Lights, Discs & Doo Dahs

 

There comes a time in the creative process where fatigue strikes, and I’m both numb of bum and brain. This is fleeting and easily dismissed on the road, or trail. Well, assuming of course, I’m not breaking in a traditional leather saddle. The saddle is where I do much of my contemplation of wider dilemmas and escape life’s exhausting noise. Chances are, come a ride's end, whether it be 20 or 50 miles, I’ve mentally drafted a plan of action and just need to transcribe.  

The present political climate, the mobilization of people towards a very dark avenue often creeps into my thoughts. Not on the bike specifically, but my rights to ride, to be, to live and let live aren’t something I take for granted. Fascism doesn’t ignite or become tolerated overnight, rather, it knocks politely and speaks softly. The rhetoric is steadily dialled higher, mobilising people from outrage to organised street violence. Extremist views then become mainstream and normalised.

There’s also a lot of money to be made. Nothing new, we’ve been here before. The same “patriots” engaging in the street violence, intimidation will talk about their grandfathers and great grandfathers' participation in World War II. They will do so with pride, oblivious to the fact these men were battling against precisely the fascism they are buying into and fuelling. These politics of rage are also intertwined with anti-intellectualism and a profound lack of critical thought.

Meandering along the lanes, turning a steady cadence aboard Muffin, engaging the brake lever and feeling the Spyre SLC bite the rotor progressively, it occurred to me. I’ve a tendency to ignore rear brakes much of the time. In addition to double- checking the alignment and piston travel, I needed to go back to basics bedding in Ursula’s rear brake. Get those pads and rotor nice and warm along some sweeping descents, bring the bike progressively to a walking pace. Rinse and repeat until optimised.

I’d also come across a NOS Shimano BR517 at a very tempting price, so indulged as a contingency. It’s a single-piston model and surprisingly compact alongside a Spyre. Yes, my temptation is palpable. However, I’m determined to get an impeccably behaved Spyre. I also decided to get a little more scientific with calliper alignment, courtesy of this tool.    

Progressively cooler weather and falling leaves has seen my sudden switch to 3/4lengths and this Castelli Do Di Ci Jacket  Castelli Do Di Ci Jacket | cycling-not-racing. Temperatures have typically around 9, or 10 degrees when I’ve headed out, creeping up to 13 or 14. At the upper end, arm warmers and a micro jacket should suffice, especially if rest stops aren’t planned but flats or similar sneaky mechanical can flip the script.

I’m still defaulting to mitts, although occasionally it's been cold enough that I’ve reached for these Cycology Life Behind Bars MTB Gloves Cycology Life Behind Bars MTB Gloves | cycling-not-racing  Talking of script flipping, shorter days and longer nights have seen the arrival of these Msagicshine Ray 3000 Endurance Bike Light with ANT+ and Seemee400 ANT+. The Ray 3000 Endurance Bike Light With ANT+ boasts a maximum of 3,000lumens and eight modes, carried across three settings and sequences. Starting with the low beam, which in my view covers most bases of road riding. We have 375lumens (cited as a 22.5-hour run time), two 750lumens (10.5 hours and 13.5 hours) and 1500lumens (4.5 hours). Next comes a hybrid setting comprising of 1500lumens (6.5 hours) and the full 3,000lumens (3hours).

Finally, there are two flashing modes, only accessible via the wireless remote. One of the traditional limitations of integrated battery models are run times, especially in the highest settings. These might be fine for those who primarily ride through the suburbs but want to let loose along the backroads for a few miles. However, the 10000mAh lithium-ion cell employed here promises 4.5 hours from the 1500lumens, which is practical for longer exploratory rides. 3,000lumens is really for trail and gravel duties.

Night flash ranges between 165 and 900lumens. I was initially curious as to whether the remote from other models, including the Hori 1300 Magicshine HORI 1300 Front Light | cycling-not-racing would also engage the Ray3000.  I wasn’t expecting it to, but stranger things have happened.  Staying with the remote, I’ve mounted ours to lever hoods for convenient, mid-ride toggling. Aside from illustrative purposes, I’ve positioned it inboard to prevent potential damage in the event of a spill. It can also be paired with some computer head mounts for further tunability.  

The nicely machined stock mount required two shims to achieve vice-like tenure  on the Genetic Neuron Accessory Bar GENETIC NEURON ACCESSORY BAR | cycling-not-racing  Rather than porting over, I’ve gone with Denise’s stem mount and resurrected the OEM Coospo CS600 Coospo CS600 GPS | cycling-not-racing- I may replace it with another of the Magicshine Allty …

The Seeme 400 is another design producing 400lumens in the braking and daylight flash. There are five modes catering for most riding contexts. Three flashing and two steady.  There’s a third diode poking out from a turret at the base. Referred to as the “Optitracing” light it casts a broad arc at the tarmac, which is really effective. The Seemee 200 V2 was my first introduction to the Optitracing concept, and both these lights seem particularly good choices for trailers, recumbents, tandems and tagalongs. The 1600mAh lithium-ion cell also ensures generous run times.  

On the subject of upgrades, I’ll retire Denise’s Venerable Tektro levers for Dia Compe GC08H come the next cable change. These Genetic Karyotype bottom brackets are earmarked for the Holdsworth and Muffin when their existing units get the grumbles. Muffin will have a 42-tooth Tibia chain ring next time round.

 

Before the Leaves Fall

 August is but a memory now, the mornings have been progressively cooler, and indeed, the sun struggles to wake before 5.30. Perfect opportunities for testing lights, base layers, and other, seasonally appropriate stuff but a reminder that the Holdsworth and Teenage Dream will soon be entering seasonal hibernation.  

Talking of which, for the time being, I’ve mounted the Hutchinson Challenger up front on the Holdsworth and Fixed Gear Winter/Trainer. Thinking behind this was to see how well they roll, handle, etc., and given 1,000 miles (about 1609.34 km) or so, I’d switch them to the rear. Mounting to both rims was very straightforward, requiring a single (admittedly long) composite lever.  

I’ve fitted ours to the Halo White Line Classic HALO CLASSIC RIM & SHUTTER PRECISION DYNOHUB DISC WHEEL BUILD (sevendaycyclist.com), leaving the Halo White Line Evaura/ SL9 HALO EVURA & SHUTTER PRECISION SL9 DYNOHUB BUILD (sevendaycyclist.com) shod with the Maxxis. I also opted to switch the Evaura/PD8 to a quick-release Tiagra skewer for added convenience.  

Aside from the obvious reasons, I’m keen to see whether they retain their reliability/puncture resistance as the miles rack up. I also took this opportunity to switch the gold anodised Halo Hex skewer for a Shimano Tiagra quick release, for added convenience. A quick bead of grease on the Cro-moly skewer and trough they went. I digress... Tyres. While switching tyres is arguably perfectly acceptable practice, it should only be front to rear, not the other way round.  

All things being equal, a rear tyre is under much greater loading, this will wear faster. Pop it up front after any mileage and you may pay an undignified and potentially painful price. For 67tpi casings, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well the Challenger accelerate and their relative compliance.  

They’ve also corned very reliably following some episodic heavy rains-even at 100psi, which is quite a bit higher than the Maxxis Refuse, which run at a very modest 50-75psi. However, I wasn’t completely surprised to find the Challenger succumbed to a flint induced flat- it had lodged in some gloop and worked into the casing and put a pinprick in the tube. Just shy of the seam, so easy to patch.   

I’d also spotted some self-extracting crank bolts going for the proverbial song, so bought two sets. One for the fixed Gear winter/Trainer’s Genetic Tibia GENETIC TIBIA TRACK CRANKS & RING | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and the Teenage Dream’s new carbon cranks.  

Not that I’m whipping square taper cranks off that frequently these days, but the convenience is welcome. Rude not to at £2 apiece, too. These are a European marque, not a Chinese pattern. The latter are something of a lottery. Too much for my tastes-I’ve had some beautifully made bargains and absolute bin fodder.  My pin spanner also appears to have gone AWOL, so I’ve chosen to regrease and refit the existing crank bolts, while I hunt it down.   

On this occasion, I’m using up the Muc-Off Bio Grease TESTED : MUC-OFF BIO GREASE (sevendaycyclist.com) which is a surprisingly stoical blend that performs well across the board. Headsets, hubs, and pedals are its best customers. No issues with metal contact points and fasteners, although Peaty’s Bicycle Assembly Grease PEATY'S BICYCLE ASSEMBLY GREASE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) has the edge here.  Not so long ago I bought a couple of spare 28.6 collars, since these are the sort of thing that fail infrequently (especially if you’re setting stuff up with a torque wrench).  

However, should they fail, it's always at the least convenient time. Aside from doing the important job of holding your saddle up and post rock steady, they’re dead space. Some brands obviously recognised this and began offering models with integrated carrier mounts.  

Now aside from being a point to attach carrier arms, this could include saddle bag supports, lighting, and other nickknacks. I’ve decided to go this route with Ursula, being my four seasons’ beast of burden.  I also spotted some pre-cut 106 link 10 spd KMC chains at a similarly keen price, so snapped them up while the opportunity presented. 106 links...Well, I may have pruned Ursula’s just a fraction too precisely.