CeramicSpeed UFO Drivetrain Cleaner 500ml

CeramicSpeed UFO Drivetrain Cleaner is an effective, eco-friendly solution for removing grease and grime from your drivetrain. But the finish is a little on the greasy side for my liking – and it’s an expensive option.

Though this can’t compete with Silca’s Ultimate Brake and Drivetrain Cleaner in terms of pricing, it is still one of the most expensive drivetrain cleaners out there.

So what do you get for your money? The bottle contains 500ml of a cleaning solution that CeramicSpeed says is a ‘non-toxic, PFAS-free and biodegradable formula’. As well as being extremely harmful to the environment and our health, some per- or polyfluorinated alkyl substances can take thousands of years to degrade. That’s the environment tick-box checked, then.

The bottle that contains the solution – I’m not sure whether it’s recycled or not – feels like it’s of a high quality and the pump spray is good. Depress the trigger and you’re rewarded with a consistent, fine mist that allows for full coverage, though you have to be careful in windy weather.

CeramicSpeed says to shake the bottle well before use, spray it on your drivetrain, and then let it sit for three to five minutes before you rinse it off. I did just this on two different bikes: the first a friend’s which had an old and heavily contaminated drivetrain that hasn’t been cleaned since new, and the second the drivetrain on my gravel bike which does gets cleaned and lubricated every so often, but is frequently dirty as it gets used throughout the winter.

> Video: How to clean your bike – from a quick lick to a full makeover

On the first drivetrain the cleaner struggled a little on the first rinse, so I tried again. Thereafter the chain seemed pretty clean visually, but upon pulling the chain through my fingers I noticed a very small amount of oily grime remained. A third application, along with a chain cleaning brush took care of this. In my opinion, it’s best used along with a brush for maximum effectiveness.

On my gravel bike I followed my usual ritual of spraying the solution on and agitating the drivetrain with a chain cleaning brush. This combined with the cleaning potential of the UFO Drivetrain Cleaner was able to quickly cut through the minimal amount of dirt and what little lube remained on the chain, resulting in a fresh-looking drivetrain after one application.

There are a couple of things I didn’t like about the UFO Drivetrain Cleaner: one, it smells a bit ‘toxic’ even though it most definitely is not; and two, there’s a slightly greasy feel to the solution. The drivetrain doesn’t feel greasy after it’s been hosed it off, but I’d be concerned that the residue might still be there. By way of comparison, Silca’s Ultimate Brake and Drivetrain Cleaner is completely water soluble, leaving no residue after use, which is meant to aid the application of lubrication on the chain.

Value

CeramicSpeed’s drivetrain cleaner has a decent amount going for it – most notably its strong eco-credentials and decent cleaning performance it delivers. But at a quite hefty £22.99 for a 500ml bottle it is a genuinely expensive way of cleaning your bike’s drivetrain.

However, even that is more than £13 cheaper than Silca’s Ultimate Brake and Drivetrain Cleaner, which I felt was both incredibly effective and incredibly expensive. And while I do prefer Silca’s offering – just – that doesn’t make it 13 quid better.

Oxford’s Mint Chain Cleaner costs a lot less, just £8.99, but Ash thought it did a decent job and it doesn’t leave any residue, but it doesn’t have the UFO’s more eco-friendly credentials.

Juice Lubes Dirty Juice Boss In A Can is also a decent degreaser for similar money to Oxford’s chain cleaner, but it has much better eco credentials. When Dave tested it he said it was expensive at £15 for 500ml, but at £9.99 or less for 500ml it’s pretty good value.

Conclusion

It’s an eco-friendly and reasonably powerful drivetrain cleaner and with a decent spray bottle – but while cheaper than Silca’s equivalent it is still very expensive. Personally, I prefer Silca’s offering, but given the price disparity, I’d say the UFO is the better bang-for-your-buck option.

Verdict

Powerful and eco-friendly – though it has a slightly greasy feel to it and it’s very expensive

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