Before the Leaves Fall

 August is but a memory now, the mornings have been progressively cooler, and indeed, the sun struggles to wake before 5.30. Perfect opportunities for testing lights, base layers, and other, seasonally appropriate stuff but a reminder that the Holdsworth and Teenage Dream will soon be entering seasonal hibernation.  

Talking of which, for the time being, I’ve mounted the Hutchinson Challenger up front on the Holdsworth and Fixed Gear Winter/Trainer. Thinking behind this was to see how well they roll, handle, etc., and given 1,000 miles (about 1609.34 km) or so, I’d switch them to the rear. Mounting to both rims was very straightforward, requiring a single (admittedly long) composite lever.  

I’ve fitted ours to the Halo White Line Classic HALO CLASSIC RIM & SHUTTER PRECISION DYNOHUB DISC WHEEL BUILD (sevendaycyclist.com), leaving the Halo White Line Evaura/ SL9 HALO EVURA & SHUTTER PRECISION SL9 DYNOHUB BUILD (sevendaycyclist.com) shod with the Maxxis. I also opted to switch the Evaura/PD8 to a quick-release Tiagra skewer for added convenience.  

Aside from the obvious reasons, I’m keen to see whether they retain their reliability/puncture resistance as the miles rack up. I also took this opportunity to switch the gold anodised Halo Hex skewer for a Shimano Tiagra quick release, for added convenience. A quick bead of grease on the Cro-moly skewer and trough they went. I digress... Tyres. While switching tyres is arguably perfectly acceptable practice, it should only be front to rear, not the other way round.  

All things being equal, a rear tyre is under much greater loading, this will wear faster. Pop it up front after any mileage and you may pay an undignified and potentially painful price. For 67tpi casings, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well the Challenger accelerate and their relative compliance.  

They’ve also corned very reliably following some episodic heavy rains-even at 100psi, which is quite a bit higher than the Maxxis Refuse, which run at a very modest 50-75psi. However, I wasn’t completely surprised to find the Challenger succumbed to a flint induced flat- it had lodged in some gloop and worked into the casing and put a pinprick in the tube. Just shy of the seam, so easy to patch.   

I’d also spotted some self-extracting crank bolts going for the proverbial song, so bought two sets. One for the fixed Gear winter/Trainer’s Genetic Tibia GENETIC TIBIA TRACK CRANKS & RING | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and the Teenage Dream’s new carbon cranks.  

Not that I’m whipping square taper cranks off that frequently these days, but the convenience is welcome. Rude not to at £2 apiece, too. These are a European marque, not a Chinese pattern. The latter are something of a lottery. Too much for my tastes-I’ve had some beautifully made bargains and absolute bin fodder.  My pin spanner also appears to have gone AWOL, so I’ve chosen to regrease and refit the existing crank bolts, while I hunt it down.   

On this occasion, I’m using up the Muc-Off Bio Grease TESTED : MUC-OFF BIO GREASE (sevendaycyclist.com) which is a surprisingly stoical blend that performs well across the board. Headsets, hubs, and pedals are its best customers. No issues with metal contact points and fasteners, although Peaty’s Bicycle Assembly Grease PEATY'S BICYCLE ASSEMBLY GREASE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) has the edge here.  Not so long ago I bought a couple of spare 28.6 collars, since these are the sort of thing that fail infrequently (especially if you’re setting stuff up with a torque wrench).  

However, should they fail, it's always at the least convenient time. Aside from doing the important job of holding your saddle up and post rock steady, they’re dead space. Some brands obviously recognised this and began offering models with integrated carrier mounts.  

Now aside from being a point to attach carrier arms, this could include saddle bag supports, lighting, and other nickknacks. I’ve decided to go this route with Ursula, being my four seasons’ beast of burden.  I also spotted some pre-cut 106 link 10 spd KMC chains at a similarly keen price, so snapped them up while the opportunity presented. 106 links...Well, I may have pruned Ursula’s just a fraction too precisely.  

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.)