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2019 The Year of the Bike! This a No Fee Paid Blog
These Power Levers from Lezyne are a bit lager than the normal levers that you may have in your cycle bag.
1 : Good Point Extra size means extra leverage which is great for the tight tyres.
2 : Bad Point They may not fit into your cycle bag, hence they would probably be better for your home maintenance kit.
I personally love the size of theses levers, it allows you to get a good grip due to their size.
Made of a fiber reinforced Composite Matrix for increased strength.
Nice Spoke hook so stays nice and firm on the spoke.
The tip fits nicely into into the bead.
Due to the extra size of the Lezyne Power Levers you can easily remove the tyre one handed!
Replacement is easy as well, nice design with the tip allowing it to be guided by the rim.
Great for road bike tyres.
On the 700x40cc tyre the Power levers XL made light work of the job.
One lever from start to finish.
Get the tip in and under the rim and use the extra size to get more leverage.
And it is off.
On replacement I found I had to use the two XL Power Levers to get the tyre back on the rim.
The Lezyne Power Levers XL was going great until I run out of strength refitting of the 700x40cc tyre.
Just needed that last bit of strength to finish it off!
The final bit.
And there it is, back on with the help of the second Power XL Lever.
The Schrader deflater on the other side of the spoke hook.
Verdict on the Lezyne Power Lever XL priced around £3.99 to £4.99.
1 : Ease of use. I found the extra size to be the key benefit of the Lezyne Power Lever XL
Easy
to remove the air with the Schrader deflater, and the spoke holder
worked a treat. the only down side was they are little on the large side
for a small seat bag. Points awarded 4
2 : Quality of manufacture. Nice feel and design, tough as well. Points awarded 5
3 : Gentle on the rims with no scratch. I did not get the impression the XL would scratch your rims. Points awarded 5
4 : Value for money. Great value at this price worth having a set in your home maintenance kit. Points awarded 5
Total Score 19 out of a possible 20
Foot Note
This is not a Paid Advertisement for Lezyne Upgrade Bikes
A Review on a cleaning product that give me the "Hump" and I will tell you why in this review!
I HATE IT.
Its very good in fact, came across this Brill thinking it was just yet another "Bike Cleaner" but I was so wrong!
Brill is a concentrate and Brill is free fromacid, bleach and ammonia so its safe on anodized metal and will not harm seals, cables, brake parts or rotors!
The Brill will clean a 1000 other things and that is my Problem!
"The Wife Knows"
Check out there website for more cleaning ideas (But don't tell your Wife)
5 part water to 1 part Brill as suggested by Brill.
Not the muddiest ride I have been on, but dirty never the less, so lets see how well Brill will clean it up and get it looking clean again!
Typical dust.
Needs a bit of a clean!
Sorry to say I got a bit carried away with this one!
I meant to take a few photos when I wet the bike down, then when I applied the Brill, and a few more just before I used the cleaning brush, but before I realised the job was all done!
Not a lot of "During the Clean photos "!
That was how easy it was to use!
I first wet the bike then applied the Brill by spraying it all over the frame and wheels then worked it in with a brush and a cloth.
Then I used a water Sprayer to rinse it off before I dried it with a cloth.
Rinsed off the Brill with clean water.
Used a Micro Fibre cloth to dry the bike off.
A few smears started to appear so wiped it again with a clean cloth to dry it better and give it a shine.
First try with the Brill and very impressed comes up clean.
Even the plastic mudguards look as new.
Front forks came up looking good.
Wheels and tyres had a bit of a shine to them.
Got rid of the grime around the rear brake.
Found it better to use two cloths to dry off the bike.
All very good.
My Verdict on the Brill Cleaner.
Brill cleaner is a concentrate so it is going to be very cost defective (Even with all the jobs the wife has got lined up for me) I poured 2 cap fulls in to the spay bottle then added 10 caps of water to the concentrate and shook it up to mix well, no problems apart from getting the 2 cap fulls from the larger container, next time I wont wont rush it and will come up with a better measuring idea.
Once the bike was wet down and the Brill applied I found it worked well with a brush and soft cloth to remove any mud, after the brush with the Brill I hosed the bike down with a hand sprayer with clean water then used a Micro fibre cloth to dry the bike off with, a few smears appeared so I just got a new dry cloth and buffed up the bike to give it a shine, this got rid of the smears, there was not a lot of them just a couple here and there so nothing to worry about.
As you can see it works a treat!
Concentrate so will save you money.
Brill clam it will clean loads of other thing so check out the website for a list and more details.
Will be adding cleaning photos as soon as the wife puts me to work!
Window Cleaning Test! (The Wife Won)
On the list of cleaning jobs. it has to be the window cleaning!
120 to 150 water to 1 part Brill concentrate.
My first attempt at using Brill as a window cleaner was not to successful!
I have one of those widow vacuum that sucks the windows dry by a well known maker.
I simply refilled the original container I used for the spray cleaner to spray and clean my windows.
I wet cleaned the windows with the Brill and then I used the vacuum to remove the cleaner from the glass but the windows were left with streaks!
I found that the vacuum works much better the wetter the windows are, so it was out with the Lambs wool scrubber then to get the windows soaked!
Ready for the test!
Mixed up the Brill in a bowel and the soaked the Lambs wool scrubber to clean the windows.
Nice and soaked, lets see how we get on this time!
Vacuum worked a lot better this way with less streaks on the glass.
But it still left a few here and there!
Quick wipe around the edge of the window with a scrim cloth and stand back to see the results!
The Wife noticed the streaks more than I did!
Gave it a second go to see if it would finish better with no streaks, but a few were still noticed.
Time for the upstairs windows now!
Back windows were not so bad, trouble was the vacuum run out of power so had to try something else!
Paper towelling came to mind!
Plenty of dirt on the PVC frames as well as the glass!
This time around I soaked the windows with the Lambs wool then cleaned with a couple of paper towels, also cleaned up the frame and sill in the same way.
Did find it a whole lot better doing it this way than with the vacuum,
This is the way I would be trying it next time!
Front upstairs windows were the worst as we live on a main road, so always gets covered in dust and dirt from the rain!
My verdict on the Window cleaning.
After trying a few ways to clean the windows found the best way was actually with a Lambs wool and paper towel after followed by a wipe around the frame with a piece of scrim cloth, this way I found much less streaks on the glass.
Did it clean the windows better than the way I clean them normally, in two minds weather it did the job better or not, a few streaks were noticed here and there after the job was done, next time will make sure the vacuum is fully charged before I go about cleaning windows!
Back to the Bike Clean!
I tried the Brill Cleaner on my White bar tape!
Photo taken with my mobile phone!
The picture does not show how dirty the bar tape is!
Brill Cleaner brought the bar tape up looking like new!
I simply sprayed some on, brushed in well with a clean toothbrush and then dried off with a cloth!
Simply brilliant!
Alloy Wheel Clean
If you are like me car cleaning is not my best subject!
The Alloy wheels on my car have not seen a clean since last year!
They are full of brake dust and not in the best of condition, so they could do with a clan up with Brill Cleaner, a 1 part Brill to 10 parts water was written on the spray bottle, so that is the dilution I used.
Typical scuffs and scraps, not in the best of condition full of brake dust burnt on to the wheel as well.
They need a clean!
Think you get the idea on the condition of this wheel!
1 to 10 mix with water.
Wet the wheel done with a hose spray.
I used a wheel brush to dip into the bucket and apply the Brill to the wheel.
Once I brushed and scrubbed the Brill I washed the wheel to find some Alloy was there!
And the finished result!
Long time since this wheel had seen any kind of shine!
Verdict on the Alloy Wheel Clean
The results speak for them self on this one!
Was no more messy or harder to clean than other wheel cleaners I have used, was surprised the wheel did shine and give a bit of Sparkle!
Well impressed and will try to keep the wheels a bit better from now on!
Will be adding updates from time to time as I come across the urge to clean something!
I Have had The Urge!
Yep I sure have had the "Urge" LOL
My Cycling Shoes looked a bit dirty and decided to give them the "Brill Clean" treatment.
Dirty Cycling Shoes!
This will not do!
Not the best kept shoes!
Out with the Brill Clean, just a simple Spray from the spray Gun!
Needs a bit of work yet!
Jokes aside here, it was very easy, I just wetted the shoes down with Brill Cleaner and the set about them with a hand brush!
Gave the bottoms a soacking as well!
A little buff up with a Micro Fiber cloth and I think the photos show just how well the shoes came up!
Nice and "New Looking"
Clean Dirty
Well impressed on this clean up!
My Verdict.
Cleans your cycling shoes with no prolems, make a muddy job easy!
Well recommend this Brill Cleaner for a Shoe Shine!
Made the wife angry!
Well mad to be honest!
The Wife cleaned a cycling jacket the day before I rode it out on a ride, and Guess what happened?
Yep, I got Grease doen it from the bike chain!
She went mad at me, so it was off to the shed and Pray the Brill Cleaner could get me out of this tight spot I was in!
I cant post up to many photos on this one, (If I did and she saw etc)
Grease! Black Grease! Oil!
What ever it is She is not happy!
Thank God!
It's Clean!
Thanks to Brill Cleaner.
I wettted the jacket down and the scrubbed it with a paper towel, it did not budge!
Then I got a Micro Fiber Cloth and dipped in to the top of the Brill Cleaner and rubbed!
It has come up clean!
Problem Solved Brill Cleaner!
Thanks!
A Before the Bike Clean Video!
After using the Brill cleaner
Clean your Trainers!
White Trainers to cut the grass in!
Not a Good Idea!
Out comes the Brill Cleaner!
A Quick spray and a wipe!
Hope you can see the difference!
Yes it is "The Same" shoe and not a new one!
HI-Viz Jacket.
Come up great!
That is how good the Brill Cleaner is!
Check there details out here!
Foot Note This is not a Paid Advertisement for Brill Cleaner
