Plenty of excitement-of
the right and wrong sort this past fortnight; continued progress with the
children’s stories, a couple of hours spent interviewing Austin Vince (www.austinvince.com) leading up to his
adventure travel film festival on 12-14th August. http://www.adventuretravelfilmfestival.com/
Then along came
tyres that would not mount, mechs that swung too far and of course; a “Forking
hell! My blades/steerer are divorcing!!!” drama.
Thankfully; this was all
sorted with a call to upgrade bikes www.upgradebikes.co.uk. Two minutes later,
Rory sorted me a set of Kinesis DC37 at a very compassionate price. Two days later,
they arrived at my door suitably boxed to fox the notorious parcel destroyers,
along with a brand-spanking new hacksaw.
I knew I had a packet
fresh, replacement blade “somewhere” but rather than wasting time, simply
ordered another saw, specifically for guillotining steerer tubes. Some will
argue this is unnecessary expense; most of us replace forks every-so-often.
Maybe so, but £6 pales
into insignificance compared to a badly cut tube, or operator injury. Keeping
two sets of wire snips is also good practice; one for everyday jobs-cutting zip
ties, plastic housing, wire fencing to length etc and another specifically for
inner wires-they’ll repay their investment countless times over.
Back to the forks; these
are a keenly priced and relatively lightweight composite set with an alloy
steerer, disc mount and 45 degree rake. Check out a full review in Seven Day Cyclist. http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/kinesis-dc37-disc-fork
Kinesis frames and forks
are well made and this one seems particularly good for a budget fork;
countering the perpetuating myth that composites go floppy with age, or should
be arbitrarily replaced at specific intervals. Personally, I’m inclined to
inspect regularly and, in the event of a serious tumble, consult a specialist
and make an informed decision.
Bottom line, I’ll
pension off anything dubious. The cost implications of new teeth, time off
work, or the prospect of having shards of composite plucked from my derriere by
an overworked and underpaid A&E nurse far exceeds that of a replacement
post/handlebar/fork.
I was tempted to plump for their Crosslight. These are a slightly quirky, industrial looking 6061 set, which
I’ve used to good effect on a cross inspired mtb mongrel. There's only 70g separating them from the Dc37.
However, while I’d describe the Crosslight as direct, rather than harsh; carbon blades translate into a more compliant ride. Ideal opportunity for
headset replacement-another FSA, from the comfort of one’s kitchen,
naturally.
Talking of comfort, I am
largely a MAMIL (Middle aged man in Lycra) for point to point blasts; though
I’ve always had a soft spot for “messenger” longs, which are extremely
practical for spirited riding, yet more suave, dare we say, socially
appropriate sans bike.
Price is usually a good
indicator; although I have three particular favourites are at each end of the
spectrum (£25-£75). Given this backdrop, I was decidedly disappointed by
another top drawer set commanding the lion’s share of £100.
No denying their
appeal sans saddle but the cut saw them ascending my thighs faster than an 80’s
Columbian climber. Could just be a poor liner/short combo, so I’ll persevere
for another 100miles or so before passing comment proper.
Elsewhere, I’d been
eager to get my sweaty little mitts on tom-tom’s bandit action cam for some
time, attracted by its spec and promise of user-friendly editing.
Suggestion that action
cams, regardless of quality are serious film-making tools is misinformed.
Limited focal length and sound recording quality are the most obvious limiters
but they are a useful way of recording the highs n’ lows of a ride,
broadcasting short, first-look promotional pieces on social media channels.
Convergence; crudely the
adoption of SLR cameras for film-making and we can now edit footage without
having access to professional editing suites. However, as Austin Vince pointed
out during our interview; the grammar of television-the way in which stories
are told remains unchanged and must be mastered first.
I’ve seen several “Uncle
Bobs” produce abysmal wedding footage using completely stock, entry Level DSLRS
in movie mode. Undeterred, I’m going to learn this language at my own pace,
while having some uncomplicated fun with the Bandit…
