Wintersteiger’s Test Of First Fully Automatic Bicycle Washing System Enters Next Phase

The Velobrush from Wintersteiger Sports is once again waiting for test-minded cyclists at the FH Technikum Wien.

At the end of last year, the Austrian mechanical engineering specialist Wintersteiger Sports placed one of its fully automatic bicycle washing systems at the FHTechnikum Vienna for public testing. Primarily to gain experience of usage behavior in collaboration with students. The knowledge gained was incorporated into the further development of the machine over the winter months and the next version of the Velobrush is now available for everyone to test in front of the Technikum.

The bike washing facility can be used from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are plans to extend the operating hours to weekends in the future. It will be located in the publicly accessible area of ​​the FH Technikum Wien (Höchstädtplatz 6, 1200 Vienna, between the two main buildings). A bike wash costs €3.90 or €5.90 - depending on the length of the wash cycle. All single-track bikes with a wheel size of 20 inches or more can be washed. Special bikes such as cargo bikes or tandems are unfortunately excluded due to their length. The machine is suitable for e-bikes due to the low-pressure technology used and the washing with rotary brushes.

"A fully automatic bike washing system is something completely new. People are curious and want to try out the machine. They want to know how clean the bikes get, they want to see the washing process. Our last test in December 2023 showed us that this type of bike cleaning is well received," says Patrick Hackl, Head of Bike Services at Wintersteiger Sports.

The principle of the machine is simple but effective. Similar to an automatic car wash, rotating brushes made of soft material clean the bike. The bike is "rained" with water from above - this ensures that no water can penetrate sensitive components and the wheel is not damaged. The cleaning result is more than impressive. The mechanical processing with the rotating brushes removes the dirt thoroughly and gently.

"When developing the Velobrush, we focused on self-service. We see great potential for the machine, particularly in urban areas, to make an important contribution to the further development of bicycle infrastructure. But for this to happen, the wash must be quick and the washing system must be self-explanatory - like a car wash," Hackl continues. Payment is made via an EC card terminal.

"As in the first test phase, our students will investigate the usability as part of projects and collect feedback on the use of the box," says Markus Eckelt, head of the Sports Engineering, Biomechanics & Ergonomics competence area in the Life Science Engineering faculty. "We are excited to see whether the optimizations and improvements, some of which are based on our findings from the last test phase, will also be reflected in the new measurement results."

The Velobrush works with a closed water circuit. The water is filtered and recycled. This means that water consumption is low and your ecological conscience remains clean. In addition to the fully automatic Velobrush washing system, Wintersteiger Sports also sells another solution for cleaning bicycles called Veloclean Pro. In the Veloclean Pro, the bicycle is cleaned manually using a washing lance. Here, too, Wintersteiger uses low-pressure technology to protect the bicycle. However, the Veloclean Pro works with warm water. This removes the dirt better and washing the bike only takes 1 - 2 minutes.