Forking Hell!!!

Having discovered (despite much fanfare on their part) the international supplier wouldn’t ship a carbon composite fork to these shores, a friendly chat with Upgrade bikes (www.upgradebikes.co.uk) secured this much nicer Kinesis model for the same money. No danger of it being obliterated by the baggage destroyers; confiscated by customs or yours truly getting clobbered for import tax and other hidden duties later along the line.

Those with a more traditional pattern are getting progressively rarer as integrated becomes virtually standard. I’m pleasantly indifferent to the humble star fangled nut, so have opted for a CNC machined expandable wedge, more commonly associated with carbon steerers instead.

With discs mainstream and increasingly ubiquitous in road circles, bolt through axles are following close behind. Rigidity is the main draw, although there’s a quiet hush (reminiscent of the dual between VHS and Betamax) as we wait to see which pattern/variant becomes industry standard. I certainly wouldn’t bet on which way the pendulum will swing but rumour suggests big S are working on something….

Rory and I also discussed the latest and extremely appealing Tripster ACE, which is a complete build. Traditionally, Kinesis have been a frameset brand marketed at experienced riders who like to brew their own a’la cart machines, whether this be upgrading a tired frameset on their commu/trainer/workhorse and using the existing components, or something more prosaic.  

Priced squarely at the Cycle to work scheme market, we’ll be putting one through its paces at Seven Day Cyclist, along with some tasty looking TRP products in the very near future. 

Talking of Big S, wheel choice has also deviated from the original script in favour of their imaginatively monikered WHFX05 hoops, which are a 28hole road/cross variant seemingly perfect for this application and bring the total cost to a reasonable £180.

However, this precludes the Avid disc, so I’ve acquired a 160mm SLX unit and hope the Avid calliper will prove compatible. Much of this will be recouped from the sale of the older ITM forks and some other unwanted components, freeing up space and capital for other, unrelated projects that are beginning, finally to take shape.

Cables are another consideration-generally speaking I’ve erred towards mid to upper end Teflon coated stainless steel fare and always keep several in stock for convenience. However, having decided on a cable operated disc, I want the very best I can get from it. I’ve always liked Jagwire cablesets, so jumped at the invitation from Moore Large (www.todayscyclist.co.uk) to test their compression-less, road elite set.

Compression-less has been around for donkey’s-well, three decades to be precise. However, the forces placed upon a gear cable are incomparable with those involved in stopping. Some brave souls experimenting with compression-less cabling soon discovered this fade free nirvana was shorter lived than Icarus’s wings.

Thankfully, manufacturers cottoned on and most seem really impressive-regardless whether disc, dual pivot, cantilever, or linear pull (V brake). Decent quality cutters are a must in any context but absolutely imperative on these relatively tough Kevlar housings.

Tempting though it is to use an existing cable as a quick reference template, compression-less housings are stiffer and require a more gradual bend, so offer up, leave some extra length-then, snip. Unless of course; you’ve money to burn.

Recent close-encounters on two wheels (and in four) have served only to intensify my already palpable contempt for poor road craft. Popular belief suggests the possession of a licence means competent to operate a vehicle with care and consideration.

However, this doesn’t take into account a pronounced culture of contempt and entitlement, which seems to remove any accountability. On the phone, texting, applying foundation, bit of blusher, reading magazines all seems perfectly reasonable activity when operating a ton plus of steel.

Perhaps there’s something particular about Thursday evenings but I’ve had two breathtakingly close encounters recently. Ironically, on both occasions, I’d left home without the Geonaute; otherwise the footage from both incidents would’ve been broadcast here, possibly via Youtube.

I’ve also acquired this resin camera mount for a quid. Build quality is vastly superior to a very similar looking big brand model costing considerably more. It’s actually designed for motorcycles, so I had hoped it would be offer a vice like, rock steady grip-no invasive vibration, slippage or camera shake. Indeed, it does and aside from the satisfaction, DIY versions almost become uneconomic.     

Poor spatial perception is no excuse for passing me, or anyone else within millimetres, regardless of the vehicle being operated. Back in the late 1990s, a heavily pregnant woman in charge of two small children strayed into my path without so much as glancing in my direction.

I happened to be riding an Indian built, single disc braked Enfield Bullet and travelling at 28mph-any faster and wouldn’t stood a cat’s chance in hell of stopping. Thankfully I did and its academic but it’s not difficult to imagine the anti-motorcyclist headlines emblazoned across the front pages of the local press, without once acknowledging the inconvenient truth.

I have another issue with the term “road rage”. Giving this set of uncontrolled and generally violent behaviours a label almost affords legitimacy-absolving people of responsibility for their own. Men in particular are encouraged to believe “losing it” is desirable and moreover, constructive…