Substitute!

The Lord does indeed work in mysterious ways. Sunday saw me pop out for a quick twenty mile blast aboard the Holdsworth before the weather had chance to turn bandit with wind and rain of biblical proportions. Everything was right with the world, riders waved cheerfully as we passed in opposite directions and I was mentally in the zone for typing some extensive copy upon my return. This was shattered suddenly by a very literal sinking feeling. The inexpensive but otherwise very cheerful Outland was creeping into the seat tube. Stopping and tightening the binder bolt made no impression. Arriving home, I reasoned the post diameter might be incorrect. Removal and closer inspection of the seat-tube confirmed these suspicions. The ten year lay-up sans post and subsequent traces of powder coat had seen it compress, explaining why it has entertained a 26.8 for so long.

Purging contaminant presented the ideal opportunity for a light reapplication of Waxoyl. As the sand coloured gloop flooded inside the tubes, a light bulb moment saw me try an old, badly scored 27.2 Kalloy; after all, there was nothing to lose and everything to gain. Cue drum roll, slither of grease around the shaft and in she goes… Admittedly it was tighter than ideal but close enough and besides, cheaper models aren’t machined to the same tolerances as their costlier counterparts. This presented a choice between the beautiful and super svelte Thompson earmarked for the Teenage Dream and an equally tasty budget Carbon Tifosi. Fate decided the latter. Having “skilfully” dropped the Thompson’s cradle bolts, the wind grew with intensity, blowing them into bedding plants and frustratingly out of reach. The carbon Tifosi complete with simple, if slightly agricultural, single bolt cradle was the obvious candidate. Two minutes in the shelter of a warm kitchen saw the Specialized Toupe’ swapped over and the Holdsworth blessed with a beautiful new post. This torrent of Euphoria prompted other changes, most notably this very fetching CNC machined Halo track sprocket and Surly Nick-Less Cage. The Halo replaces the ultra lightweight anodized aluminium model that wasn’t doing a great deal thanks to the unsurpassed refinement of an EAI superstar typically in charge.

It is in fact Cro-moly steel, boding well for longevity and is reasonably priced. The striking blue effect is achieved through a process similar to anodising known as electrophoresis deposition (oft referred to as ED coating) developed and used extensively within the automotive industry. The Surly is a sturdy stainless steel cage, claiming to be a unique design but aside from beefier rod, it mimics the dainty Nitto Continuing a theme of sitting comfortably, the Univega and I have been getting the miles in aboard the classic cutaway Dia Tech. Subjected to Liberal Nikwaxing to protect the hide and promote the breaking-in-process, fifty miles in and we seem to be forming an affectionate bond. However, the base is seven millimetres broader than my regular perches (as determined eighteen months ago in a BG fit consultation) and the initial ten miles had my Ischial Tuberosity screaming for mercy. However, this didn’t demand these buttock abrasion patches but I’ll keep them handy in the rack bag just in case…
The season of tool abductions continue... This week it’s been the turn of my trusty long 5mm Allen wrench needed to tackle the recessed bolts in these Cane Creek V brake specific road levers. These play a central part in the Univega’s reconfiguration but thankfully, this little T-handled beauty came to the rescue, giving change from £3! 8spd bar end levers and 7 speed cassette have been temperamental bed fellows of late so a quick wander around the web unearthed these NOS (New old stock) STX RC pods going for the proverbial song.

These have been mounted inboard of the ends, thus protecting them from thrills, spills and everyday knocks while falling neatly to hand for sweet, swift changes. Having experimented in this direction previously with my mtb based crosser/working bike, mounting the pods low demands some very judicious filing of the internal clamp diameter. Contrary to popular belief, there is no need to splay the clamps, even on very substantial bars as this risks bracket fatigue and/or fractures. However, the makeover cannot be completed without a new stem, one with at least twenty five degree rise. Specialized and Gusset both produce models perfect for these applications-especially riding off road where for effective control, the drops should fall roughly where a flat XC bar would. However, this will have to wait as MOT, servicing and tax were due on my car, leaving me £260 lighter.

Dear Father Christmas…..