Festival fun & (Yet more) Flats...

Well, the adventure travel film festival came round just at the right time; giving digits and keyboard a welcome break from each other. Having loaded up the KA and headed along the M1 to Mill Hill, we went the hotel, rather than tent route, although the weather was perfect for the late evening outdoor cinema showings.

Austin Vince was an extremely welcoming host, making time to speak with people on a personal level, adding to the collective ambience. Now in its fourth year, the event still attracts more motorcyclists that cyclists but that is changing.

Slowly cultivating a strange and irrational interest in contemporary Ural and sidecar combos, I was slightly disappointed not to catch a couple in the flesh. Nonetheless, I found myself babbling excitedly to Sharon about two pre Aprillia Moto Guzzi and we met Miles from Cycle Miles (www.cyclemiles.co.uk) at his stall.

Sharon loved the creative gifts and kit, while I found myself ogling his fetching grey polo bike, which was in trailer tug mode (!) Having made my excuses for not bringing his T2 touring trailer along (Won’t fit in the KA, even with seats down) we then discussed his fixer’s spec in greater details while our better halves compared notes on how many bikes constitute too many... Most notable features of his polo steed are this two ring FSA crankset and the single Tektro lever that commands front and rear V brakes.

Elsewhere, Michael Murphy has devised the latest characters for our series of children’s stories and I have been struck by the most aggressive puncture plague in 25 years-literally depleting my stock of 700x25 and 35-43 tubes in the space of a month!

Thankfully, I’d had the foresight to put an order in last week, so despite receding rim tapes, embedded sharps and the odd faulty sidewall, we’ve kept rolling.

Some of us flat more than others, I fall into the thousands of trouble free miles, then six in a row. We’ve all got used to cheap tube bundles now and for the most part, they work just fine, although tend to be bin fodder- premium brands lend themselves better to patching.

Tubeless is certainly here to stay and I suspect, will become the dominant system over the next few years, though I'm fairly confident tubular and butyl will still enjoy a relatively strong following.

Most of us carry a couple of spare tubes; whip in the spare and where possible, patch the injured party at the next rest stop, or comfort of home. In common with exhausts, two patches are my limit. Afterwards, I’ll recycle them as top tube/chain stay protectors, boots for headsets and seat collars.

CO2 inflators have become the go-to’s for roadside resuscitation- not just for racing/catching up with riding companions. They certainly take the insult out of injury on those cold, rainy winter evenings, when you’re weary and want to be home, thawing out under a hot shower and supping a brew.

Nonetheless, being single use products, they still work out quite pricey and mini pumps should always be on standby, should the worst happen.

These have also improved greatly since the days of high volume mtb types that would leave you light headed once you’d eventually hit 40psi. Around the £25 mark buys a CNC machined aluminium unit capable of delivering a genuine 100psi plus into a 700x25 in around 440 strokes and 5 minutes.

Infinitely preferable to the long walk home (or being stranded) this is well within the operating range of most high pressure road tyres. Small enough to hide unobtrusively on the bottle bosses, or slip into a jersey pocket, mini track pump or high pressure frame fits are my preferred options when it comes to bigger section tyres and/or touring contexts.

Talking of which, those Maxxis Roamer are continuing to delight with their blend of low rolling resistance and plush ride quality. True, the Kevlar belt is less comprehensive than some, hence some vulnerability at the shoulders, although so long as these channels are purged of mud and similar detritus, sharps don’t get chance to work inside the tyre casing.

The 42mm section are non starters for my MK2 Ilpompino’s rear triangle, 32mm with full length guards and 35 without, is tops. Nonetheless, their bigger 26x1.65 siblings look perfect for the Univega. I’ve been suitably impressed by the Guee wrap, which has a lower density and less rubbery texture than the Genetic flare, although lends itself better to road biased, rather than mixed terrain riding.    http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/genetic-silicone-bar-wrap

Motherboards & Other Internal Flux

  

Having returned from the Midlands, down to a third of a tank but fuelled with ideas and purpose, I stet about stripping the Ilpompino ready for its makeover. 60 minutes later, the frame was bare and removing its makeshift chainstay protector revealed some superficial wounding that had given rise to unsightly corrosion.

Stones, grit and salt monster had struck during the snowy weeks of 2012/13, scuffing caused by the chain colliding with its bottom bracket shell during a spill in the first quarter of 2008, bare metal skid mark etched into the seat tube by a slightly loose mid-section chrome plastic mudguard... Every mark tells a story.

Ten years in, time for a change. Seizing the moment, I popped said frame in the Micra and delivered it to Maldon Shot Blasting & Powder Coating, where we discussed the finer details of the new livery. They have exacting standards and demand for their services is high, hence we’ve arranged to proceed with the photo-love-story transformation next week.

The Holdsworth has been busy, putting a huge grin on my face while earning its keep with super clean, friction busting wax chain preps, Univega has ditched the otherwise brilliant Tortec rack, for a racier Altura post mount day bag, wet lubes and seriously soggy lanes.

There’s been a steady trickle of lighting arriving at my door for evaluation. Given the performance of their baby blinder arc 1.7 certainly delivered far greater clout than 170 lumens suggest their 600 (640 lumens) has me very excited. The song remains broadly identical, albeit amplified somewhat and the quality of light in its highest setting appears to eclipse some budget blasters boasting 1,000 plus.

Silicone straps look unchanged, save for magnetic claps and whether they’ll cope better with oversized bars/extensions and post diameters remains to be seen.Retro fans needn’t feel left out, there’s a smaller loop for 25-30mm, which even caters for Cinelli and other marques who were producing theirs in 26.2 before standardisation simplified matters. Apparently, Knog has not only boosted firepower but revised the optics and internals in this season’s Blinder Arc family.

In common with several other higher end models, this 900 lumen Sigma Power LED EVO Pro claims to combine spot and flood in a single lamp, allowing you to see 100metres (approximately 325ft) ahead.

Both have the options of bar or helmet mounting, look well made, simple to fit and user friendly. The blinder arc more obviously aimed at clutter-phobic commuters who fancy incorporating some fast paced saunters into their journey home, whereas the Sigma is a big, tuneable trail gun promising run times of between 3 and 11 hours depending on which end of the four setting spectrum conditions favour.

Talking of technology, my surprisingly long-lived HP laptop that served me tirelessly these past three years, succumbed to sudden and fatal motherboard failure last Monday evening. As Murphy’s Law would have it, said catastrophic haemorrhage struck before I had chance to back up files and second drafts on memory sticks and external hard drives

Several minutes’ heart stopping, irrational panic associated with lost data, documents and photographs subsided once I found most were either emailed to myself, or sitting in a pile of hard copy proof-reads, so I was able to catch up with 75% that evening and be ahead of schedule two days hence.

Having searched the web for inspiration, I concluded stripping and cooking the unit in my oven at 180 degrees to temporarily resuscitate and salvage was a fools’ mission. So begins the research for a replacement while I enjoy a newfound appreciation for a middle aged but very serviceable desktop.

 

 

 

Changes

Eurobike and similar trade events signal summer’s slow, simpering swansong. The gradually encroaching curtain of velvety darkness brings with it more interesting colours. Being something of a night owl, the season’s new lighting in particular has me very excited.  

We’re waiting on samples but I was invited over to Moore Large’s Derby headquarters for their “Geared” event. Plenty to see, although I was particularly taken with their Moda range; this included several cross, Audax, road and TT builds.  This Reynolds 953 frameset with clear coated stainless stays, replaceable hanger and carbon fork was all too tempting…

Spec is highly tuneable to suit customer budget and expectation. Adventure bikes remain very popular too on account of their rugged versatility and this 1x11spd Hooklow cross/gravel/do-all also held my attention. 

Single rings with widely spaced cassettes eliminate the chore of keeping front derailleurs happy through the grotty months. It also allows manufacturers to deviate from traditional frame design and where appropriate, use thinner tubing since there’s no danger of it being distorted by band-on clamps.

Like the majority of frames, these are made to a very high standard in the Far East, which includes finishing. Traditionally brands would outsource construction to Taiwan and keep paint and detailing on these shores.

Chatting with their brand manager revealed this is no longer necessary, although I was surprised to discover the worldwide demand for aluminium alloys has resulted in a shortage of factories in the Far East capable of working with Cro-moly steels.     

Then of course, Knog and Pro-Viz. The Australian marque famous for its iconic silicone encased blinkies has upgraded the internals in its Blinder Arc range and introduced some new, decidedly extrovert town lighting. Silicone straps have also been beefed up and redesigned for improved durability.

Pro-Viz has introduced a 360+ line with racier cuts and improved breathability and made a reversible day glow/ grey version of the 360 jacket. We’re yet to play with this one but the concept looks great for general winter riding.  

Speaking of revamps, I’ve been toying with reinventing the Ilpompino’s livery.

Some suggested buying the latest version of the long-running frameset (which has ditched the mono-stay in favour of a more conventional rear triangle). However, more disciplined fleet control would dictate selling my MK2 on.

The MK4 is arguably an improvement, especially if you’re looking at fitting a four point rack for laden commuting or weekend touring. Having upgraded the original steel fork for racier carbon blades, the latest generations more aggressive geometry is a moot point.

Besides, despite its minor limitations, I love the MK2’s distinctive rear triangle and we’ve amassed too many happy miles together.

The existing wet-spray finish remains in very rude health, ten years salty winters hence. However, the binaural voice of temptation had been cooing seductively for too long. Chris and Trevor at Maldon Shot blasting & Powder Coating have agreed to a new and very distinctive effect.Watch this space...

Elsewhere, the Kinesis Tripster Ace has been treated to several healthy helpings of dirt these past few weeks and it handles light to moderate trail duties better than I had any right to expect. 

I found those buxom bars just too broad for tarmac terrorism, or open road cruising. However, their unparalleled leverage really helps bring things back under control when the 35mm dual purpose tyres eventually ingest too much gloop and become slicks…

The eagle eyed among you will note my use of single sided SPDR homage pedals-idiosyncratic perhaps and a decision my testicles nearly regretted on a few occasions but we’ve escaped unscathed and dulcet tones fully intact.

Recent legislation means Co2 cartridges shouldn’t be sent through the post, hence the previous weeks’ trip to the midlands coincided with a quick stop-off at a well-known French sports retailer for some replenishments.

I’m someone who punctures infrequently but then succumbs to several in quick succession. Their convenience on a cold, wet night cannot be under-estimated. Nonetheless, a decent pump should always be riding shotgun on the bottle bosses, or nestling against the seat/top tube just in case.