Chilly Charms & Sudden Thaws

 

Conditions became wintrier as January unfolded and I was relieved I'd left the Schwalbe Marathon Winter mounted to Denise's wheels meaning I could just hop on, relax and enjoy the ride, despite the icy stretches. I decided to switch the Selle Royal Respiro for the WTB Rocket WTB Rocket Saddle | cycling-not-racing . The Respiro served me well for the best part of 13 years and I wondered whether the foam matrix was beginning to lose its memory around the rear.  It also heralded the return of these “lobster” gloves, since wind chill had brought the air temperatures considerably lower than minus 6.

Warmth is a definite plus but there’s trade off on the dexterity front, which can dictate their removal when bag rummaging, multi tool wielding and other tasks requiring fine motor skills. These link two fingers together, so allows me sufficient freedom to operate a compact camera, adjust a zipper etc. Better than the mitten type, but still comparatively limited.  For this reason, I also pack a set of liners, or middleweight gravel types, should I need to tackle a flat, or similar.

Considerations aside, they are blissful for otherwise bitterly cold midwinter outings. Blessed with a generous thatch, I tend to default to a water repelling, breathable cap such as this Showers Pass Elite SHOWERS PASS ELITE CYCLING CAP | cycling-not-racing. However, when il fait froid, I reach for another old favourite, the “Belgian” style cycling cap, which has served me well for around twelve winters.

These are characterised by better coverage and protection to the ears and a slightly thicker, sometimes fleecy inner fabric. I reach for mine once the air temperature hovers around zero, or the wind chill drags it into minus figures. Higher and I find the breed a little too toasty for my tastes.  The Sidi Algor Sidi Algor MTB Shoes | cycling-not-racing have proven themselves extremely temperate when the mercury’s dipped to minus 6. Not that I’ve had any issues with Shimano’s mighty MW702 Shimano MW7 (MW702) Gore Tex MTB Shoes | cycling-not-racing in similar contexts, but the Algor are slightly toastier.

The Zefal Shield G50 guards continue to impress with their capacity for keeping crappy stuff off myself and Denise.  Aside from a weekly, judicious check of the Velcro, I've not needed to give them a second thought. I've also been pleased by Ursula's new front mudguard.

Though less elegant than the Mudhugger MUD HUGGER GRAVEL HUGGER MUDGURADS | cycling-not-racing and similar designs, its simple and offers good coverage to rider and machine without risk of clogging. How it will fare longer term, when the glop, UV light, heat and cold have done their worst, remains to be seen.

Mudguards, though a valuable defence are no substitute for regular cleaning. When the gritters have been out, give bikes regular washes, starting with a cold rinse to flush away the corrosive contaminant (hot will only accelerate the caustic process) before going for the warm sudsy bucket and brushes.  

There’s a lot of discussion around bike washes- in the Marmite sense. Some really like them, other folks loathe them, citing them as money for old rope. I sit somewhere in the middle. Salty season aside, I like those which can applied direct to the bike i.e. without having to get the bike wet first- scrub and rinse.

Otherwise, I default to good quality car wash n’ wax type formulas, which will gobble the grime, while leaving a light wax barrier behind. Obviously, this can’t compare with a decent quality hard paste, or fluid formula, but does offer some defence. Great for when time and daylight are at a premium.  

In a matter of days, ice and snow gave way to flooding, so it made sense to switch to Ursula for a bit, and I was also curious to see how well the new front mudguard performed when it came to waterlogged lanes. Suitably impressed, it made a huge difference to my comfort, although they’re arguably perfect for 1.9 section rubber. Glad I’d donned the Shimano MW702.

Managed to get the Blackburn Atom4 to play nicely with minimal effort. A shot of PTFE free spray on the sensors contacts and decent quality CR2025 cells seem to address the intermittent connectivity issues. The smaller frameset places the head unit and sensor in closer proximity, which probably helps.   

Lube it, Scrub It, Hold It, True Them

 

Though I generally treat fixed and single speed chains to middleweight wet formulas, I decided Muffin’s Izumi to the Weldtite Wax and was pleasantly surprised by how frisky the transmission felt, while remaining serenely quiet. For context, I was averaging 18.1mph in contexts where otherwise I average 17.1mph.

Without lab testing facilities, much of this is easily attributable to psychosomatic, dare I say novelty influence, so many more miles in different conditions are needed before passing tangible comment. Weldtite say by using the double helping technique I should exceed the 300km mark from a single application, but by how much. What influence, if any do damp, autumnal conditions have upon this and indeed, the lube’s other properties.

Plan is to run it through September and early October, then, chances are I’ll switch to the All-Weather Lube.

Staying with chains, I am always interested in new brushes and similar tech that makes cleaning that bit easier. In my experience, one of the biggest problems is keeping the bristles clean and effective long term.

Too much solvent tends to soften them. Wet lubes and contaminant can also be difficult to shift. This seems the case, regardless of price. I’ve found the most effective technique is to soak them in degreaser, work this into a lather and flush them through-twice. First with very warm, then cool water.

Finally dry (and remove any residual grot with clean rag) The long bristle plots, designed for cassettes and rings are the most vulnerable to this kind of contamination. Will be interesting to see how the Oxford compares with These Finish Line Finish Line Grunge Brush Solo | cycling-not-racing and Muc-Off Muc-Off Bicycle Chain Brush | cycling-not-racing     

 

As the miles rack up, I’m becoming increasingly endeared to the M Part Primo Handlebar Tape.

The texture is grippy but with none of the stickiness associated with some. I’m pleasantly indifferent to the tacky tapes and have grown to love some over time. The Ciclovation Grind Touch CICLOVATION GRIND TOUCH BAR TAPE | cycling-not-racing being one example. ENVE  Enve Handlebar Tape | cycling-not-racing is also grippy, though stops short of feeling tacky. Its also very hard wearing and easy to clean.

One thing led to another, and I found myself upgrading Denise's quill stem adaptor from the auction site special to this Profile Design, which is perhaps unsurprisingly, made to an infinitely higher standard, with greater scope for adjustment and clearly marked minimum insert line. I also treated the expander wedge and internal length with some of the Zefal Pro II Grease, which will hopefully keep corrosion and seizure at bay.  These minor tweaks have resolved the minor reach issues.  

While giving the bike a while I'm here once-over, I also noted the front wheel dancing a curious samba. I was somewhat astonished- must’ve caught a rut along a section of newly discovered byway. I switched to the Halo Evaura/SL9 HALO EVURA & SHUTTER PRECISION SL9 DYNOHUB BUILD pairing with the Maxxis Ravager Maxxis Ravager TR Tyres | cycling-not-racing, while I left the Ryde Sputnik/Ultegra dynohub and Mavic Open Pro/Halo Fix-G HALO FIX G TRACK HUB | Seven Day Cyclist Tourin Tests Commuting with Mick Madgett. An opportunity to explore rougher stuff aboard Ursula and I’d been toying with switching the front Mud Hugger Evo Mudhugger Evo Front Mudguard | cycling-not-racing for something lighter and more minimalist to see just how much difference a smaller guard makes.

Mudguards (fenders) have been slowly creeping into the gravel market. I remain seriously impressed by the Mudhugger Gravel Hugger MUD HUGGER GRAVEL HUGGER MUDGURADS | cycling-not-racingbut other, arguably more traditional looking models have been creeping into the market. Some look to be models aimed at folks wanting their gravel bikes to serve as winter road bikes.

Provided your frame has eyelets and you were happy to run just a rear guard, cutting down a voluptuous mountain bike model, just before the bridge is a cheap but effective and done properly, presentable “for pennies” solution. One I’ve toyed with a few times. Old SKS are in some respects idea candidates- broad, really solid chrome plastics and stays, although unless you could pick some up very cheaply, I'd be inclined to repurpose a scrap pair for this kind of duty. 

As September progresses, I’ve been exploring more of the unmade roads and bridle paths, exploiting Ursula's true off-road pedigree into the bargain. Since her restoration last August, with the notable exception of winter spikes during the season's worst, I've kept her as a drop bar mountain bike shod with sturdy cross-country rubber. Despite some limitations, I'm quite fond of the Continental Cross Kings Continental Cross King Protection Black | cycling-not-racing, but more so the CST Patrol, which represent excellent bang for very modest buck.

In common with the Cross Kings, there are some limitations, especially in bogy mud but for hardpack and less challenging stuff, they're surprisingly swift and grippy.  2.25 sections are still practical propositions for older, cross country mountain bike framesets, while offering a decent amount of compliance and even at 50-55psi, ride quality isn't unduly harsh. There's still a decent amount of choice when it comes to 26-inch but few new models are coming through in this size. 

 

Spring- Sunrise & Strip-downs

  

Yes, inspiration doesn't just strike in the saddle-the small house is another chamber of innovation, and Eureka moments. I discarded the hard-working but progressively deteriorating SKS Blumels Shiny Mudguards SKS BLUEMELS SHINY MUDGUARDS | cycling, but not ususally racing (sevendaycyclist.com), and gave the frameset a deep clean. A good polish and rear wheel switch followed, and I also took delivery of this Mud hugger guard.  

I’d tested their gravel hugger cousins MUD HUGGER GRAVEL HUGGER MUDGURADS | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and remain impressed with their build quality and coverage. Obviously, protection doesn’t rival that of full length, traditional chrome plastics but it does broaden Ursula’s off-road potential and indeed, tyre choice. I could, for example, run the Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro albe Ice Spiker Pro Tyres | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) comfortably at the rear.   

Now, look closely and I’ve had to trim the mounts since it was fouling the fork’s cantilever mounts. I initially mounted them with two cable ties each side- a 4.8mm and two slightly thinner OEM. I ultimately switched these for two 7.6mm example for improved, vise-like grip.  

 

The Mud hugger would also allow bigger section, trail-orientated rubber and exploit the machine’s true off-road potential. No rear guard? Mud Hugger are designed as disc-specific, so incompatible with Ursula’s rear triangle.  Traditionally I’ve not taken to clip-on MTB guards, save for the legendary Crud models.  Others have either had an unappealing aesthetic and/or tended to rotate and ultimately, warp and fail.  I have something planned on the tyre front but will leave you guessing for now.  

I was still testing the Weldtite Bike Cleaner Concentrate and was getting a funny feeling about the XT hub’s freehub, so this presented an obvious opportunity to remove and the cassette, strip and inspect the freehub and upgrade the bearings.  

Everything released nicely-not surprising, given I’d not long stripped and re-greased the bearings with Juice Lubes Bearing Grease. The freehub seemed fine-I just wiped with a clean rag and drizzled some Peaty’s Speed Grease PEATY'S SPEED GREASE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) into the freehub bearings and threaded fastener.  

For the bearings, I went for something a little thicker, but lighter than the Juice Lubes Bearing Juice. Muc-Off Bio Grease TESTED : MUC-OFF BIO GREASE (sevendaycyclist.com) was to hand and in my experience, is reassuringly durable.  

Little and often maintenance is the best way of staying on the road or trails and breakdowns/component failure and costs to a minimum. However, things are a little more nuanced than this. I (and many other riders) run two sets of wheels on their daily drivers/working bikes, meaning I can switch while I service and to a greater extent take more time, should components require replacement, or similar service staller strike.  

Similarly, there is a point where the convenience, economy and satisfaction of working on our machines (be they bicycles, motorcycles, cars, boats etc) can tip over into an all-consuming orgy of continuous improvement. Time, other duties all evaporate in the quest to metaphorically (and sometimes literally) “tune beyond perfection”. That’s fun and resonates very deeply with me. However, when it comes to everyday maintenance and overhaul, tasks are best confined to certain, disciplined timescales.   

Plan ahead, be organised, have the correct tools to hand and quit while you’re genuinely ahead. Maintenance courses can be a sensible investment if you’re a beginner, or just looking to improve. There’s always something to learn and skilled instructors to guide and inspire confidence.   

Conditions have felt a little more spring-like, not that I’ve brought out the ¾ lengths and lightweight, long-sleeve jerseys just yet. I have regrettably had to pension off the Altura Night Vision Waterproof Gloves, which had done around 35,000miles (about 56327.04 km) over the last 5 years.  

Again, with heavy heart, I also consigned a pair of the brands’ bib tights to the bin. The pad was past its prime and the Lycra was also showing signs of abrasion damage, so thanked and read their last rites. Talking of reading, here’s a guide to the river Rhone Cycle Route THE RIVER RHONE CYCLE ROUTE GUIDE REVIEW (sevendaycyclist.com)