Five letters, two colours, French in origin and deep roots in international racing competitions such as the Dakar Rally, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and MotoGP, we’re talking about MOTUL. Motul needs no introduction unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the last 170 years. We know Motul from the motoring industry and have witnessed the brand set new industry benchmarks with its many innovations and diversify with the modern world and all its constantly changing factors.
We South Africans have had our hands on Motul’s products since the 1980s, and have come to know the brand through seeing them win numerous local road and off-road championships, sponsoring amazing events like King of Whip, Dirt Bike Festival, Roof of Africa, Stofskop, SupaDrift Series and many more. Besides being very active at events in SA and being a global leader regarding “firsts” in the oil and lubricant industry, Motul is always trying to improve, go greener, and expand its expertise.
This year saw Motul expand their product offering into the bicycle segment and right from the word go they have made big inroads. Motul want to be on the podium wherever they go and to get there, they partner with the best for ultimate brand exposure and testing. Who have Motul partnered with this time? Well, they are now the official product for two of the most well-known bicycle races on the planet. We are talking about Motul becoming the official product of the Tour de France and the UCI Mountain Bike World Series. Just like they’ve done in the Motoring and Marine industries, Motul is now a top-performing brand in the bicycle segment and is currently being used by the best athletes in the industry.
Motul’s Bike Care range made its appearance in SA early in the year and has since rapidly made its way into Bicycle stores across South Africa. With ZA Lifestyle expanding into the bicycle market and now having partnered with Trek Bicycles South Africa we decided to get our hands on Motul’s latest range of maintenance and care products to use on our mountain, e-bike and road test bikes.
This year’s range comes presented in clear bottles with colourful graphics that aren’t only stylish in design, but well detailed with information on what the product is used for, how to use the product, pro tips and even infographics for the non-readers.
I haven’t seen anything so well laid out like this before, even someone with zero experience in maintenance can pick up a bottle and know exactly when and how to use the product—whether you are starting, finishing a race or making a quick maintenance repair before heading back out, this is where the designing of these products simplify your life. Less thinking more riding!
Fantastic presentation aside, Motul’s main focus on this new range is to of course help you maintain your bicycle, but also to further focus on going green. This 7-bottle lineup is biodegradable in its formulas and the bottles themselves are made out of 100% recycled materials.
So, what do we have? Motul has equipped us with; Frame Clean, Dry Clean, Chain Clean, Brake Clean, Chain Lube Dry, Chain Lube Wet and Tubeless Tire Sealant. Their range equips cyclists with cleaners, lubes and sealant—all one needs for a quick ‘ready set go’.
The way I like to get the process started after a ride is to start with a rinse before leading into the cleaning of the drivetrain, cleaning of pads and rotors and then checking for slow punctures so that I don’t get any surprises before the next ride. So, Chain Clean, Brake Clean and sometimes Tubeless Tire Sealant is what gets taken off of the garage shelf first. I prefer getting all the dirty and grimy jobs out of the way first so cleaning the rest of the bike becomes more of a relaxing and enjoyable experience.
The drive train can be tedious to clean depending on the conditions of the trails and in my case it rained the day before so mud was just about everywhere. A toothbrush, Motul’s water-based Chain Clean and a dry cloth take care of the job before lubing up with Motul’s Chain Lube Wet for more rained-out trails.
As mentioned we experienced a lot of rain around the time of testing so we opted for Chain Lube Wet over the Chain Lube Dry for this feature as it suited the conditions best. Motul’s Chain Lube Wet went with us on five different muddy rides in the span of two weeks and did exactly what the bottle said it would—lubricate and keep corrosion at bay. Make sure you shake the bottle and apply enough on the chain links.
If you don’t want to have to aim for the bushes on a ride then a good brake clean with Motul Brake Clean is a good idea. If you just want to get rid of a squeal then apply it to the rotor and scrub with a cloth. If muddy like my ride, clean the rotor but go one step further and take the wheel off so you can get into the pads and caliper.
A quick evaluation of the tyres will indicate whether they need sealant. In our case for featuring the product, we unscrewed the valve, poured in Motul Tubeless Tire Sealant and gave the Maxxis a few rotations whilst pumping them up—a quick and easy job!
For those that do a lot of riding, you’ll probably go through a set of tyres before needing to replace any sealant, for those that ride a handful of times a year, it’s safer to replace the sealant every 5 to 9 months. For small to medium punctures that you typically get on a trail, Motul Tubeless Tire Sealant helps you get to the end of the trail.
Motul Frame Clean is there for those muddy and dirty rides, it’s supposed to be applied to an already wet bicycle. So, out with the pressure washer or normal hose pipe, get most of the muck off and then start applying the product just about everywhere before leaving it to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
In that short period, Motul Frame Clean starts to dissolve all the dirt and muck with its foaming adhesive formula. A wet sponge and a rinse uncovers a clean bicycle frame or in our case a clean Trek.
One of my favourite products from Motul’s motorcycle lineup of maintenance and care products has to be the Shine & Go spray, a product that keeps my road bike always looking like it came out of the showroom floor. Now Motul have a similar product for bicycles called Motul Dry Clean.
For a road cyclist, this is all you’d ever need to keep your bicycle clean and for the MTB rider that rides those dried-out trails, this will also work a treat. The product is rinse-less and all you need to go with it is a microfiber to wipe off the residue.
If you are interested in Motul’s Bike Care Range you can find your nearest Motul Bike Care stockist by visiting the Rush Sports website.
For more information about Motul’s full product range, visit the Motul ZA website.
