After a ride, you typically feel grimy. You’re covered in sweat, dirt and may even have some oil picked up from the bike. If you’re home, you can jump right into the shower. If you plan to get in the car, or grab a bite to eat, you may want to clean up a bit. Paceline Products, the makers of Chamois Butt’r, made the Eurostyle Sports Wash to address that need to freshen up.
This Eurostyle Sports Wash spray cuts through the grime to clean you up a bit. The spray is made from natural oils, extracts and ingredients. The only not-so-natural ingredient is Polysorbate 80. The wash comes in a 16-ounce spray bottle, and the liquid is very thin. Spray it directly on the area you want cleaned, then use a towel to wipe it clean.
I made sure to get a few grease spots on me so I had some tough built-up to clean off my skin. A few sprays broke down that tough grit and left my skin clean. You do need a towel to wipe away the spray and grime, or it won’t work. Tougher substances, such as grease, take a little elbow grease, but not as much as just applying elbow grease and maybe some water. That takes forever to get clean.
In addition to road grime, the spray also cuts through embrocation, or the creams and ointments you put on before a ride. Paceline makes a range of embrocations that shield exposed skin from cold and wet conditions. However they can be as tough as grease to remove from the skin, since they’re made to repel water.
It’s handy to keep the sports wash in your car to give yourself a sprits after a ride. Do remember to tuck a towel in the car with the spray, or the wash really doesn’t do its job.
The 16-ounce bottle is a generous size, and will last for clean-up after many, many rides. It isn’t, however, terribly portable. At 16-ounces, you have to keep it at home, in the shop, or in the car. You can’t tuck this in the back pocket of a jersey and pull it out mid-ride before you stop at a café for a quick bite. It would be nice to see this wash in individual wipes, or a small spray with a towel that tucks into the cap. A package you can tuck into your jersey and have on the road to clean up after changing a flat tire.
I find the wash to be very useful, but the lack of portability makes its use a little limited. The folks at Paceline have made the Chamois Butt’r and other products in single-use packages, so I’m sure this is something they’ve thought about and will address in the coming seasons.