Beacons of Hope?

The leaves are rustling, daylight is fading, and the UK is facing the prospect of blackouts during the darkest, coldest days of winter... Well, my blood will certainly boil, and don’t anyone dare throw a romanticised “It’ll be just like the 70s” line my way. Madison www.madison.co.uk sent us these rear lights to test. We’ve the Infini Metis, the Infini Tron, and The Kryptonite Incite XBR Rear Brake Light.  

What’s interesting about these then...Well, they’re all at the same price point (£34.99) and the Metis and Kryptonite feature “braking” functions. Interestingly, and more accurately, Kryptonite describes theirs as an “acceleration sensor”. Unlike some others, they cite the sensor will trigger the designated LED when it detects speed dropping by 3.58 mph (5.76 Kmh). Otherwise, it’s a 7-mode model with memory and run times, cited as between 10 and 36 hours.  

The Metis has 5- two steady, three flashing-including a daytime running flash. In terms of output, we’re talking between 10 and 80 lumens. I’m particularly intrigued by the Flashing 2, which is 40 lumens and reckoned to manage 28 hours from a full charge. We shall see... 

 

I like daytime running modes, especially on overcast autumn and winter mornings. The Infini Tron pumps out a maximum of 40 lumens but also has a 50-lumen day flash.  

The latter sounds a little tame by some standards- 100 and 150lumens are increasingly common.  

Indeed, they’re brilliant for soup-like conditions but there’s some debate as to whether these are otherwise anti-social. It does, however, enjoy a large surface area and employs a 42 chip and 10 SMD LED, so will be interesting to see how these lights compare in real-world conditions.  

I’m an advocate of always carrying a contingency light on long rides-even with disciplined charging, lights can suddenly power down, or fail. Risks are minimised by proper charging and other, basic care but just as the best-maintained bikes can succumb to a mechanical, the unexpected can strike.  

An integrated lithium-ion or lithium Polymer cell can only withstand so many charge cycles before losing some endurance. To illustrate my point, the Kranx Strix 100 came to my rescue when an excellent Magicshine unexpectedly powered down, meaning I was still obvious to other road users from a good distance and for the remaining 10 extremely dark miles.  

During this point, I also noted the Souma Leather handlebar tape Souma Leather Handlebar Tape | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) had stretched a little, causing it to turn a little baggy just below the brake lever. To be expected after a few thousand miles and easily sorted in five minutes. Unwrap at the tops, just below the hoods. Tension tightly and uniformly while weaving back up. Some fresh electrical tape sealed the deal. The Souma is certainly weathering and wearing well-not that I’d expect any different from a hide of that quality and price point, but reassuring, nonetheless.   

 

One thing, of course, leads to several others. Next thing I knew, I’d stripped the chain and cassette, given the bike a good wash, since I was there. The Green Oil Dry Chain Wax Green Oil Dry Chain Wax | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) for the theoretically more stoical Momum MIC Wax Lube Momum MIC Wax Lube | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) , then of course, I decided the saddle height was a little too lofty, then a fraction too low. The former causes undue and unnecessary strain on the knees, while also hampering efficiency. (Too high, or too low is inefficient and can lead to knee and other joint mischief).  

Then of course, the seat collar sheared-I should stress I had been using the torque wrench, set to the prescribed 5nms. Thankfully, I had a replacement in the small parts drawer, so switched and took this opportunity to blast some spray grease inside the seat tube and apply a light coating to the Kinekt 2.1 Aluminium Suspension Seatpost KINEKT 2.1 SUSPENSION SEAT POST | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) Shim and height checked, I snugged everything down to 5nm and ticked another series of little jobs off my doing list.

I have ordered a couple of 28.6mm BBB, just to keep in stock should another failure strike here, on the fixed gear winter/trainer (Although I have a nice Salsa lip lock somewhere in the spares bin, so will root for that, should need arise.)  

 

Fresh Rubber & Lights

August continues to accelerate at an alarming rate with darker mornings and night’s crafty creep becoming progressively more apparent. Timely that I should receive these Ravemen and Kranx lights from their UK importer Bob Elliot Co Ltd - Suppliers of high quality bicycle supplies to registered traders (bob-elliot.co.uk) I have the TR500 USB Rechargeable rear light, TR1600 USB Rechargeable Curved Lens Front Light and Kranx Strix 100 USB Rear Light.  

On the rubber front, these CST Czar700x28 Dual Compound Tyre arrived. However, I was also disappointed (but not remotely surprised) by the response of a Dutch supplier, who likes Seven Day Cyclist www.sevendaycyclist.com but says the costs (due to Brexit) prohibit supply of some very tasty test products.  

Then of course, there’s the very real prospect of power shortages and “black outs” during winter, which will be sold as character-building and doubtless heaped with rhetoric, evoking the second world war. Expect to hear “Blitz Spirit” and “pulling together” ad nauseum (which drives some sections of the British public into a palpable jingoistic frenzy).  

I’m still waiting on some component upgrades, which should’ve materialised by now-I'm hoping they turn up before much longer, given the impending strike action at Felixstowe.

 

Back to tyres...For general, year-round riding I’ve tended to favour those with a 60tpi casing. Now, sweeping generalisations are, begging for contradiction. However, while they lack the zing of those with 120, maybe 170 tpi, they still roll easily, ride quality isn’t overly harsh, and durability is similarly impressive. I’ve done several thousand miles with the Kenda Kwick Roller KS Plus KENDA KWICK JOURNEY TYRES | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and they’re still in rude health. At 757g apiece, they may be a little portly for some tastes but in the darker, colder months, I preside reliability over outright speed.  

The Vittoria Roubino Pro Control Graphene 2.0 Vittoria Rubino Pro Control Graphene 2.0 | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) are slightly narrower but palpably lighter and faster. No flats to date and it’ll be interesting how they fare during winter (although I may well swap to bigger sections, when conditions turn a little more challenging). This may not be for some time, given some sources suggest a heatwave will continue into October, possibly November.  

That said; back in the late 80s/early 90s, when many of us were whizzing along on 20-23mm road rubber, 28mm was very much the preserve of lightweight/weekend touring. Still perfectly viable, with lighter loads, or indeed, a low-slung touring trailer.  

 

Otherwise, where frame clearances permit, 35-40mm is my sweet spot for road-biased touring, although I err toward the upper end of this scale.  

Weekend, or indeed “credit card” touring aside, tyres for laden duties should have strong sidewalls and a decent puncture repelling belt (preferably one that runs bead to bead and 3-5mm thick)   

Much as I suspected the Souma Leather Bar Tape improves with use and has settled beautifully on both bars. I’ve fed ours a few times and it's darkened the hide slightly but thankfully, this is uniform, so doesn’t detract. This is to be expected with all leather products, so test an inconspicuous area first, especially if you are treating a light colour.  

The Green Oil Dry Chain Wax continues to impress with its cleanliness and longevity. It's designed for dry, dusty conditions, so arguably in its ideal element. In terms of characteristics, it's somewhere between a traditional dry and wax, meaning it's clean and dry to touch.  

Much as I expected, it uses plant-based ethanol, plant oil and antioxidant. This version also employs graphite as a friction modifier. Continuing this theme, Ursula’s KMC chain is still in rude health, reassuringly so, given it's done 1500 mixed terrain miles. It's been a dry summer, but winter and spring conditions were more varied and I’m thinking cleaner lubes are the determining factor.   

Honeymoon period passed and I’m still pleased with the switch to carbon forks. The weight saving is genuinely palpable, especially since I’ve also switched to the lighter of its dynohub wheels. It’s the compliant ride quality, which is the main draw.  Sure, Cro-Moly forks, like the “school chair” type that Ursula has sported can still be found, new for £60 (although lighter, cross-country models with disc mounts are still available for around £125).  

These might be a more cost-effective choice for some, especially since 26inch wheels are increasingly regarded as old-fashioned. That said; there is a small but seemingly growing community of people who are going the “gravel” route with older, mid and higher end cross country mountain bikes.  

Closer to the Specialized Rock Combo (694) Specialized Rock Combo 1989 commercial -- the first production gravel bike? - YouTube 

 that blew my fragile teenage mind c. 1989 (although the drop bar mountain bike first sprung to my attention in March 1987, when I clapped eyes on Muddy Fox’s Trailblazer). I am forming the opinion that the Carbon fork is an affordable and realistic upgrade for those with older, mid to higher end mountain bikes given new leases of life. 

Painted fork ends bode well for winter and the clear cost uniformly good, although I’ve applied some Zefal Skin Armor roll ZEFAL SKIN ARMOR ROLL | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) on those areas where cabling, or cable ties rest, to prevent unnecessary wear-especially when wet, muddy and gritty stuff are thrown into the mix.