Of the many nuggets of wisdom Radio Freddy imparted to me, one of the single most revolutionary pearls was his advice to wash my bikes with natural bristle brushes. Initially, I brushed (haha) it off as more style than substance, but the very next time I washed a bike and got out the old, plastic-bristled toothbrush and noticed the black streaks smudged every inch of that Colgate brush.
Then Radio Freddy’s words rung in my ear.
Paraphrasing: “Natural bristles have the ability to shed petrochemicals, so grease and chain lube won’t stick to them and that way you don’t go spreading black from one part of your bike to another part of your bike.”
And then I thought back on my Siberian Husky, who I joked was made from Gore-Tex precisely because nothing stuck to his coat.
The thing is, finding natural bristle brushes isn’t easy. Oddly, I’ve tended to have the best success in dollar stores and the like. But recently, I decided to do a Google search and see what I could find. I found the Samebuteco Bamboo 4 Dish Brush Set among the many results that turned up in my search. While they tout the bamboo construction, what got my attention was that they feature natural-bristle brushes.
In addition to the natural bristles, I chose this set for a couple of reasons. The big one was the question mark brush, which I knew would be handy for crevices and other places that the other three couldn’t reach.
What I came to appreciate is how the round brush with the handle performs when doing bike washes. Thanks to the handle, I can reach a greater area of the bike, speeding my washes relative to the other two brushes.
The final two brushes are different from each other in that the multi-colored brush features stiffer bristles than the straw-colored one. They are great when something requires some elbow grease while scrubbing.
Okay, a confession: I love working on bikes, but I hate washing bikes. I hate it less now, thanks to the natural-bristle brushes in my arsenal. I believe these make seven, eight, nine and ten in my collection, and they have kicked the others to the curb. Nothing has made washing bikes easier or more satisfying than switching to natural-bristle brushes.
While they can be found in multiple online retailers, I bought mine from Amazon, for just $11.99.
Final thought: These are so good I may find myself looking forward to washing a bike.