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Duck Smart Smart 'n' Ezee

7
£9.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Really useful all surface cleaner/polish with few limitations
Weight: 
1,043g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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Duck Smart Smart 'n' Ezee is designed as a multi-surface cleaner that will tackle everything from helmets, glass, plastics and paint to smartphones, GPSes, laptops, cameras and tablet screens.

Some will suggest that colour aside, there's virtually nothing to choose between this and its bike specific cousin, Bike Ezee. They're both made from a specialist blend of PH neutral detergents and softeners whose molecules break through organic and petrochemical grime before leaving a glossy, contaminant shunning barrier behind.

However, research and school-of-the-streets experience suggests there's a very delicate balance between seemingly identical chemical compositions cleaning and causing irreparable damage to some surfaces. Traditional sudsy bike wash formulas are prime examples; if they're too strong they'll race through grot, but paint, anodising, lacquer and plating will take a pasting too.

Smart 'n' Ezeeis super convenient to use. If you're cleaning a bike, spray it on the frame, and components and polish with a clean cloth. Using this squirt/buff method avoids unwanted cross contamination of discs or other braking surfaces and produces a gleaming, streak-free finish on gloss, matt and satin surfaces within seconds.

Since there's no curing period, banishing spring typical filmy patinas on pared to the essentials road and mountain bikes took around twelve minutes from start to finish, slightly longer on tourers/fully dressed commuters.

Smart'n'Ezee shifts bovine dung, road/trail spatter and watermarks as well as most other brews, but it's notably better on acidic bird droppings and petrochemical cocktails. Really ingrained stuff required repeated blasts before it would lift completely but subsequent coats can be applied without time lag.

Witch's brews of road silt, petrochemicals and wet lubes required two, sometimes three helpings; simply a matter of building a thicker coat. Using cloths as mediator worked best when tackling lids, chrome plastics, mirrors, sports cams, sunglasses, GPS or LCD displays.

The protective coat is long-lived, though this will depend on riding style, environment and season. We're still on the original treatment despite several weeks' exposure to sunshine and showery rain. Winter may present a very different picture.

In common with other polishes, wet stuff seems to bead and roll harmlessly away without dismissing the protective barrier. Residual dirt collects around the brakes, fork crown, bottom bracket and chainstay regions, though it's easily dismissed on a weekly basis using a clean rag. Helmets and digital gizmos have remained similarly free of dust and other contaminants too; a very welcome surprise.

Verdict

Really useful all surface cleaner/polish with few limitations

road.cc test report

Make and model: Duck Smart Smart 'n' Ezee

Size tested: 1 litre

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

"The Multi talented Smart n Ezee - DRY WASH, RINSE AID AND DETAILER.

Gives your Car or bike, a fantastic long lasting shiny finish, whilst also giving them a protective coating which helps stop dirt and grime sticking to the paint work.

Smart n Ezee removes, light dirt, grime, oil, grease and traffic film, and then gives you a great shine with NO WATER NEEDED!

It is safe to use on, paintwork, car vinyl wraps, carbon fibre, aluminium, chrome. glass, rubber, titanium and can be used in direct sunlight.

WE LOVE IT BECAUSE...

Smart N Ezee is the most versatile product out of all the crew & it forever amazes us what our customers have used it for, here's just some examples...

A Bicycle Dry Wash and Polish

Car & van Detailer - Exterior Gives it a waxed look with water beading off of your paintwork

Interior polish for Cars & Vans

Polish & protection for MX, Quad, & Pitbikes

Tablet screen cleaner

Window clean

Alloy wheels, an added bonus is that it reduces the amount of dirt & brake dust that sticks to your wheels

Windscreen cleaner and water repellent, WATCH THE WATER BEAD OFF & GIVE YOUR WINDSCREEN WIPERS A REST"

Pretty much lives up to its hype thus far.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

A blend of PH neutral detergents, softeners and a distant silicone relative.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

Effects seem to last.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
7/10

Easy and convenient to use, though extremely painful if any stray droplets make contact with the eyes.

Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

A little goes further than expected when used judiciously.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Overall, I've been extremely impressed by its performance-it races through most types of grime on most surfaces without any standing time. Any silicone relative, however distant will always attract trace grime; nonetheless frames and components have remained surprisingly clean.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Convenience, versatility and thus far, longevity.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing given the design brief.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

Performance in drier summer months has impressed me, though a grotty winter might reveal some limitations.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 40  Height: 1m 81  Weight: 70 kilos

I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset  My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

 

Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)

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