Swapping n' Stripping

 

150 miles hence and my bruised inner right thigh reminded me why I substituted it. This time round, I’ve reached for Selle Royal Respiro, which is something of an “old faithful”. Should it prove a little narrow, I’ll reach for the BBB Echelon, which is another all-rounder but slightly broader-145mm at the widest point. Madison have sent me their M Part Primo anti-slip silicone gel bar tape.

 Available in four colours- red, black, blue and white, it employs a silicone underlay for damping and a Polyurethane exterior for tactile purchase. It’s a little heavier than some at 128g (complete and uncut)  I’ve dressed Mufin’s bars since it contrasts nicely and I’m very satisfied  with the Wolf Tooth Supple Lite Wolf Tooth Supple Lite Bar Tape | cycling-not-racing adorning Ursula’s Soma Condor 2 SOMA CONDOR 2 SHALLOW DROP BARS |   which  offers a good blend of connection, damping and grip without undue bulk.

It’s also in very good shape, so stays-for now at least. Arguably, no need to go beyond 2.5mm, even off road since the big 2.3inch tyres also provide plush, refined comfort. Before I forget, here’s Steve’s review of the Continental  Contact Speed Continental Contact Speed Tyres | cycling-not-racing      

The M Part Primo is surprisingly easy to fit and thoughtfully employs a tacky silicone backing strip, rather than the traditional adhesives, meaning its tolerant of correction. No cheater strips either which suits me, since I’ve found myself defaulting to the “figure of eight” technique around the brake levers. Plenty of tape left, despite generous overlap on these 44cm wide Genetic D-Riser 4 GENETIC DRISER 4 HANDLEBARS | cycling-not-racing

Elsewhere, I've been harvesting some smaller fasteners, specifically bottle cage mounting hardware, not least as it's good to have some decent staples in stock-a chainring bolt can go rogue and create mischief at the least expected (read convenient) moment. Particularly on the fixed. Several years down the line, I’m still seriously impressed by these Genetic Tibia GENETIC TIBIA TRACK CRANKS & RING | cycling-not-racing

Obviously, it’s important to get the correct bolt and collar length, not to mention applying a light coating of assembly grease. This will give you a sporting chance of removing them when ring replacement’s due.  

 Aluminium alloy fasteners might sabe a few grams while looking pretty into the bargain but where components are under load, I reach for Cro-moly every time and twice on Sundays. I’ve wasted no time in fitting them to Dobbin and torquing down to 12nm. Another little job off the list.  

 On the subject of small parts, I'm keeping an eye out for a replacement skewer for my TWBents Bob Yak homage trailer.

I'm confident I've stashed the original unit safely away in one of my storage boxes, following Ursula's renovation last year. Spares of this kind make sense. However, some folks have been hawking them for £74 apiece, which is laughable, not to mention uneconomic. I always preferred that coupling system to that employed on the original Bob Yak. I was fond of mine but there were some things that merited improvement/felt a little fragile.   

  A few hundred miles down the line and I'm reaching the conclusion that the FLR MXT Vibram Trail Shoes are best suited to pedals with a broader, or at least, tapered angular profile.

This includes these Wellgo, which offer greater support (and consequently efficiency) than the mighty dual side cross country M540 and XTs. They do strike an excellent balance between stiffness and walking for longer periods-think touring and bike packing rather than gravel racing, or competitive. They’re a notch or so better on the riding and walking fronts than the otherwise likeable Shimano MT701 GTX SPD  Shimano MT701 GTX SPD Shoes | cycling-not-racing

Staying with pedals a moment, here’s a quick guide to keeping them cleaned, greased and happy Simple Pedal Overhaul | cycling-not-racing I’ve acquired some lever rubbers-primarily since the WTB bars wide flare tends to see the lever ends grazed against brickwork, which sets me on edge for several reasons. Might also provide some additional grip when riding in the wet.  

On the chain lube front, I'm continuing to default to the TF2 Performance All Weather Lubricant TF2 PERFORMANCE ALL WEATHER LUBRICANT | cycling-not-racing . This is a lighter middleweight that returns decent mileage in changeable conditions but without attracting too much grot, especially along fire roads and forest trails.   I've since discovered that Weldtite have revised the formula, removing the PTFE component, which has me intrigued...

Whipped out the chain checker and Denise's KMC is still in reasonable health 3 months down the line. I’m confident I’ll get a further six weeks, or 600 mixed terrain miles before its retired. That said, I bought another batch of staples, since chain wear can be very sneaky.  A bit like the front mech, which has dropped the chain a couple of times recently-nothing turning the adjustment screw 1/8^th of a turn didn’t fix, but annoying and inconvenient at the time.

 

Suited and Booted

 

Perhaps I should be imagining lottery numbers and other things of significance…. How so, Michael. Well, I’d been contemplating bar tape replacement. I would be keeping Denise and Ursula’s silicones (for another time) but pension off the fixed gear winter/trainer’s ENVE Enve Handlebar Tape | cycling-not-racing.  

 

A week or so down the line, an editor sent me this Deda Loop and Josh from Saddleback this Wolf Tooth Supple Bar Tape (both the 5mm and 2.5mm versions). The former is a natural silicone, no adhesive backing needed and easily rewound, should you need to replace a cable, swap bars etc.   

 

Denise is sporting the 5mm version, which proved surprisingly straightforward to apply, allowing for the fact its 40mm wide and 5mm thick. Wolf Tooth recommends maintaining a consistent 2.5mm overlap for best overall effect. Oh, (and this goes for silicones per se) do not pull too taught while fitting, or run the risk of tearing, or unsightly tan line type fading. Uncut, and including plugs, it tips the scales at 187g.   

 

After some resistance and initial reluctance (I really like the Acros Silicone Wrap Handlebar Tape’s LONG-TERM TEST: ACROS SILICONE BAR WRAP | cycling-not-racing orange contrast- with both bikes, though Ursula in particular) at the close of a filthy, drivetrain chewing ride, coinciding with a deep, sudsy bucket clean, I switched the Acros for the 2.5mm Wolf Tooth, which was also lighter-107g uncut, including plugs, the Acros 163g.        

 

Josh also sent me this WTB Rocket, a cro-moly railed model 142mm wide and with medium density padding, comfort zone pressure relieving channel. Reminiscent of a Specialized saddle I had some years back, albeit a diet version.  

 

I’ve popped this on Ursula, switched the Ergon SR All Road Ergon SR All Road Men’s Saddle | cycling-not-racing to the fixed and left the Ergon Core Comp adorning Denise’s cradles.  75 mixed terrain miles in, I’ve slid it very slightly further back and found the padding and pressure relieving channel incredibly effective. I’ll plonk myself on it for another 500 or so miles before casting more concrete opinion.  Other unexpected revisions come in the guise  

 

 

of these 700x40 Continental Pure Contact which are reckoned to be highly dependable commuter rubber but at 587g apiece without the heft of some favourites. These have been slipped aboard Denise, given the clearances and to evaluate how well they’ll cope along the mucky lanes and battle-scarred tarmac.

80 miles down the lanes later, I’m warming to them. The compound seems very grippy, the water channeling grooves have been shifting water and slimy stuff surprisingly well and even at 65psi, they seem very compliant... The Continental Pure Contact are also reckoned capable of handling some light dirt and meet 8 on their scale for puncture prevention-I’ll be happy to test these characteristics and claims.  

 

That said; the Continental Contact PlusTESTED: CONTINENTAL CONTACT PLUS TYRES had similar characteristics and perform surprisingly well along unmade roads, too. However, at 978g apiece for the 35mm sections, they are considerably heavier than the Pure Contact and while I’ve appreciated the Contact Plus’s dependability, their heft is also quite palpable. 

 

Given the milder temperatures, I’d switched Ursula back to the Continental Cross Kings since the icy/snowy conditions went as quick as they arrived. I’ve gone back to a rack with the fixed gear winter/trainer.  

 

In this instance, the Topeak Uni Super Tourist 2.0, which is a smidge lighter (879g against 917g) on account of the traditional non-disc design and single tier pannier rail. It’s reckoned capable of 26kilo payloads, which should be enough for most people’s needs. I’ll not be going anywhere near that in the everyday sense, not least as I wouldn’t want to be hauling more than 5-10 kilos on the fixed.  

 

Rule of thumb, 15 kilos upwards and I’m reaching for the trailer. There’s a reason touring bikes have a wide spread of gears, erring on the lower side after all... However, I like the versatility and options that a decent rack affords, especially on a winter/trainer where temperatures can vary and you might want to remove, or add another layer, change of gloves, additional food/similar goodies on longer rides.  

 

There’s also the option of dropping by the supermarket and picking up some essentials. Elsewhere, I remain pleasantly surprised by the Lomo Bike Packing bag, which is not only very waterproof and surprisingly easy to port between bikes, but surprisingly stable-something I attribute in part to the internal stiffeners. It’s worth noting I’m still running the saddle rail frame, and I’ve not filled it to full, thirteen litre capacity yet Ending on a Grave note, here's my review of the WTB Nano SG2WTB Nano SG2 Gravel Tyre | cycling-not-racing