CX club racer here, having to store the bike in the garden shed, so moisture is the big enemy during fall and winter. I recently saw the introduction for (AirForce Max – Dynamic Bike Care) - and that struck me like a great idea.
The gist: a USB-C chargeable hair dryer with pressure settings + some nozzles + a look that should make it bike specific and fit for a little bike industry upcharge.
Is it worth it? Does anyone have experience with alternative products? Likes? Dislikes? Fears? How would this compare to a full-blown air compressor? I really like the compact design + the nozzles could be helpful for drying chains + a quick clean of brake calipers etc.
My general approach is to clean the bike directly after racing / riding + letting it dry inside the house. After drying, make sure all moving parts indeed move a few turns before storing, so there is as little water build-up as possible. But that is a bit messy and takes time. Maybe something like this bike specific hair dryer can help at least speed up the process (which could in turn help minimizing chances of kiddy fingers getting stuck between disc rotors + calipers, maybe - always a bit of a fear of mine).
I have the Ryobi version of the Makita blower referenced above and use it after bike washes to get the excess water out of nooks and crannies. I would definitely recommend some sort of blower, but the Internet is teeming with hundreds of variations of the Dynamic Air Max. Just go on Amazon and you’ll quickly be overwhelmed at the choices. There really is nothing that makes the Dynamic “bike-specific” so any blower should do the trick. And just an FYI that all of them are pretty loud if that is an issue.
Looks like they now have a MF200 model, in addition to this MF100. I don’t know the difference, but do a little research. If it’s a little extra money but more power, may be worth it.
If you dry your chains with the makita and have access to 3d printer try these, forces all blown air to chain and removes the need to aim/hold loose chain in front of the nozzle.
As someone who is a big fan of cordless stuff, as I have no supply to my shed, something like this was on my want list for a while. I wonder if this performs much the same, cheaper for someone who already has Ryobi batteries.
To dry up a single bike and unless you have any other use I tried a few € blower from AliExpress, more compact to sit in the toolbox and works like a charm to get humidity out of chain, cassette, steering or just blow water from the frame to avoid drying water marks.
