Monday 3 December 2018

Lighting, Lubes & Log Cabins









So, I’ve reached our conclusions regarding the Ugoe 2000 headlight https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/ugoe-2000   and The Oxford Bright Stop rear LED light https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/oxford-bright-stop-rear-led-light I’ve turned my focus to mile munching with the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial https://www.facebook.com/Sevendaycyclistmagazine/videos/1367504860051913/  which are performing convincingly, both on and off road. https://www.facebook.com/Sevendaycyclistmagazine/videos/324364064784396/c
No, they’re not a trail tyre, in the cross country mtb sense. Rather they’re go-anywhere, all-terrain rubber. Sure, they’re not going to carve through the gloop like an aggressive knobbly, or glide over asphalt with the same speed as a slick.
However, rolling resistance is considerably lower than their weight and 26x2.0inch profiles would suggest. Off road, they’ll take unmade tracks, bridle path and less intense forest trails, in their stride. The stuff that really turned me on, to mountain biking as a teenager. Also explains Gravel’s appeal (much the same principle, just tackled on bikes with more cyclo cross in their DNA).
Lightweight, rugged machines that could go anywhere and perform with similar finesse. Slower across asphalt than a road or touring rig but the ability to vanish at speed along a dirt road. Feeling the ear to ear grin grow and leaving the world behind.
Powerfully enticing now, much less a bored teen, stifled by school’s rigid conformity. I wasn’t disinterested in education, just the context and curriculum. Thankfully, there were a few suitably disruptive students, for teachers to actively “zoo-keep”.
This left me to read the latest Specialized or Cannondale test, sans introspection, let alone chastisement.  My sincerest thanks go to Jane Wright (as she was, then) who rose from her seat and burst into the Communards’ “Don’t leave me this way”. Surreal, in the Dennis Potter sense. Perfectly timed, mid-afternoon, during double French, with Miss Diaper...
Back to 2018…
As things turn wetter, thoughts turn to waterproof kit and we’ve also been putting some wallet friendly panniers, https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/oxford  mudguards https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/oxford-full-length-mudguard-kit  and tyres https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/vee-tire-co-easy-street-tyre  through their paces. Aimed at commuters, all three seem to offer a decent amount of bang, for modest buck.
  
The motor oil challenge continues and much as I expected. The 5w/40 remains very stoical but is collecting moderate amounts of gunk, which are being purged on a weekly basis before it becomes a drivetrain gobbling, grinding paste.  Stoicism aside, shifts are very slick and silent, I latterly dribbled a tiny drop into every link.
There’s no one formula, for every occasion, in my experience, hence I like to alternate between lubricants, depending on the season. Self-cleaning wax types are particularly appealing. Low friction, lower maintenance (save for more frequent reapplication).
Home brewed variants are also extremely cheap to make (once you’ve got the consistency right). However, some commentators forget that the time and materials invested in this, have a cost (not to mention, mess) implication, which pushes their real “start-up” cost considerably higher (although I fully appreciate this can be recouped quite quickly over time).
Similarly, if you are unsure of correct brewing procedure, buying stock products is much cheaper than an explosion. The sort, resulting in an open plan terrace, and strained neighbourly relations.   
One of the major advantages shared by motor oil, chainsaw oil and more traditional wet lubes, is the ability to drizzle on, wipe and scoot off. Perfect during late autumn and winter, where daylight is at a premium.
Despite some poor light, and inclement conditions, I managed a fair bit of mooching and captured a bit of trail action, for good measure.
En route up, I dropped my Shutter Precision PD8 dynohub wheel, with John Moss. Unfortunately, John says the hub is poorly, rendering spoke tensioning academic. Thankfully, Ison distribution www.ison-distribution.com have come to my rescue and will sort, under warrantee…

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