Reviewing a bike pressure washer is a first for me – so this is very much a review based on a clean slate of experience with small, handheld pressure washers. I’ve used a mains Karcher pressure washer for lots of jobs but the Estarli Bike Pressure Washer is obviously a very different beast, designed to be ultra-portable in comparison and with a lower pressure rating specifically for bikes. With a small 21V battery, it was never going to rival the huge pressures of mains-powered models, but for bike washing it produced more than enough power (there are lots of caveats about washing e-bikes with pressure washers which we will get to). But, given its brief, I found it an impressive introduction to mini battery-powered pressure washers.
  

What do you get?

Estarli Pressure washer (3).JPG
Estarli Pressure washer (3) (Image Credit: Richard Peace)

Aside from the main pistol grip style unit, you get a detachable feeder hose whose filter end drops into a bucket and an adjustable extended nozzle with the dial at the end featuring a bike cleaning specific setting (there is a higher pressure setting too for stubborn non-bike cleaning jobs). There is a decent capacity 84Wh battery that charges from a small mains plug adaptor with a single charging jack that plugs straight into the battery – so no bulky charger required, as with other portable batteries. The handheld unit itself weighs 1.6kg and the rest of the gubbins another 1.6kg so it’s light to use and easy to carry; you could even start a mobile bike cleaning service with it, as it’s easy enough to carry around by e-bike…. 

Estarli pressure washer in action (78).JPG
Estarli pressure washer in action (78) (Image Credit: Richard Peace)

Estarli also sent me a cleaning kit consisting of a detergent bottle that clips onto the underneath of the unit to give your bike a gentle soapy soaking before a pressure wash; several differently-shaped brushes; and a collapsible bucket. This is described as an optional extra on the Estarli website and I couldn’t actually find it for sale separately.  
 

How does it work?

It’s all very simple and intuitive. Clip on the nozzle attachment, push in the battery and insert the filter at the end of the feeder hose into a bucket of water. Once you have set the nozzle dial to the handily marked bike setting you are free to clean away at the squeeze of a trigger. 

Estarli pressure washer in action (101).JPG
Estarli pressure washer in action (101) (Image Credit: Richard Peace)

Important note: Keep the washer jet away from cable connections and the battery area, as well as bearing seals on wheels, headset and the bottom bracket. For detail on the pros and cons of pressure washing bikes in general check out our road.cc article on the subject.

Estarli pressure washer in action (68).JPG
Estarli pressure washer in action (68) (Image Credit: Richard Peace)

In short, the unit performed really well – plenty of pressure and effective cleaning power. It helped to soak the tyres a little with detergent and give them a quick brush over to really shift the remnants of some baked-on mud.

I was a committed hand cleaner before getting hold of the pressure washer, but the more difficult nooks and crannies your e-bike has, the more you might be thankful of a pressure washer. It certainly did a good job of cleaning up my belt drive hub motor model. It wasn’t filthy in the first place, but it had plenty of ancient grime on the tyres and under the mudguards and on the belt drive itself. Estarli do several belt drive models and this is a great way of keeping these spick and span as you don’t need to worry about blasting the lubricant out of your chain and having to re-oil it. After a few minutes cleaning, it looked like a virtually new bike. 

> Review: Estarli e28.X
 

Estarli pressure washer in action (48).JPG
Estarli pressure washer in action (48) (Image Credit: Richard Peace)

I could also see it really coming into its own if you regularly travel with e-bikes in a car or motorhome, especially if you regularly go electric mountain biking in the wet – it’s always easiest to get mud of when it’s gooey rather than after it’s baked onto your bike. All you would need is a water source and a bucket handy at the end of your ride and cleaning is literally a five minute job.  
 

Is it good value?

It’s hard to comment on the value of the Estarli pressure washer when I haven’t tried out the opposition first hand. However, web searches certainly show it’s in a similar ball park for price and performance stats to other portable pressure washers from the likes of Rehook and Muc Off, both of which are bike specific. There are loads of similar products from the usual DIY brands but personally I would steer clear of these for bikes as the pressure may be inadvisably high. 

In short, the more you need to wash your e-bike the more the quick and easy use of the Estarli pressure washer will appeal – always bearing in mind the care needed when using it. As an introduction to mini-pressure washers for all sorts of uses, it has made me a convert.

estarli.co.uk

All the deals displayed on our review pages are pulled from a constantly updating database feed of the best affiliate deals available. The criteria for deciding on what are the best deals is who is offering the lowest, delivered price. In most cases we will be showing the very best deal available online, but sometimes you may be able to find an item cheaper. If you can please feel free to post a link in the comments box below. To find out more about affiliate links on road.cc click here.