The recent wet, stormy narrative meant I was washing the fixed every three/four rides.
No great hardship. The powder coated frame and components are treated to a premium quality wax. In this instance, Naked Bikes Pro Wax Special edition https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/naked-bikes-pro-wax-special-edition and thankfully, gritting lorries are conspicuous by their absence.
Perfect conditions for evaluating a wet lube. I'm staying with White Lightning Wet Ride . It's a blend of synthetic oils and water repelling polymers.
No curing time either and in theory you can just top-up, as required. In practice, you'll need to clean the residual (and it's ingrained gritty contaminant first).
Packing a Crankalicious K- wipe https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/crankalicious-kwipe-chain-cleaner (or a decorator's solvent wipe) is another good tip, should you need to clean and replenish on a big ride/tour. Same goes fort some middleweights, such as Juice Lubes Viking All Condition High Performance Chain Oil https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/juice-lubes-all-condition-chain-lub and Weldtite TF2 Performance All weather Lubricant
Otherwise, by this point, I'd also be inclined to cleanse the cassette. Again, a brush dipped in turpentine is very effective. When time's at a premium, aerosol based solvent degreasers come into their own.
During winter, when washing bikes, start by rinsing bikes with cold water first. This will dismiss road salts/similarly caustic stuff. Then take the warm, sudsy bucket route. Hot water will simply awaken the salt monster's malicious side. Then reach for your bike wash, or warm, sudsy elixir.
Car wash n' wax formulas are very convenient and time efficient. My default, assuming I'm not testing bike washes. The surfactant lifts the grime, then imparts a thin, protective wax barrier.
As with most things, quality varies, depending on price. However, several litres lasts several months (and that's factoring frequent car washing into the mix).
Quite effective on sullied bar wrap too. I had been tempted to pop the ACROS Silicone Wrap Handlebar Tape https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/acros-silicone-wrap-handlebar-tape in the wash, following last week's switch to the D-Riser 4. The former (not the bars!) is designed to do tours de Zanussi/Mele/Hotpoint/Indesit/Samsung (* Other brands are available*).
However, this Oxford Products Tyre Scrub https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/oxford-products-tyre-scrub proved the most convenient method. Its also one of my favourite acquisitions and costs a measly £3.99 . Oxford has also sent me their Cliqr Out Front Handlebar Mount. Phones might be the obvious choice but its reckoned to manage compact action cameras. So, we'll see how it behaves with this Apeman A80 https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/apeman
Prevention is always more convenient (and usually cheaper) than cure.
Little and often inspection and maintenance keeps problems to a minimum and stops most before they strike. While switching bars, to my horror, I discovered the brake's inner wire a few strands from oblivion. A few inner wires-brake and gear are bread n' butter staples.
This coincided with a more generic sort out/rationalisation of the garage. I unearthed another two Co2 inflators and the straps for the Fibre Flare USB light. The latter is just the right length to sit on my Univega's seat stays-without fouling feet, or rear brake. Well, it pleased me.
The fibre flare might lack the outright punch of many modern blinkies. That said; the surface area compensates and in my view, they're particularly suited to tagalongs and trailers.
A quick lick of Vaseline/silicone grease keeps the switch and contacts corrosion free.
On the subject of switching, after many happy weeks testing, I've reverted to the XLC SPD pattern pedals. Now, I like dual sided flat/cleat designs, some more than others. Despite the platform's size, there's been no clearance woes with the Look. Nor have I been floundering away from the lights.
However, for me cross country mtb types win by a nose, when all's said n' done. An editor once suggested I had a fetish for "lookie-likies" (patterns). Yes, was my polite and truthful response. To clarify, I'm curious to see how patterns perform, relative to the real McCoy.
Similarly, they are typically cheaper, which is also welcome on winter/working bikes. Wellgo Ritchey patterns are one of my all-time favourite homages. Staying with feet, I've also switched to waterproof socks and synthetic shoes for a while. Primarily since these Oxford Ox Socks arrived for testing and in the latter context, I fancied giving my mighty Quoc Pham a break. I'm no fan of overshoes.
Not that they aren't an effective way of protecting expensive footwear from the ravages of winter and feet from nasty chill, I just can't abide the faff of trying to tug them on/off.
My traditional objection to impervious socks is breath ability. While they will keep mother nature firmly at bay, immersed up to the cuff-line. TPU linings tend to leave feet feeling "boiled in the bag" i.e. clammy and uncomfortably moist.
Worn for prolonged periods, especially in milder weather and/or with synthetic shoes, I've succumbed to athletes' foot and similar nasties.
Now, the Oxsocks are also supposedly impervious, with a laminated membrane. However, thus far no sign of the clamminess/discomfort. Something that I attribute to the use of merino blend, rather than purely synthetic yarns.
Despite sensationalist forecasts, the sort implying the country will grind to a pronounced and snowbound halt. In practice, its only turning icy. Not icy enough that I'm inclined to switch to the Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/after-the-gritters-went-home but exercising more caution.
Fixed is particularly useful in these contexts. The ability to regulate speed by holding off against the cranks gives much better feedback. Situations where engaging a brake lever runs the very real risk of a spill.
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