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) 

Stems & Other Pleasant Surprises

This Vecnum freeQuence Suspension Stem arrived to distract me from the UK’s unbraked descent into terrifying in chaos. It’s a spring/elastomer parallelogram design, intended for riders between 50 and 120 kilos (110 to 264 lbs). There’s more than passing similarity to the Kinekt Suspension Stem KINEKT SUSPENSION STEM | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) that Steve and I remain fond of, too.  

However, at 285g a fair bit lighter, and adjusting the tension doesn’t require opening the stem or swapping springs (not that this could ever be described as a hardship with the Kinekt). Simply introduce an Allen key and gently turn clockwise to increase tension, checking as you go.  

Convenience aside, this does away with the need for “lock-out” and similar engineering to overcome unwelcome travel. Vecnum list the unit as self-lubricating, which is arguably another bonus. However, it employs fit and forget bearings, which will ultimately require professional servicing/refurbishment once worn.  

Vencum also recommends applying gripper paste (the stuff typically employed when fitting carbon components) to the fork steerer. Good practice for this genre of stem generally I’m thinking, although I’ve never had any issues with the Kinekt or Redshift Sports TEST & REVIEW REDSHIFT SPORTS SHOCKSTOP SUSPENSION STEM (sevendaycyclist.com) Shock stop Suspension Stems.  

30mm (about 1.18 in) travel is 20mm (about 0.79 in) positive, 10-degree negative, rather akin to a suspension fork. Again, in common with the Kinekt, it’s designed to be progressive and not affect the bike’s geometry. Regardless of bar height, or positioning- whether you ride on the hoods, tops, or drops. It's beautifully machined, extruding that industrial beauty that I’m deeply drawn to. Formative impressions are very favourable but we’re in the honeymoon phase at present. Only time and real-world mileage will tell.  

I’d recently switched the fixed gear winter/trainer’s Cane Creek Thudbuster G4 for its G3 predecessor TESTED: CANE CREEK THUDBUSTER ST SEATPOST (sevendaycyclist.com) when I opted to return to this Pro Turnix Gel saddle, which continues the weight saving without sacrifice narrative. I went for the Peaty’s Bicycle Assembly Grease PEATY'S BICYCLE ASSEMBLY GREASE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and took this opportunity to replace the seat post collar boot- made from scrap mtb inner tube.  

I’m deeply endeared to both generations of the Thudbuster ST, but I must admit, I’m not overly keen on the G4’s single-bolt saddle clamp design. Not that I’ve had any real-world issues these past two years or so. However, this seems a curious design for one intended to support riders weighing up to 150kilos.  

 

For those unfamiliar with the Thudbusters, upon hitting a bump these work downward and reward, so force is absorbed at the same rate. This prevents the saddle from bouncing around and robbing rider power. Aside from Mtb and gravel audiences, in my view, they have a lot to offer tandem stokers who don’t always get warning of the lumpier stuff until they’re experiencing it first-hand.  

I also remain a big fan of Redshift Sports Shockstop Suspension Seat post REDSHIFT SHOCKSTOP SUSPENSION SEATPOST | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com), although not everyone is sold on the industrial aesthetic and length means its best suited to road biased, rather than semi/compact mtb builds-Ursula being a case in point. There’s not much between them weight-wise either. Something may not be to my tastes but that certainly doesn’t make it inferior, just not the right fit.  I’d noticed some unexpected judder under heavy braking with the new rotor and pads.  

Closer inspection revealed the obvious culprit- a soiled rotor. A simple cure with some Green Oil Clean Chain Degreaser Jelly GREEN OIL CLEAN CHAIN DEGREASER JELLY (sevendaycyclist.com) and some vigorous scrubbing with their Bike Brush. Clean, but not sterile is a rotor’s preferred state. I’d confirmed this by switching back to the SL9 wheel and Swiss Stop Catalyst Pro Disc Rotor  Swiss Stop Catalyst Disc Rotor | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) I’d also discovered a pinch flat and since one thing always leads to another, I’ve switched to Specialized’s Road Sport Tyre and now that roads are getting wetter, I’ve reverted to Motoverde PTFE Chain Lube on the fixed Motoverde PTFE Chain Lube | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) For now, I’ll stay with something dry/waxy to keep Ursula’s drivetrain clean and wear pedestrian. I'll close with Steve's review of the Ravemen LR1200 front light Ravemen LR1200 Front Light | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)