Ta da! Trail & Green Lane fun

Having whipped The Maxxis Ikon aboard Ursula’s Ryde/Alfine Shimano Alfine UR700 Hub Dynamo | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and Sputnik/XT hoops, I took to the backroads, byways, dirt roads and bridlepath and swept myself back in time. Not one I was nostalgic for, rather my construct of the drop bar mountain bike-an all-terrain bike in the literal, purist sense. One conceived while mentally disengaged from an English class in March 1987.  Lightweight, yet rugged, ones that could be ridden beyond the confines of metalled roads and maddening crowds.  

Whoosh! I’ve always revelled in the ability to hop aboard a well-loved, carefully serviced two-wheeled vehicle and leave the world behind. Even if only for an hour, or two. The intoxicating sense of freedom. Increase the cadence, feel the machine respond to your every effort. With the miles come contemplation, reflection, solutions and clarity-although sometimes I need to write these down before they evaporate in a stream of consciousness.  

Much as I expected, the Ikon deliver a responsive, compliant, and engaging ride over dry hardpack and loose surfaces. Be these trails and bridlepath, or unmade roads. Their rolling resistance is quite palpable over metalled roads and I’m glad I put some precautionary goo in a batch of Schrader tubes, mind.  

Being the base model, there’s no puncture-repelling belt. I didn’t want to take the edge off their speed but wanted some added peace of mind.  Theory behind latex/sealant-filled tubes is that rotational forces plus release of pressure traffics the goo to the affected hole.  

Most work on nicks and holes around 1-1.5mm. The downside is a bigger hole, let alone blowout will result in a sticky encounter by the road/trailside. Time and miles will tell whether, and indeed, what contexts this proves an issue.  

A minor point, but I needed to raise the Mud Hugger Evo by a few millimetres to ensure some very necessary added clearance, coming from The Maxxis Overdrive Excel. However, that’s because I’d used these as the mounting template and wanted a super clean aesthetic. My fault for not factoring in a knobbly first-time round.     

Talking of which, long-term, I’m really impressed by the Motoverde PTFE Chain Lube Motoverde PTFE Chain Lube | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) staying prowess, and economy. Sparing is the word when it comes to application. Ditto 12 hour curing times but both Ursula and fixed gear winter/trainer are still sporting theirs, with no sign of reapplication coming. In contexts which have all but dismissed some middleweight wet blends. 

 

Seems to be doing better than several on the cleanliness front too.  Talking of clean, here’s my review of the Weldtite Bike Cleaner Concentrate Weldtite Bike Cleaner Concentrate | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)   

A year and 8,000 all-weather miles down the line, the Souma Leather Handlebar Tape Souma Leather Handlebar Tape | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) is holding out well. I’ve fed it with a decent quality leather food periodically and being a natural fabric, it has relaxed a little, resulting in slight slippage. Predictably, there’s more patina on Ursula’s, given the off-road ventures. On both bikes, I’ve needed to unwind and re-wrap a few times to allow for this and then of course a couple of cable changes but the backing adhesive is high quality, so no issues.   

Regarding contact points, midway through a 4am ride, I became convinced that the fixed’s top tube or stem were growing like Pinacho's nose. Laughably illogical thought but this kind of stuff creeps in however fleetingly. This was simply attributable to a slackening saddle cradle bolt on its Cane Creek Thudbuster ST G3 TESTED: CANE CREEK THUDBUSTER ST SEATPOST (sevendaycyclist.com). Would explain some low-level but intrusive chatter (which I’d originally attributed to a pump, the Lezyne riding shotgun on he down tube, specifically). Talking of down tubes, I’m a fan of the large PET cages-great for lugging big stuff. No wondering where you’re going to park that 1.5-litre bottle of mineral water you bought mid-ride.   

Topeak Modula range has always caught my eye and I’ve always had a particular soft spot for their Modula XL. The rubberised strap holds different diameters of bottlenecks very securely, eliminating chatter, not to mention ejection over rougher surfaces. Minoura made a similarly innovative model, although that’s been discontinued as the market seems to have moved toward multi-purpose models aimed at bike-packing audiences.  

They look similarly well engineered and I wouldn’t mind acquiring one for testing. Minoura makes some nicely engineered solutions- the VC100 camera mount that graced Ursula’s bars for some time being a case in point.  Back to Topeak and I find myself similarly endeared to their Modula Java Topeak Modula Java Cage | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)  

Right, time to mix things up a bit- I’m off for some more skinny-tyred fun on the Teenage Dream! John Moss (link) has also been in touch, saying his finished making the calliper mount for a TRP HYRD calliper. Think Ursula will reap those benefits, come the next cable change.