After hunting high and low for a suitable replacement for my spontaneously combusting Basta, the good folk at Raleigh generously gifted me one of these lovely 25lux offerings in time for Easter. The integral switch means it can be fed straight from the hub, thus making the otherwise venerable Nexus unit redundant. Fitment demanded some quick, lateral thought though. Being as I run a headlock type system, the lamp couldn't be mounted via the fork drilling but an old NR bracket came to the rescue and sees it sat pride of place aboard the handlebars. Taking delivery early this afternoon, there's been no time for anything other than a few quick spins to confirm connectivity but I'm looking forward to the call of noctural skies.
Many voyages by definition induce chain wear which, left unchecked can wreak havoc with ultra sensitive ten and eleven speed derailleur transmissions. Traditional steel checkers and/or rulers provide some indication but are somewhat hit and miss-vulnerable to user error/misinterpretation. Enter Freedom Sports digital chain gauge. Made by KMC, it gives a definitive reflection of chain health in either metric or imperial. Child of the early seventies and somewhat semi-metric, I configured it to millimetres and got busy. Powered by a single 1.5 volt watch type cell, the sprung crescent end dips between the rollers first while the other follows suit some eight links along. Readings between 0.00 and 0.40mm indicate a chain in it's prime, 0.40-0.80mm middle aged and anything exceeding 0.80mm needs pensioning off pronto. Absolutely accuracy has been difficult to ascertain since I didn't have another calibrated and checked model to use as control. However, readings have been consistent on factory fresh chains (measured at three different points) and should be sufficient for all but the most obsessive. £50 either represents sound investment or simply keeping up with the club-mates (depending upon the size of your fleet/groupset value) and the ergonomics need tweaking so it's easier to read in situ.
Lube is another important consideration and I'm developing a genuine leaning toward those that aren't derived from petrochemicals. Green Oil have released "White"; a dry wax lube formulated from plant solvent that works to precisely the same principles. Curiously it's just as flammable so store away from naked flames, combustible materials and sources of ignition.
Wax types aren't intended for the most challenging conditions (not my first choice for fixers either which benefit from a stout wet lube to keep things running serenely) but nonetheless keep transmissions clean and lubricated with more frequent/liberal applications. Common to the breed; White is really, really thin, requiring a steady hand and three applications for adequate coverage. Green oil recommend leaving it seven minutes or so to cure (longer in winter) but using White Lightning's clean ride as my yardstick, I'll reserve judgement for a few hundred miles or so.
