Showing posts with label BBB fenders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBB fenders. Show all posts

Wednesday 6 April 2016

Friday night, Saturday Morning










“Hope the chip shop isn’t closed, ‘Cos their pies are really nice. I’ll eat it in the taxi queue; standing in someone else’s spew. Wish I had lipstick on my shirt, instead of piss-stains on my shoes. I go out on Friday night and I come home on Saturday morning”…Terry Hall (The Specials)

Looking for gigs down seedy back alleys, has life become that desperate? Well, perhaps not, although joining the Hare Krishna movement as they sashayed joyfully through the lower shopping precinct proved intensely compelling- for all of thirty seconds.

Mirth aside, the sense of urgency is becoming increasingly apparent. Lateral, pragmatic thought and a cool, rational head, coupled with steely determination and self-belief are imperative. The Reliant (?) based trike has not rematerialized, so I’ve been unable to glean anymore spec, or owner-wise.

While not a subscriber to the suggestion that machines are extensions of personality, I’m always fascinated by the human interest stories behind the spec-sheet. Nonetheless and along these lines, it also inspired another photographic project, which is presently being broadcast on Stenning photographic’s Facebook page.

On the test bench, mucky lanes and grotty spring weather have revealed some minor, though not unexpected weaknesses in those BBB slimguard fenders. Subjectively, good quality fittings and materials have ensured good, silent tenure to the Teenage dream and they do look pretty sharp. However, overall performance is good, rather than ground-breaking.

30mm tyres are pretty optimistic by my reckoning, since 25mm will still result in some residual spray decorating the stay and top section (though I’ve never succumbed to a soggy backside). Even allowing that 5mm gap, accumulated mulch lodged between rear tyre and mudguard. This was predictable given fag paper clearances and hasn’t caused more serious binding to date.    

Rear triangle and bottom bracket still get a liberal spattering, ditto feet, so pack overshoes and/or waterproof socks are imperative on longer/really wet rides. Cannibalising an old set of clip-on race blades for their mud-flaps has certainly improved matters without tainting the aesthetic.

In stock guise, riding companions don’t get a face-full, so you won’t get dirty looks, or the silent treatment-for this at least. Aside from going the bespoke route, an option if you sought the last word in customisation, these are probably the closest I’ll come to proper-full length guards on this build, without spending a bundle, so am relatively accepting of compromise.

Besides, it’s presented an ideal opportunity to assess another batch of bike washes, polishes and anti/lubes…Traditional all-purpose lubricants have tended to be based around vegetable oils, which in the long-term causes hinges and sprung mechanisms to gum up uselessly requiring healthy blasts of water displacer.

So far, Green Oil’s latest challenger seems pretty good. It’s relatively thin and broadly comparable with three-seasons ISO/PTFE chain preps. I’ve drizzled some into the Teenage Dream’s elderly 6 speed Regina freewheel mechanism, locks and arthritic door hinges to good effect. Simon Nash is so confident of its safety; he’s been guzzling some here. https://www.facebook.com/BicycleOil
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Other brands have produced similar demos with theirs. Personally, I avoid ingesting chemicals wherever possible but we get the idea!  Seven Day Cyclist (www.sevendaycyclist.com) has just received their new eco grease, which has not only been refined for this season but soon to grease gun compatible, which makes it that bit easier and cleaner when applying to bearing races, fasteners and other threaded components.

Talking with Justin Burls, suggested that any high quality grease should be fine when mating titanium surfaces together, ditto steel and titanium. My preference has always erred in favour of high spec petrochemical ceramic products on anything space-age, so it will be interesting to see how this bio formula holds up on contact points, cleat bolts and similar quick-seize fasteners.


Tuesday 29 March 2016

Fending off Storm Katie












The Teenage Dream has to be one of the trickiest configurations where fitting full-length mudguards is concerned (fenders, should you prefer) hence my delight when an editor sent me a pair of BBB BFD22 Slim guards. The Dutch brand asserts these will accommodate pretty much any road biased frameset-within reason and with the sensible caveat, that some minor adaptation/compromise may be required. 
Their video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fIB3-cyvvM) makes fitting look incredibly straightforward but my quaint n’ contrary road build from 1991 still had some surprises in store. Ultimately, achieving sufficient clearance meant filing the rear mounting bracket and substituting the 25mm B’Twin X light for a Lifeline’s virtually slick, prime armour road tyre.
I could’ve forgone the rear’s lower section (arguably the only option for bikes with curved seat tubes) but doing so was an aesthetic no-no. Besides, the whole idea is to prevent the seat tube and to a greater extent, front mech and bottom bracket shell getting blasted with dodgy, gritty water!  
Having also discovered said bike’s front hoop was suffering from a minor wibble and flat spot (an occupational hazard given the local infrastructure’s poor condition just now). Alan at Riverside cycle centre kindly popped it on his jig and tamed any samba dancing tendencies within a matter of minutes-for a measly fiver!

Fag paper clearances foxed; aside from some minor tweaking (including some glue to achieve more secure bond between stays and sections) the joys of a dry derriere and relatively clean bike have been fully realised, despite the wet and windy wrath of hurricane Katie. This photogenic couple also seemed to approve!

Matt finishes stir mixed emotions in me. When I lived and rode in London’s less salubrious, transient districts characterised by bedsits and brothels, flat colours were a great means of keeping motor/cycles under a thieves’ radar.

However, it wasn’t long before this urban warrior theme caught on commercially, thus inviting unwanted introspection from thieves. BBB offer these in any colour you like, so long as its stealth black that compliments contemporary and traditional road builds very convincingly. Think I’ll add retro-reflective stickers at key points and know I’ve some plug-in mud flaps hiding in the spares stash-somewhere...

Next phase of fleet fettling is to replace the Teenage Dream’s fork sensor battery (computer is registering big fat zero, though digits suitably bold) and address the Holdsworth’s headset play. Nothing serious-just a question of adding a spacer or two and possibly substituting the so-so expander wedge for something more substantial.     

Talking of commercial, Green Oil announced they will be joining Lee Cooper and some others in advertising with Seven Day Cyclist. www.sevendaycyclist.com

Simon Nash has also sent us their latest range of anti/lubes, greases, which includes SLIP-the brands first foray into general purpose lubes. Plant based, it’s reportedly suitable for chains, bearings, locks, hinges and other moving parts.

They also suggest its safe on rubberised components, plastics too.  We’ll be putting them through the mill over the coming weeks and longer term, to see how they compare with previous blends and petrochemical competition. We’ve also received the MK3 eco-brush.

Previous versions were extremely effective on tyres, chain rings, cassettes, hubs and other drivetrain components. I’d shied away from paintwork and other delicate finishes, such as silicone/polymer based handlebar coverings, so it will be interesting to see whether the softer bristle plot can deliver all-round.   

Elsewhere, my illustrator is confident he will have brought the characters for my series of children’s stories to life by close of April and I’m working on some new storylines/adventures.


This trike also came under my radar while mooching around the midlands. Seems to be based around a Reliant engine and Honda CB750 front end-didn’t have chance to speak with the owner but would love to know more, so will drop by another time.