Consistently mild temperatures has seen my home brewed corrosion preserve continue to ooze from the bottom bracket shell, resulting in a sticky mess adorning the System EX cranksets’ inner spider and ring.
Staying on this subject a mo, I’m increasing impressed with Pro Gold Steel Frame protector, which seemingly leaches into the host metal in a similar fashion to J.P. WEIGLE’s legendary “framesaver”.These properties theoretically offer the most comprehensive protection, especially to painfully thin steels such as 531c.
Using different blends of lubricant leads me to suggest while phenomenally corrosin resistant the KMC X1’s slippery stainless steel construction actively encourages migration from its inner rollers to outer plates and hub cones, thus compounding said gooey syndrome. This song remains consistent across the board, whether fortified with PTFE, two-part synthetic or various weights derived from vegetable stock.
Many standard bike washes are too insipid and their concentrates too harsh for tackling this sort of accumulated filth, especially on carbon/composites and similarly delicate finishes.
Given this backdrop, I was surprised at just how effective Fenwick’s FS1 is.Regular readers will be aware that traditional types can prove quite hostile to humanoid operative and recipients alike. However, while understandably tight lipped about precise chemistry, Fenwick’s tell me their biodegradable, solvent free blend is so mild, some mechanics use it as hand cleanser.
Just the same and without being unduly alarmist, I’m inclined to don latex examination gloves or at least minimise contact with anything of this ilk, given the experiences of friends and forbearers within manufacturing.
With this in mind, I decanted 50% concentrate into a little pump spray receptacle, diluting it with fresh water, sourced from my rain butt. Prince Buster was right; if you have your brush you can avoid the rush. Several blasts and three minutes standing time hence, tyre and rim sidewalls were truly ship-shape.
Ever since the storms of October 1987, UK forecasters have been presenting the worse- case scenarios. Some suggested the tail end of Hurricane Gonzalo would herald early snow. It’s certainly been blowy and I’ve been grateful for the Univega’s dependable handling and moderate to low gear ratios, though I’ll postpone fitment of Schwalbe Winter tyres for a while yet. Handlebars and other contact points/accessories have been sprouting a fresh batch of blinkies.
There’s more than passing similarities between this Lucas, One 23 Atom and RSP Spectre enticing suggestion that these are the same unit but with different badges. Indeed, give or take a minute or two, they charge in the same timescales, produce 40 surprisingly potent lumens apiece and all integrate lens and switch for “sausage-finger” convenience.
Arguably a modern take on the bobby-dodger, there’s a steady trickle of “bridge” models filling the gap between these and traditional commuter lamps surprisingly well, reclaiming a whole heap of handlebar into the bargain.
Boasting 300lumens each, Knog Blinder Road 3 and One23 have saved my bacon on several occasions-when I’ve been gassing with friends on summer evenings, or uncharacteristically nonchalant when charging big guns. However, running them at top whack quickly exhausts their lithium polymer cells-hardly ideal for use as primary lighting for commuting or training.
Not that it has stopped some sycophantic sorts rehashing press releases to the point where they’d have us believe this genre are genuinely powerful enough for warp-speed trail duties! On that note, Muc-Off has sent me this X-3 dirty chain machine to play with, so I’m going on a virtuous purge of the fleet, introducing some super stubborn prep before November’s knock becomes louder.
