KÄRCHER KHB 5 MULTI JET

£249.99 Handy everyday pressure washer

Pressure washing your bike is such a tempting proposition. After all, the pro team’s mechanics all do it, so can it really be as bad as some of the dire warnings suggest? Well, those expensive components on WorldTour bikes don’t have to last. Replacements direct from the sponsor see to that, but blasting away regularly at your own hubs, headset or bottom bracket with a full-sized, full-powered pressure washer will inevitably shorten their lifespan.

So has pressure washer giant Kärcher come up with a solution in the shape of its KHB 5 battery-powered, lowerpressure, hand-held washer? It certainly is more convenient to use on a bike than a full-sized machine, and the lithium ion battery means you don’t have to worry about plugging it in (you’ll still have to be within a hose’s length of a water supply, of course). This has made giving the mucky commuter bike a quick blast after foul weather commutes, rather than leaving it caked in its own filth in the garage, a simpler chore when returning home. And that’s extending the life of your components, not shortening them.

The real appeal for us, however, was the flexibility of the five di erent spray modes available without having to change the lance. Even better, the most powerful setting was good enough to shift most dirt but not so powerful as to worry us about what damage it might be doing.

The battery will run for 10 minutes on a single charge, which may not sound much but we’d blasted the muck of o our Brompton and a tourer with more driedon debris in well under five minutes.