Inside the glossy box is a 70g tub of pink wax (well it would be pink), a sponge applicator and a microfibre cloth. Your bike needs to be clean and dry and cool to the touch, whereupon you apply the wax with the sponge, leave it to set for 15 minutes and then buff with the cloth.
Carnauba wax is the hardest naturally occurring wax there is, and it has hydrophobic properties so water and other road grime finds it harder to stick to your frame. Those are the properties that make it popular in motoring and they're also beneficial for your road bike. The wax is fairly easy to apply (you don't need much) and it buffs up to give a very good shine. It's quite adept at hiding the scuffs and scratches in your bike's lacquer.
In terms of protecting your frame, it does a good job. Water and gunk don't stick as well to the wax as they do to lacquer and so hosing your bike down at the end of a ride leaves the bike looking markedly better than it would without the treatment. The wax is pretty hardy, and because bike frames don't have a lot of surface area 70g of the stuff goes a long way. I've fully waxed up a number of bikes and I've barely made a dent in it. It should last for ages. The wax seems to layer pretty well too: adding a second coat a few days after the first gives a better finish that sheds more water.
So is it worth £40? Well it might be, to you. You can have it for around £30 online, and if you've spent a couple of grand on a shiny bike it's a very good product for keeping it shiny. It's fair to say that you can buy carnauba wax cheaper if you shop around, but the Muc-Off kit has everything you need in it and it's not really over the odds for what it is, especially with a bit off the recommended retail price.
Good quality wax that'll buff your bike up a treat; not cheap, but will last for ages
road.cc test report
Make and model: Muc-Off Uber Wax Kit
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?
Muc-Off Uber Wax changes the rules when it comes to deep gloss protection! Formulated with an extremely high concentration of pure North Brazilian Carnauba, natural oils and the finest blend of luxury ingredients. Uber Wax is Muc-Off's most technically advanced wax to date. It creates an incredible hydrophobic finish that is exceptionally resistant to road salts, harmful UV rays, acid rain and industrial fallout. We think that every car is an investment worth protecting and Muc-Off Uber Wax does just that.
The products high concentration of Carnauba wax acts as a barrier between your paintwork and the elements. Despite this high concentration of Carnauba, our Uber Wax is super simple to apply and almost as effortless to buff away. As our luxury Wax doesn't contain any abrasives, it's suitable on all paint types, metals, colours and carbon fibre. The only thing you need to be prepared for when using Muc-Off Uber Wax, is a show winning shine and aerodynamic efficient protection for your paintwork.
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
It's high quality stuff and you get some premium packaging.
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
Makes your bike lovely and shiny and it stays that way a lot better too.
Rate the product for durability:
8/10
Rate the product for value:
6/10
You can have high-grade carnauba wax cheaper.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Very well.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Great weather-resistant finish.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Expensive stuff.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Probably not.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Maybe.
Age: 42 Height: 190cm Weight: 100kg
I usually ride: whatever I'm testing... My best bike is: Kinesis Tripster ATR
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track
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10 comments
Bought a Simoniz carnauba wax from Halfords on Friday for £7. Did exactly the same job & it shone lovely in the sun today
Is wax only for polished finishes? I have a mixed polished & matt finish on my bike and wonder whether it is a good idea to put it on the matt finish or not.
Hideously expensive, as others have said an example of Muc Off exploiting their brand image for bike cleaning.
If you want a carnauba based wax that protects for ages you'd be much better going for something like this: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/collinite-476s-super-doublecoat-auto-w...
Other trouble is, the moment you use Muc Off or similar to clean the bike, it'll strip all the wax off so it's either water or baby wipes or clean and repeat the wax application each time.
It's things like this that make me deeply sceptical of companies like Muc-Off. They're obviously not interested in providing good quality cleaning and polishing agents, at a reasonable price, to bicycle owners - they just want to make a huge profit off the back of their name.
I don't think I'll ever buy anything they make.
I'll go for this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUTOSMART-CARNAUBA-GOLD-400-ml-CAR-WAX-/231505...
400g for £6.99!!
But be careful, after all it was the presence of Carnuba wax (Dr Zogs "Sex Wax" if I recall) that led Utah and Pappass to catch Body and the Ex-presidents in Point Break - so if you are planning on robbing banks, the FBI are on to you, but on a positive note, they'll probably take up cycling and thrash you on Strava!
How does this compare to a non-bike-specific carnauba wax for a tenner?
Never mind a whopping £10, I have a tin of clear shoe polish costing about £1 made from carnauba and I'm wondering if it'll do the job on my Trek Madone. Might try an experimental coat under the downtube.
The muc-off one comes with umlauts in the name, which is like taking it up to 11.