Manic Mechanic

What works on the stand and what performs on the road can be two entirely different things. I was delighted with Ursula’s reconfiguration and though I loved the Soma Condor were a great fit, the Soma Condor 2SOMA CONDOR 2 SHALLOW DROP BARS | (sevendaycyclist.com) seem an inspired upgrade. A little on the tall side for my fixed gear winter trainer but bang on for the tubby tourer.  

Being a four seasons’ machine, the sudden transition to heavy rain prompted a 20-mile shakedown ride. Though counterintuitive, thanks to years of brifter use (yes, my index finger has been gravitating to the imaginary paddle on the Tektro levers) the Microshift bar con has performed faultlessly.  

Click shift, click shift, click. No slips, no hesitation. The front brake showed some hesitancy on the return but easily corrected with ten pumps of the right lever. Otherwise, I relaxed, enjoyed the ride and vowed to resist further cable fettling temptation. Well, save for replacing the rear brake’s straddle wire. While functional, it was fraying badly and very much on borrowed time.  

Problem-solving and working things through is all part of riding. 

Ok, by the roadside, you want to get going again, as soon as reasonably possible but developing familiarity and understanding the components leads to a much better riding experience and mechanical sensitivity. As I’ve said before, there is also a good case for outsourcing some work, where it's more cost-effective. I don’t build good wheels, so for me, leaving my wheels in the hands of a skilled wheel builder is money well spent. 

Despite the changeable conditions, the Peaty’s Link Lube Dry PEATYS LINK LUBE DRY CHAIN LUBE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) has impressed me with its staying prowess, despite the changeable conditions. Plenty remains on the chain and is readily reclaimed from the cassette. I’m still on the second helping several hundred miles in.   

Closer inspection of the rear, Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Double Defense Tyre TEST & REVIEW: SCHWALBE MARATHON MONDIAL TYRES (sevendaycyclist.com) suggested it was also nearing the end of its dependable life. Not bald as the proverbial porn star’s bits but their centre strip was beginning to show obvious signs of wear and I found several sharps burrowing into the casing. I had one in ruder health, so superglued some superficial cuts, then switched to that until I find a suitable replacement. 

Now, I’m a fan of connectivity but there are boundaries. I have no desire for a foreign power to launch a missile strike via a wi-fi enabled kettle in my kitchen. Professionally, I am interested in GPS and similar bar-mounted tech. Personally, I don’t want to share my ride routes, time, location etc. 

Any GPS function on a camera is also turned off, for these same said reasons.  

Ursula has been sporting this Cat Eye Quick for a couple of years- a very simple 7 function design, which is compact, intuitive and reliable. However, at £44.99, its relatively expensive, relative to functions. I found myself yearning for something more sophisticated, yet still offline.  

Since the weather is still ambient; I am continuing to enjoy spirited playtimes on the Teenage Dream. I’ve found the bigger Axiom wedge pack’s saddle loop Velcro was becoming slightly unreliable. Not to the point where it would come adrift and cause the bag to land on the tyre but this was a distinct possibility, so I switched to this smaller Axiom, which employs a quick release saddle rail clip and two Velcro post straps. Sorted-Huzzah!  

I was also struck by the ungodly, unmistakable funk of trench helmet. My long-serving do-most but mtb biased Bell, on this occasion. Now, I could go the same route as Steve and use a capable commercial product, such as this Oxford Mint Helmet SantizerOXFORD MINT HELMET SANITISER | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) but, given as I was headed that way, plumped for a post-ride shower and shampoo, instead. The shampoo route is surprisingly effective but best done more frequently, to keep funk at bay. 

 

 

And Then They Were Ten

So, with my Univega’s long serving and super faithful M45 rear mech, singing its swan-song, the Alivio was looking an obvious replacement. However, for some reason, I wasn’t feeling it. Nothing wrong with Alivio, by the way. Nor was I about to buy another mech…However, some late-night auction site meandering ignited a creative spark.

One that fired the practicalities of running a 10spd Microshift rear mech, with the bike’s existing 9spd configuration. Down to the garage, where I fed a little used Microshift Centos rear mech a 9spd chain to ensure .5mm wasn’t going to pose any real-world headaches.

As you will note, the Centos has a maximum 27 tooth capacity. My Univega runs an 11-28 cassette…Enter this Sun Race SP750 Extender link, kindly supplied by Ison Distribution https://www.ison-distribution.com/english/product.php?part=GPSRME570K . Oh, and given my recent crank bolt dramas, I bought some self-extractors, while opportunity presented.  

Some online experts have rubbished maximum derailleur capacities… Only to look decidedly red faced when its broken. Not only have they kissed the tarmac, but they’ve wrecked a mech, frame hanger, paint and several spokes for good measure. Not my idea of a good time. False economy too.

A long arm rear mech would’ve only cost £40. Then again; we all have our lessons to learn. If you can’t dodge a hole, at least, avoid falling into the same one, twice.

New extended hanger in place, I added a generous lick of grease to the derailleur hanger threads and bolted this in situ. Cable and chain reconnected...Drum roll please… Prodding the Brifter paddles saw the mech sweep the chain across the recently replaced cassette with grin inducing finesse. Elation was short-lived when it seemed the pull ratio was out. No sense having a profoundly compromised setup.

Back to the parts stash. Within 5 minutes, I’d harvested Centos 10spd brifters, brake and gear cables, 10speed cassette and a new (9spd) chain…Yep, wholesale upgrade to 10speed. Getting everything to play nicely was relatively straightforward. The Centos lever travel worked beautifully with the IRD CAFAM2 https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/ird-cafam-2-cantilever-brakes , although I desperately need a decent 3^rd hand tool to facilitate faster setup/adjustment.

By this point, it was 23.00…Since the Acros Silicone Handlebar Wrap was off (and sporting plenty of oily grime) I popped it in the wash at 30 degrees. Acros suggest this, in their care instructions. After a few tense moments, it emerged packet fresh, so I lost no time in dressing the bars.

As I’d suspected, the silicone was more supple this time round, which made it much easier to wrap. Fear not, it also responds well to a gentle tickling with a medium stiff brush. First time round, I dismissed an ingrained grimy patina with a shot of Green Oil Chain Degreaser Jelly  https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/green-oil-degreaser-jelly  and Oxford Products Tyre Scrub  https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/oxford-products-tyre-scrub

Staying with the cockpit, though I’ve found the moustache bars, perfect for the bike’s designated duties, useable space for accessories is at a premium. Dynamo lamp, LED and computer are pretty much your lot. Velo Orange have kindly sent me their Accessory Mount. Weighing 99g, it’s made from CNC machined aluminium alloy and available in anodized silver or gloss black.

In common with the Genetic Neuron, it features a hinged clamp but several shims. This means it’s a great fit on narrower 25.4 and 26.0 bars. The spare shims can be used to pack out the removable “barrel” mounts.

There’s no designated weight limit but Scott says a Go-Pro and light are the maximum they’d recommend. I’ve ported the Apeman A80 Action Camera without any problems (Once I’d ditched the resin pattern in favour of this Minoura camera mount).

Cable stretch countered, I went for a formative 20-mile blast (battling a headwind) and it’s proving a worthy, well-behaved upgrade. Will stick with the FSA chain’s factory lube for now, while things are settling in. Then I’ll probably plump for Squirt https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/squirt-long-lasting-dry-chain-lube

Falling Leaves

Been a productive but tough couple of weeks, “Belgian Mix” has been satisfactorily reworked, so I’ve turned my attentions to some children’s fiction since I’m on a mission to explore additional horizons and opportunity presents. Autumn is showing visible signs of its imminent arrival and with it, renewal of the workshop roof in favour of something more substantial before renewal becomes urgent.

Other creative opportunities have presented themselves and are being pursued with renewed tenacity coupled with a sense of tentative optimism. Not exclusive to the “creative” industries but seemingly endemic is the expectation that people will supply goods and services for nothing- I’ve had several encounters of this nature recently, treating them with the contempt they deserve. I have often accepted payment in kind, or on a barter basis but refuse to indulge in the sweat shop mentality-doing so, encourages a downward spiral, rather akin to buying stolen goods and wondering why one’s home/business becomes a target for theft. Remunerate fairly and skilled people will reciprocate. 

Commissioning solely on price has major repercussions-many an “Uncle Bob” with “professional looking equipment” has shot their niece’s wedding with disastrously second-rate results, copious tears and family rifts. Sure you can get a gas combi boiler refit for £500 but don’t expect to find recompense when carbon monoxide or major explosion rips through your lives-said contractor will have saddled their horse, ridden off into the sunset without so much as a tax code, let alone public liability cover and Corgi accreditation. Never mind, household insurers are bound to be sympathetic…

For the time being I have shelved the idea of qualifying as a masseuse, since singular, professionally recognised qualifications seem rare as the proverbial rocking horse dropping and I don’t want to pursue a three year beauty therapy route, only for my extended skillset to be mooted by gender. However, opportunities can materialise unexpectedly so I’ll continue along other paths for now.

Toyed with re configuring the Univega’s front end to include an Alpina dynohub with disc mounts but the practical advantages are outweighed by unnecessary retirement of perfectly good components, while serving to increase its theft appeal. Nonetheless, I’ve invested in another Dcup lower race and Weldtite have sent me their steerer cutter, so front end surgery is definitely on the cards. Thirty thousand miles and countless shifts later it’s eight speed LX rear mech has been pensioned off in favour of this remarkably competent Microshift M45, an 8/9spd unit broadly on terms with the Japanese giant’s Alivio but a wee bit cheaper.

Ours was the long cage model for seriously wide ratios (11-34 teeth anyone) though, there’s a shorter cage sibling, which will save scarce few grams but might canter across the block fractionally faster. No surprise to see its now sporting the LX crankset, which is better finished not to mention (258g) lighter than its Alivio predecessor’s drive side alone, largely attributable to aluminium alloy rings. 

So then, we now have an eclectic ensemble of eight/nine speed mech, commanded by 8/9speed brifters, 9speed crankset, eight speed chain, cassette and fifteen year old STX front mech.  Everything was pretty much plug n’ play, save for the latter but even this this complied when fed a fresh cable and tweaked judiciously. Quintessentially crude, models of similar calibre appear pretty tolerant of mixing n’ matching and serves to scotch popular lore suggesting such configurations will never work to genuinely acceptable standards.

We’ll see how far it lags behind in another fifteen hundred miles or so, by which point I shall put the existing Sun Race and KMC consumables out to pasture, marking 108,000 miles on the tubby tourer and its continued evolution into nine speed-by default, rather than design. Well, that brings this entry to a natural conclusion-time I drafted a few pitches and copied my late father’s Open University series from VHS cassette to DVD.    

Beating a Retreat

Sometimes, enforced leave's the best way to remain focused and moreover productive. Bang up to date with immediate deadlines and other planned works, I took a few days away from the keyboard to photograph petty women against gritty backdrops of urban and coastal decay. Had to do a fair bit of bobby dodging since police and private security firms are very prone to overzealous and dare I say, aggressive misinterpretation of anti terror legislation. On the flip side, there are those who do not help themselves, gaining access to buildings under the misconception that trespass is as serious as things will get, when in fact breaking and entering or indeed, criminal damage is more probable.

Sites of medical/industrial origin present other hazards including asbestos, pigeon faeces, biological/chemical pollution. Depending on their location, squatting and all that it attracts can prove a very dangerous cocktail. Some years ago, I happened upon an abandoned house in one of London’s most deprived districts. A trail of scorched silver foil blowing about this particular tenement was a clear indicator of what awaited me as I zipped through an adjoining alley leading to what remained of the back door…A couple, probably in their early twenties were desperately chasing another hit of heroin-it was to be their last. I took three shots through a 50-200mm lens before slipping into the high rd.  

Having prepped the Univega prior my departure, I noted a few fresh chips in its somewhat delicate flamboyant red enamel. Mercifully, a quick scout around Superdrug uncovered the perfect touch up stick-yep; nail varnish to the rest of us. Aside from pillar-box or Coca Cola, first-rate retouching of reds, especially those of the metallic persuasion is notoriously difficult. This particular brand dries in sixty seconds but I’ve applied two or three thin coats before allowing them to cure overnight.

On the subject of refinishing, the otherwise tough satin powder coat finish adorning the beefy expedition rack is beginning to tire slightly where panniers and other luggage sit so I’m toying with having it blasted clean and given a colour-coordinated rebirth. The other alternative is a phenomenally resilient industrial treatment known as plasti-coat. Applied in the same fashion as powder its commonly used on wrought ironwork and similar ferrous metals left in the most challenging environments. Given its notorious difficult removal –even with extensive chemical assistance, the faintest trace on threaded sections spells disaster so you’d never apply it to a frameset… Were I to take this route, I’d also ask if they’d mind passing this simple tune up stand through at the same time since the existing paint is firmly in dip n’ hope territory.

In the meantime, Rory at Upgrade has been kind enough to send me a bundle of goodies including Lezyne’s power rack elite-a beautifully executed TIG welded aluminium affair complete with 25 kilo maximum payload, this rather fetching, long handled pedal rod and Microshift Sti brifters. The latter are nine, as opposed to eight-speed, short reach examples heralding the Ultegra bar cons’ retirement and more or less completing the tubby tourer’s road biased, yet trail friendly evolution. Despite sporting an extra click, these index perfectly with eight while rivalling Tiagra in performance stakes. Elsewhere, a garage gremlin appears to have gobbled all my open ended ten millimetre wrenches-the sort perfect for nipping old school cantilever brake pads snug. Thankfully, much rummaging unearthed one of those awful but will- do- in- a- pinch giveaway types.

Product testing forms a major part of my work and these days it’s genuinely rare to find bad ones per se. Sure the odd howler, or rogue model crops up from time to time, sometimes with hilarious consequences. Most recently and falling into the latter camp was this otherwise super cheery house branded waterproof day pannier, ideally suited to quick release, post mounted racks. Swooping through the deserted backwaters with only a gentle breeze, moonlight and furtive scurrying emanating from the hedgerows for company, I was compiling a mental list of priorities when a blood-curdling rip as the pannier’s mounting hardware parted company with the weatherproof fabric tore through my serenity!

A modest cargo consisting of armoured cable lock, tyre levers, patch kit, spare tube, multi tool, pump, Co2 inflator, cable ties and compact camera hardly constitutes overloading but thankfully, the humble plastic ties were up to the job of lashing everything together, allowing me to complete the ride, albeit with one ear attune to further, untimely demise.

Naturally, I reported this to the distributor who are determining whether its an isolated fluke or symptomatic of a sub standard batch. Then came a trio of track pumps, which Joshua helpfully proclaimed looked like detonators, doubtless intensifying neighbourly suspicion. Lest I forget to seat a 700x23 tyre and tube properly, resulting in an ear shattering din otherwise those poor darlings will scatter beneath dining room tables, some hands on heads, others with the home office on speed dial…

April's Advances

After several months in hibernation, the Teenage Dream was gently roused from its slumber for some frisky back road frolics. Fifteen miles without so much as glipsing a John Dere. Still, I'm sure we'll relive those heady days of old school tractor racing in the coming months. Arriving home, it became apparent that the rechargeable lighting system designed to facilitate extended early season play times was aeathetically unbearable and needed tidying with immediate effect. Running the cabling beneath the top tube courtesy of black zip ties seemed the obvious solution but then I didn't fancy bringing the bike into the kitchen every time the ni-cad battery needed mains charging. Rummaging through the spares bin returned a better reward in the form of two Velcro pump ties-perfect! Elsewhere, a tweak of the Allen keys sees a bottle mount nipped tight with the Cinelli Mini Sub 8 re-aligned for greater speed and comfort.

While not my choice for trophy steeds, pattern parts are often perfect for winter/trainers and the Look copies are prime examples. Bikes are works in perpetual process- how many times have we upgraded the pampered pet and passed the older part-worm stuff along the fleet? Every so often I'm taken by the urge to perform wholesale drive train cleansing in favour of something more contemporary.

Objectively this would bring the "quaint by modern standards" race frameset bang up to date but doing so misses the point- there's memories, not just miles tied up in those Mavic rims, Campagnolo Athena hubs and Victory Mechs. Contemporay groupsets excite for different reasons, not least as there is a fine line between appreciating the past and living in a romanticised version. Emergent brands, most notably Mircoshift and Sun Race (the latter assumed Sturmey Archer) compete handsomely on price and performance with the established marques. Should the household names assume a dismissive complacency last witnessed within the British motorcycle industry some forty years ago, these newcomers could change the landscape of mid-high end groupsets forever.

Joshua's independence brings with it a burgeoning interest in racing and technical skill. Joining me in the garage, I swapped the Univega's mainstay Schwalbe for the 1.75 section Vittoria as he expressed a quiet disdain for the tag-along, citing a lack of comparable control/engagement. This is to be expected and I've a feeling on this occasion a more refined model wouldn't alter his view.

His single speed BMX continues to serve him well and will remain the mainstay machine until he acquiries the necesary experience and mechanical empathy required for competitive riding. I am determined that his next mount will not be off the peg but based around a used 4130/7005 series XC MTB frameset refinished in a powder coat livery of his choosing and carefully selected components from the spares bin. Six/Seven (or possibly eight) speed drivetrain, 24" hoops affording a good choice of narrow slicks and trail rubber coupled with big wide drops. This might sound an unusual combination but neans with a change of tyres/cassette he can taste road, cross and XC racing all on one bike. Should he wish to specialise, it will serve as a very dependable and relatively inexpensive everyday mount.