Winter is fun, provided you
prepare properly. No such thing as the wrong weather, provided you’ve the right
kit. Dependable tyres, durable lubes, and decent lighting being three obvious
bike specific requirements.
Thanks to high quality li-on and li-polymer cells,
run to charging ratios are very favourable these days.
However, complacency almost
got the better of me. Over the past few weeks, I’ve really warmed to this
Lightrider PHASE rear light, reckoned to pump out 50 lumens and go 36 hours
between charges.
It did, or within a few
minutes first time round. However, 20 odd hours through the second charge, the
charge light began flashing and it promptly powered down…Eight miles from home.
Thankfully, I always run two
bike mounted lights, with this Revolution COB rear LED on my helmet, ready for
contingencies. Now, I’d been a little remiss with charging my Univega’s Moon Nebula,
which I had been running in super frugal, slow flash.
This also began flashing its low
charge indicator, but this and The Revolution’s 15 lumen flash, were enough to
cruise the remaining eight miles home on. All were suckling from my mains chargers,
before I’d popped the tubby tourer back in the workshop.
This is another reminder that
AA/A fuelled units remain extremely relevant. While spare cells should always
be carried, worse case scenario, they’re easily bought from supermarkets,
convenience shops and petrol stations.
Staying with lights, this
Oxford Products Ultratotrch 2K front light. Tipping the scales at 338g It’s a
gram heavier than their Ugoe 2000 lumen headlight, which feeds from a 7.4volt,
6000mAh li-polymer, external battery https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/ugoe-2000
the 2K also retails at £99.99 and seems
very well made. Inside the hard-anodized aluminium alloy casing we have three
Cree XM-L2 LEDs, a 9000mAh lithium ion battery (which takes a full eight hours
to charge).
I am pleased by the six modes,
which staircasing power options, which start at a retina tickling 2000lumens,
then downwards to 1500,1000, 500, 250 and 125lumens respectively. Some (me
included) will be slightly disappointed to discover there’s no SOS, or flash mode,
should reserves take a tumble, miles from home.
At the higher end, Oxford
cites 2 hrs, 3 hours and 4 hours respectively, which bodes well for sustained
speedwork through the sticks. However, whether optics rival firepower, in the
useful, navigational sense, remains to be seen.
The machined aluminium handlebar
mount makes a nice change, from the otherwise serviceable composites. It comes
complete with an aluminium unit for 25.4 diameters.
Remove this, and theoretically
it’ll bolt straight aboard oversized (31.8) bars. Rubber shims will be required
for traditional road bars. I’ve had to raid the salvage box for something
suitable, so it would accommodate these Soma Condor https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/soma
So, if you’re without pick a
couple up from your friendly local bike shop and (assuming you haven’t bought
from them, at least have the decency to buy them some biscuits, or contribute
to their tea and cake fund.
Elsewhere, I’ve exhausted the
helping of chainsaw oil, used to lubricate the Passport elements chain. So
returned to Weldtite TF2 Extreme wet https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/weldtite-tf2-extreme-wet-chain-lubr
, which has a very similar consistency.
The temperature has finally
dropped, though not plunged, as sensationally predicted by the red top tabloid
press. Clear skies have meant greasy, slightly slippery roads but nothing taxing
the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial, yet. https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/schwalbe-marathon-mondial-tyres
However, I can sense ice and
more challenging weather coming in the coming weeks. Enter these Schwalbe
Marathon Winter Plus. The winter, which I’ve used for several, icy and
snowbound seasons are good but only have 120 spikes. https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/schwalbe-winter-spiked-tyre
Fine for tackling icy
backroads and moderate snowfall, at 17mph. However, last year’s so called
“Beast from the East”; threatened to get the better of them. https://www.facebook.com/Sevendaycyclistmagazine/videos/1846747668689489/
We’re talking minor slides, with a bit of warning, nothing more
serious/expensive, or indeed, undignified.
The Schwalbe Marathon Winter
plus have 200, which should elevate grip and control to a new level. Staying
with temperature, conditions have called for liner gloves. While the Oxford Bright
gloves (and several similar designs are fine to 3 degrees), when the mercury
slides into minus figures, finger tips can get painfully chill.
A rummage through my gloves’
drawer, unearthed these BBB liners. Liner gloves are designed to slip inside and
provide additional warmth, and, in some cases, they can also be worn on their
own, during spring.
