Missile Primed

 An overcast, though refreshingly  dry Easter Sunday prompted me to rouse the Holdsworth from its hibernation. A quick polish, air in its Maxxis Re-fuse tyres, a quick drop of PTFE lube into the chain, cleat mechanism and cable; we were ready for a quick 15 mile blast. I’d forgotten just how much fun it is to ride.

Despite being 62 years old, the plain gauge lugged n’ brazed 531 frame gives a beautifully responsive zing, although the composite forks add further refinement for fewer grams.

Aside from a few dips in speed-in keeping with traffic conditions, I surprised myself by keeping the tempo between 22 and 25mph along the flat sections, quicker when descending.  Hmm, perhaps this yearning for TTs can translate into something tangible… 

Might seem a strange move by some people’ reckoning but I decided, early on Holiday Monday morning to substitute its cheery composite Tifosi in favour of the Crank Brothers Cobalt3, which was resurrected from my spares drawer a few weeks back. The bluish-grey finish coordinates surprisingly well with the existing setup. It actually has several advantages over the Tifosi for this kind of build.

Despite being 400mm long and 7075 series aluminium, it’s actually 5g lighter and being an inline, rather than layback design brings me closer over the cranks for increased power.  I may ultimately veer toward something TI given its enviable blend of strength, low weight and corrosion resistance but just now, the Cobalt is more than earning its keep.

I was tempted to forgo grease given there’s ample of my home brewed corrosion inhibitor sloshing around the frame tubes. In the interests of ensuring a worry free, weather repelling union, I went for some green Park grease.

This was applied along its length and the threaded cradle bolt, since these can often get overlooked and form a very stubborn union over time.

I’m also contemplating the return to some form of aerobar. A compact model that is unobtrusive, yet still allows me to hunker low. I’m thinking in terms of a pattern like the Cinelli adorning the Teenage Dream.

This may necessitate a shorter stem, say 8cm, given I’m disproportionately short in the torso. When it comes to builds of this kind, I like an uncluttered. A Knog NERD computer and compact light with sufficient navigational bite to tackle semi-rural roads, should I lose track of time. 

I can hear some of you shouting “what about the tom-tom bandit!!!!”Fear not, it’s a temporary fixture in case I capture some warp speed footage worthy of note. Returning to the subject of lighting, mountain biking and years spent belting along unlit backwaters cultivated a default towards high-power systems-800 lumens upwards in new money.

However (and although this is changing) even in the lower settings, these systems aren’t the most useable for suburban and similar contexts, where 220 lumens or so is ample. Daylight modes as I’ve said before are becoming increasingly popular and increasingly effective-500lumens produces quite a visual punch, even on bright days. These also consume relatively little handlebar space and the lack of battery pack preserves the sleek aesthetic.

This Raveman CR500 arrived recently and is a nice, if slightly quirky option filling tis design brief quite handsomely. It doesn’t have the daylight option but has seven modes.

These are pretty much in keeping with others in this class- top is 500 lumens, enough for semi-rural riding and just about good enough for navigating unlit roads at 17/18mph.

The plug in remote control allows easy selection mid ride and though less convenient than a wireless unit, makes dipping down/up to suit conditions easier, since hands can remain on the bars. 

Both the CNC machined aluminium shell and the resin bracket are better than I’ve come to expect too. The former is reckoned to withstand IPX 6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzpoCv_OmXk and supposedly survives accidental drops onto a hard surface from a metre high. The lens is more unusual. Some systems, even those around the 300lumen mark can be intense, almost dazzling at close quarters.

Raveman has employed a cut-off beam, which casts a very broad arc of light, while the other picks out the detail. Coming from those with a really pure white arc, the visible split took a little acclimatising to but could never be described as distracting-in the sense of halos and similar imperfections.  



I’m warming to it anyhow. Shows how far lighting technology has come in the last decade or so; especially when I think back to the hefty 10W single lamp lead-acid systems.     

Elsewhere, Seven Day Cyclist www.sevendaycyclist.com  has been sent some lovely goodies from Brian Davis, a US based innovator who designed the weatherneck balaclava system. https://theweatherneck.com/.     

 

Candid Cameras & Premature Celebrations

After three months testing Cycliq fly 6 camera and rear light, we’ve reached our conclusions. http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/cycliq-fly-6-camera-and-rear-light  “I’ve got your back” is the tag-line and while there’s something disappointing about living in a world where we have to record our rides for defensive, litigious reasons, its two genuinely excellent products in one.

There are better choices for adrenalin junkies looking to capture breathtaking footage with short pieces of commentary. The fly 6 is closer to a car dash cam, recording in ten minute segments and will ultimately wipe the footage once the card is full.

8gb micro SD comes as standard, though it will accept 32gb versions if you must. Speaking of size, generally unobtrusive, it still requires a decent helping of seatpost, a moot point with most semi/compact geometry framesets but something to consider if jockeying for space with saddle bags or monster wedgies. 

Image and sound quality aren’t quite on par with Go Pro and similar 1080Hd fare, its susceptible to wind and road. Nonetheless, footage is more than adequate enough to provide irrefutable evidence in the event of an incident, or on a happier note, reviewing rides from an alternative perspective. Talking of which, I’ve just taken delivery of the Revolution Cross 2.

Formative impressions suggest it lacks the pizzazz of a purebred cross bike with carbon fork- closer in persona to a tourer over metalled roads. However, as our facebook footage illustrates, I was pleasantly surprised by how surprisingly nimble its’ proving sans asphalt... https://www.facebook.com/Sevendaycyclistmagazine/publishing_tools/?section=VIDEOS&refSource=video_upload_notif&notif_t=video_processed&notif_id=1469654473701212

Suggestion that I’d exorcised the Holdsworth’s puncture curse was, well a bit premature... Having returned from a 15mile blast, I popped it back on its hook in the workshop, reintroduced F**k off lock, following the immovable object rule and bid it good night.

Eagerly anticipating another fast paced escape the following evening...Front tyre pancake flat. Thankfully I had the Ilpompino prepped and ready to go. Change of shoes and we away-pretty much had the lanes to myself and a steady 23-25mph tempo, quick enough to banish mental cobwebs and low mood for another day.

Back at the house, I discovered the Holdsworth’s puncture was attributable to duff rim tape. Think I might retire said fixer’s carbon composite post next. Composites seem structurally fine; alas the alloy cradle’s threads seem to be receding.

I’ve tightened the 6mm Allen bolt to manufacturer recommended torque settings and will monitor for the time being. Could be a rogue model, maybe after six years, it’s reached the end of its intended design life. However, at 70 odd kilos, I’m fairly compassionate to components.      

Fixed isn’t everyone’s thing and while I’ve met a few frame builders who enjoy touring on their Audax inspired, single brake builds, in this context, I’d sooner go for variable gears, whether hub or derailleur.

Fixed came under my radar in my early teens; many club riders had one within their fleet-sometimes these followed the continental narrative of old race framesets reincarnated as winter/workhorses, others pared to the essentials TT missiles.

It wasn’t particularly mainstream but widely accepted as having merits “Good thing; teaches you to pedal properly”; as one rider in his early forties put it. Then of course, there was a sub editor’s 1948 Freddy Grubb…

A small minority of chain-gangers seem to enjoy carving in a hairs breadth from my bars, then lingering, seemingly trying to make a point. If my 18mph on an incline is too pedestrian, why aren’t you powering ahead.

Oh, sorry, you wanted to deliver the hipster jibe…The same riders mysteriously find a voice; or some form of visual acknowledgement when I’m dressed in similar road biased kit but astride a more tribe acceptable road build. Difficult to measure scientifically but anecdotally, I find this myopic “One way to ride” tribalism very disappointing.

Talking trends, silicone is growing in popularity as a handlebar covering. Having graced the Univega’s moustache bars for a good fourteen months, the otherwise dependable Genetic (flare) is starting to look a little dog-eared in places.

Grimy patinas cultivated during puncture purging and other roadside mechanicals are easily dismissed using some bike wash concentrate, lathered up with a medium stiff brush. However, fatigue is apparent wit successive re/winding to facilitate cable replacements-especially where it enters the ends. Timely then, that I’m due to receive some Guee in ultra serviceable black.