Crankalicious Crisp Frame Hybrid Frame Wax Review

Simon Tuck

A review of Crankalicious Crisp Frame Hybrid Frame Wax

Crisp Frame Hybrid Frame Wax is a hybrid, or mixture of different types of wax formulated to give your frame a nice shine and some added protection, as well as masking very minor imperfections in the paintwork. UK based company Crankalicious has an all-encompassing range of cleaning products to keep your bike shiny (and even special products for matt finish paintwork).

Size doesn’t matter, it’s what you do with it. This small pot of wax should last ages.

The Crisp Frame Wax needs to be applied to a clean bike, so the first step was to clean my bike. I’m a bit of a demon when it comes to cleaning bikes, but my Summer bike was already pretty clean and had been sprayed with Enduro Frame Sealant prior to this wash. First, I washed the bike with a generic car shampoo and then dried it as best as I could and then left it to dry for a bit longer. Then I removed the wheels so I could get access to the whole frame and keep the wax away from the tyres. I even took the bottle cage off.

Any dirt might cause scratching when you polish, so it’s important to start with a clean dry bike.

After washing and drying the bike I moved it into the shade. It was quite a sunny day and Crankalicious recommend applying Crisp Frame away from direct sunlight. Application is with a foam pad. Crankalicious sell specific foam pads, but I found some (unused) makeup sponges in the bathroom. This seemed to work quite well, you need something that’s soft but won’t absorb the wax. You can see which bits you’ve waxed as it leaves a residue.

(from left to right): The tools for the task, careful aaplication, and the curing wax ready to be buffed off.

After waxing, you leave it to cure. The wax should dry to a haze. Then it’s just a matter of buffing it up with a soft cloth. I used a microfibre cloth, Crankalicious do include an option to buy the relevant cloths as a bundle when you purchase the products. The end result was impressive. Even though my TCR was pretty clean before washing, it’s still a 3-year-old bike. The paint scuffing under the bottle cage wasn’t gone, but it seemed slightly better. The same goes for a scuff on the top tube caused by an ill-advised frame bag placement. It wasn’t gone, but it was slightly less pronounced.

It’s hard to tell with a photo, but the before (left) and after (right) do show that my frame was already quite shiny, and that you should use frame bags with caution!

Using the Crisp Frame Hybrid Wax did take some time, and that’s not for everyone. If you’re short on time then consider the Enduro Frame Sealant. However, if you can afford to spend a bit of time keeping your bike in good condition, then its worth investing in some decent wax. At around £12 for the wax, which will last quite a few applications, I can’t really argue with the value. Depending on how often you reapply, this tiny jar could last several years.

The pictures don’t do it justice. The wax did reduce some of the scuffs and blemishes on my 3-year-old bike, but it’s not magic. The paint under the bottle cage is still scuffed and I’ll still regret ever trying a tri-bag on my top tube. Everywhere else now has an almost mirror-like finish. On the forks you can make out the carbon weave because the clear coat is now almost as clear as when I bought the bike. The Crisp Frame wax did take slightly longer to apply than my usual generic furniture polish, but cleaning your bike is still the bit that takes longest. Once you’ve done that, it’s no hardship to give it a gentle wipe over with wax and then buff it. I’d say it took less than 30 minutes more than usual, even allowing for the bike to dry before application.

The results are noticeable, even on a fairly clean bike. The protection provided should keep paintwork looking good for longer too.

After the waxing process I’ve had the bike out a few times. Mud splatters and bug hits are a lot easier to wipe off because the paint finish is slippery. You can feel the difference the wax makes. In some cases I’ve used a damp cloth, or a bit of furniture polish to help remove a dried on bug. The waxed finish should make it easier to clean and help protect the paint finish in the long term. The hard bit is then cleaning the components that can’t be waxed. If I really want to reduce the scratches on my frame then Crankalicious recommend their slightly abrasive polishing compound Mayo Jaune. This will smooth out the finish by removing some of the top coat. It’s not something you’d want to do often though, and the tip is to then apply either Crisp Frame Wax or the Enduro Frame Sealant to protect the finished result.

Crankalicious Website

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