Having ridden fifty
formative miles with the new headset, my serenity (and everyone else’s) was
rudely interrupted by the front brake’s blood curdling banshee howl. Nothing
more serious than misaligned and slightly glazed pads; sorted in less than ten
minutes with 5, 3mm Allen keys and a little, fine grade sandpaper.
Bijous’ multi
tools bristling with functions are blessing and curse in equal measure.
You’ll never find yourself
bereft of that torx diver at the crucial moment and these are for quick
roadside tweaks, not workshop staples. However, cable bolts and balance screws
aside; there are other situations where longer bits blitz faff. Recessed seat/ cable
clamp, square taper crank and Ahead preload bolts being prime examples.
Thankfully and quite by
accident, I’ve rediscovered this rather handsome Brooks M21 while having
another sort out. 21 functions won’t tackle every situation and 290g is very
apparent in jacket pockets but it’s hard to beat for sheer leverage and
refinement. Off the subs bench and into
my Univega’s equally bomb-proof cotton duck rack bag it goes!
Icy, slushy stuff has
started becoming a popular roadside adornment in these parts and according to
Revolution’s Velocity computer, the mercury hasn’t inched past 4 degrees
Celsius. Thus, after several outings both Ilpompino and Univega were deserving
of a proper sudsy pamper. Decisions, decisions, do I go for the household name
that’s long been something of an institution, or a lesser known favourite of
mine…
Now, there is some truth
that, dilute enough household kitchen detergents will achieve similar results
without dulling paint/finishes or inducing corrosion on stainless/ polished
parts. However, while these and dedicated bike brews will perform the same
tasks, some are genuinely more effective than others-depending on their
concentration.
This prompted some
experimentation. Two brands may be broadly similar
chemically but does trigger design genuinely affect i.e. improve overall
performance?…Exchanging that belonging to an iconic name for one with a specialist "agitating" head
confirmed my suspicions.
The pink legend emerges
in precisely the same foaming consistency. Being more concentrate on contact suggests an even coat and shorter marinating
times to achieve same effect. That in question was the original, factory
formula, rather than dilute to taste version, which I find more versatile.
The song remained unchanged when swapping heads with another respected, albeit more dilute pink brand. Host bottles
may well join the recycling pile but looks like that trigger will become a
fully affiliated member of my tool-box.
