Fork, Rotors Action...

 After some foraging, I’ve everything together for Ursula’s front end upgrade. The Project 2 fork sports a crown race, has some corrosion inhibitor sloshing around its inner sanctum, and the TRP Spyre SLC calliper bolted to the IS adaptor. Following the “use what you have” mantra, I’ve blasted the remainder of some heavy-duty PTFE spray inside.  

The sort that forms a thick, protectant layer and can also evolve into a fat-ball, causing sticky control cables. Great for protecting electroplated frame/fork ends, derailleur cable guides that run beneath the bottom bracket shell, trailer hitches and locking mechanisms, garage rollers. Jobs, where grease is too heavy and traditional maintenance sprays, are too easily dismissed by wet, wintry roads.  

Indeed, a couple of teaspoons of 10w40 motor oil coursing through the tubes would do much the same job, although, in this instance, I’d need to deliver it via a syringe-messy but again, dirt cheap and very effective.   

Now, I’d been believing, nay convinced myself that the RL340 wasn’t compatible with disc brakes, so needed an RL520. However, closer scrutiny of the Tektro site contradicts this (I wanted to swerve travel agent or similar adaptor), so hopefully, that pans out, in the real world. I have a sliver right-hand RL520, but cosmetic symmetry is also important.  

The rotor in this instance is an auction site special. I was curious as to its performance and durability. In any case, I have a Clarkes unit sitting in the brake spares box...Somewhere. The transplant will take place at a more convenient time, probably when the weather turns a little less wintry and I can switch to the fixed for a while.  

However, I’ve gone the slow and steady route to cut down on time and potential snarl-ups. Tucked away in Ursula’s Deore crank, the Torque 7 tool is remaining rattle-free, and pleasant to use. The magnetic components mean everything’s still together. There's been a faint hint of taint but nothing a quick once over with an oily rag won’t arrest convincingly. On the one hand, I’d expect that, given the price point but reassuring and the tool itself is genuinely much nicer to use than I was expecting.  

The Schwalbe Land cruiser has been another pleasant surprise. Traction and rolling resistance have been more convincing across the board, even along untreated, slippery backwaters and at 70psi.  Puncture resistance is lower on their scale than say the Marathon plus but again, thus far no unpleasant surprises. During one freezing ride, I went for Ursula’s bar con, ready to drop down a couple of gears, in preparation for the climb that would take me past the poultry processing plant-an eerie pulsing hulk, especially at 530am.  

Nothing, it was if the lever had frozen solid. Thankfully, I wasn’t in an overly tall, knee popping gear, so cruised my way to the summit. Over the top, the Microshift brifter behaved normally once more. Weird. It did remind me of tales pro mechanics told of treating chains with anti-freeze, during winter cyclocross races.     

For months, the UK media has seemingly been obsessed by whiteouts, “thundersnow” and the general second coming of the ice age. Now, I’m no stranger to spiked tyres and really rate them, for tackling winter’s more extreme conditions. I was very intrigued by Kenda Klondike, but these aren’t so readily available in the UK and then I happened upon what may be the holy grail. Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro. I’ve been impressed by the Schwalbe Winter TESTED: SCHWALBE WINTER SPIKED TYRES (sevendaycyclist.com) and the upgraded Schwalbe Winter Plus.  

However, the Ice Spiker Pro is reckoned to be the “turbo of spike tyres” with a maximum of 402, yes 402 spikes. These are made from tungsten carbide but coated in aluminium. They still weigh 997g apiece (which is still lighter than the Schwalbe GT365 TESTED: SCHWALBE MARATHON GT 365 BICYCLE TYRES (sevendaycyclist.com)  

Continuing the cold weather narrative, here’s Steve’s review of the Funkier Nueva thermal skull cap FUNKIER NUEVA THERMAL SKULL CAP | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) 

Unwinding the mind- A retrospective

 Cycling has been a central part of my life since May 1986 and I’ve racked up a few hundred thousand miles in that time. In the early days, it was a sense of escape. Escape from bullies, alienation from school and its curriculum, cultivating self-knowledge, character etc. Indeed, cycling (motorcycling too) is a metaphor for life and its challenges.     

In my early teens, imagination was fired by the glamour of racing, exploring far-flung lands on lightweight steel-framed mountain bikes. Hero worship mixed with a lust for exotic components, machines, exhilaration and adventure. Pencil thin framesets finished in Rosso red and electroplate, polished Italian groupsets... 

At the other extreme, lightweight, go-anywhere machines with Cro-moly framesets, 26-inch wheels, knobbly tyres and Japanese groupsets. These were marketed as “All Terrain Bikes” here in the UK and during this phase, some appeared with drop bars, which is what really fired my imagination.  

Something that has come full circle, with older mountain bikes being fed drops and repurposed as “Gravel bikes”. Aside from the Muddy Fox Trailblazer that ignited this passion, back in March 1987, Specialized’s Rock Combo (crudely a drop bar Rock Hopper for purposes of quick reference).  

Geometry isn’t that far off contemporary gravel bikes for that matter...Now, it might’ve sent my Lycra ablaze, but it was quickly pulled from production. However, 22 years of development hence, Ursula is incredibly close to bespoke. True, full-length chrome plastic guards limit the off-road potential but fine for dirt roads and incredibly practical for more generic, four seasons’ riding.  Tooling + access to components+ imagination are the ingredients to such a build.  

Again, arguably the same applies to other branches of life. Lateral thought and perseverance also belong there. Thinking in terms of Panaracer Gravel King 26x2.1, once the Schwalbe Marathon GT365TESTED: SCHWALBE MARATHON GT 365 TYRES WINTER UPDATE (sevendaycyclist.com) and Marathon Mondial TEST & REVIEW: SCHWALBE MARATHON MONDIAL TYRES (sevendaycyclist.com) reach a pensionable state.  

Both, although particularly the 365, have loads of miles left in them, which is a good thing, given supply lines are unpredictable. Until recently, this had been attributable to the pandemic but superseded by Brexit and the loss of frictionless trade. This phenomenon is also leading to food shortages and insecurity.  

The latter refers to people, (specifically those who are more vulnerable, socio-economically) going without due to rising costs. I can see a return to sectarian conflict/civil war in Northern Ireland but I’m less convinced there will be much public outcry, let alone civil unrest in response to food insecurity.   

Long, steady miles lend themselves to this kind of soul searching/introspection and I've frequently found creative solutions to all manner of issues/circumstances/situations. “Come back to it” as one elderly carpenter once said, seeing teenage me struggling with a feature. This shouldn’t be confused with, or permit procrastination and deferment but is great advice when employed correctly.  

Going back to tyres a moment, returning from one ride, Michelin World Tour popped into my head as a possible alternative for Ursula. Old as the hills, I bought a set from a motor/cycle dealership in Norfolk, mid-tour in 1989. They were to replace a worn set of 27x1/4 Nutrak, which were becoming increasingly puncture prone as a direct consequence. However, no 26 (mtb) option, rules them out.  

Vittoria Evolution, which seem to be a development of the Vittoria Randonneur TrailVITTORIA RANDONNEUR TRAIL TYRES LONG TERM TEST (sevendaycyclist.com) that served Ursula and I very well for several years. The Randonneur still exist but are very much a road, rather than mixed terrain tyre. 26 inch is going the way of 27x1/1/4 25 years back. There’s still plenty of reasonable and indeed, decent quality rubber available but choice isn’t as plentiful now 29 and 650b are the new industry standards.  

Back to 700c now and Extra UK have kindly sent me these Pirelli Cinturato Reinforced smarTUBE. These are aimed at gravel and endurance audiences and are made from TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane). Theoretically the holy grail of tubes, they promise superior puncture resistance, low weight and compact size. 82g on the scales, it’ll be interesting to see how they perform, not only in terms of puncture resistance but pressure retention. In my experience, Latex was exceptionally light and puncture resistant, but required inflating every other day.