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Review: ProGold Pro Towels Heavy-Duty Cleaning Wipes, Bike Wash & Extreme Lube

ProGold Pro Towels Bicycle Wipes Citrus Cleaner Container
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ProGold Pro Towels Bicycle Wipes Citrus Cleaner Container

If you’re like me, you want to spend all your free time riding, not cleaning.  You know your bike looks better when it’s clean, but why bother when it’s just going to get dirty again?  Besides, a clean bike doesn’t go faster, does it?

ProGold’s Pro Towels promise to make bike cleaning less burdensome. Convenient, even. ProGold claims they combine “a powerful cleaning formula of solvents proven to be tough yet safe with strong 8″x12″ industrial strength dual-textured” towels.  So how do these towels stand up to real-life grease and mud?  Click “more” for a full description and review…

ProGold Pro Towels Dual Sided Bicycle Wipes Citrus Cleaner

The folded towels are fed through a flip-top dispenser, and you tear each one off from a continuous, perforated roll.  The wipes are saturated with pleasant-smelling, citrus oil-based cleaning solvents that also include aloe and sunflower oil to protect your hands. As advertised, the towels are dual-sided:  one side is woven with orange threads, which act as scrubbers for tough grime, while the other side is smooth and intended to finish the cleaning. The wipes are suitably tough, admirably standing up to chain ring teeth, though snagging on cable ends did tear them.  They feel thin and tough like linen, not at all like household paper towels.  The 8″x12″ sizing fits the hand just right, while also being long enough to pull through to clean the back side of stays and forks.

The key to whether a product such as this works is to saturate the towels with enough solution to clean, but not to the point that the absorbency of the towel is negated.  It’s a fine balance between utility and convenience, and the only bad mark I had against Pro Towels was that they were a little too heavy on the solvent.  The towels stayed wet for as long as half an hour after dispensing.  I hate wasting anything, so I tended to use the towels well after they had gotten moderately dirty, because they still felt wet.  But what I ended up doing was pushing the grime around in a thin damp film rather than wiping it off.  The frame looked clean until a minute or so later when the solution dried, and then the surface turned slightly hazy.  They worked much better if I cast them aside when they started to get visibly dirty.  Also, it seemed to work better to wipe everything down with the rough side first, then come back over it all with the smooth side.  On the other hand, for cleaning your hands it is good having copious amounts of solvent.  In either case, I felt like I still needed a clean towel handy to remove the final residue, be it on hands or bike.

ProGold Pro Towels Used Bicycle Wipes Used

During the review period, I got caught out in a rain shower on my mountain bike.  By the time I got finished the ride, my bike was coated in clumps of thick, black clayey mud.  I was so wet and tired after that ride that I put my bike in the shed and didn’t come back for 24 hours to clean it.  After a hosing-off, I sprayed down the bad spots with ProGold’s Bike Wash and then I went to work with Pro Towels.  The Bike Wash, which is biodegradable, helped clean the clods out of my rear cassette, derailleurs, and chain in an eco-friendly manner.  I must say, these products took off all the muck, which even permanently stained the white base layer shirt I had been wearing under my jersey!

ProGold Bike Wash Spray Bottle Biodegradable Non-Toxic Environmentally-Friendly Bicycle Cleaner

These wipes also cleaned my road bike of all the accumulated road gunk and chain lube drippings on several occasions, leaving my carbon frame pleasingly shiny.  Combined with the Bike Wash, these towels were perfectly suited to wipe my chain and chain rings clean before applying lube.  I also had a bottle of ProGold’s Chain Lube to test.  This lube claims to be created with MFR (Metal Friction Reducer) technology to protect chains over long distances on road bikes or in harsh off-road conditions for mountain bikes.  My drivetrain seemed to be quiet and efficient using this product.

ProGold Xtreme Chain Lube MFR Technology Bicycling Road Distance Mountain Off-road

All told, these are very helpful products to have in your own garage or shed.  The Pro Towels are ideal for regular light to moderate post-ride wipe downs, and especially for cleaning your grimy hands after working on your drive train.  Their convenience will have you reaching for one every time you notice those irritating smudges on your steed, or for those long-overdue stem-to-stern total cleanings.

  • Pro Towels (90 count) – $30.00
  • Bike Wash (16oz w/ spray nozzle) – $9.00
  • Extreme Lube (4oz) – $12.00
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10 Comments
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notapro
12 years ago

but do the towels play nice in an emergency situation that involves a post-ride roadside sounded-good-at-the time taqueria refund that happens in between rest stops?

Juan C
Juan C
12 years ago

when I first saw the photo, I thought that was bacon sticking out…mmmmmm, bacon

Gary
Gary
12 years ago

There’s a similar product called Monkey Wipes that comes in pullup containers and also handy packets you can put in the seat bag.

However both ProWipe and Monkey Wipes are waay too expensive for me. $30 bucks for 90 wipes? they must be kidding!

MTB
MTB
12 years ago

I find the paper towel soaked in some H20 to be cheapest, best option for me.
I don’t need that glossy shine.

m80
m80
12 years ago

No kidding. Who needs a glossy shine where the Sun, Don’t shine.
Anyway the Auto parts store will get you those for half that. Maybe less.

Dave Savard
Dave Savard
12 years ago

you said you used the wipes on your road carbon frame, but I think Progold do not recommend using these on carbon frame

ChrisElder
ChrisElder
12 years ago
Reply to  Dave Savard

The container says, “Do not use on untreated carbon frame bicycles.” I take this to mean it’s ok to use if the frame has paint and a clear coat, as mine does.

Devo
11 years ago

I helped with a 4 day training camp, and used these towels along with the bike wash, and ProLink gold chain lube.
these towels are amazing. no need to use a hose and bucket to clean a bike. dirty drivetrain? towels handle that too. how about a greasy cogset? no worries. I was amazed to simply scrape the cogset with a small screwdriver, removing the big chunks of grease, then using the towels to finish the clean up.

how about an entire bike that was dirty, gritty from weeks of being in the rain? Pro Towels handled that too.

totally amazed!

Josh Boggs
10 years ago

These products are the best. The ProTowels work great for a quick drivetrain clean. I used them during RAAM, to clean and lube between rider transitions. Paired with the Xtreme Lube, the ProTowels are a mechanic’s best friend. I started using them at my new shop last week, and the reception has been great.

And if you don’t want a 90-count jar of ProTowels, ProGold makes single packs. I keep a few pairs in my toolbox when I travel to races… just in case.

Tom LeBlanc
10 years ago

Pro Gold is a great product line.
You should check out our towels and bundles too. We’ve got a superb grease cutting formula and also added some Aloe so it’s easy on your hands.
Textured like a Cat’s Tongue, we lick grease and lick Cancer by donating 25% of our proceeds to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Pan-Mass Challenge.
Thx
http://www.licksCancer.com

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