Women have interests, Men have obsessions

 

A common remark and anecdotally, quite accurate. There are varying degrees of this, but I will confess to having an obsessive streak, although in day-to-day life, am very adept at keeping these in check. The ability to obsessively tweak, refine and adjust stuff (with episodic euphoria and despair) can prove all encompassing.   

The wait for a new headset brought with it time to reflect and some switching round of the fleet. I’ve decided to take the fixed gear winter/trainer a more minimalist route, switching the Topeak Super Tourist DX over to Ursula and porting the Kinekt Waterproof Saddlebag KINEKT WATERPROOF SADDLE BAG | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) back over. This has meant the front end is now heavier than the rear, primarily down to the Shutter Precision PD8 HALO CLASSIC RIM & SHUTTER PRECISION DYNOHUB DISC WHEEL BUILD (sevendaycyclist.com) dyno hub front wheel.  

A week of torrential showers led to some very muddy lanes and hedge clippings flushed from the verges, spelled punctures. Mercifully, these were pedestrian and only made themselves known several hours post ride when I was home. Tiny holes, so easily patched and no obvious damage to the tyres. I have switched Denise’s front from the WTB Nano WTB Nano TCS Tyre | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) to the Maxxis Ravager TR Maxxis Ravager TR Tyres | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) which are slightly friskier and more resistant to thorns and hedge clippings.  The perpetually wet conditions are brilliant for evaluating waterproof kit, including these Shimano MW7 booties, which have stiffer soles and Boa fasteners for a precise fit.  

As I’ve said before, water will creep in via the cleat drillings, but this is easily subverted with waterproof socks. Will also be interesting to see how well the Oxford Mint Bicycle Assembly grease copes with the darker, colder and wetter conditions. Yes, I assembled the cleat hardware with it.     

With the Topeak Super Tourist DX switched, the Ravemen TR100 now clings limpet like from the fixed’s mono stay. 

Headset issues resolved courtesy of this FSA and another spacer, I bolted the front end back together, applying lashings of the Juice Lubes Bearing Juice. The lower race bearings are cartridge, the upper balls, but if you’re going the hybrid route, this is the way things should go. While both upper and lower races feature seals, I’m a believer in liberal amounts of grease to keep things buttery smooth and pitting free.  

 

 

I’ve also gone belt n’ braces, fitting a butyl tube boot to the lower race to lock winter right royally out.  Front end reinstated and behaving perfectly, I turned my attentions to the drivetrain, wiring up the STX front mech, fitting a chain. I left the front mech cable stretching for twenty minutes, on the big ring and then pulled it through before turning my attentions to the rear.  

 

To my horror, nothing would sync. Closer inspection revealed I’d been seduced by the lure of a bargain shifter, only to discover it’s an MTB version. Inconvenient, but I’m to blame and it’s hardly the world’s end. I had a quick wander round the web, bought another, double checking it was the road version. Not such a bargain, but still favourable and moreover, the right model.   

  

The pull ratio for road and mtb are different, hence the issue. Trying to get it to mesh would be an exercise in futility and wasted time. I’d also noted the inner wire had also frayed annoyingly, but not altogether surprising, since it was a workshop basic, rather than premium quality unit. Sometimes we get bargains but in keeping with life generally, we get what we pay for. Often, there’s not a massive jump in price between staple and mid-range.  The left-hand side was fine, given front mechs aren’t indexed.  

 

Some more enforced leave but crucially progress is being made and the headset issue, sorted. Just a question of wiring in the new bar con, dialling the rear mech in, wrapping the bars and maybe tweaking the rear brake. During this episode, I managed to break the pin of a rather nice chain tool- weird since everything was correctly aligned, and I wasn’t applying undue force…My first attempt to wash the bar wrap didn’t remove as much of the oily patina as I’d first hoped, so I gave that a degreaser pre-wash, agitated that with my Oxford Tyre scrub and then tossed it in the machine at 30 degrees, along with some equally funky riding kit.  So near, yet so far…

 

Frankensets

 

I’d continued to build Ursula in short, little and often bursts. I’d instated the Microshift bar con, replaced a tube in the rear Ryde XT wheel and inflated the Continental Cross Kings to 55psi and then began contemplating Ursula’s bar tape. Change for changes sake, a new era? I didn’t want to say goodbye to the Cycology 8 days Cycology 8 days Handlebar Tape | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) just yet, but fate (and the elements) had other ideas. I’ve gone for the Acros Silicone Bar Wrap LONG-TERM TEST: ACROS SILICONE BAR WRAP | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) the orange rather than blue, given winter’s looming. It's easily wrapped and naturally sticky, so no need for a backing adhesive, which makes cable swaps that bit easier.   

While I pondered this, my place in the Universe etc., I decided to install a fresh set of Microshift bar cons. There was nothing wrong with the original left shifter, but I decided since I needed to fit the rear bar con, I may as well go for uniformity at this stage. I want the rebuild right, from the off. Jagwire Road Elite sealed cables (173g complete and uncut) were also installed but fatigue left me convinced I’d a full set of derailleur cables. I had several inners but only one outer and one complete set of ferrules. I left everything snug but not pruned and decided to quit while ahead.   

The following day, I managed to whip the rear wheel in, set up the rear brake calliper and fitted a KMC chain, using the sleeping hub to hold everything in alignment. I’ll dial in the rear mech another time, probably when the front mech cable arrives. Meantime, I’ve popped the Acros tape (left side) into the wash.  All was going well until I tried the headset. Having stripped the Stronglight unit, I discovered it wasn’t all it seemed- a frankenset, made from bits of headsets. I had another, a cartridge model bought a while back and yep, despite being in a sealed envelope, was also missing parts. Bottom line, I was weary of wasting any more time, removed the Stronglight and bought an FSA, consigning the former to the bin.   

Elsewhere, the ORP Smart HornTESTED: ORP SMART HORN (sevendaycyclist.com) has returned to my fixed gear winter/trainer’s Genetic D-Riser 4 bars GENETIC DRISER 4 HANDLEBARS | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) The two-tone powder coat finish is enjoying its 9th birthday and is still in great shape. Though wet has been the primary narrative of the past fortnight, I found time to give the bike a seriously good clean, removed the seat post and blasted some of the waxy corrosion inhibitor inside.  I hung it up for a few days, switching to Denise for some fun along the lanes, allowing the fixed’s corrosion inhibitor to cure thoroughly.   

More lights have been coming our way-as you’d expect, given we’re entering the darker season. Magicshine See Mee 100AD Rear Light, which can produce, you guessed it, 100lumens. AD stands for Auto Detect, referring to the sensor system, which produces a more intense flashing light when it senses another vehicle approaching. It can also be synced with other compatible taillights for heightened presence.  

Not forgetting the Alty 800 V2.0/1200/1200U front lights. IPX6 for weatherproofing seems increasingly to be the default, which is good news for most consumers. It’s not waterproof in the submersible sense, but will certainly fend off very heavy rain, standing water, mud too, in my experience.  

I’ve not had too much issue with lights confirming to the lowlier IPX4 over the years- at least for road biased duties. However, there have been occasions when I’ve needed to flush a drowned unit out with a few liberal blasts of water displacer.  

Formative impressions suggest the See Mee 100AD sensor is very accurate and the flash deployed remarkably effective at grabbing and holding attention. Theoretically, this should mean being able to run a lower setting, conserving power and letting the intelligent technology do its thing when other vehicles approach.  

This doesn’t come naturally to me. Surrendering to tech’s mercy isn’t something that sits naturally with me but in the interests of testing. I’ll give it a go. The relatively flat lens design also aroused some minor concerns around peripheral presence, say when crossing junctions etc. but the projected light seems to counter this.  

Another nice feature is mount compatibility with others in the SeeMee family, so I can just switch places with the See Mee 50Mag, or indeed, the SeeMee100 and SeeMee 200 V2 without any issues. Super convenient and very welcome. It also makes sense from the vantage point of manufacturing economics.