Bike valet

Anyone know of anywhere in the South East that will clean a bike properly
for a token fee?

I spent a good half hour with a bucket and sponge on Saturday only to
be mocked and derided on Sunday morning for my efforts.

Philistines.

So if I can pay someone else to do it properly...

 

JP's off work at the moment isn't he?

 

There's somewhere in Central London, which has been posted here in the
past. I don't have my favorites file here, so I can't look it up.
And I'm shit with google.

 

darsy mentioned somewhere near, umm, somewhere that he'd used once, but
it was shit...

 

it's just off the Gray's Inn Road, at the King's X end.

But yeah, they weren't very good. They were called "Mo-Clean", IIRC.

 

Might be why their website has disappeared.

 

I was thinking that myself.

Did you get my reply to your email of yesterday, BTW? If you need more
info just ask.

 

Yes, thanks. Have read and inwardly digested. Got to get a router
jock. Then may come back to you for advice. Cheers, fella.

 

Google reveals -

http://www.smcv.co.uk/

A few squirts of Muc-Off mountain bike cleaner and a jetwash usually does
the trick for me though

 

You said they were called "Mr. Bubbles" and that's who you'd been seeing
or something.

 

On their website (which has conveniently disappeared) there was a sort
of cartoon man shaped a bit like a raindrop, carrying a mop, and I'm
sure he was "Mr. Soapy" or "Mr. Lather" or something like that, yes.

 

Yeah, but you've got all that bodywork to keep the engine clean, and a
nice under-seat storage area for your lid and/or your shopping.

 

I read the description of their service, and thought that it was going
to be stupidly, stupidly expensive, and then I found it was 25/40 quid
for the two levels of cleaning - I'm actually tempted to get the
'blade done for that money.

 

The price sounds exactly what I was expecting before I asked, but the one
thing that puts me off is he says that if it can't be brought up to tip-top
condition, he won't touch it in the first place.

I haven't seen my rear caliper in a year and a half - it's been replaced
by a near-spherical lump of grey metallic fur.

 

ah, well that's not a problem for me - the 'blade is just a bit grubby
in places that are hard to get to.

I'm outside his catchment area by a factor of about 100%, so I'd
either need to ride down their or pay the extra. He also says that
sports bikes need to have the fairings removed, which would make the
former of those two choices interesting. I don't even know how you go
about removing all the fairing on the 'blade...

your bike really needs the old "writing it off and buying a new one
with the insurance money" gambit applied to get it cleaned properly.

 

That's what you get for living in the North

Only for his more expensive service, though. His £25 job sounds fairly
comprehensive, mind

 

" "

actually, you're right - I hadn't noticed that.

I've just let it get a little grubby, and there are bits of the engine
a little furred up in places awkard to get to, and I'd just like to
get it back to being properly clean.

I'll have to work out where the hell Byfleet is...

 

http://answers.google.com/answers/askquestion

 

Here

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/3427/

*yawn*

Still, it's down the A3, so not far from some decent biking roads

 

nah, I've found it - just sort of a bit past Kingston - actually
nearly in the bloke's area, if he comes up the North Circular.