As an apartment dweller, my bikes typically fall somewhere between dirty or completely filthy on the bicycle cleanliness spectrum, as I haven’t had the means to keep them in that shiny, showroom-new condition. Thankfully, the good folks at RinseKit have devised a novel solution for people like me who have a habit of getting their gear caked in mud without having any effective way to remove said mud. The RinseKit promises riders salvation from caked-on dirt with its clever shower-in-a-box, and I felt that my fleet of crusty bikes would serve as a great test to those claims.

Originally created as a way for surfer-turned-inventor, Chris Crawford, to wash off from morning surf sessions in California, the utility of a high pressure portable shower was soon noticed by other outdoorsy types, and the RinseKit transformed from a one-off invention to a viable product for the masses. To think that surfers were once cast as beach bums who didn’t contribute to society, tsk tsk.

Using the Kit

The RinseKit is a diminutive thing, at only 13.5in long by 11in wide and 16.5in tall, so I was somewhat skeptical of how effective it would be against the months’ worth of tacky Pacific Northwest soil that had become one with my bike frames. Using the optional hot water tap connector, all that was needed to get the portable shower set up was to attach the kit to the kitchen faucet, crank it up full bore, and wait the prescribed 30 seconds for it to fill up and pressurize the tank. Seeing as how I’m a bit absent-minded, I was worried that I might overfill the tank and have a water bomb in my apartment, but the guys at RinseKit thankfully have idiot-proofed their invention by building in a one way valve to keep just this from happening.

With the kit filled and set to shower, I headed outside and set my sights on the dirtiest of my bikes. At the first pull of the trigger, I was impressed by how easily it blew off clumps of dirt that had taken up residency on the underside of my bottom bracket shell. With a couple more pulls, I was reminded of how good this bike once looked way back before I decided to be a lazy slob. Three quarters of the way through cleaning the bike, I was fully drunk off the power and was joyously blasting away all sorts of detritus from the wheels and drivetrain when the flow started to taper off a bit. Though I was saddened by the waning power, I was still able to finish up the wash, which took just shy of five minutes, right in line with the manufacturer’s claimed four minutes of full pressure spray time.

Cleaned Up

Looking at the shiny Singular Swift on my bike stand, I decided that the five minutes spent cleaning should become a post-ride habit. Now that I’ve added the RinseKit to my gear closet, I have no real excuse to keep a fleet of dirty bikes. With its portability, ease of setup, and surprising amount of oomph, the RinseKit is a great product for anyone wanting to up their bicycle hygiene game.

MSRP: $99.95

Thanks to RinseKit for providing their eponymous RinseKit for review!