Urges...The Digital Devil Made Me Do It

 

 

While engaged in an orgy of online Christmas shopping before prices, availability and other headaches start kicking in, a USE SUMO post snared my attention-New Old Stock, and the starting bid was £20.  

This was want, not need, so I wasn’t going to engage in a bidding war. Serendipity saw I was the only bidder, leaving me convinced it was meant to be mine. I had also been quick to check, while watching the auction, that I could acquire a suitable shim and at the right price. No room for “White Elephants”.  

Fortunately, these were still readily available, so £33 all told, including postage. I’d decided I’d go the 27.2 shim route and had earmarked it for the fixed gear winter/trainer, since I was happy with Ursula’s Kinekt 2.1 KINEKT 2.1 SUSPENSION SEAT POST | cycling-not-racing and Denise’s USE SX. I’m certainly not going the “boing” route with traditional pared to the essential's road build. The Sumo, in common with the SX and Redshift Sports has a preload tucked within the post, requiring removal to set, or adjust the degree of bounce but arguably a cleaner aesthetic.  

Given it had been in storage for some time, I suspected any grease had degraded to the point of being ineffectual, so took the opportunity to clean the spring and elastomer components and delivering some Peaty’s Speed Grease inside to lightly lubricate. I was tempted to go for the strawberry jam flavour of Muc-Off Bio Grease, but I’ve been impressed by how well the Peaty’s perked up the SX fitted to Denise.  

In common with the SX, I found the saddle cradle something of a faff and not something you’d want to approach in a rush, yet dependable enough. I’ve added a lick of Oxford Mint Assembly Grease to the fasteners before snugging everything tight with my torque wrench. 

I’ve switched the Ritchey WCS saddle from the Carbon Cycles eXotic Carbon Ti Seatpost Carbon Cycles eXotic Carbon Ti Sea | cycling-not-racing and left the Selle Royal Respiro Sport (281x143mm, in case anyone wondered) adorning the Cane Creek, should I feel the urge to switch things around again.   

While uncovering and fitting the Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro Tyres | cycling-not-racing to Ursula’s Ryde XT and Ryde SP SD8 SHUTTER PRECISION SD8 HUB DYNAMO | cycling-not-racing wheels, I happened upon a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Winter Spikes 700x35c, which would comfortably fit Denise’s clearances should we suddenly get another “Beast from The East” or prolonged period of icy, slippery weather in the coming months.  

Chances are, I’d simply stick to Ursula for such a period, but it’s nice to have the option, especially if I’m testing kit, or just fancy taking Denise out. These were the base model with 120spikes, which still gives some definite bite. I also had some Continental Nordic Spike (120 spikes) which are another reliable choice but at 42mm, the absolute comfortable limit for Denise.    

Given a choice in these matters 35-37mm is my preference since you’ll need clearance for snow, slush and slurry. 120 spikes are at the lower end of the spectrum, 240 is my benchmark for snowier conditions and/or deeply impacted ice but 120 still offer dependable bite on slippery surfaces.  

Kenda Klondike is another long-standing studded choice. The 700x35c feature 30tpi casings and 100 studs, which again, are a better bet for when its icy, rather than snowy. There’s a 26x2.10 version with 252 spikes and a 26x2.35 with 400, which would be an interesting comparator to the Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro Tyres | cycling-not-racing  There’s still a few helpings of WTB lube left, so I’m staying with it for now but will probably reach for the Peaty’ Link Lube Premium All Weather PEATY'S LINK LUBE PREMIUM ALL WEATHER | cycling-not-racing since I want chains fed something stoical, yet still relatively clean running.    

The roads remain very muddy and the trails less so, although I’ve stuck to the mighty Shimano MW7 booties, which continue to impress with their efficient power transfer, temperature management and water resistance. Shimano MW7 (MW702) Gore Tex MTB Shoes | cycling-not-racing 

I’ve erred toward waterproof socks more often now the seasons changing and leaves carpet lanes and trails. I’m also increasingly endeared to the Gorewear C5 gloves. I’d experienced some unexpected discomfort in the left hand, but this tempered after 60 miles or so, suggesting the padding settles given a bit of time.  

A relief too, given the asking price. However, doing an impressive job of keeping vibration, chill and wet firmly locked out. Oh, but wait a moment, they’re not waterproof in the submersible sense, so if you’ve jettisoned a bottle and it’s landed in a stream, you’ll get a soggy hand retrieving it. Though not as nimble as some, for a deep winter glove, they’re surprisingly dextrous. I keep coming back to the old saying “No such thing as the wrong weather, just the wrong kit”. On that note, here's Magicshine's Black Friday PromoBike Cycling Lights & Gears for Night Riding | Magicshine – Magicshine Lighting

Shakedowns but no breakdowns...

 

Forty miles in, Ursula and I were bonding very nicely. Then, to my surprise (and good fortune, since this struck 2.5 miles from home) I glanced down to discover the left-hand crank was creeping off. No 10mm Allen key on the multi-tool meant nursing us back, minimising contact with the left side. Having returned, I whipped out 10mm, 5mm Allen keys and of course, trusty torque wrench. I can only imagine things stretched during the formative outings. Pre-load faffed and ultimately everything rejoined and behaving to type, I pondered some more pre-winter prep.  

The recent wet roads had me thinking I should add a protective butyl boot to Denise’s lower headset race. I decided rounding up the tools and taking a decision from there was the best route. Before I knew it, I’d plunged in head-first and met a few surprises. The quill converter had become mysteriously stuck. Nothing a quick tap with a rubber mallet didn’t solve (although I still needed to tap the expander wedge free- a long flat screwdriver and controlled nudge from the mallet fixed this).   

Everything else came apart easily and ample Juice Lubes Bearing Grease clung to the bearings and races. Fork out, I slid the butyl over the head tube and rolled it up. Another quick lick of grease to the lower balls, I reinstated fork and mysteriously had the headset adjustment bang on first time.  

Reassembling the quill adaptor, I added some of the Oxford Assembly Grease to hopefully subvert and further episodes of stubbornness (adaptors are prone to seizing). Same went for the hardware. While the Juice Lubes Bearing Juice is a synthetic, putty type formulation, I applied a quick shot of Muc Off Silicone Spray to the underside of the tube, to help it glide over the headset.  

 

Allowing for the fact I geustimated, rather than measured the length of tube, the coverage is precisely as I wanted it and should, with the added helping of grease, lock the elements out. Lizard Skins and others used to produce neoprene covers, but unless removed every wet ride, could cause moisture to get inside.  

 

Old inner tubes are plentiful and could even be scrounged from your friendly local bike shop. It’s tempting to strip the crankset come next chain replacement and treat the axle to some Peaty’s Speed Grease (for the last word in low friction) but the Wolf Tooth is a premium blend and seems highly effective thus far. Will be interesting to see how it fares against winter’s witches’ brew.  

 

Staying with pleasant surprises, I was sent another set of the WTB Nano, not the TCS tubeless ready versions this time. Their UK importer tells me these are the 120tpi versions employing their SG2 puncture repelling belt that runs bead to bead, so will be interesting to see how they cope in this regard during the darker months.  Aside from gravel and indeed “more adventurous touring” they’re also aimed at cyclo cross audiences and, given their “most conditions” persona, it’s not difficult to see how the genres ahem, cross-over. I’ve found them surprisingly good in gloopy UK mud, but again we’ll see how this translates through a mulchy mucky British winter.  40mm wide, they’re going to be a little portly for more traditional ‘cross bikes, which can typically swallow 32-35mm, 38 if we’re talking a slick commuting/touring tyre for off season’s road duties. 

  

Despite the rise in popularity these past twenty years, cross meets still have a very eclectic flavour. Sure, there are packet fresh disc equipped carbon fibre bling machines but plenty of traditional cross bikes, repurposed tourers and indeed, mountain bikes looping the circuits. Single-speed transmissions keep things rugged and reliable, provided you’re prepared to stick with something around 63 inches…  

 

There are a few folks who also brave it on a fixed. I can see the appeal, but as I say, very much a niche thing. On-One’s Mulo might be a prime candidate. There’s clearance for 43mm tyres without tickling the chainstays and you could either run it with a disc up front or go the old school cantilever route.  

 

The latter are again, still very popular. Lightweight, simple and still relatively effective, set up correctly, with decent quality pads and cables.  Standard cables with PTFE linings and stainless-steel inner wires are good staples, although the jump between these and more elite, sometimes sealed systems, such as the Jagwire Road Elite is very palpable.  

 

Aside from the fit n’ forget weather sealing, the inner wires are extremely high quality, thus virtually zero stretch and very tolerant of fine tuning. I’ve set ours up and removed them from Ursula’s callipers with no signs of compression, let alone fraying. Braking is very progressive, stiction free, but again, I’d expect so at this end of the market and again, I’ll see what impact if any, winter has upon their stopping prowess.  

 

Transfil Flying Snakes were another solid (and much cheaper) choice on the sealed front, but fitting was more involved and cable rub could be an issue if you hadn’t used the little protectors or applied some helicopter tape to the head tube and other areas where the outers sit, or brush against the frame. Right, I’ll leave it here with my review of the  Magicshine See Me 50 Mag Light Magicshine SeeMee50 MAG Light | cycling-not-racing