Future Proofing

Arguably there’s no such thing, everything must evolve to stand any chance of survival and those, no matter how “intelligent” who refuse to acknowledge and evolve will find themselves obsolete. Change is difficult for us to accept, it challenges our sense of certainty, presenting a new sense of vulnerabilities.

For many decades there prevailed a myth through Dagenham (a town built around the Ford motor company) that educational attainment was completely irrelevant since said motor giant would always grant local people (comparatively) well-paid, semi/unskilled work on their assembly line.

By 1995, according to schools liaison officers the average Dagenham school leaver “Stood a cat’s chance in hell” of being considered for the line’s most rudimentary jobs. Engineering has continued to make a low key return here and in other regions of the UK but levels of remuneration are incomparable with previous decades.

Those of a technical grade, with “valuable” transferable skills will move sideways into other industries/roles, those without face a decidedly uncertain future, forgotten by political administrations-regardless of their ideological “convictions”. 

Many people purport to understand social media but until recently, I’d been an operator, as distinct from mechanic. Rather akin to being stranded by the roadside with an elderly car haemorrhaging litres of coolant, oil and similarly vital fluids, grappling with the running gear is proving a steep but empowering and arguably essential learning curve.

Suspension systems are another perpetual evolution, though have never really fired the imaginations of road riders or at least enjoyed sustained commercial success. Two decades back, Steve Bauer’s Eddy Merrcx Paris Roubaix bike (sometimes sporting Rock Shox front boingers) looked loosely contemporary, though hasn’t aged well-its profile and seating position more reminiscent of Harley homage cruiser motorcycles.  Ditto Bianchi’s curious celeste dual road sussers from 1996 that resemble bicycle shaped objects flogged on petrol station forecourts.   

Weight and added complication have been the traditional lines of resistance. Carbon fibre and titanium  has long been the zing of choice-justly so in most contexts, though I must confess to a soft spot for Girvin’s Flexstem and AMP research’s simple forks-both now rapidly gaining anorak status, having vanished from production at least fifteen years ago with very modest spares availability.

Seatposts have been another mixed bag, from simple yet serviceable elastomer types slipping under £25 to ultra-smooth units employing a heady mix of nitrogen gas cartridge and coil sprung technology. Shorter travel designs have always nudged my consciousness for rough-stuff touring, cyclo cross and tandem stoker applications with Cane Creek’s Thudbuster proving one of the more enduring designs I’d not had the opportunity to test until now….

For the uninitiated, there’s two versions-LT (long Travel) aimed primarily at the enduro /cross country mountain bike audiences whereas its’ ST (short travel) counterpart is for lighter trail/cross/tandem stoker antics. Nudging 454g for the standard 350mm version, it’s offered in a refreshingly comprehensive range of sizes.

Other diameters are accommodated via a series of long shims. Back in the 1990s, several manufacturers of “trick” sub 200g CNC machined exotica produced a single size, supplied with the corresponding shims. Thing was, these were decidedly minimalist, often shallower than penicillin tablets, resulting in seat tube stress fractures. Thus some very prominent brands wouldn’t honour frame warrantees when paired to such.

Popular culture, though TV in particular seems central in engendering an “us n’ them” vehicular tribalism, which misses the point and isn’t remotely conducive to forming intelligent, cohesive integrated transport systems. 

Cycling plays a big part in Joshua’s continued quest for greater autonomy, requiring carefully reasoned, rational risk management. Knee jerk “cotton wool” protectionism is perhaps understandable but disastrously counterproductive, hence why I instilled the basics of road craft and an awareness of the increasingly maddening crowd who substitute skill for varying levels of aggression during his formative tagalong tenure.

Instrumental in this slackening of parental reins are his phone and this bar mounted waterproof Aquapac mobile phone bag. Some would advocate tracking apps and other surveillance but to me, this is decidedly Orwellian and recognising he’s not easily distracted, I’m happy knowing he will ride within his limits, can be contacted and communicate with me should circumstances arise.    

Mixing it Up

2014 continues with determined pragmatism, seeing professional restructuring of my various CVs, a much greater grasp of self- promotion and striving for new commissions/ventures plugging the gap left by a publication’s virtual implosion. Said approach has already reaped rewards but needs further, intensive nurturing, especially since I’m keen to explore other creative avenues, running them in parallel to cycling specific journalism.

Competence, integrity and professionalism are three (of many) values dear to yours truly, hence disappointment when others cannot reciprocate. For example, I care whether something works, how closely it achieves its objective/design brief and experience suggests most manufacturers appreciate constructive, critical evaluation.

While not an “engineer” in the classically accepted sense, hailing from a manufacturing past means I take a keen interest in metallurgy/fabrication, pure and applied. Late night surfing induced impulsive purchase of titanium tubing from a supplier in South East Asia. However, said wonder metal will require minor machining. Lee Cooper and Justin Burls were obvious, extremely helpful first ports of call, though unable to undertake such on this occasion.

Laughably, a few local “machine shops” were either completely ignorant to customer service and/or anything beyond mild steel! Heading out for a chat with Trevor Lodge at Maldon Shot blasting & powder coating proved the most fruitful enquiry and allowed me to document the resurrection of this tarnished 531 frameset. There’s no denying decorative chromium plating’s aesthetic allure but in my book, acid baths and similarly harsh processes have no place on thin walled bicycle tubing. Thankfully blasting confirmed only superficial corrosion, hence it’s rebirth this chrome-effect powder with acrylic lacquer topcoat.

Staying on an industrial thread, much has been made of the likelihood of large scale manufacturing returning to these shores. Arguably as standards of living/costs increase in the Far East, outsourcing becomes less attractive. However, while call-centres and similar service based sectors are easily repatriated, I am less convinced this applies so readily to manufacturing’s sharp end. My own research suggests there remains a wealth of highly skilled technical grade craftspeople whose have transferred seamlessly between industries and with minor retraining.

Others saw opportunities within teaching or pursued their trades solo as self-employed entities. On the flip side, I remain sceptical that semi/unskilled assembly line roles will return in significant number. Senior managers at Ford’s now defunct Dagenham body plant remarked some twenty years ago that (contrary to endearing misconception) the average local school leaver would have “A cat’s chance in hell” of being considered for the most menial jobs. Similarly, Peugeot’s Ryton plant was the most productive within Europe but transferring production to Slovakia in 2006 appears to have been instigated by simple cost- of- labour economics...  

Back in the saddle and with January fading into February, flooded, silty roads have been licking chains bone dry in a matter of rides, demanding reintroduction of more sophisticated, “little goes a long way, anti-fling but not too syrupy” wet formulas – in this instance Muc-Off’s imaginatively but appropriately christened “wet lube” which leaves the spout as a washed out blue before assuming a clear, tacky consistency. Grit and similarly foreign bodies put in occasional appearances but there's no hint of it becoming a tenacious, transmission chewing mess. Older motor oils are another cost-conscious option, though modern semi/synthetics designed to  regenerate while orbiting an engine's oil pump make poor transition to chain duties.    

These biblical conditions also explain why my tubby tourer is presently assuming primary test-rig service and sporting Keo pattern Wellgo RO96B pedals (Another catchy name ;)).These wallet friendly powder coated aluminium bodied units turn on CNC machined Cro-moly axles with B denoting needle roller, as distinct from ball bearings and a £3 cost implication over their RO96 siblings.  

On paper my Ilpompino is a more obvious host, especially far from the madding crowd, though I still prefer the outright convenience of dual sided systems on fixed gear builds. Speaking of said steed, some oversized Midge flew under my radar; this time in very fetching anodised titanium but Murphy’s Law dictates the Sheffield marque’s all out of 17degree, 80mm stems. Ever resourceful, I’ve put word out while exploring comparable, budget conscious alternatives online.   

Once again, the Univega sports Schwalbe Winter for improved traction, simultaneously prompting fitment of Axiom’s Journey DLX disc compatible front pannier rack. Perhaps not a completely novel concept, the latter is nicer to fit and shares the same hollow 10.2mm T6 6061 aluminium rod as its rear counterpart. We’ve not come close to bluff calling territory load-wise (reckoned to be thirty kilo- close to that boasted by Bob Yak homages!) but things seem decidedly favourable thus far.