to keep the luster bright and scratch free. and its also cheaper than bicycle products

@lukeenyart1073

17 күн бұрын

How much would you charge to wash/detail a bicycle at your work?

You know perfectly well that "sulfuric acid, C10-C16 alkyl monoester, sodium salt" does not have sulfuric acid in it. It's the same detergent as in the previous case, mixed with several other closely related detergents of different chain lengths. The "sodium salt" part means it's not even acidic. And sodium hydroxide as an ingredient to pH balance a product is not the same thing at all as having sodium hydroxide present. If it's used for that purpose, the hydroxide has been converted to water. I do believe the Silca products are well formulated, but salt is the only (slightly) concerning thing you pointed out in any of your competitor's products.

@cellsheet

2 ай бұрын

Are you able to provide more information on the sulfuric acid, C10-C16 alkyl monoester, sodium salt portion? I'm curious as to what it does contain and if that's safe for bike frames after all.

@alans1816

2 ай бұрын

@@cellsheet Sodium dodecyl sulfate (wikipedia has an article) is the 12 carbon version. C10-C16 just means it's a mixture of closely related detergents of varying lengths.

@simkomir

17 күн бұрын

Yes, this part is really weird. Josh should at least know that you cannot have sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide together in one solution. It shouldn't be too difficult to just measure the pH of Dawn.

Excellent content as usual. Thanks.

Definitely a good idea to check the MSDS on these products. I'm curious about all the hazards mostly and I totally agree Dawn is probably needlessly harsh based on their MSDS contents. I've never used it so it's news to me it is so revered among pro bike mechanics (but I know a lot of gardeners swear by it to kill aphids and such!) Fwiw most mechanics I know use Orange soap. That said I'd be surprised if anyone is washing their bike with undiluted soap so quoting undiluted concentrations there could be misleading. They are likely diluting it in water at least 10-20:1 or more. I know I do anyway.

thanks for educating!

Last time I watched a Josh video it cost me $200 on all new Allen Keys, now I am throwing away all my dishwashing liquid 🤣

Just a quick clarification. The sheets are now called SDS, back in 2013 the whole world went to the Global Harmonized System. So in case you get audited by OSHA, all your MSDS's need to be updated to actual SDS's.

Now I'm more worried about my garbage disposal falling apart from aluminum damage than my bicycle. Thanks for the interesting video, Josh.

@SILCAVelo

11 ай бұрын

Ha! That's why those things use stainless steel for 100% of the wetted components!

Big fan of the Silca line of products for cleaning my bike. Clean bike is a fast bike.

The Rain X detailing spray does a nice job keep the bike shining

Great presentation, very detailed (you are channeling Adam from Zero Friction?).....in summary....use this, it is amazing and it won't eat your bike!!!

Wow. Had absolutely no idea.

I think that about/(just before) this point your impact would have been far greater had you included the instructions on use, and a quick demonstration of preparation, use, and affect. JMS

Recently, I pretty much destroyed a vintage gruppo by "cleaning" with a common commercial product marketed to cyclists. It really destroyed the anodized surface, and a decades-old patina and it broke my heart. I think it was marketed as a "green" de-greaser. Unexpected result, so I grok you. I've been using your stuff on my bikes now and I have no need to worry. Way back in 60s, 70s and 80s, I recall using glass cleaner, Simichrome and Turtle products to clean/polish my bikes and components... But hey, my pops used Simichrome to shine up his motorcycle wheels and cars fenders, so there you go. Eesh. For my cars I use a certain German product with a decent reputation. For my bicycles, I trust you guys.

@larryt.atcycleitalia5786

6 ай бұрын

Household degreasers are not friendly to anodized or polished aluminum. Simple Green makes some stuff for airplanes that works well. When I can't get that I've been using automotive alloy wheel cleaning spray with good results, though some of these products smell terrible! OTOH, cheap dishwashing liquid thoroughly rinsed off has worked well for decades whether the bikes washed were steel, aluminum or carbon. Sorry Josh, but I'm not a fan of making cycling more like F1 in any way, shape or form, even if it's just cleaning products.

Pretty convinced the “bubble gum” stuff caused cracking on my 4iiii polycarbonate cover. Will be looking at alternatives. Thanks

@brunoj6146

7 ай бұрын

My 4iiii cover (drive side) cracked even without agressive soap. Consumed already 2 specialized branded. I have purchase 2 spares from 4iiii and hope they will last longer.

Very impressed with the graphene spray. The bottle will last for years.

Rumor has it, he blue dawn is the one to get, it has some enzyme in it that breaks the oils and grease down. It's the one used to clean after oil spills hit the shores. The Bobo brands and even other dawn variants, not the same.

@SILCAVelo

Жыл бұрын

Yes, there is a professional grade product used for oil spills and the like which is even more concentrated. If you've ever worked in a commercial kitchen or restaurant you know this one as it's used in the commercial dish washers.. it's phenomenal and can fully clean things in just a few minute cycle. Of course, it also dissolves the plates which is why you have to replace the plates every year!!

Is dawn the culprit for the shimano crankset recall?

I’m using this to wash my car as well!

I use pH neutral shampoo, and it's fine, doesn't destroy fat or oil. Easy and cheap. If it's good for your skin, it can't be bad for other coated things.

@phillybogana

18 күн бұрын

He mentions in the video that soap can get in the bearings. Shampoo likely has fats and/or lotion, which may not be great for bearings.

@TnFruit

18 күн бұрын

@@phillybogana soap is very thick, I think it's the water which get in the bearings. But it's the soap which can destroy the fat, like dish soap. Every bike cleaner has soap in it. It's the pH level that matters.

I get Dawn isn't good for the frame, but their heavy duty degreaser good for drive train cleaning?

Good approach, but i think the concern about sodium hydroxide and sodium chloride is misplaced. The former is used to adjust the final pH of the product. It doesn't matter how corrosive NaOH is on its own. What matters is the final pH of the product. If it's very alkaline or very acidic that would pose a problem. And the tiny amount of NaCl is unlikely to do any harm either. I think Josh's approach needs to consider more than just the individual ingredients and concentrations. What are the final pH, viscosity, detergent strength, and other key properties?

@SILCAVelo

Жыл бұрын

Working on a followup now to further explain this, but the problem isn't the initial ingredient concentrations, but rather the buildup of what is left behind after each cleaning.. so NaCl or NaOH one time is no big deal, but the buildup of NaCl and NaOH after multiple washings in the interface between a steel bearing race and aluminum axle becomes a big deal over time.. think of it from the perspective of a 7075 aluminum spindle next to an E52100 bearing race.. as long as we have some nice grease in between we're fine, but erode the grease and replace with some NaCl and NaOH residue and we've just built a super low voltage 'battery'

@davidlilja9180

11 ай бұрын

Residue/residual build-up, after 40+ years auto & bicycle mechanicing, it's amazing what can build up after not so long. Our planet & our wallets can both benefit from better choices.@@SILCAVelo​

How many washes does it take to cause issues? There's a big difference between 5 washes & 100 washes

Would ceramic/waxing your frame or wheels provide any marginal gain in your opinion?

I’m using Synergetic oil based lubricant. What chain cleaners are recommended as the Bike Wash may not be effective?

@SILCAVelo

4 ай бұрын

You can use SILCA brake and drivetrain cleaner on the chain and it will remove and clean the Synergetic, then hit it with the soapy water, rinse and you're ready to relube.

Nerd life, baby. It's how we roll.

I wax and seal my bikes so I use chemical guys auto soap. When I'm stripping the wax I use Dawn.

@davidlilja9180

11 ай бұрын

What do you use to strip the Dawn hand lotion from your chains?

Sorry, I didn't locate an email address. Question for you. During heating of the Silca super secret hot wax, my crockpot heated my wax to 240 degrees (F) I know that is almost 100 degrees hotter than necessary, but will it (did it) damage the wax in the process?

@SILCAVelo

8 ай бұрын

If the wax is damaged from overheating, it takes on a sort of brown color when it cools. If your wax is still a whitish grey or solid grey color when it cools (this depends on cooling time, the longer it takes to cool the more of the WS2 sinks to the bottom) then you are fine, if it looks yellowish brown, then it's damaged.

Check the pH nominated on the pink cleaner SDS, 10.8 to 11.4, this is very poor for aluminiums of any type, ok for steel and plastic materials, the alakaline element is an excellent cleaner which in combination with the surfactants lifts the dirt away, but you have to be careful and make sure it is not left on for a long time and is washed off completely. The type of anodise used on aluminium is not optimised for corrosion resistance which is why painted frames are more resistant. Ultimate is still an alkaline wash but does not contain sodium hydroxide to remove the dirt, so it is less aggresive. As with all things to do with expensive bikes, be dilligent.

Hey Josh I purchased and received a new titanium frame that arrive this week. I watched your video a couple of days before I received the frame. Upon receiving the frame the company sends an email how to maintain the frame. They list different lubes and grease they recommend as well as how to clean. Interestingly they claim they used and recommended cleaning with dawn soap. This goes completely against your wash philosophy. Would your wash products work well with titanium frames. The company is Lynskey performance. I think you might want to contact Lynskey and have a talk of their cleaning recommendations. Thank you I can forward the email if there cleaning methods

@SILCAVelo

10 ай бұрын

We've seen the list and it honestly just hasn't been updated in nearly 20 years to take advantage of more modern options. If you are Lynskey, Dawn soap is low risk as neither the sulfuric acid, nor the sodium hydroxide, nor the salt in the formula will harm titanium.. however, all of those things can quite damaging to high strength aluminum alloys as well as steels and all can play significant roles in accelerating galvanic corrosion at the interfaces of dissimilar metals. As mentioned in the video, the tell-tale sign of a pro bike washed repeatedly with Dawn is aluminum BB spindles and hub axles where the anodize has been completely etched off and the aluminum is beginning to pit under the bearing races due to soap residues being trapped in these areas.

The DAWN is a killer chain cleaner in 200 degree hot water

material safety data sheet

Where can i buy this? I'm from Denmark

@SILCAVelo

Жыл бұрын

silcavelo.eu/products/bike-care-set-of-4

That left product looks awfully similar to Optimum No Rinse.

Pro team mechanics wash bikes with water and soap because they have an enormous workload and they don't care about a bike lasting more than one season. People need to stop washing bikes. As a mechanic of 30 years in the IBD, hosing a bike down is a huge mistake.

Bro, I use a lot of your stuff. You do not need to spend 90% of the video telling why other people's shit sucks. Please spend more time on the benefits/advantages of using your products; a discount code would be cool too. Just sayin. Thank you!

Sell me this pen.

Please don't add "fragrance" all artificial fragrancies are horrible. If possible I always avoid those products.

Booooo