Average Joe Reviews... Green Oil Products

24 November 2008  |   |   2 Comments
As a loosely knit fraternity, the cycling world is generally considered to be pretty green but it is refreshing when you find another small way to be greener. Green Oil Products Reviewed Firstly let's deal with the 'greenwash'. Many companies have realised that sticking 'eco-friendly' or a green leaf on their product sells these days. Real green products have a minimum impact rather than a slightly reduced impact and Green Oil products live and breath the former rather than the latter. Does bike wash fluid, grease and chain lube really impact on the environment? Compared to some things we use (washing materials etc) probably not that much, but bearing in mind that enjoyment of the natural world is part of mountain biking then preventing any damage to it should be the ultimate aim no matter how seemingly small. All bottles and packaging is 100% recyclable (other than caps and lids) and all products are 100% biodegradable and environmentally friendly. For some the paper labels may look a bit Heath Robinson but really who cares about labels that much? The great thing about the containers is that they can be handed in at your local stockist for a small refund and are reused. Green Oil Chain Lube Generally most lubes for chains are either thin (dry type) lubes which penetrate well or thick (wet type) lubes better suited for the muck of winter riding. Green Oil lube is almost a halfway house between these two types of lube. It penetrates well and works as well as any other lube tested. Green Oil chain lube has been around for a while and has won a few awards both within and outside of the cycling industry. Not much more to be added really; it works, end of story. Green Clean Green Clean is basically the 100% green version of the 'muc-off' type degreaser cleaners and comes in a 1 litre spray bottle. It composition is largely citrus based and needs to be shaken to activate the ingredients. Spray on, leave for a few minutes, scrub and spray away. In short it works as well as muc-off and can be refilled or using the Chain Clean made up into a new batch. Chain Clean Chain clean is a concentrated degreaser that works brilliantly for chains and would work well in a chain cleaning device. The small bottle can be added to an empty Green Clean bottle and filled up with water to make 1 litre of bike washing fluid. Eco-Grease This grease contains no Teflon or lithium and like all the other products is 100% biodegradable. It comes with its own applicator meaning a grease gun isn’t necessary and in the increasing gloop of the Autumn has compared excellently to it's competitors. Green Oil wont tell us what the secret ingredient is but whatever it is works. There does seem to be a general perception that green alternatives are inferior in one way or another and thus are hard to market and sell to mountain bikers who often insist on the best that their money can buy. The really positive and refreshing thing is that the products do work and as well as their traditional and polluting counterparts and are competitive price wise as well. So in short, some fantastic products which are kind to the environment and really work. A refreshing change and another little way you can make a difference. www.green-oil.net

2 Comments

artyfufkin said on: 6 July 2009 14:27

I thought i would give the Green Clean a whirl as I was intrigued by the enviromentally friendly hype on the website. Unfortunately the Ecological benefits didnt outweigh the sheer lack of cleaning performance. I will be sticking to Muc-Off in future.

CrazySi replied on: 3 December 2009 21:06

I find Green Clean to be more powerful than Muc-Off - And my bike gets very muddy, and I've a soot covered commuter bike it cleans too. Green Clean is definitely better than Muc-off, cheaper, and greener. (Despite being blue in colour of course!)

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