Titanium & Timewasters

I’d done a couple of model shoots in Dovercourt but hadn’t dropped in on Justin Burls http://burls.co.uk/  for almost three years. High time we had a catch up. Down in the workshop, he was busily building a customer’s mountain bike, based around one of his legendary, custom made titanium framesets. I can hear some of you screaming Wot no discs!!!????

Well, the machine in question is being built for an epic, wilderness tour of Africa. A raw and punishing environment, where outright reliability trumps sophistication/exotica.

One of the many reasons I toured with 4130 Cro-moly racks, or trailer.

Worst case scenario; should a breakage occur, chances are a roadside garage would be able to blast it back together with either an oxyacetylene kit, or MIG welder. Talking of which (Probably has its origins in my childhood and many afternoons in a workshop) I was keen to inspect Justin’s new workshop extension and TIG inverter.

TI aside, Justin traditionally fillet brazed his framesets. I was rather taken with his frame jig. More with its rusty patina, than the contrasting, space age titanium road frame held within it.

He was also preparing a pared to the essentials fixed frameset with a beefy wishbone rear triangle. No drillings for brakes, let alone mudguards, or similarly civilian stuff here!  Hanging on the wall, was his Dawes Galaxy tandem.

Arguably one of the best production models, rivalled by Claud Butler (Holdsworthy) Super Dalesman during the 80s I also liked Dawes Double-edge mountain bike tandem. Look closely at Justin’s and you’ll notice shortened Shimano cranks and a very sleek adaptor.

This was so his daughter, Alex could do stoker duties. However, she’d had a growth spurt, thus this expensive adaption was now redundant! At least, until his son, Tom gets tall enough…

Now, being able to ogle another rider’s workshop space is an honour and a privilege. Its also fascinating and serves to illustrate that one rider’s trash, is another’s treasure. Swap meets sound like the ideal means of exchanging unwanted kit but for the moment, online auction sites are my default. Keeps personality and emotions out of the equation.

Back to my fleet. I’ve swapped the Vel SE cage, from the Holdsworth and to my cross/gravel fixed. Reason being, the twisting forces associated with a side-entry design, coupled with a large trade bottle, has proved too much for the former’s band on mounts.

It’s caused them to rotate annoyingly over the course of a ride. No migration issues with traditional, top entry cages and 750/800ml bidons. Something to bear in mind…I’ve also hit the 300mile mark with the Finish Line Dry lube, so have introduced some Joe's Dry, which arrived for testing, last week.

Been a frustrating week, with models cancelling, or messing about, prompting me to update my cancellation policy. The model who cancelled, is usually super reliable and was presented with a situation she had no control over. She also contacted me first thing, that morning.

I am a compassionate person and know only too well that sickness doesn’t stick to a schedule.

I also know, first hand that the most reliable and well-maintained vehicles, or childcare can let us down. However, I have no time for those, who book shoots and then hedge their bets, or don’t show.

A Bedford based model did just this. On the one hand, inconvenience and wasted time have really irked me but on the other, clearly a lucky escape. I’ve wished her every future success and promptly blocked her, from future email, or portal communications.

Communication is key and its one of the reasons I engage in a fair bit of pre-shoot correspondence. Any photographer, who cannot bolt together, a coherent and articulate paragraph is worth swerving. The same goes for models who approach, wanting to work but with no idea of what they want to achieve.

If someone approaches me with the opening line “Hi, I like your work, would you like to shoot?”; I’ll typically reply, asking what attracted them to my work and me, specifically. If they do not reply, or cannot articulate in reasonable detail, it tells me all I need to know.    

Taking the Biscuit

No, thankfully, I was able to hold onto these Cappuccino flavoured offerings to complement my diesel strength coffee consumption. I’m referring to some time wasting charlatans who were on a fishing expedition, rather than intending to purchase skills and services. They will be receiving an expenses invoice in the coming days. I’ve never suffered fools gladly and have no intention of starting now.

Milder temperatures have seen roads saturated as water oozes from swollen ditches and boggy farmland-ideal conditions for overshoes and other weather cheating kit. The TF2 extreme wet is staying put, although migrating to the outer links, which I have now concluded is largely attributable to my fixer’s stainless steel KMC X1 chain...

True, lubes tend to collect along a chain’s side plates but regardless of their characteristics, this is much less apparent on standard nickel plated or even, galvanised models. Moan aside, there’s been no call for topping up, or indeed, cleansing the side plates as yet.   

I have nothing against the turbo trainer per se. When I led a strictly road biased diet, I spent many winter hours whirring away at 6am on a simple, 5012 blue powder coated Tacx fan cooled unit. Well made, albeit crude and noisy, timber framed outbuildings amplified my efforts to the extent extremely tolerant neighbours asked if I was running a diesel generator.

One was a life-long distance road runner, so could empathise with this particular hamster on his wheel. On other occasions, there was something to be said for sitting in the garage, whirring away with the door open for ventilation and watching the horizontal rain.   

Walkman and turbo-trainer tapes coaxed me into the zone and kept me there.  Sweat nets, periodic re-greasing of contact points and regular waxing kept rider-generated coolant from inducing component seizures and frame damage.

A great outlet for “A” level and similar angst...These days, even budget lights can seemingly turn night into day, although the quality of output varies greatly. While there’s no doubt we get considerably more light for our money, the old adage of getting what you pay for remains unchanged.

Back then LEDs hadn’t hit the UK scene, so aside from hefty Lead acid systems; most lights were of the halogen glimmer type. This included the Union bottle (tyre driven) dynamo system used on my Holdsworhy Butler working bike that ferried me back and forth from FE college. Nonetheless, there was something distinctly satisfying about generating my own light; I saved a ton of cash on batteries too.  

I’d always been smitten with mountain biking but as the 90’s progressed, there was quite a bit of dirt in my riding diet and less call for riding inside.

I always liked the sense of escape, the ability to explore muddy backwaters, forests and fields. A more relaxed,” taking our fun seriously” ethos lured me into competition. During this time, cyclo cross became more mainstream with several mountain bike brands, including Kona getting in on the act.

The short racing season and the machine’s geometry mean that ‘crossers make brilliant four seasons’ working bikes. The internet was also becoming increasingly ubiquitous, meaning easier acquisition of spiked tyres and other goodies, once restricted to US/Canada and Scandinavian audiences. 

Therefore, winter became something to rejoice in. Add product testing into the mix and there’s all the incentive you could want for venturing out.           

Continuing this theme, we’ve a six month test of BTwin 700 cold weather cycling gloves http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/btwin-700-cold-weather-gloves and an interview with cyclo cross legend Mick Ives who, at 78 will be riding this years 100^th Giro d’italia http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/mick-ives-rides-again .

Hmm, talking of incentive, with the Univega’s metamorphosis complete, I feel another project coming on. A revision of, rather than addition to the fleet, seems to involve a disc up front and gravel bike flavour. Despite the blurring of genres, I’m of the opinion that there comes a point where a cross country mountain bike trumps the gravel bike when the going gets really gloopy.

Neither am I convinced the complication and additional weight of suspension to said ‘cross derivative will genuinely bridge this gap. In any case, my revision will remain little more than a component list and design concept until I have secured a move and shifted some unwanted stuff...  

Steve has been reflecting on his freshly enamelled bespoke steel tourer and its spec. From the joys of 853 tubing, mechanical disc brakes and full compliment of braze-ons to the trial and error stuff that only becomes apparent mid-way through.

Plenty of people can build frames by numbers in their/mate’s garage but when problems present, only a seasoned frame builder’s skill and lateral thought can arrive at a satisfactory solution. http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/going-bespoke-tech-stuff

On that note, I’m off to top up the Univega’s Waxoyl...          

Reactive Sparks

A business cum friendly associate once remarked that temping was little more than a heat sink for one’s energies and on many levels, I concur.

However, aside from the obvious cash-injection, it’s often proved a surprisingly good catalyst for creativity. During one gig, I created several characters, which ultimately evolved into a series of children’s stories.

Originally conceived for mine and Joshua’s amusement, I’ve recently resurrected them with a view to digital self-publication. Despite promising leads and noises, no animators came forward, thus I’m hunting some inexpensive, user-friendly cartoon/animation software.

I spotted some CDs white attending a computer fair during my last midlands’ trip but was deterred by tales of Trojans and similar malware infections.

Staying with this region, I was stunned Lee Cooper isn’t undertaking commissions just now. Far from turning off the gas and selling his Jigs, he’s been drafted in by Pashley cycles to craft their flagship models.

However, while demand remains high for bespoke builds, the global market place has changed consumer expectations. Increasingly custom builders are outsourcing construction to the Far East in order to remain competitive-just as volume producers did during the late 1980s and 90s. This calls supposed “re-shoring” into question and this trend certainly isn’t restricted to lightweight bicycles.

Niche classic/restorations markets aside, few consumers are willing to pay a coachbuilder to engineer, or repair vehicle bodies. Indeed, panel beaters are increasingly being superseded by body technicians. 

A revival of Fordist production methods also seems underway, judging by a steady trickle of marques offering any tubing you like, so long as it’s Reynolds 525.

Some folks get decidedly sniffy about less glamorous Cro-moly tubes, yet in many respects they deliver phenomenal bang for modest buck-ideal for winter/training and/or everyday riding.

525 was, to my my knowledge, originally conceived in response to modern TIG welded production methods and is available in a wide variety of diameters/thicknesses. This obviously lends it to a wealth of cycling genres/ applications, from lightweight trainer to kitchen sink touring lorry.

In common with its 531 predecessor (which can only withstand non fusion techniques i.e. brazing/soldering) it has also found favour in motorcycle frames, sports car chassis and suspension systems. Lowlier 520 is broadly the same alloy made under licence in Taiwan.

Elsewhere, autumn is in its rich, wet and somewhat windy glory. Great when ensconced at the keyboard, cooking up or redrafting copy but demands careful planning to avoid seasonal chills or rechargeable lighting dropping out unexpectedly. 

Rummaging through assorted Perspex boxes resurrected this fabulous Light N’ Motion blinky and two li-on cells; the latter seem fully compatible with the One23 Extreme and more powerful Magicshine lamps.

On paper (and indeed asphalt) there’s little call for exceeding 1000 lumens but in practice lends and reflector quality has greater effect upon useable output. Hence why some 550/600 lumen systems cast a more effective, useable beam for road, or indeed helmet mounted trail duties.

Experimenting with two Extreme Bright lamps (battery packs nestling bat fashion at opposite ends of the top tube) technically means 2000 lumens at my fingertips but identical beam patterns with minor imperfections are less useable than intelligent systems combining spot and flood, whether singularly or via two separate lamps.