Muc-Off Premium Bike Shoe Care Kit

If you want to keep your cycling shoes feeling brand new, the Muc-Off Premium Bike Shoe Care Kit tackles dirt on the outside and whiffs on the inside. It's quite a comprehensive bundle with the contents all working effectively, whether your shoes just need a spruce up or a thorough clean.

I gave the Muc-Off Shoe Care Kit quite a tough challenge for its first test; a pair of white Giant shoes, last worn in the winter, left covered in road spray – including mud and salt in all the creases, stitches and even the fabric of the tongue. There were also scuff marks from crank arms and tyres.

First up was the Premium Bike Shoe Cleaner, sprayed over the outsides after giving the bottle a good shake. Muc-Off recommends leaving it for a minute to penetrate the dirt before you scrub it with the included brush. It quickly removed all of the scuff marks and filth on the synthetic uppers, and the brush even got into all of the little nooks and creases. It cleaned the shoes up well.

Where road spray had actually got right in and stained the white uppers, though, it could do nothing. Don't expect this to totally restore old shoes.

On the tongues I left the formula to soak in before scrubbing with the brush and a bit of warm water. They cleaned up quite well too, considering how long these shoes had been sat in the airing cupboard covered in dirt.

On shoes that have just been worn in the mud or rain, though, the Muc-Off kit works very well indeed. On both my road and gravel shoes (one pair being knitted), it quickly broke down the dirt and the majority of times I could just wipe them off with the supplied microfibre cloth.

Next you spray your now-clean shoes with Premium Footwear Shield. This applies a finish that is water repellent, and resistant to dirt and oil too. It doesn't affect the breathability of any mesh sections.

Wearing the shoes in the wet after adding this, I found they only needed just a quick wipe over after the ride.

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Also in the box is Muc-Off's Foam Fresh, which you squirt inside to clean them and leave them smelling fresh. This stuff expands a fair bit, and at first it can be a little bit OMG as your shoes fill up with foam, but it soon dissipates and dries quickly.

Overall, I found each element of the kit to work well, and Muc-Off says the liquids are water-based and don't contain any chemicals harmful to your shoes, your feet or the environment.

Value

The whole thing – that's the three cleaning products, a microfibre cloth, a brush and a bag to keep it all in – will set you back £29.99. To start with I thought that might be a bit pricey, but you don't need much per application so it's going to last a fair while. Also, if you have spent hundreds of pounds on some bling shoes, this seems well worth it to keep them fresh.

You could also look at the Lake Shoe Care Kit for £25, although that is primarily designed for Lake's own range of leather shoes.

Sneaky offers its more generic Complete Shoe Cleaning Kit which includes a range of similar products for £19.99.

Overall

If you are using this to look after your shoes as you go, it does a very good job, but don't expect miracles on old, abandoned and stained shoes. It's not the cheapest, but if your shoes are expensive it's a worthy investment for prolonging that new look and feel.

Verdict

Keeps your kicks looking clean and smelling fresh with minimal work