Battle of Wills

 While I’m testing the Alfine Dynamo, I’ve decided it was time to bolt a rotor to the SP SD8 SHUTTER PRECISION SD8 HUB DYNAMO | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) hub, creep a little closer to the front-end swap. Time, or rather uninterrupted opportunity are in short supply at present, so the smoother this process the better. Then of course, Ursula is very much a working bike and needs to be well, working. An unhurried, methodical approach is key, in my experience, to getting things set up properly and while digesting the manuals are crucial stages, lateral thought, and processes of elimination are similarly important. 

Enter triple-checking spacer/stack heights, and condition of components like rotors. Talking of which, I subsequently discovered the Shimano centre lock rotor I believed was nestling quietly in the spares bin, was in fact a figment of my imagination. Five minutes at the keyboard, crowned by a deft mouse click-sorted.  

Wrong time of night, wired, maybe? Whatever the catalyst, I found myself bidding on an allegedly brand-new Kinesis Maxlight fork. 7005 aluminium alloy, disc and cantilever mounts, uncut steerer... Thankfully someone else overtook me on this journey, since I discovered the vendor had a reputation for not honouring the auction price and more significantly, transpired this was a 1-inch steerer. All that glitters...  

Besides, sometimes we need to be forced to use what we have, and not get overly indulgent.  Especially since the UK is hitting the highest patch of inflation for 30 years and things are becoming increasingly lean, even for those who would never imagine they’d feel economic constraint.  

Storm Eunice hit the UK last week. Reckoned to be the most intense since the storms of 1987, it seems to have wreaked similar devastation in certain areas of the country. Conditions were close to eerily calm, that morning. Few cars, little wildlife as I weaved around the backroads and singletrack lanes.  

Wind speed intensified to around 60mph at 1500hrs in my region, with fallen trees, collapsed walls and similar damage prevalent. During this period, I was driving on the motorway and could feel the KA buffeted by gusty winds. These dropped by 1900hrs, although still accompanied by a banshee howl.  

I woke the next morning to winds around the 23mph mark, so Ursula and I headed out for a twenty-mile loop. Plenty of stray branches and dead wood but thankfully nothing obviously dangerous at that stage. I returned with the intention of giving the old girl a good clean. That she got.  

Undersides of her Bluemels mudguards SKS BLUEMELS SHINY MUDGUARDS | cycling, but not ususally racing (sevendaycyclist.com)  cassette n’ all. This, coupled with a need to test the Torque Covert 7’s chain tool brought forward chain replacement. Oh well, might as well. I went for another KMX X10, since it was close to hand. The .73 has a duller, grey finish than the ultra-reliable .93, which has me wondering if that’s the only difference. I’m no fan of the magic/ “missing link” genre and always join mine using the old school method and always carry a batch of spare links. Contradictory perhaps, given my remark 

 

I was surprised to find some minor knee discomfort recently, especially since I don’t turn big gears, or participate in impact activities. Having researched the matter in greater depth, I concluded it was an alignment issue. Switching from the FLR Defender booties to their Rexton Active cousins. I was relieved to discover this was down to cleat positioning, thus easily addressed. Might also explain the odd patina forming on the right side of this Cycles Berthoud Soulor CYCLES BERTHOUD SOULOR LEATHER SADDLE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) 

Decided, since I hadn’t stretched the fixed gear winter/trainer’s wheels for a little while now was the time to get some miles in. Gave me an opportunity to bed the TRP SLC caliper in properly- wet roads with gritty stuff and a minor nudge of a 3mm Allen key sorted these.  

The good folks at Ison Distribution www.ison-distribution.com have returned my freshly refurbished SP PD8 dynohub. New bearings, grease and overhauled, ready for building back into the Halo White line rim HALO CLASSIC RIM & SHUTTER PRECISION DYNOHUB DISC WHEEL BUILD (sevendaycyclist.com) but that’s a job for another time, there are more pressing priorities just now.