Bike Wash

[Grebel]

10-4 GOOD BUDDY

 

I should have started that with a "Breaker breaker!"

[carlf]

I think a wash off is in order, all suppliers can submit there bike wash to one of the local magazines and they can give a fair review on these manufacturers.

[Frosty]

Working in the "cleaning" business, I get deal with a lot of chemicals - more for industrial use than to clean bicycles, but the basic principles are the same.

 

1. Many people don't allow the chemical to do it job, i.e. spray on the surface and allow to stand for a few minutes before wiping away.
   Instead, they pour it into a bucket with water, thereby diluting the chemical and then try use elbow grease to get the dirt off - all you're really doing is wasting the product, and creating a sand-paper like substance that scratches the surface.
   
2. Biodegradability doesn't mean you can throw it down the drain. South Africa doesn't have a standard for "green" chemicals, so most companies that want a genuine "green" product will adhere to the European standard, known as the Ecolabel. Any organic substance will eventually biodegrade once it is discarded into nature (whether it takes 10 days or 850 years). The amount of time that it take to degrade is what separates the better products from the good products.
   Biodegradability alone is not a guarantee of environmental and human health safety. For example, a biodegradable product containing phosphates (and other sources of phosphorous) will be an environmental stress. Similarly, a biodegradable product containing alcohol and solvents will present a toxic risk for human health. A “readily” biodegradable substance will degrade rapidly in the environment without the risk of accumulating in the environment (provided oxygen is present in the environment in question).
   
3. Just like a bike lube, there aren't bad lubes out there, just the right lube for right application. Dish wash (Sunlight) is not bad, but it's not designed to wash mud and grime off your bike/components.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Ge®aldM24™

[Klint Powasol]

Its official, from the 1 Jan 2012 look out for the Powasol Advert on HUB SA.

 

Thanks BUDDIESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

 

O one more thing, I`m choosing 5 Hubbers who have never tried our products, send me an email with your postal address, follow on Twitter @powasol and tweet (I`m a PROUD HUBBER and wanna try @Powasol), go "Like" the Powasol page on Facebook and say the same thing.

 

I`ll choose 5 strangers that wont mind me calling them Buddy, China, My Mate, Bud, whatever as long as we can be friends on the Hub!!!

 

Mr Tread did a surprise write up in the Sep/Oct issue page 72, please note though the labels have changed. The entire range is now POWASOL.

 

LETS DO IT!!

[TNT1]

Its official, from the 1 Jan 2012 look out for the Powasol Advert on HUB SA.

 

 

Well done, buddy. Sorry if I was blunt, but good on you.

[Klint Powasol]

Well done, buddy. Sorry if I was blunt, but good on you.

No need for sorry`s it`s the right thing to do!! How was Sabie?

[River Rat]

No need for sorry`s it`s the right thing to do!! How was Sabie?

Not wanting to answer for Bob but Sabie was great, your product was great but your service at Sabie sucked big time. Your best time for the three days to wash my bike was 2 hrs 52 minutes and worst 3hrs 45 minutes. I did not bother on the last day as I worked out that I could probably drive to Pretoria and wash it myself in the time took would take your guys. Compared to the Dusi Mfula (average 25 mins) this was not your finest hour.

[The Drongo]

I think a wash off is in order, all suppliers can submit there bike wash to one of the local magazines and they can give a fair review on these manufacturers.

 

Yes.

 

That should be t h r i l l i n g g g!

 

50 ways to wash Your Bike - Rated

 

Wash your bike like The Pros - 30 seconds!!!

Muck Off - NOW

 

...if you don't mind I'll give that one a skip. Thanks

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Working in the "cleaning" business, I get deal with a lot of chemicals - more for industrial use than to clean bicycles, but the basic principles are the same.

 

1. Many people don't allow the chemical to do it job, i.e. spray on the surface and allow to stand for a few minutes before wiping away.
   Instead, they pour it into a bucket with water, thereby diluting the chemical and then try use elbow grease to get the dirt off - all you're really doing is wasting the product, and creating a sand-paper like substance that scratches the surface.
   
2. Biodegradability doesn't mean you can throw it down the drain. South Africa doesn't have a standard for "green" chemicals, so most companies that want a genuine "green" product will adhere to the European standard, known as the Ecolabel. Any organic substance will eventually biodegrade once it is discarded into nature (whether it takes 10 days or 850 years). The amount of time that it take to degrade is what separates the better products from the good products.
   Biodegradability alone is not a guarantee of environmental and human health safety. For example, a biodegradable product containing phosphates (and other sources of phosphorous) will be an environmental stress. Similarly, a biodegradable product containing alcohol and solvents will present a toxic risk for human health. A “readily” biodegradable substance will degrade rapidly in the environment without the risk of accumulating in the environment (provided oxygen is present in the environment in question).
   
3. Just like a bike lube, there aren't bad lubes out there, just the right lube for right application. Dish wash (Sunlight) is not bad, but it's not designed to wash mud and grime off your bike/components.

 

I forgot I posted here ...... but I like your comments, you come across with facts and not sales pitch, leaving the customer to decide on his own.

[Klint Powasol]

Not wanting to answer for Bob but Sabie was great, your product was great but your service at Sabie sucked big time. Your best time for the three days to wash my bike was 2 hrs 52 minutes and worst 3hrs 45 minutes. I did not bother on the last day as I worked out that I could probably drive to Pretoria and wash it myself in the time took would take your guys. Compared to the Dusi Mfula (average 25 mins) this was not your finest hour.

Esh my heart is broken, Dusi Imfula we averaged at 80 - 100 bikes a day. Sabie 380 - 500 bikes a day. Come on give us a break. I`m sure your bike looked great after the wait. Next time ride faster so you dont have to wait so long!! First come first serve. But thanks for using us anyway...........see you at the next one.

[Klint Powasol]

Esh my heart is broken, Dusi Imfula we averaged at 80 - 100 bikes a day. Sabie 380 - 500 bikes a day. Come on give us a break. I`m sure your bike looked great after the wait. Next time ride faster so you dont have to wait so long!! First come first serve. But thanks for using us anyway...........see you at the next one.

O one more thing.......Wash, Polish and Lube average 350 bikes per day for 4 days with a nice touch of MUD. I think your judgement is HARSH!! But as a businessmen I will take your complaint into consideration and do what we can to speed things up. I appreciate your honesty!! (Someone throw me a tissue!!) Lol

[River Rat]

KlintI don't see my judgement as harsh at all. The facts are that you knew how many bikes there were as most bike washes were prepaid. You were hopelessly understaffed and resourced which equates to poor judgement on your side. Further, your security control was nowhere,

anyone could have taken any bike out of the pound, simply had no system. By the way you had great control at Dusi Mfula, what changed since then? Another irritation was that your team where taking bribes to push bikes to the front of the queue, I was made this offer on day 2 and 3, possibly would have had a similar offer on the last day but simply could not be bothered with your service. In conclusion I doubt you will see my custom into the future as what construes a reasonable service in your terms is way off what would be acceptable to me.

[Klint Powasol]

KlintI don't see my judgement as harsh at all. The facts are that you knew how many bikes there were as most bike washes were prepaid. You were hopelessly understaffed and resourced which equates to poor judgement on your side. Further, your security control was nowhere,

anyone could have taken any bike out of the pound, simply had no system. By the way you had great control at Dusi Mfula, what changed since then? Another irritation was that your team where taking bribes to push bikes to the front of the queue, I was made this offer on day 2 and 3, possibly would have had a similar offer on the last day but simply could not be bothered with your service. In conclusion I doubt you will see my custom into the future as what construes a reasonable service in your terms is way off what would be acceptable to me.

Ok lets break this down;

 

We asked for speed fencing like at Unlimited, 1. so that we could securely lock bikes away in a pound after washing, 2nd so that the pressure of the riders having to wait for there bikes was removed. We offered to look after the bikes over night like we did at Unlimited but this was not approved becuase the organisers felt that its the riders responsibility to wait for there bikes and take them back to there B & B`s etc. As for the knowing how many bikes we were going to wash, this is untrue. We had 107 out of +/- 700 bikes booked on line. Another 85 prebooked at registration. (we ended up wash close on 400 + bikes per day). We confirmed 15 staff to be waiting for us for training on the first day. We do NOT bring our staff from Dbn becuase its impossible to cart 15-20 people from Dbn - Mpumalanga feed and put a roof over the heads. As for the guys taking bribes, yes this is what happened and was only brought to my attention on the 3rd day by a rider. We emidiatly warned the guys that if they are caught they`d be sorted. On day 4 the one guy was caught out by me, he was paid and sent on his way imidiatly. (I also blame the riders for this becuase they incouraged the guys to accept the bribe, these workers are unemployed inderviduals who have no general moral, they hungry and will do everything to make a buck. Between Dalan and I we have two sets of eyes.) As for being understaffed I disagree, we had 13 of us. When a bike came in it was HP cleaned to remove the mud, then it was wash, then it was rinsed, then dried, then polish was applied, then wiped, then lube was applied. I DONT KNOW BUT PLEASE SHOW ME A BIKE WASH IN THE COUNTRY THAT DOES ALL OF THAT!! AND FINISHED 400 - 500 BICYCLES BY 5PM EVERY DAY???

 

I hate to loose business but quite frankly you are being unreasonable. To make you happy becuase I do try, next time I`ll wash your bike personally every day so you can be in and out in 15mins.

 

Merry Christmas, you a tough guy to impress!!

[Cippo]

like my car I prefer to wash my bike myself. Usually I just use car wash or some diluted Kleen Green for the grimy stuff. Works well for me.

[Jeepdude]

i don't see other product mentioned yet.. other than clean green , Powasol and Dishwash soap

[Grebel]

i don't see other product mentioned yet.. other than clean green , Powasol and Dishwash soap

 

Go and read the posts about the Yoshi.....