Having replaced Ursula's chain
with a genuine KMC and acquired some spare quick links, I decided then was the
most opportune moment to give the old girl a good sudsy bucket wash, strip the
drivetrain of pre-existing lube and apply Muc-Off Ceramic Coating to the
frameset and drivetrain components.
Keep it away from disc rotors
(braking surfaces generally) and contact points for obvious reasons. Aside from
starting with a freshly washed and dried bike, Muc-Off Ceramic is very easy to
apply. Shake the bottle, twist the nozzle and spray in short bursts. Work into
surfaces using a microfibre cloth and buff to a sheen.
Much the same MO as Weldtite's
Rapid Ceramic Shield Weldtite
Rapid Ceramic Shield | cycling-not-racing Timely too, given the weather's
turned seasonally stormy and rural roads are carpeted in a mix of dung and
slurry. Perfect conditions for assessing its staying prowess, not to
mention bike washes and Juice Bikes Bike Cleaner specifically.
Its worth noting that bikes will
still collect some muck- your bike is not going to look showroom fresh
following bog snorkelling. However, less filth will stick and theoretically at
least, the barrier will also protect against road salts and other caustic
elements.
I've treated Denise to some and
Muffin in Weldtite Rapid Ceramic Shield as control/comparator. Lube-wise, I'm
sticking to Weldtite All-Weather Weldtite All
Weather Lube | cycling-not-racing on the chain lube front, although will
reach for its wet stablemate as the weather worsens.
Schwalbe has sent me their Marathon
Pro Allmotion. Ours are the 700x40c and a departure from the venerable, iconic
Marathon in several respects. Tipping the scales at 554g apiece, it features a
completely new tread pattern. This employs a solid centre strip for speed
across asphalt and grippy shoulders for traction in the wet and along greasy
roads. Its marketed at touring and light trekking audiences with a maximum
payload of 150kilos.
The compound was originally developed for Schwalbe’s
road racing range. The casings feel very supple, very close to gravel tyres,
such as these Maxxis Rambler Maxxis
Rambler Tubeless Ready Tyres | cycling-not-racing. The
folding bead is also tubeless ready and is E-50 certified for S-pedelecs. I was
surprised to discover the maximum pressure is 50psi. Unremarkable in gravel
circles, but quite low compared with traditional touring rubber and the
Marathon in particular.
I should’ve checked the rim tape,
which had weathered a little, causing the adhesive to wane and two spokes to
graze the tubes. Nuisance value and I opted for some Schwalbe as replacements-I
usually keep some in stock but had clearly exhausted supplies.
Shipping them aboard a rim was similarly
effortless. It took very modest persuasion from these Weldtite levers, and I
was able to forgo levers altogether when mounting it to this Halo White Line HALO
CLASSIC RIM & SHUTTER PRECISION DYNOHUB DISC WHEEL BUILD.
Staying with tyres, monsoon rains
have brought generous amounts of mud, which is great for testing the gloop
churning prowess of these NUTRAK x VEE Swift Frenzy gravel mud tubeless ready.
I was impressed by their speed and acceleration across asphalt and indeed,
hardpack trails, but had wondered how they’d cope with soft mud and rural slurry.
In short, traction and cornering prowess have exceeded my expectations, and the tread pattern expels gloop with remarkable
ease-especially compared with a traditional cross country mountain bike
knobbly. Changing to a 12-28 cassette has also provided additional torque in
these contexts, not to mention when tugging the trailer, or just battling some
of the storms that struck around the 24th of October.
I'd spotted a few OEM 10speed KMC
chains offered at £6 apiece, so invested. Partly as they were considerably
cheaper than a standard X10 and because I was curious as to their durability, now that more challenging weather was coming. If I returned 1100miles or
so before they registered .75 on the chain checker, I'd be quids in.
I’ve been defaulting to the Weldtite
20 Function multi tool and am definitely warming to it. There are some obvious
nods in the direction of Crank Brothers M19, but some very welcome deviations.
Being picky, sequential tooling
would be a boon, especially at night, or when in a hurry but is worth noting
it’s only £15.99. The 4 and 5mm Allen keys are a sensible length, although a
little short for recessed bolts-bar cons and drop bar levers being the most
obvious. Staying with tooling, we have 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 8mm Allen keys,
T 10 and T25 Torx, flat and Phillips head screwdrivers. 0,1,2, 3 spoke keys and a
chain breaker.
The chain breaker is designed for
8-12 speed, which covers most bases and another lovely contemporary touch is an
integrated disc rotor truing tool. In common with the spoke keys, its for
contingencies and emergencies but should coax most back to a passable “get you
home” state of round, which is a godsend, miles from base. Much the same story
for the 8 and 10mm wrenches. Great if you need to tweak a brake’s barrel adjuster
or arrest some rack hardware.
I am also delighted to receive a
selection of French brand Van Rysel’s autumn/winter range. I've gone for their
Men’s EDR Long Sleeve Jersey, which is a very snug cool weather design that
blurs the lines between jersey and jacket, their Men’s RCR Winter Jacket
(£79.99) and the Men’s RCR-R Cool Weather Cycling Bib Tights (£69.99). I've always been impressed by the balance of
performance and value offered by the brand. Two-year warrantees are another
definite draw. Let’s see what the miles reveal…
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