Core, smoothly does it!

Had the privilege of attending this year’s Core Bike Show and there was a fair bit to see. 1x11 configurations continue to rule the roost, especially when it comes to Gravel/Adventure and backpacking builds. Cassettes too were getting wider, dare I say bigger.

Keeping a wide-range touring/mtb triple happy and obedient year round is something of a chore. These from hope certainly caught my eye. Finish aside, there’s even a 42 tooth-something I’d more commonly associate with tandems, recumbents and similarly specialist builds. Enough grunt for winching heavy laden touring trailers (or young tag-along pilots) up silly gradients without popping knees-Yay!

Cyclo cross bikes, at least those with less specialist personas, have long made excellent all-rounders, from winter trainers to light tourers. However, this has given rise to two tribes. The first, civilian, domesticated and extremely practical daily drivers and at the other extreme, gravel/bike packing. That said front mechs and belt drives haven’t disappeared.

Retro remains popular. I personally like it when older fashioned concepts return with a modern twist and less “classic” pricing. If you can drag yourself away from pencil thin stays, dripping in chrome you’ll also notice a centre-pull brakeset on this tourer.

Back in the South…

With the nasty lube Siberian reduced to a filmy state, it was time to strip the remnants from Univega and cross inspired fixed’s chains. This also coincided with the arrival of Duck Smart the black stuff chain cleaner.

In common with Green Oil degreaser jelly https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/green-oil-degreaser-jelly its’ a gel, so has the potential to double rather nicely as a generic degreaser. There’s also less wastage compared with a traditional solvent based stripper, although demands 5minutes marinating time before rinsing (and in some instances, reapplication).

A minor point, since I was giving my working fixed a good sudsy bucket pampering. This was followed by a liberal helping of some Crankalicious Enduro frame sealant.

Next came the Smoove universal chain lube. Now, this, like many others requires a curing period. Ideally, overnight but Smoove says it can be ride ready in an hour.

Potentially music to the ears of commuters prone to manic Mondays- drizzle some on first thing, don togs and be out the door after breakfast. With this in mind, I went said route with the Univega, to see if I could call Smoove’s bluff.

First impressions were similar to that of Motorex dry and my hunch that, curing aside, both work to the same principle. Unlike the wax/emulsion types that flake away, taking accumulated contaminant along with them, these trap grime in the top layer. It may assume a scuzzy grey/black but crap cannot work into the chain and become a fearsomely efficient grinding paste. So goes the theory at least.

I was expecting a slick, low friction middleweight and that’s how it’s behaved, several rides in. However, our maiden voyage coincided with fierce crosswinds and the Univega’s rear Kenda succumbing to a slow puncture. The sort where you reckon something’s a bit off, into the bend, so you stop pinch the casing…

Yup, suspicions confirmed. Time to swap the tube. Wheel out, last spare tube primed, I whipped out the wounded butyl. Sweeping the Kenda’s casing for foreign objects, expecting to find a thorn/hedge clipping-nothing…

During this period, groups of riders, including couples on tandems called over as they passed- I confirmed all was well and thanked them. Tube in, wishing I’d a CO2 inflator and cartridges handy, I was just grateful for the Lezyne mini pump’s smooth, predictable delivery.

Another rider stopped, apparently for a yarn.

Ten minutes in, I was getting progressively colder, despite long sleeve base layer, winter weight jersey cum jacket, waterproof breathable shell, thermal bib tights, gloves and booties. Seems he was a newbie. I was stunned to learn that his new top tube bag was bare-he was out without any means of rescuing himself, which seemed foolhardy at best.

Chill biting harder than ever, I suggested he invest in at least two spare tubes, multi tool, patch kit, pump and tyre levers. This way, he’d stand a sporting chance of getting going again. Strangely enough, my Cat-Eye blinky had jettisoned, although I was able to retrieve before it was crushed under the wheels of a Nissan Duke.

40psi (or thereabouts) and wheel reinstated, I span a lower gear to warm up. Infinitely preferable to a long walk home and a reminder to replenish the wedge pack. Budget tubes are generally speaking, fine for roadside rescue duty but branded butyl respond better to patching.    

Elsewhere, my patience finally evaporated with a well-known car insurer. Their abysmal customer service and palpable disinterest (in pursuing a case involving a foreign haulier), saw me turn to Chris Knott’s Car insurance 4 cyclists’ https://www.carinsurance4cyclists.com/  Even in light of the pending claim, my premium was still less than half that quoted by my original insurer. Decision made.