Ta da! Trail & Green Lane fun

Having whipped The Maxxis Ikon aboard Ursula’s Ryde/Alfine Shimano Alfine UR700 Hub Dynamo | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and Sputnik/XT hoops, I took to the backroads, byways, dirt roads and bridlepath and swept myself back in time. Not one I was nostalgic for, rather my construct of the drop bar mountain bike-an all-terrain bike in the literal, purist sense. One conceived while mentally disengaged from an English class in March 1987.  Lightweight, yet rugged, ones that could be ridden beyond the confines of metalled roads and maddening crowds.  

Whoosh! I’ve always revelled in the ability to hop aboard a well-loved, carefully serviced two-wheeled vehicle and leave the world behind. Even if only for an hour, or two. The intoxicating sense of freedom. Increase the cadence, feel the machine respond to your every effort. With the miles come contemplation, reflection, solutions and clarity-although sometimes I need to write these down before they evaporate in a stream of consciousness.  

Much as I expected, the Ikon deliver a responsive, compliant, and engaging ride over dry hardpack and loose surfaces. Be these trails and bridlepath, or unmade roads. Their rolling resistance is quite palpable over metalled roads and I’m glad I put some precautionary goo in a batch of Schrader tubes, mind.  

Being the base model, there’s no puncture-repelling belt. I didn’t want to take the edge off their speed but wanted some added peace of mind.  Theory behind latex/sealant-filled tubes is that rotational forces plus release of pressure traffics the goo to the affected hole.  

Most work on nicks and holes around 1-1.5mm. The downside is a bigger hole, let alone blowout will result in a sticky encounter by the road/trailside. Time and miles will tell whether, and indeed, what contexts this proves an issue.  

A minor point, but I needed to raise the Mud Hugger Evo by a few millimetres to ensure some very necessary added clearance, coming from The Maxxis Overdrive Excel. However, that’s because I’d used these as the mounting template and wanted a super clean aesthetic. My fault for not factoring in a knobbly first-time round.     

Talking of which, long-term, I’m really impressed by the Motoverde PTFE Chain Lube Motoverde PTFE Chain Lube | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) staying prowess, and economy. Sparing is the word when it comes to application. Ditto 12 hour curing times but both Ursula and fixed gear winter/trainer are still sporting theirs, with no sign of reapplication coming. In contexts which have all but dismissed some middleweight wet blends. 

 

Seems to be doing better than several on the cleanliness front too.  Talking of clean, here’s my review of the Weldtite Bike Cleaner Concentrate Weldtite Bike Cleaner Concentrate | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)   

A year and 8,000 all-weather miles down the line, the Souma Leather Handlebar Tape Souma Leather Handlebar Tape | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) is holding out well. I’ve fed it with a decent quality leather food periodically and being a natural fabric, it has relaxed a little, resulting in slight slippage. Predictably, there’s more patina on Ursula’s, given the off-road ventures. On both bikes, I’ve needed to unwind and re-wrap a few times to allow for this and then of course a couple of cable changes but the backing adhesive is high quality, so no issues.   

Regarding contact points, midway through a 4am ride, I became convinced that the fixed’s top tube or stem were growing like Pinacho's nose. Laughably illogical thought but this kind of stuff creeps in however fleetingly. This was simply attributable to a slackening saddle cradle bolt on its Cane Creek Thudbuster ST G3 TESTED: CANE CREEK THUDBUSTER ST SEATPOST (sevendaycyclist.com). Would explain some low-level but intrusive chatter (which I’d originally attributed to a pump, the Lezyne riding shotgun on he down tube, specifically). Talking of down tubes, I’m a fan of the large PET cages-great for lugging big stuff. No wondering where you’re going to park that 1.5-litre bottle of mineral water you bought mid-ride.   

Topeak Modula range has always caught my eye and I’ve always had a particular soft spot for their Modula XL. The rubberised strap holds different diameters of bottlenecks very securely, eliminating chatter, not to mention ejection over rougher surfaces. Minoura made a similarly innovative model, although that’s been discontinued as the market seems to have moved toward multi-purpose models aimed at bike-packing audiences.  

They look similarly well engineered and I wouldn’t mind acquiring one for testing. Minoura makes some nicely engineered solutions- the VC100 camera mount that graced Ursula’s bars for some time being a case in point.  Back to Topeak and I find myself similarly endeared to their Modula Java Topeak Modula Java Cage | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)  

Right, time to mix things up a bit- I’m off for some more skinny-tyred fun on the Teenage Dream! John Moss (link) has also been in touch, saying his finished making the calliper mount for a TRP HYRD calliper. Think Ursula will reap those benefits, come the next cable change.   

Washed, Waxed & Revisited

 

250 very wet miles later and I wasn’t surprised by the subtle metal-on-metal tinkling of Ursula’s KMC chain. Closer inspection revealed some obvious orange patina along the inner side plates. Good for a wax lube in these contexts but confirmed my suspicions that while relatively stoical, the oil part wasn’t going to hinder corrosion in the way a similarly sophisticated petrochemical chain lube will.  

Given constant exposure to waterlogged, wet, greasy roads, Ursula was beginning to look a little sullied. Not sufficient for a sudsy bucket wash but needing more than a furniture polish blow-over. Hmm, let’s see how this Motoverde Waterless Wash & Wax bridges the gap I mused. This blend has carnauba wax, which is a popular choice in automotive formulas, thanks to its stoical, glossy results and it’s safe on all finishes.  

Given the relatively small surface areas, I’ve applied ours via a micro-fibre cloth, rather than trigger spray, to avoid wastage. Simply give the bottle a good shake, pour, apply sparingly to the frameset and components, leave a minute or two, then buff to a sheen with a fresh (ideally micro-fibre) cloth.  

Their main advantage over silicone-infused products (which add a great sheen and will lightly nourish elastomers, seals and other rubberised/ plastics) is that waxes of this type won’t attract dirt. Silicones leave a very slight film behind, which is helpful but rather like PTFE sprays encourage filmy stuff to become embedded in the surface. Again, welcome as a protective masking agent on working bikes/winter trainers with electroplated and polished aluminium alloys, since grime will stick and mothball them. 

Waterless cleaners are minimal mess, minimal faff and some, including Motoverde’s will keep UV, salts and similar corrosive elements at bay into the bargain. Obviously, waterless cleaners are for light to moderate grime. Cyclo cross style grot, like that adorning my fixed gear winter/trainer will require bike washes/warm buckets of wash n’ wax, sponges and brush (es).

250 miles in and I'm also pleasantly surprised by the Smanie GT saddle. 

 

137mm wouldn’t be a compatibility surprise on the Holdsworth and yes, a few millimetres shy of a designated ideal might make negligible difference but there is a fine line between something not fitting, not functioning correctly and indeed, failing. (Those seat collars being prime examples- 4nms, not a fraction more).  

Point of this preamble? Well, I wasn’t expecting it to work so well on Ursula-on and indeed off-road. One of the main attributes of the GT is that it’s designed to hold the rider at the most efficient point-for folks that like to get and stay in the zone, so not a shuffler's saddle.  

I’ve also noticed a slightly quicker cadence, though no loss of support to the ischial tuberoses (sit bones), let alone soreness/chafing. That said; Ursula and I also got along very well with The Selle Italia Sport Gel Flow FEC-Alloy saddle, which is relatively short (270mm) and narrow (140mm).  

FEC (lower rent hollow steel) rails put the weight up a bit too-330g, which is light, compared with a traditional leather saddle. even those with titanium rails, such as the Spa cycles Aire. This, loosely speaking, is a Brooks Swift homage which my derriere has spent many thousands of miles on.  

Another product that I’ve spent many miles with is Kinekt suspension Stem Kinekt Suspension Stem 90mm | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com). It’s heavier than some and may be a little too reactive for some tastes, but the parallelogram design is well engineered, doesn’t change reach, or geometry and though minimal maintenance, is easy to work on/adjust when needed.  

Chains are something I keep a close eye on. Not to the point of becoming a bore, neurotic, or borderline obsessional, I’m talking a quick weekly inspection using the humble nickel-plated chain checker, which can be picked up for a few quid.  

Inspection and prompt replacement prevent more costly wear-rings, derailleurs and cassettes being the obvious casualties. These also need periodic inspection. As a rough n’ ready rule, I replace cassettes every third chain-at least on bikes in four seasons’ service.  

Chain whips are the most common means of wrestling the cassette into submission while freeing the lockring. Functional enough, Pedros Vise Grip changed my cassette-swapping life- an end to slippage, grazed knuckles and agricultural outpourings. One of those tools (along with my headset press) that I never loan.  

Then along came Feedback sports offering me their Cassette Pliers. These work to the same principle as the Pedros, so it’ll be interesting to see if they’re any different, dare I say, more refined. Pedros set the bar very high.  Feedback also has a rather nice three-in-one bottom bracket and lockring tool, which has the ends welded in situ, so the splined cassette/centre lock bit can’t get lost or come adrift.  

I don’t change cassettes too often (or disc rotors, for that matter), so the little cyclo does the job well enough. However, it can struggle a bit on stubborn, weathered examples... Ending on a different note, if you want to keep your carbon happy, Peaty’s Max Grip Carbon Assembly Paste Peaty’s Max Grip Carbon Assembly Paste | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) has proved an excellent default.