Tru-Tension Monkey Juice Gel Bike Cleaner 1 litre

Tru-Tension Monkey Juice Gel Bike Cleaner is a surprisingly powerful yet gentle formula that shifts most types of oily, scuzzy stuff with only moderate effort. The deeply synthetic banana smell won't please everyone and there are cheaper ways to wash your bike effectively, but, used carefully, a little goes a long way.

Instead of having the usual watery consistency, Monkey Juice is a gel designed to cling on and make greater inroads into the grime. Consequently you can use less of it, because it's not just running straight off.

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Furthermore, once the bike's clean and rinsed off, there's still a thin, dirt-repellent layer left behind, which theoretically keeps your bike cleaner for longer and makes subsequent washes that bit easier. It's the same principle as car wash 'n' waxes, but I'm told the alchemy is different. As we'd hope, this doesn't contain any harmful surfactants, salts, chemicals or acids and is, therefore, safe on all materials and surfaces.

Application

It's important to leave your bike marinating for a couple of minutes, and then get in there with a brush to work filth loose. Embossed coverings respond particularly well to this and, so long as you rinse with warm water, the results are pleasing first time.

Since the gel hangs around for several minutes, there's minimal wastage and little call for reapplication – even on weathered/impacted petrochemicals.

Should you neglect to rinse Monkey Juice away, it dries to a consistency reminiscent of caked-on Weetabix. However, a prompt tickle with a damp brush lathers it up again easily.

Performance

Monkey Juice is slower-acting than some cleaners, but regains the lost time with a superior result. I found it saved a couple of minutes per wash overall, and results are uniformly good on gloss and satin finishes. Mud, dung and rainy filth simply disintegrate into a puddle below.

It does a decent job of removing road tar and flung chain lube from the rear triangle too.

Use this on matt finishes and, inevitably, the remaining layer will add some gloss and you'll need a matt polish. However this is a finish rather than a product issue.

As for the protectant layer, it seems reasonably effective, and on a par with car type wash 'n' wax formulas (water is still beading up and rolling away, several weeks in) which I tend to default to.

Value is okay if not exceptional as, at £9 per litre, Monkey Juice is fairly expensive, and that thick gel formula only saves – as far as I can tell – around 10 per cent over regular watery cleaners. Oxford Mint Bike Wash is £6.99 a litre and, though slower acting, effective. At £7.99 per litre, Juice Lubes Dirt Juice is reasonably effective too, while Green Oil Green Clean is also £7.99.

Monkey Juice isn't the most expensive, though: £9.99 buys just 750ml of Flaer Revive, though its prowess impressed our tester. 

Conclusion

I've been pleasantly surprised by Monkey Juice. It's gentle yet ruthlessly efficient on ingrained grot, and the layer it leaves after rinsing has some genuine benefits. However, there are cheaper options for those who frequently wash their bikes, or don't get them heavily soiled in the first place.

Verdict

Effective cleaner with useful protective properties, but a bit pricey – and that banana smell...