UPDATE 27/1/2025: Muc-Off has since offered the following statement to road.cc:
We remain appalled by the recent tactic used by Green Oil in which it publicly implied that Sir Chris Hoy’s terminal cancer could have been caused by exposure to one of our products.
Our legal representatives have formally contacted Green Oil to point out in no uncertain terms that the statements made about our products and practices are completely untrue.
Green Oil have responded to us to confirm that they have removed all inaccurate and offending content and that they recognise the inaccuracy of their statements versus the realities of our actual products and practices. Furthermore, they have also agreed, at our request, to make a donation to Prostate Cancer UK.
We are relieved to have seen Green Oil publish their apology to Sir Chris Hoy.
Whilst it is a shame that to date, Green Oil have not publicly redacted or corrected their erroneous statements we believe that enough airtime has been given to this odious incident.
The bike maintenance brand which attracted widespread criticism last weekend after it uploaded a video to its social media accounts, linking Sir Chris Hoy’s terminal cancer diagnosis to his use of rival company Muc-Off’s chain lube, has now removed the posts and apologised, after the six-time Olympic champion’s representatives threatened legal action.
In emails seen by road.cc on Thursday, TGI Sport, the management agency which represents Hoy, contacted Green Oil owner Simon Nash requesting that the video – which asked if Hoy’s cancer diagnosis was caused by “PTFE bike lubricant exposure” – be removed with immediate effect.
TGI Sport gave Nash until 3pm on Thursday 16 January to remove what they described as the “distressing” clip, which appeared on Green Oil’s Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube pages last weekend.
The posts, which TGI Sport confirmed Hoy was personally aware of, were not taken down by that time, prompting the agency to initiative legal proceedings against the UK-based bike maintenance company.
However, later that evening, after road.cc contacted Green Oil and received no reply, the video was finally deleted from the brand’s social media channels.
road.cc understands that the videos were taken down after TGI Sport’s legal team spoke to Nash in a phone call, during which the Green Oil owner reportedly apologised to Hoy and his representatives.
A spokesperson for TGI Sport also confirmed that since all the posts have been removed, they now “consider the matter closed”.
In a statement sent to road.cc, Nash denied that Green Oil was given a 3pm deadline to remove the videos, but confirmed he had apologised for “any distress caused” and insisted that he had always intended to delete the clips if Hoy objected.
Nash also told us that he kept the video up following the vociferous backlash from the cycling community because he felt it was the “right thing to do”, and insisted that he “genuinely didn’t think [Hoy] would mind at all”.
However, a video apology posted on Instagram on Friday evening also saw Nash admit that “what was deemed the morally right thing to do, with hindsight, was not” in reference to the original post.
“So basically: I had a call about 16:30 [on Thursday] from a chap at Sir Chris Hoy’s agency – he requested the video be taken down,” the Green Oil founder told us.
“I apologised for any distress if it had caused that, and the truth, that I genuinely didn’t think he would mind at all – we all want a world with less cancer, so investigating potential causes I thought would be something he would support. I lost a friend to cancer last year, also in his 30s, so I appreciate the pain.
“Within the hour I personally took down the video from Instagram. And by the end of play that day, about 18:30, we took the videos off all other platforms.
“It was soon after this I was sent the road.cc article with this 3pm deadline. No one had actually communicated this, nor what the legal basis was. 16:30 was the first time we had been contacted.
“In any case, our policy was always to take the video down if there was any objection at all from Sir Chris Hoy or his people.”
He continued: “Our goal is to have a greener planet, free of cancer and its causes. It is ironic that the bike industry has lubricant companies that have and continue to pollute our world with PFAS chemicals.
“There will be a lot more on this, and we support the European Union’s plan to ban PTFE soon – and it’s great if Muc-Off really does plan to phase out this vile chemical, which causes cancer in its production. We made a video. Other brands make carcinogens (through their supply chain).
“It was kept up as it felt like the right thing to do so spread a message, to help prevent cancer and promote a greener world.
“No harm to anyone was intended. I’ve fought through Green Oil for a greener world from the beginning and we’re pleased to have stopped a lot of PTFE pollution, and plastic pollution through our work here in Earth.”
Posted last weekend and universally condemned by the cycling community, the voiceover to Green Oil’s original controversial two-minute video said Hoy “was part of Team Sky” during his career, who were “sponsored by the company Muc-Off”, a rival bicycle maintenance products brand.
The video then claimed Muc-Off “manufactured lubricants containing PTFE” – a synthetic polymer more commonly known by the brand name Teflon and used to coat non-stick cookware – and that “there is a link between PTFE production and cancer”.
It finished by asking, “What do you think? Is there a link here or not?” before transitioning to an advert promoting Green Oil’s products, including its chain lube.
Green Oil markets itself as “the world’s greenest bicycle maintenance products” brand and offers a range of chain lubes and cleaning products, some of which have received positive reviews on road.cc.
But they have been on the receiving end of a widespread and furious backlash from the cycling community over the past week, as cyclists united to condemn the “really poor taste” video and accuse the company of an “utterly scummy way to approach marketing”.
And along with the threat of legal action from Hoy’s representatives, on Monday Muc-Off also told road.cc that it was “in the process of reviewing our options regarding these false allegations” and expressed shock and sadness that Hoy had been “dragged into such squalid social media activity when he has other more important challenges right now”.
A spokesperson told us: “We are shocked and saddened that Chris Hoy has been dragged into such squalid social media activity when he has other more important challenges right now.
“There are comments about our brand that are simply wrong. To be clear, we do not use PTFE in any of our current product range as we took a decision many years ago to become 100 per cent PTFE free due to environmental concerns. We are in the process of reviewing our options regarding these false allegations.”
Soon after posting the video, however, Green Oil replied to numerous comments appearing to double down its messaging. In one reply, the brand said “the idea was to simply raise the question – and awareness”.
Without evidence to support the statement, another reply on the company’s Instagram page said: “A fit healthy man like Sir Chris Hoy shouldn’t be getting cancer – it was likely caused by a carcinogen like PFOA.
“Will get in touch with him next week to see what he thinks, likely he would like people thinking about this to stop future victims of cancer don’t you think?”
road.cc contacted Green Oil at the time for comment and received a lengthy reply in which many of the same claims were repeated, although there was an acknowledgement the video and posts were “misjudged”.
While the video directly linking Hoy’s cancer diagnosis to PTFE has been removed, another video on Green Oil’s YouTube account, posted on Monday, continues to claim that Muc-Off products containing PTFE are still being sold.
Hoy was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 and told the public of the news in February 2024. In October, he announced that the diagnosis is terminal and he has two to four years to live, adding that he is “feeling fit, strong and positive, and overwhelmed by all the love and support shown”.
The NHS joined the cycling community and wider public in praising Hoy’s bravery, the 11-time world champion sprinter’s terminal cancer revelation prompting a near sevenfold increase in prostate cancer advice searches.
“Thanks to his bravery, we have seen a significant spike in people accessing vital information on our website about the signs and symptoms of cancer,” NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer Professor, Peter Johnson, said in a statement.
“One in two people will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime and detecting the disease early gives the best chance of successful treatment.”
Responding to the figures released by the NHS, Hoy said the “massive increase” in men seeking advice has been a “huge comfort” to him and his family.
Hoy’s website, with information on an upcoming memoir about his life since the diagnosis, can be found here. For advice on spotting symptoms of prostate cancer, you can visit this page on the NHS England website.
25 thoughts on “Bike maintenance brand apologises to Sir Chris Hoy and removes video linking cycling legend’s cancer diagnosis to rival chain lube after legal action threatened”
Sound like a grudging and
Sounds like a grudging and insincere apology. Green Oil will certainly not be getting any business from me.
I received some as a gift and
I received some as a gift and used it for a while but I didn’t find it did the job well enough and returned to Finish Line Wet Lube. I will dispose of the remains carefully.
Unlike Finish Line and other
Unlike Finish Line and other petrochemical lubes, it is plant-based and will degrade completely. I will continue to use the stock of Green Oil that I already have as it does the job fine and is no poorer IME than Finish Line wet lube.
Interesting to see the level of vitriol in these articles compared to many other deeply unethical and sometimes criminal things that somehow barely register for a lot of people. Perhaps he’d be more popular if he quadrupled the price and told you that it contained special ‘nano-particles’ that saved 0.3 watts and worked to optimise your chain while you sleep.
Like Nash, you’ve missed the
Like Nash, you’ve missed the point…..
Legin wrote:
Which is what? Or perhaps it’s you that have chosen to miss my point.
I’ve said previously that I don’t like what he wrote and as a long term customer sent a strongly worded email to say so. But it’s small beer in the general scheme of things. People love getting all self-righteous about these storm-in-teacup type things while brushing the big stuff under the carpet and not looking at their own (un)ethical choices.
It’s reminiscent of the cyclist hate in the media – ‘e-scooters are the new menace to society’ headlines or ‘cyclists using bells on shared paths’ opinion pieces – while ignoring the fact that car drivers are killing people and crashing into things everywhere, every fucking day of the year and nothing of note is said or done about it.
I’m sure it’s deeply hurtful for Chris and his family. But in the scheme of things this is one teeny-tiny company in one small UK industry sector that screwed up with a poor taste social media post. Meanwhile so many greedy companies, politicians, billionaires and so many others are happy to fuck everything up over and over again and we are OK for it carry on. In my opinion THAT is something to get bothered about.
Simon E wrote:
Absolutely spot on. Personally i stopped using his wet lube as I found it an absolute bugger to clean off. It’s affective and lasts well but it sticks to the chain so well you can’t remove it without resorting to the chemicals I’m trying to avoid by using the stuff in the first place. I still use his chain cleaner which works well, alongside Silca Synergetic (currently). The silca oil lasts incredibly well but is pricey.
I can only hope that a
I can only hope that a company with such low standards is on the slippery slope to oblivion, well greased with teflon. The Ratner effect, criticising your own products and going bust, isn’t quite the same thing, but close enough.
The non-apology, issued only after legal proceedings were started, and after massive criticism from their potential customers, rings as hollow as Boris Johnson’s head.
There’ still the hope that
There’ still the hope that Muc Off will sue them into oblivion for defamation.
Fingers crossed.
I really hope to see this,
I really hope to see this, the sooner the better
Secret_squirrel wrote:
They might do… I know this company in Poole, they were a client and still friends of old colleagues. I’m buying popcorn right now.
Can we stop giving this clown
Can we stop giving this clown publicity? That is the only thing he and the company want, you’ve written how many articles about it this week…. Cut him off, stop writing about him, stop doing reviews…
Unlike others, it seems, I
Unlike others, it seems, I had no idea of this story! I have been trying to moderate my consumption of news in general, but don’t usually expect to get so wound up by a story in road.cc.
I’m pretty sure the word ‘despicable’ was intended for stories like this. An absolutely shocking state of affairs. It’s bordering on brewdog levels of shithousery.
Fuck this company and all who sail in it.
It never deases to amaze me
It never deases to amaze me when things like this happen .
The long line of oepple involved in having and giving that vid the OK yet none thought that it was a bad idea .Literally mirals in the gutter for everyone
Possibly some marketeers for
Possibly some marketeers for whom “getting attention” is the only good, likely company director(s) who also see “no such thing as bad publicity”?
Not quite the same area of interest but we need a Chris Morris of the public relations industry. (I’m sure there are some – for the older the Yes Men did this).
In most instances like these
In most instances like these you are right, but here, not really. This company is small, adn it’s quite clear the guy in the video is doing most of it by himself. The posts and the comments are all him. No long line of people OK’ed this.
Still a very stupid thing to do of course, and even a lone entrepreneur should consult some people before postsing something like that video.
There were probably fewer
There were probably fewer people than you think involved in the (bad) decisions. Might only have been one person. I think Green Oil is a very small company.
Long line of people? Green
Long line of people? Green oil is a tiny one man business. That’s the problem. Simon Nash is the company owner, the inventor of their main product and the marketing department. He needs to step back from the marketing side of thingsand concentrate on his products (which despite everything are genuinely very eco friendly and work well). He’s made a few terrible marketing choices but this is probably his worst
Sorry for any distress caused
Sorry for any distress caused. That always sounds like a half apology. How about you just say sorry, you were wrong and you’ll put serious thought into any future ads.
Absoulutely. ‘I’m sorry if
Absoulutely. ‘I’m sorry if you were offended’ is not the same as ‘I’m sorry we offended you’. Take the hit.
No- the official method of
No- the official method of non-apology is ‘we’re sorry you feel you were offended’
Let them know you dislike
Let them know you dislike their advertising by boycotting their products
The more this nash gezzer
The more this Nash gezzer opens his mouth the worse he comes across.
The mans passion for green issues clouds his judgement on common decency!
Nash also told us that he
Nash also told us that he kept the video up following the vociferous backlash from the cycling community because he felt it was the “right thing to do”, and insisted that he “genuinely didn’t think [Hoy] would mind at all”.
Anybody who thinks that that was the right thing to do, shouldn’t be anywhere near anything to do with publicity, they will destroy their own business. They probably shouldn’t be allowed access to a phone or computer.
If he genuinely thought that Sir Chris Hoy wouldn’t mind at all, why didn’t he ask him first?
I’ll try and feel sorry for you when you go bankrupt, but it’ll be a struggle. And just stop digging.
eburtthebike wrote:
That’s strange – usually a vociferous backlash means that quite a few people are taking offense to it and that you should think about why that is. It’s one thing to have principles and stick to your guns in the face of opposition, but this really doesn’t seem like the case here.
How to destroy a brand in one
How to destroy a brand in one easy lesson.