Shakedowns & Subtle Tweaks

 

 Built, checked and tweaked, it was time to take “Muffin” the Mulo for a quick 15mile shakedown ride. I’d erred on the side of less chain tension with a view to dialling it in, rather than too tight.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given my switch to 40mm tyres, the ride quality was much smoother, though it wasn’t difficult to coax “Muffin” up to speed and keep on the boil- 41cm chainstays certainly help. The front end also feels more responsive, without being twitchy, and the frame’s lateral stiffness is also an improvement over the otherwise very loveable V2.

Predictably, I needed to tweak the Aheadset bearing tension and found myself switching the TRP Spyre for its loftier SLC stablemate, having given the calliper a good clean and replaced the pads. Three rides in and I detected the ring bolts needed snugging down slightly. A small, insignificant job…

However, my Park pattern tool that holds the collar still while you tighten the 5mm/T30 Torx bolt wasn’t arresting the collar properly. This prompted purchase of a T handle design from a well-known London bike dealership that I frequented regularly when living in the capital.

Given it was a bank holiday weekend, I had to wait a day or two, which presented an ideal opportunity to hop aboard Ursula and get some miles in on the Continental Cross Kings. Having enjoyed a frolic through the forests, I found myself being chased by an incredibly determined goose. Mercifully, I was able to outpace-either that, or the goose recognised I wasn’t a threat.

550 miles racked up with The CST Patrol, I’m generally impressed by their capabilities as wallet-friendly all-rounders, although I’ve noted the Continental Cross King Black Chili require less effort to coax up to speed in comparable contexts/conditions. Puncture resistance, specifically vulnerability to hedge clippings and similar sharps was an issue I’d had with earlier incarnations of the Cross Kings, so it will be interesting to see how influential the Black Chili compound is. While testing the CST Patrol’s prowess, I happened upon a completely deserted stretch of unmade and sometimes quite technical gravel road.

I’d had a quick exploratory hoss along the bridleway on previous occasions but was deterred of further exploration due to farm traffic and general agricultural activity. The Patrol coped handsomely, offering excellent traction, control and indeed cushioning over the lumpy, bumpy and sometimes pot holed route, which ran for a mile or two.    

I’d also switched from the Motorex Wax Lube to Peaty’s Link Lube All Weather courtesy of Dynamic Bio Drivetrain Detox. The Link Lube All Weather is best thought of as a bridge lube for those conditions where you want something more substantial than a wax, or dry formula but with a friskier shifting and feel than traditional middleweights.

Wax chain lubes may be less stoical than other types, but in my experience, they can congeal quite stubbornly, particularly on rings and cassettes. While the Dynamic was visually engaging and crucially stripped the rings and cassette clean with nominal effort, it was slower acting than some degreaser stocks I’ve evaluated over the years.

Water must be applied to the hosts beforehand and The Drivetrain Bio Drivetrain Detox left to marinate for two to three minutes, so one of those formulas seemingly best suited to holistic bike cleans, rather than situations where the bike’s fundamentally clean, but you just want to change lube.  It’s also reckoned sufficiently potent to strip waterproof greases, so we’ll see. 

Back to “Muffin” Chain ring tool in hand, I whipped out the Park Tool Wrench, dialled it up to 10nm, introduced the crank bolt tool-Huzzah! Another little job done. Talking of torque Wrenches, here’s my mini budget model group test Three Budget Torque Wrench Test | cycling-not-racing

 

 

  

Emerging from the Garage

 

A busy week. Having got Meg, the Magic Micra serviced and MOT’d and narrowly avoided acquiring a 1992 Suzuki GS500E project, I sought solace in the garage and continued stripping my fixed gear winter/trainer, cleaning parts before transferring them to the Mulo frameset. Some things were bin fodder, others model specific. The Mulo’s head tube is tapered, 1.5 inches at the base, which wasn’t problematic since I had an integrated Cane Creek cartridge bearing headset and compatible fork that I’d bought for metaphorical pennies a year or so back.

The problem being, I didn’t have a suitable setting tool (rammer, in casual parlance). I didn’t want to purchase another, spending money and wasting time, so headed out to my local mechanic brandishing biscuits. They kindly set the crown race down, while I was doing a Tour De Morrisons and I returned the favour with a twin pack of chocolate digestives.

I returned and began building the frameset, having applied helicopter tape and old inner tube to select areas, coupled with liberal helpings of waxy corrosion inhibitor within the frame’s inner sanctum and allowing it 24 hours to cure. Liberal helpings of Juice Lubes Bearing Juice to the bearings, a lighter application to the crown race. Elsewhere, I opted for Oxford Mint Assembly Grease Oxford Mint Assembly Grease | cycling-not-racing since it’s a sturdy, carbon compatible blend.

Everything came together surprisingly easily, save for a schoolboy error-me mounting the new ring inboard of the crank spider, bring everything flush against the chainstay. An easy fix but consumed some time. Wheels and chain followed- I’d gone for the 40mm Continental Pure Contact since clearances allowed.

I’d opted for the beefy Izumi 410 and the 17tooth Halo sprocket means a gear of 69inches. Easily tensioned, I fitted the Gravel Hugger guards, then the Topeak Super Tourist DX 2.0 Topeak Uni SuperTourist 2.0 NonDisc Rack | cycling-not-racing- a light coating of Oxford Mint Assembly Grease on the treads and forming a seal so the elements couldn’t sneak past and cause mischief.  I decided to call it a day, popped the Mulo away. I revisited with fresh eyes two mornings later.                     

Some Leatt SPD arrived for testing but for the time being, I'm sticking with the ultra-dependable and long serving Shimano M540, switching the Leatt between Denise and Ursula to assess their mud shedding trail capabilities first.  The Leatt Endurance 6.0 are intended at cross country mountain bike and gravel audiences and have a reassuringly high specification. 6061T6 aluminium alloy bodies (shot peened to prevent stress fractures turn on cro-moly axles) and more interestingly, a LSL self-lubricating bushing, a needle bearing, and an industrial roller bearing. Quad seals promise to keep the grease in and elements out. Stainless steel bindings and Shimano pattern cleats continue the durable narrative.   

On the topic of mud, I continue to be impressed by the CST Patrol, which though not the lightest of cross-country rubber, seem to perform consistently well across a broad range of conditions, while proving highly puncture resistant. No punctures to date.

Loosely comparable with Continental Cross King- another cross-country design with quick rolling charms and modest weight but in my experience, prone to flats-flints and hedge clippings specifically. Continental have sent me the latest versions, which now feature the brands black chili technology. This is a sophisticated polymer promising to improve grip, rolling resistance and wear. It will be interesting to see how they compare with the CST Patrol, particularly on the reliability front. The Continental sport a similar tread pattern and also feature a fibrous puncture repelling weave beneath the belt.

Staying with puncture resistance, I’ve experienced two pinhole flats over the course of two consecutive rides with the rear Pirelli Cinturato, leading me to switch the rear for Maxxis Ravager Maxxis Ravager TR Tyres | cycling-not-racing Thankfully the tubes only succumbed to a tiny pin-prick, so easily patched and returned to the Zefal Adventure R11 ZEFAL ADVENTURE R11 WATERPROOF SADDLEBAG | cycling-not-racing . The Muc-Off Airmach Mini Inflator Muc-Off Airmach Electric Inflator Pro | cycling-not-racing has proven an absolute godsend on these occasions, especially since I needed to be back pronto to facilitate a few things.

During this phase, I removed Ursula and Denise’s seat posts, blasted some Supertrol into the seat tubes, added another lick of grease to the posts, refitted, nipping them to 5 and 6nm respectively with the Velo Tool Mini Adjustable Torque Wrench. This also gave opportunity to refine Ursula’s saddle height, raising the Kinetic 2.1 Suspension Seat post KINEKT 2.1 SUSPENSION SEAT POST | cycling-not-racing a further few millimetres.

 

Torque & Spring Tuning

 

I like torque wrenches and if not essential in the life and death sense, they’re increasingly necessary when working on modern bikes. An overly stressed component can snap at best leaving you out of pocket or resulting in a potentially nasty accident. This wallet friendly MPart Torque wrench has been my faithful workshop companion for several years now and highly intuitive to use. It caters for most of the fleet’s needs.  

However, there are some parts that require a little extra. Back story done, Oxford sent me their Torque wrench with a range between 2 and 22nm. Obviously, this won’t entertain cassette lockrings and square taper crank bolts, which need closer to 50nm, but otherwise, this range caters for everything from a bottle cage, mudguard mount, or derailleur jockey wheel to old school quill stems.  

Made from hardened chrome vanadium steel, setting the torque is simple, just a little counter-intuitive, coming from the M-Part and induced speedy referral to the (thankfully included) instructions but essentially boils down to turning the base/handle clockwise until it aligns with your desired torque. In common with the MPart, the wrench itself is ratcheted, which is super convenient from the perspectives of speed and efficiency, especially in tighter spaces.   Ursula’s front mech turned temperamental again, a quick turn of the adjustment screw and a gentle pinch of the front mech’s nose cured this, the chain skipping from big to small rings without missing a beat once more.  

Spring is synonymous with seasonal fettling and usually involves a good washing and hard paste waxing of some sort. Having done so, I decided it prudent to put some dead butyl to good use, dressing Denise and Ursula’s top tubes to avoid dings (should the bar end shifters catch in a tumble with terra firma, or the bars swing back with force).  

This also presented an opportunity to dress Ursula and fixed gear winter trainer’s Topeak racks to prevent further abrasion from pannier hardware. I also tweaked Ursula’s rear TRP Spyre, gave both bikes a good clean using this BBB Bio Ready Wash Bike Shampoo, finishing off with the brand’s Bio Gloss Bike Wax Polish (since they’re also on my test bench).  The ready wash, as its name suggests requires no water and isn’t designed for lightly soiled bikes. Spray on and buff to a shine with a microfibre cloth. Great from the convenience standpoint.  How it compares to something like this Motoverde Waterless Wash & WaxMotoverde Waterless Wash & Wax | cycling-not-racing remains to be seen (although it’s worth saying the Motoverde is also a good bit dearer)   

I’ve switched the fabulous Lomo ZephyrLomo Zephyr Waterproof Panniers | cycling-not-racing for this Altura Thunderstorm City Pannier. It’s another roll top design, meeting IPX6 for water resistance but a little smaller (20 litres) and claimed to have a ten-kilo maximum payload. It employs Rixen Kaul fitting hardware for limpet-like tenure to most diameters of rack tubing-easily tweaked with a few turns of a Philips screwdriver.  

I also like the closure system, which lacks the outright speed, dare I say convenience of a quick release buckle, but is more readily repairable, should it fail. A small thing, but I also like the light loop and the subtle retro reflective flecks. Oh, if black’s not er, your bag it also comes in a more stereotypically “commuter”  fluro yellow. 

Internally, it also employs sleeves to safely arrest and segregate 13-inch laptops and similar tech, or indeed, other items, such as a U lock. There’s a stiffener at the wall (where it rests against the rack) but unlike the Lomo, no scuff protection around the base- not unusual and an observation, rather than criticism. I’ve had a few off-road excursions with it and even moderately laden, no rattles and the mounting hardware has held 10mm tubing like the proverbial limpet.   

It has also been a good time to check butyl stocks, and I’m pleased to report several have been successfully patched, so could rejoin their respective panniers. A decent quality patch kit and patches are another of those unsung heroes of the toolkit. I pension tubes off after three patches but am firmly of the persuasion that I want the best chance of the patch and ultimately repair time effective. Right, off to play with the CST Patrol again...