A wet, greasy outing on the fixed gear winter/trainer and my serendipity was rudely pierced by a wet hiss- the front CST Pika had succumbed. I drew alongside a farmhouse which had a decent fence, meaning I could rest the bike upright and tackle the flat. I’d taken delivery of a fresh batch of tubes recently and popped a fresh spare in the Kinekt Waterproof Saddlebag KINEKT WATERPROOF SADDLE BAG | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com), so though annoying-one of those things and easily fixed. The rain intensified, which didn’t do much for my mood but off came the wheel, out came the fresh tube, tyre lever and pump was to hand...
Well, riding shotgun on its bottle mount bracket. I uncoupled it, plugged it on the fresh tube’s Presta valve. The first stroke suggested it had become waterlogged at the valve. I pulled it away and tried again- like the piston had been immersed in treacle. Now, I keep a mini pump stashed away in the wedge pack for such emergencies-pedestrian perhaps, but infinitely preferable to the long walk home.
Where art thou??? I rummaged. A few seconds later, I’d found it. To no avail though as the new tube would not inflate-flaccid despite three attempts and 3 minutes. I slipped the pump, tubes etc. back into the wedge pack, reinstated the front wheel and ran the 6 miles home.
I switched the tube and rummaging unearthed another decent pump and bracket. It also presented the opportunity to re-grease the fasteners with some Peaty’s Bicycle Assembly Grease Topeak Road, PEATY'S BICYCLE ASSEMBLY GREASE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and I ended up switching the composite Tacx cage for this winged carbon Burls.
I’d checked the Lezyne HP Drive- a high-pressure model with threaded head and integral analogue gauge beforehand and slipped another micro pump into the wedge pack for emergencies (although I’ve rekindled my attraction to Co2 cartridges for rapid roadside rescue).
The HP drive is reckoned capable of 125psi, although in my experience 95 is more realistic. Easily up to the job of delivering 70psi- the Pika’s maximum and typical of several commu-touring favourites. The new forks mean 700x33mm (about 1.3 in) is the comfortable maximum and I’d be interested to see how well Maxxis Re-Fuse fare in the real world- they're reckoned to be “The perfect cycle training tyre” and extremely puncture resistant.
Inflating the wounded tube revealed a tiny hole, so not a valve issue and suggesting it was a flint that had worked into the tyre. Easily patched and left curing overnight, could be added to the good spares pile, or returned to the wedge pack.
Back to Ursula and someone waved a set of mtb guards designed for 29- inch wheels under my nose for a price that would’ve been stupid to pass up... The rear offers 80mm (about 3.15 in) of coverage at the widest point, which should cater for 2.2 inches without oodles of spatter caking the top, or indeed the rear triangle.
No issues with compatibility-cantilever brakes, or indeed an SQR bag and the post clamp seems secure. These can wander/slide annoyingly-even some high-end models. In keeping with my experience of budget models, the plastics are of decent quality, but the fitting kit is where pennies are saved. I had to switch some Allen key fasteners and find a suitable shim for the 25.4 Kinekt 2.1 Aluminium Seat post KINEKT 2.1 SUSPENSION SEAT POST | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com). Thankfully I had both, so no issues.
I had toyed with the idea of cutting down an old 26inch full-length chrome plastic to the seat stay bridge (or a few cm proud), mounting here and at the dropout eyelets. However, I didn’t have a suitable scrapper to make good and doing so would also restrict tyre choice.
I’ve also been confounded by the Sigma BC9.16 SIGMA BC9.16 ATS WIRELESS CYCLE COMPUTER | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) sensor’s refusal to communicate with the head unit.
Ultimately, I cleaned everything, including the contacts. I also sprayed some Muc-Off HCB1 on them, to rule out corrosion later down the line- the rubber O-ring seal had deformed (as they do, over time), changed the sensor battery.
I repositioned it, and the magnet higher up, reducing the gap between them. Still nothing. Last thing on the list- the head unit battery... I reasoned that while the display was relatively strong, it might be depleted, and transmission affected-Bingo. Sometimes it’s the little victories. Had this intervention failed, I would’ve switched back to the Cat eye Quick- a remarkably simple model and that’s part of its’ charm.
My first cycle computer was a wired Cat-Eye Vectra back in Christmas 1988 and I’ve had a particular fondness for the brand since. Ending on a fond note, here’s my review of the Lazer Chameleon Helmet Lazer Chameleon Helmet | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)
