Grandma Shark 2800W Pet Dryer.
Cleaning your pride and joy can be either fun and enjoyable or a down right a pain in the arse….. For me it’s fun and enjoyable and if you know me it’s something I do a lot 🙂 In fact I pretty much clean my bike either before every ride or after every ride, and I like to think it shows when you see my bike, it maybe a 2014 model but she is one tidy and clean bike.
It does take time and effort to clean a bike as so many areas and small places that dirt can get into, and I use a HUGE range of cleaning products, and like this dryer they also have been reviewed on my site. There are many items you can use to help make the job of cleaning your pride and joy easier and the Bike Dryer is one of them. It maybe less common to have unlike things like a jet wash or snow foam systems but in real word the dryer is just as practical.
Water and especially road salt on rainy days are something we should be avoiding, and it’s the rainy days that make our bike look the worst let alone cause the most issues, but after a good ride getting a jet wash out and washing the bike can be a real pain…. For me I use a hose pipe that is plumbed in so I can quickly rinse the bike over before she’s put away for the day, and then before my next ride I would clean her properly, but recently putting the bike away wet has caused a few issues with rust showing on the chain, or my USB hub setup stop working, and this is were I now use a dryer.
Dedicated bike dryers can set you back a fair amount, and some brand-name versions coming over £200 for a setup, but many people now head towards cheaper types and that is using pet dryers… And this is the same route I have done. A pet dryer is similar in many ways, but do lack in others especially the high end ones, they do not tend to come with things like wheels to make it easier to get around your bike, longer power leads to be able to reach further and longer hoses for the air meaning less dragging the unit around… Pet dryers are more basic units but that does not mean just as useful and helpful.
So for around £60 you can pick up an unbranded pet dryer, they tend to all be around the 2800 watts of power which is the same as a lot of the high end models out there dedicated for bikes, the model I have is linked and it’s a very simple and basic dryer with no real frills, again 2800watts in power, 3 different heads for the air, 2 power settings(High and Low) and 3 heat settings (Off, High and Low). This is all you will need to dry a car let alone a bike, the power from this is plenty to blow any water off areas of your bike and with the heat setting this helps reduce the time needed, thou on the model I have brought you need to make sure you follow the instruction when using the heat side, and that is only switch the heat on and off when the air is blowing, as it will overheat the unit, also make sure you check the filter is clean and clear, apart from that it’s a simple to use way to make sure you get the best performance from the unit.
I tested my dryer a few times now, and it does a pretty decent job of getting into all nooks and crannies of the bike like switches. Only need to use one head attachment which pretty much is perfect for all the bike, it gives loads of power but even thou it quotes low noise it’s like a hoover so not that quiet really, some ppl have said they whistle but as long as you power it up first and then add the attachment it seems fine to me. It takes a while to get accustomed to where to start, normally highest area down, but due to needing to move direction it tends to blow water everywhere lol, so you end up needing to dry areas you’ve already done, just the way they all will work thou. It does just what I wanted from the unit and that is allowing me to keep the bike cleaner, and helps remove water residue marks from washing, but for me it’s the gain of less condensation when I store the bike under my tarp at night. It also helps reduce time when cleaning as you can wash then dry and then move on quicker to waxing or ceramic coating sooner.
Overall if you got an extension lead for the power then this works well, you can easily park the main unit on the seat of your bike and then dry the bike with the need to move the unit (be careful of water blowing onto the unit this way). It does a great job of drying and does it quick, so value for money it well worth buying a pet dryer over a bike dedicated dryer as for using it on a car it maybe a different as you would need to carry it around a lot more to get to all areas, not that the unit is heavy at all. I may plan to add some wheels to the unit later on as I can see that maybe helpful more and it won’t cost a lot to do this, and then I may just rewire the power cable with a decent length of new cable to get the added length from a power point and not then needing a extension cable. Other than that this really is a great piece of kit for anyone more dedicated into their cleaning process for their bikes, and value for money I can see it being pretty decent in the long run.
