I was born, one day I will die...No, not that track by Soft Cell/Marc Almond (although, being a middle-aged man, it’s arguably fitting) I am referring to our old friend, supply problems. I’ve also been struggling to remove the Shutter Precision SL9’s centre lock rotor.
A sudden flash of inspiration led me to buying a small portable vice and some rubber “engineer’s” strips allowing me to clamp the hub in situ, without risking any damage.
I’m incredibly fond of the Shutter Precision hubs but the need to strip the hub and send it away every few years isn’t something I’ve needed to do with Shimano units- even the Nexus unit (now 22 years old) is still turning away nicely.
The Ultegra is in similarly rude health and has done a much bigger mileage than the once hardworking Nexus. This had led me to me pondering the acquisition of another Alfine, or ideally, something that is more readily serviced in the field.
Kasai offer some “field repairable” models, which as their name suggests are more readily serviced and repaired-without going through the palaver of stripping the wheel, packaging up the hub and building everything again.
This might be perfectly valid on a bike in hard service running rim brakes. Since the rim’s sidewalls can wear through, demanding a rebuild by default. Ideally, I’ll get hold of a Kasai, or failing that, another Alfine (since the latter is reliable and crucially, partially user serviceable) and hold onto the SL9 as a spare. Watch this space...
Back to the SL9...I'd been toying with the idea of a portable vise, for some time. Bench mounted ones had also fired my imagination, but portable models are arguably a better fit for me.
Enter this auction site special, which arrived over the holiday weekend. Given the budget price, I was surprised by how relatively sturdy it felt. I popped some of the dead butyl from the previous week into the jaws and gently locked the Shutter Precision Hub body in situ.
A quick blast of penetrant spray to get things underway before I introduced my long-serving Cyclo cassette remover tool. With a brief primal grunt, and modest effort, the lockring released, revealing a light but serviceable coating of grease clinging to the threads.
If only I’d whipped the rotor off before stripping the wheel... However, main thing the hub’s now with the UK importers and will be winging its way to Taiwan for overhaul. Another little job off my doing list. Next came my front dental crown, which fell into the sink with an audible “plink” while I was busy with the electric toothbrush.
Conversation with my dentists suggests I couldn’t get an appointment for a month, but my best bet would be to ring them on the mornings when I’m free to see if they could slot me in that day. Main thing is the remnants of tooth are still firmly within the gum, which is something. Receptionists suggested the crown could simply be re-bonded but much as I suspected, the tooth, not the crown itself failed. I've discussed cosmetic and structural options with my dentist and paid for treatment to shore up a booking, while this was still available.
As autumn slowly advances, I’ve reached my conclusions regarding the Green Oil Dry Chain Wax Green Oil Dry Chain Wax | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) which I’m quite fond of and will run, until the roads get consistently wetter. I’ll stick with something dry for Ursula and for the time-being, the Green Oil Wet GREEN OIL WET CHAIN LUBE (sevendaycyclist.com) on the fixed.
I am also toying with a saddle swap- The Spa Cycles Aire ported over to Ursula and the Selle San Marco Concor Supercorsa over to the fixed. Both are a tan brown so complement their existing colour schemes and the former is also right royally moulded to my butt after many thousands of miles. The Concor Supercorsa is a late 70s classic, with lines from that era.
Not to everyone’s tastes but at 265x140mm, fits my proportions very nicely. The main prompt for this switch? Well, I’ve concluded, despite Ursula’s more upright positioning that I am still served by narrower saddles-140-143mm seems optimal (indeed, regardless of machine). The Aire is,148mm wide but if it's comfy on the fixed, I’m confident this narrative will continue.
