Supermarket Aldi is stocking discounted Tru-Tension bicycle cleaning products, and they cut through the grime as well as any alternatives I’ve tested.
The Aldi line-up consists of a general bike cleaner, brake cleaner, chain cleaner and an all-weather lube.
The items are part of the German supermarket’s Specialbuys promotion, and can be found in the middle aisle of the store – alongside the usual soft goods, power tools and gardening essentials.
All the products are £4.99 each, so I decided to buy some to see how they perform and whether it’s worth getting any yourself.
I left the lube at the checkout, though, when I remembered how much I already own.
Tru-Tension Bike Cleaner
I’m guilty of not cleaning my bikes as often as I should, so when I came to clean my Merida One-Sixty, there was quite a bit of stubbornly attached mud that probably dated back to 2025.
Despite this, after a quick soak and application of the Tru-Tension Bike Cleaner, it started moving, revealing a brightness to the paint that I’d forgotten.
The cleaner itself is orange in colour and is easily applied via the nozzle on top.
It’s not the suddiest of cleaners, with the liquid seeming to settle in to dislodge dirt rather than lathering up like dish soap.
I had some issues with the nozzle, with the pump for the bottle sticking, so I poured it into another spray bottle to save the juice.
If you didn’t have one of these handy, it would be pretty annoying – and in the shop, there appeared to be quite a disparity between how full the bottles were.
Besides this, the cleaner itself worked really well, and you’d likely get 20 washes or more from a bottle.
Tru-Tension Chain & Gear Cleaner
My preferred product for cleaning my chain is Fenwicks Foaming Chain Cleaner, and anyone who has used it will understand the fun the foam brings to the job.
Unfortunately, this stuff goes on as a fine spray, but it leaves a finish that I’d recognise from Fenwicks.
The nozzle is easy to direct, and with a little loving from a brush, the cassette, chain and chainring came up sparkling.
You get a good portion from the 400ml can, and with how sparingly I use chain degreasers, I’d expect this to last me at least six months.
There's not much else to say here – it works as you’d expect.
Tru-Tension Brake Cleaner
I don’t tend to use brake cleaner often, but my bike had developed a little squeal from the front brakes, so I decided to give it a blast.
It comes in the same type of container as the Chain & Gear Cleaner, and it's easy to be precise when spraying it, enabling you to avoid delicate parts of your bike.
After letting it air-dry, I took the bike up the road and slammed on the front brake, and to its credit, it had evicted the pigsty from my front caliper.
You can tell it's half-decent stuff by the smell and weird feeling your finger tips get after touching it.
What’s worth buying?
Having tested the three cleaning products, I’d probably get more of the Brake Cleaner and Chain & Gear Cleaner.
These products work just as well as other, more expensive brands, just without the flair.
While the Bike Cleaner worked well, the letdown of the bottle is probably enough for me to avoid it next time.
