Spares, Upgrades & Resurrections

 

Having been out green laning and generally enjoying Ursula’s new configuration, it occurred to me I needed to bolt a disc rotor to the spare Ryde/XT rear wheel along with a cassette. My intention has always been to keep two sets of wheels prepped, one with cross country mountain bike rubber, the second shod with spikes for when winter turns decidedly slippery.  

 

Luckily, I’d a six bolt 160mm rotor and mounting hardware sat in their storage pot and just whipped everything in situ. I opted for a new 12-25 cassette having spotted some NOS offered at a very tempting price. Slot that aboard the freehub with a light lick of assembly grease, snug tight, slot in a skewer and mount the Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro, ready for when the weather turns.  

  

The Oxford Mint Assembly Grease continues to impress with its corrosion inhibiting and seemingly tenacious properties. A few months down the line, these cleats released easily and without need for replenishment. Cleats and hardware lead hard lives and are easily neglected. Over the last thirty years, I’ve only had to drill two sets out although this was also down to dog eared threads, rather than corrosion alone. Galvanic corrosion (where two metals of different parentage e.g. steel and aluminium alloy, or steel and titanium chemically bond together) can prove more problematic.  

 

In some respects, titanium compatibility was already being tested, courtesy of Ursula’s bottom bracket cups, but I also found myself with a seat post conundrum, wanting to switch the fixed gear winter/trainer back to the SQR Carradry. I’d received this 6 litre Topeak Backloader, which was pride of place on Denise’s USE XCE post, saving a few grams, compared with the venerable SQR Tour.  Grams aside, though I love Cotton Duck, it’s trickier to keep clean, at least compared with the Carradry series, which can be wiped down with a damp cloth. 

  

Contenders were Torus titanium Layback model. This is made from plain gauge 3AL-2.5V tube, has 15 degrees of layback and is 350mm long. There’s an inline version too, for time trialists and others who want to be positioned directly over the bottom bracket for optimal power transfer. My default, as I’ve said before. Then of course, there were the boingers. I had a Redshift Sports, the Thudbuster ST G3TESTED: CANE CREEK THUDBUSTER ST SEATPOST that seemed ideal candidates-similar weight and travel. This would add a little extra comfort without too much added heft.  

 

The combined weight of SQR luggage, mount and post was around that of the Topeak Super Tourist DX and the MTX Trunk bag…Decision made, I plumped for the G1, switched the Ritchey WCS perch over, applied some Zefal tape where the SQR clamps would rest against the post. Nylon straps from other luggage had worn through the black anodising at one localised spot and I didn’t want further erosion. I’d bought some new stainless-steel fasteners for the block since they were inexpensive. No sense going this far, only for fastener fatigue to strike at the least convenient moment.   

 

Having slid the SQR block in situ, I introduced some Mint Assembly Grease to the fasteners, then snugged these down. Post out, I delivered a quick blast of waxy corrosion inhibitor inside the seat tube, since opportunity presented. A final light coating of grease to the Cane Creek and I slid everything in situ. At this point I discovered too little space between SQR luggage and Gravel Hugger Guard. Hmm...  

 

In the zone, adrenalin flowing and overriding hunger, I decided this Axiom Oceanwave City + AXIOM OCEANWAVE CITY+ SEAT BAG | cycling-not-racing was the way forward. Where’d I put the mount...To my surprise, I’d fitted it to the rails of Ursula’s Ergon SR All Road Men’s Saddle Ergon SR All Road Men’s Saddle | cycling-not-racing . Switched over and fixed gear specific tooling, tubes and spares transferred to the Axiom, I decided it was time to quit while ahead.         

  

I noted some light abrasion damage to the underside of the Carradry bag, so covered this with some high-quality, very stretchy, strong, and sticky Duct tape, nipping any further potential deterioration in the bud. Black also complimented the original area, so not a glaringly obvious repair.  

 

With temperatures beginning to tumble and conclusions reached regarding the Madison Trail Gloves, I’ve been grateful for these Gore Wear C5 Gore Tex Thermix Gloves. Black might not be the most obvious colour given the season but ultra-practical I every other respect. These are a thin pile design for dexterity, wind, waterproof and breathable, which sounds like Nirvana but as ever, real world, potentially snowy miles on and indeed, off-road will reveal more.   

 

I’ve been defaulting to the Wolf Tooth WT-1 All Conditions Chain Lube  Wolf Tooth WT-1 All Conditions Chain Lub | cycling-not-racing for the last few months and have run the first bottle dry, so will be interesting to see how long the second lasts through winter. One the main benefits aside from durability, is that it is self-cleansing, so hopefully this will extend chain and ultimately drivetrain life without undue involvement on my part. Right, I’ll close here with my review of the WTB Exposure Road Tubeless Tyre WTB Exposure Road Tubeless Tyre | cycling-not-racing 

Creaky Cradle

 

Phantom creaks, squeaks, and rattles crop up every now and then and the root cause is not always obvious. Sometimes it’s just some threads begging for a lick of grease, other times it’s a fastener that’s loosened just enough to permit some minute play- seat post cradle, handlebar stem, old school square taper crank bolt. Titanium to titanium can also prove a slightly creaky combo, so I tend to employ some Finish Line Ti-prep where bars meet stem and saddle rails meet cradle. 

 

Then of course, there’s mudguard (fender) and rack mounts. Adding a bit of Thread lock to proceedings holds them tight and gives you a sporting chance of keeping them, should they unexpectedly vibrate loose. Aside from racking up some miles on the Teenage Dream, while the sun shone, I’d been pondering a strange and unsettling creak from the fixed gear winter/trainer. Initially, I’d thought this was the Halo Fix G lockring letting me know it had slackened-nope.  

Chain tension was also about right. VW ran a commercial back in the 1980s where a driver is being driven to distraction by a phantom squeak, which a roadside mechanic diagnosis is the wife’s earring. With this in mind, I was beginning to think it was something similar- small spare parts jingling in the Kinekt Waterproof Saddlebag KINEKT WATERPROOF SADDLE BAG | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)  All drew a blank. I got out of the saddle- silence. I’ve not had difficulties with the Cane Creek Thudbuster ST G3 TESTED: CANE CREEK THUDBUSTER ST SEATPOST (sevendaycyclist.com) in the past.  

Everything seemed snug. Unlikely perhaps (but not unheard of) I reasoned it might be an issue with the saddle rails. Either way, I concluded, after a two-hour blast on the teenage dream, the best approach would be swapping saddle and post for now and diagnose at leisure. I went for this Genetic Syngenic TEST & REVIEW: GENETIC SYNGENIC SEATPOST (sevendaycyclist.com)  

It's an inline model, aimed primarily at racers, placing me directly over the bottom bracket, which is my preferred stance. As for the perch, it’s a Selle San Marco Concor Super Corsa. This one’s a revised version but otherwise faithful to the original, launched in 1978 BS (Before Sibling). 265mm (about 10.43 in) long and 140mm (about 5.51 in) wide, so a good fit for yours truly. Either way, no creaks, or squeaks. I just needed to raise things by a few millimetres, since it felt slightly off during our first outing. Not significant enough for me to hoist it mid-ride, but not quite right, just the same. 

No sooner had I addressed this, the Teenage Dream piped up. However, this creak was traced to a cleat not fully engaged with the mechanism. Easily cured with a quick shot of GT85 to the single-sided A530 (Tiagra to you and me).  I’d toyed with switching to the Wellgo RC713, which has nicely sealed bearings and small surface areas.

The latter are great for aggressive cornering, whether you’re riding a criterium, or fixed (although  I still prefer double-sided designs on a fixed, meaning I can clip in from any angle and scoot off) while the Cro-moly axles might lack the exotica of titanium but represent excellent value for money and excellent power transfer...Maybe next time I’m tweaking something... Meantime, here's my review of the Funkier F70 Pro MTB M250 Shoe FLR F70 Pro MTB M250 Shoe | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)

I also discovered, while troubleshooting why the bike’s computer wouldn’t register readout (LR44 sensor battery) that I hadn’t tightened the front quick release adequately (which I initially believed was down to sloppy bearings). One of those occasions where the fork ends “lawyers’ lips” were worth their weight in gold.  

Upon returning from my ride, a quick once-over. I performed a quick tweak of the bike’s front Miche dual pivot stopper and found a tiny amount of play in the Woodman Saturn Aheadset, so dialed that out, giving the stem bolts a light lick of Peaty’s Bicycle Assembly Grease PEATY'S BICYCLE ASSEMBLY GREASE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) since the bolt’s threads felt slightly arthritic.  Sorted.

  

Rounding up contact points for now, I’m still impressed by the KranX Stretta Primo-High Grip Anti-Shock Handlebar Tape KRANX STRETTA PRIMO ANTI SHOCK BAR TAPE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) adorning the Teenage Dream’s Salsa Bell Lap bars. Its grippy, durable, and at 2.3mm thick, offers decent defence against low-level vibration (although may feel a little direct, coming from natural silicones, such as the Acros Silicone wrap Handlebar Tape Acros Silicone Wrap Handlebar Tape | Seven Day Cyclist. Those wanting something a bit thicker, for gravel, or touring might prefer something like this Ergon BT Gravel Bar Tape Ergon BT Gravel Bar Tape | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)