Schwalbe UK likes what we do
at Seven Day Cyclist www.Sevendaycyclist.com so I
was delighted to discover their Marathon 365 awaiting me, having just returned
from a quick reckkie of that disused railway line.
As their name suggests,
Schwalbe designed these to cope competently in all conditions and year round. 2
inches wide and a portly 1048g apiece, the 365 are to my surprise, heavier than
their spiked winter siblings. We’re slipping into summer at this point but
it’ll be interesting to see whether they can genuinely deliver when conditions
threaten a face-plant at every corner.
Though the UK doesn’t get snow
in the Scandinavian sense, the spiked versions will tackle snowy back road in
full confidence and at respectable speeds. Frankly, I’d rather be relaxed at
17mph and enjoying the ride when roads are under several centimetres of snowy
stuff than risking a face plant at every bend.
Staying with their
similarities, both tyres are wire beads and generally speaking, incredibly easy
to re/mount- I experienced some minor creep while fitting the 365, so squeeze
the sidewalls while reinstating the remaining sections to counteract their
initial tendency to roll off shallower rims.
Even though I’m a dynohub
devotee, I was delighted by the sidewall’s dynamo track and retro-reflective
detailing. The dual guard puncture preventative system bodes well for
dependability. As the name implies, dual guard employs India rubber and nylon
belt. Should a sharp pierce the casing; these flex, pushing it out before it
nicks the tube, causing a flat.
Operating pressures for the
365 are between 35 and 65psi, lower than their winter specific siblings and
more typical of two-inch trail rubber. Formative impressions suggest there’s
less rider-sapping drag, or squirm over metalled roads compared with common or
garden knobblies.
Nonetheless, rolling
resistance was something of a culture shock coming from the excellent marathon
GT I was testing earlier this year https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/schwalbe-marathon-gt-tyres A few hundred mixed terrain, all weather
miles will give much better insight as to their persona, strengths and weaknesses.
Elsewhere, we’ve a review of
the back bottle https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/the-back-bottle-water-bottle ,
route guide https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/cycling-the-loire-cycle-route and some shots of Mick Ives on his solo giro
d’italia mission https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/m16-podium-stage-system-complete .
I was in the capital on business this week and was pleased to see fixed remains popular. Plenty of Specialized, Genesis and less prosaic one-cog hacks shackled to street furniture. Well, I got excited!
I was in the capital on business this week and was pleased to see fixed remains popular. Plenty of Specialized, Genesis and less prosaic one-cog hacks shackled to street furniture. Well, I got excited!
So, that railway line...It’s a
long forgotten service that was derelict and overgrown forty years back. We
lived locally then and my father would often hoist me atop his shoulders to get
a closer look at the track that nature had largely reclaimed.
Having awoken to discover the
Ilpompino’s front Vee Rubber had a slow flat, I prepped the Univega and fifteen
miles into a loop, took a left turn along a narrow, unmade road. The street
specific 1.75 Panaracer coped surprisingly well along the loose gravel-even at
75psi and sure enough, the banking was still fully accessible. Hoisting the
tubby tourer over my shoulder, I ran to the bottom.
Track long gone; it was more
like a green lane. A bit much for the street-centric Panaracer, so bike back on
my shoulder, I ran diagonally up the banking, nettles and other foliage
ravaging my exposed legs and remounted cyclo-cross fashion.
A narrow, little used lane,
just wide enough for a small car presented, so we followed that a mile or so
before rejoining the main road and the final seven miles home. The ability to
escape and explore on a lightweight but durable machine was mountain biking’s
biggest draw for me back in the 1980s.
Arguably my cream and black
friend is the closest to that era’s ideal. Amateur psychologists (of which,
there seem plenty) would suggest I’m yearning to revert to those times.
However, I felt acutely alienated during my teenage years and have no desire to
revisit them.
This also proved an ideal
opportunity to test the claims of a repair product. Look closely and you’ll see
I’ve glued the LED tab on its wedge pack. Left curing for the 12hours cited,
time will tell just how effective and indeed, permanent the repair really is.
Back in the midlands, I had a
tip-off about some long abandoned, derelict buildings, so headed off early
morning with CSC and lenses. Following my nose and commanded by bladder, I
found a stretch of wasteland. The external barrier had been flattened, allowing
easy access.
Timely too, since Police with
dogs had passed seconds before! Walking through the undergrowth, I was soon
greeted by obvious signs of recent substance misuse, so continued carefully,
ears attune to any little sound, or movement.
Charred chairs and mattresses
aside, no-one was home and the neighbours didn’t seem particularly perturbed by
my presence. Guess they presumed I was working on behalf of a developer.
The building was very well
sealed-squatters or metal thieves weren’t going to be another force to contend
with, so I had a relaxed half hour’s mooch. Bottom line, if asked to leave, I
smile a lot and walk away pretty swiftly. Right, lots coming up and lots to get
done, so back to the keyboard!
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