Effetto Mariposa was born from the need of a better torque wrench. The Giustaforza launched the brand, and since then Effetto Mariposa has broadened its offerings to include many of the most commonly used consumables in the bike world. With those offerings comes environmental responsibility. And Effetto Mariposa has taken that challenge very seriously.
Just over the border from Italy, this Swiss brand recently launched a new lineup of products you can use to clean and lubricate your bicycle components. Not exactly a sexy launch, but Effetto Mariposa’s new offerings all have unique features that make them biodegradable and environmentally friendly. The tire sealant, for example, is made with finely-ground olive stones; the wax chain lube is made from sunflowers.
Is it all for real? Can your chain lube help save the world? Here’s a closer look at the details of Effetto Mariposa’s eco-friendly products.
Effetto Mariposa Allpine Light
$19
Allpine Light is Effetto Mariposa’s biodegradable bike cleaner. It’s safe on all finishes and frame materials. You can use it safely on e-bikes too, since you don’t have to rinse it off with water.
EM says that you’ll get a nice shine on your frame too, though the Allpine Light doesn’t use silicone to achieve that finish. It will also leave your bike smelling pine-fresh; there’s a light pine scent to the Allpine Light (though there is no pine oil in the product).
Effetto Mariposa Allpine Extra
$22
Allpine Extra is a heavy-duty chain cleaner. It’s pine-oil-based, which means it’s totally biodegradable. And, shockingly, EM says that Allpine Extra is safe to use to clean your disc brake rotors.
“The key step is to rinse with water after using it,” says Alberto De Gioannini, founder of Effetto Mariposa. “Beside being a solvent that dissolves/breaks the lubricant it finds, it contains plenty of vegetal-based tensioactive (i.e. “soap”) that makes the broken-down lubricant water-soluble. That’s basically the trick: instead of being a fast evaporating, very “dry” product (like mineral spirits), it’s a blend of two. Solvent + tensioactive. Yes, it does require rinsing with water, but results are remarkable and it’s pretty unique in the industry.”
Vegetalex tire sealant
$18
Tubeless tires have long been a staple of mountain biking, but now they have also taken over road and gravel. With that comes a lot of caustic chemicals and stuff you don’t really want to touch. It ain’t good for you, and it ain’t good for the earth.
Vegetalex is different. It contains finely ground olive stones and cellulose fibers that help seal punctures in your tires. EM says there’s also Xanthan gum in there to act as a coagulant; that’s the same stuff used to thicken up your mayonnaise and salad dressing. Yum.
The ground-up olive stones and cellulose fibers seal the initial puncture, and the Xanthan gum stabilizes it all so the puncture stays sealed. EM says it’s very important to thoroughly shake the bottle before injecting it into your tires. But once it’s in there, you can get up to 6 months of sealing life, which is a pretty big promise.
Like the other products in this lineup, Vegetalex is biodegradable.
Effetto Mariposa Flowerpower Wax
$16
The Flowerpower wax-based lube features a high, 50% ratio of wax to water. It creates a solid layer of wax between the components of y our chain, and it’s made from sunflower seeds. So it’s completely biodegradable. Sensing a theme here?
According to the Effetto Mariposa website, Flowerpower Wax lube contains no “PTFE, sulphides, graphene, or other chemicals harmful to the environment.”
It is resistant to water, according to EM, and is suitable for off-road or on-road use in all conditions. But before you apply it, you’ll need to perform a deep-clean on your chain. Once applied, the water in the lube will evaporate, leaving a wax film behind that works its way into the moving parts of your chain. EM says sunflower seed-based wax tends to adhere to metal particularly well.
How will I test?
As it turns out, friends and neighbors, I have a lot of dirty bicycles and motorcycles in my garage at the moment. They will prove fine guinea pigs for my cleaning and lubricating endeavors.
The environmental benefits of the Effetto Mariposa products outlined here seem self-evident. The question is, do they work as well as products with more caustic, environmentally hazardous chemicals in them? Will the Allpine Light leave a nice shine on my frame’s finish? Will the Allpine Extra cut through grime and goop like harsher chemicals would?
I sure would like to find out. Be sure to click on the YouTube video link and hit that thumb’s up. If the video gets 50 thumb’s ups, I will do a fully independent review of Effetto Mariposa’s environmentally friendly products right here on Slow Guy on the Fast Ride.
Be sure to check out all the great “Lemme See That!” product rundowns right here.