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Eat My Dirt Brake Shield

6
£15.00

VERDICT:

6
10
Good concept and much cheaper than carpet cleaning bills, but needs further refinement
Weight: 
33g

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The Eat My Dirt Brake Shield is primarily designed to protect disc brake/rotors when re-lubricating the chain. It also prevents tyres and rims and, ahem, floors getting a sticky coating of spent lube.

Story goes these were invented after Jon fancied a quick blast on Gary's bike. Unbeknown to Jon, Gary had 'just chucked a bit of oil on his chain and cassette' seeing as they were looking a bit dry. Mid wheelie, Jon engaged the rear brake... Nothing. Next thing he knew he was flat on his back and the concept was born.

> Find your nearest dealer/buy online here

Being marine engineers, they made a prototype from cardboard and refined the design with some input from Huddersfield University. Ultimately, they decided polypropylene was the ideal flexible, chemical-resistant material. In fact, they are so confident in its longevity, they will replace free of charge (under normal use), so long as you send them a short video explaining how they failed.

The Brake Shield is essentially a massive 'bib' that clips on in literally seconds once you've got the knack. Bike Bib was their intended moniker but it seems Michelin owns the name 'bib'...

Eat-My-Dirt-Brake-Shield-sideview.jpg

First, slip the shield behind the cassette and secure the tab around a convenient spoke. Clip the top hook around another spoke and check it won't move when you rotate the cranks backwards. This has proven pretty reliable with 21-32t biggest tooth setups, including old school screw-on freewheels, but fixed and single speeds were non-starters.

Double checking is crucial, otherwise – as I discovered on my first attempt – the tray containing spent lube/solvents will empty out. Thankfully, my Univega was parked on a strip of concrete not the best lino, but you have been warned!

Now, assuming chains and cassette aren't bone dry, baste on or give your chain and cassette a quick blast of degreaser, strip any existing lube, dry off, then drizzle on some fresh prep, wiping away the excess. Carefully unclip the Bike Shield and rinse out.

Eat-My-Dirt-Brake-Shield-closeup.jpg

Despite some initial scepticism, the lip doesn't allow the gungy residual stuff to seep out and defeat the object, and it does genuinely make the whole job a lot cleaner.

Ours has scrubbed up very nicely too – a quick shot of bike wash chased through with the garden hose seemed the quickest route to purging tenacious spatter. Several weeks in, it looks almost packet fresh with no sign of wear, despite being subjected to some fairly harsh solvents.

> How to clean and lube your chain

Whether it's worth £15 is debatable. I think Eat My Dirt is on to something but maybe needs to refine it a bit further. Critics will also point out that old bits of cardboard will do a similar job for virtually nothing – a technique I'm also very fond of.

Verdict

Good concept and much cheaper than carpet cleaning bills, but needs further refinement

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Eat My Dirt Brake Shield

Size tested: N/A

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?

Eat My Dirt says: "The Brake Shield is an innovative new product and the only one of its kind. Its simple yet effective design protects your disk brakes and wheel rims while you clean and lubricate your drive train. The nature of the product allows you to make easy work of this, usually, quite tricky task.

"Many people just ignore this part of their bike; they put up with a mucky cassette and chain, either cleaning them periodically, maybe monthly, or just replacing them when they become unworkable. Now, 'little and often' cleans are made possible with the Brake Shield. The Brake Shield's innovative tray catches all the cleaner, dirt and oil, meaning that now you can do this dirty job anywhere without making a mess."

Broadly agree but requires a few practice runs before the system becomes second nature, and I would welcome a slightly beefier grade of polypropylene.

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

Polypropylene. 33g apiece

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
6/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
6/10

Quick and easy, though I needed a few practice runs to get it down to a fine, spill-free art.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

Surprisingly hardy and resists very strong solvents, including white spirit.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10

Well, I'm certainly not going to grumble about 33g. On the flip side, I would gladly accept a few extra grams in exchange for a slightly more tenacious fit and heavier gauge of polypropylene.

Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Will probably repay the £15 investment many times over with regular use, and far cheaper than trying to get oily stains from expensive flooring.

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

Overall, the Brake Shield is a remarkably simple but effective means of keeping chain and other lubes from contaminating disc brake rotors, rims and, indeed, flooring. I would prefer a slightly beefier grade of polypropylene and recommend a few practice runs outside before risking crafty top-ups indoors.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Very convenient for quick, mess-free chain maintenance.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

A little pricey, and I would have expected a thicker gauge of polypropylene for £15.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? I would if it was made from a slightly thicker gauge material.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes, with the above proviso.

Use this box to explain your score

Good concept but needs refinement before I would part with £15.

Overall rating: 6/10

About the tester

Age: 42  Height: 1m 81cm  Weight: 70kg

I usually ride: Rough stuff tourer based around 4130 Univega mountain bike 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, mountain biking

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)

Add new comment

9 comments

Avatar
Thump | 7 years ago
1 like

I took a look at the video on their site and it's clever how it attaches. I bought one as I've had pads destroyed by spray lube. As far as cost goes, someone had to design it, develop it, get tooling made, pay for business overheads, pay mortgage, eat, clothe kids, etc, etc.

Avatar
DaveE128 | 7 years ago
1 like

I think it's a good idea. I use spray GT85 or WD40 to help displace water from the chain and cassette after washing degreaser out. I then rub it down with an old (and by now pretty black) towel. I have to be pretty careful shielding with a gloved hand to avoid overspray onto the disc rotor. I would happily use this product for this.

However I would wince at £10 for such a simple (and surely very cheap to produce) product. £15? No way. £5? I might well buy one.

Agree that photos showing the process of attaching it would have been helpful.

Avatar
Bowks | 7 years ago
1 like

This is the 2nd review I've seen recently which has terrible photographic representations of the product being reviewed, the first being the clip in pedal adapters.

It's like a guessing game as to how this product works.

Avatar
shay cycles | 7 years ago
1 like

Just checked the date and it seems it really is Autumn and not Spring

 

Avatar
Butty | 7 years ago
3 likes

I was fortunate to buy a bike with the disc on the other side from the sprockets.
I also degrease and relube the drive chain without getting crap everywhere. It's not hard.

Avatar
PaulBox | 7 years ago
0 likes

Do people outside of Halfords use spray lube?

Avatar
surly_by_name replied to PaulBox | 7 years ago
0 likes
PaulBox wrote:

Do people outside of Halfords use spray lube?

Apparently so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf80DnCgHRQ (go to about 6'00")

(Admittedly OMQS are sponsored by Morgan Blue. Although I've seen the same approach adopted in pits at World Cup CX races following a bike wash.)

I think its a good idea, esp for a cross bike with disc brakes. Is it worth £15.00? Not sure I'd buy one, but equally I've spent that kind of money on way less useful stuff (beer, for example), so I don't have a problem with the price. But the whole "what a waste of money/how much" thing that follows any product review is just a waste of time. Stuff costs money. Some stuff costs lots of money. Its very unlikely that you HAVE to buy any of it but if someone else wants to then why do you care.

Avatar
wycombewheeler | 7 years ago
8 likes

I solved this problem by not over lubing my chain with crappy spray lube

Avatar
MikeOnABike | 7 years ago
1 like

What a waste of 15 quid.

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