Smart Sam Succumbs...

The rains came and with a vengeance, but this was a refreshing contrast to the heat of recent weeks. It also presented an ideal opportunity to assess The Schwalbe Smart Sam’s wet weather competence.  

Swooshing through the standing water and slippery mud, I was reassured by their sure-footedness, simultaneously annoyed that I’d decided against waterproof socks but thankful I’d donned the lightweight but effective Madison Road Race Super Light Men’s Waterproof Softshell Jacket Madison Road Race Jacket | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) before heading out. A few hundred miles down the line, I’m forming the opinion that the Smart Sam are very capable “all-terrain” tyres that are surprisingly swift over metalled roads, while still delivering over unmade roads and hardpack.  

Their performance reminds me of WTB Allterrainasaurus (now the “All Terrain”)- I ran a set of 26x1.5 on my drop bar cyclo cross/mtb Frankenbike some twenty odd years back. Relatively quick and surprisingly compliant for a 30tpi casing, they were perfect for my commute through inner city London with genuine off-road potential- hard pack, dirt road, canal path etc.   

The Smart Sam’s 60tpi casings predictably give a plusher ride and are better off road, provided things don’t get boggy. I'd be looking towards something more aggressive for British trails in mid-winter and they’re a competition tyre but sporty enough without being ponderous, or noisy on the road.  

Until this point, puncture resistance had been reassuringly good. Cue a slimy, slippery lane at 530am and a very audible “Pop!” coupled with a similarly aggressive loss of pressure. Pulling over, a rogue hedge clipping proved the culprit.

Of course, rains joined the gloom, but thankfully I had the Ravemen PR1200 Dual Lens Front Light to work by RAVEMEN PR 1200 DUAL LENS FRONT LIGHT | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and of course, spare tube and Topeak Gravel 2 Stage Mini Pump Topeak Gravel 2 Stage Mini Pump | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) to spare me the seven mile walk home.   

I’ve always had a soft spot for Topeak. Products are decent quality but over the years, it's their innovative design that has captured my imagination. Back home, I took the opportunity to give Ursula a good sudsy bucket wash and once-over.

Replenished the spare tube, added a Co2 inflator/cartridges and patched the wounded butyl. I was a little shocked by how deeply the clipping had cut into the tyre’s shoulder. Not deep enough for a boot but a liberal helping of superglue, which of course, I had run out of. I reverted to the Maxxis Ikon Maxxis Ikon Tyres | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)   

Timely too that some interesting products from Topeak have just arrived for testing.  I don’t obsess about “wasted” space on a bike but I’m fond of making clever use of it. Take Hollowtech II cranks for example.

The hollow section is an excellent host for water and other dodgy stuff, but it also presents a useful stash point for a multitool. I am still quite taken with this Torque Covert TORQUE COVERT 7 CRANK MULTI TOOL | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)  although the magnet could be stronger and while the electroplated tooling is decent quality, it tended to show signs of the dreaded taint through a wet winter. 

 

Against this backdrop, I was pleased to receive this Topeak Hide N’ Tool. Another 7-function model, at £57.99 it's a good bit dearer than the Torque so it’ll be interesting to see how they compare and whether the Topeak’s on-paper refinements make a difference in practice.   

Portable quick tune-up stands are another useful addition to the workshop. Static models can be had for as little as £10. Or indeed, you could make one from scrap metal, a MIG welder and leftover paint. Either way, I’ve had a couple of cheapies and found them great for tuning derailleurs and other little jobs where you need the rear wheel held off the ground.  

They also double as useful storage stands. Cheaper models tend to be less stable, which can be annoying/frustrating. Enter another Topeak solution, the Topeak Flashstand e Up. Designed to handle e-bikes up to 30 kilos, it bodes well for other, heavier solos or specialist builds. It also folds, which is another nice feature.     

There’s talk of another “Beast from The East” promising months of snowfall, which will mean a switch to the Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro  Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro Tyres | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) . 140,000 miles together, Ursula is close to a cherished, though certainly not pampered pet. So many memories crafted together through hell and high water. Trailer lugging, hauling Joshua on his tagalong.

A broad spread of gears for grinding, cruising and bombing, huge tyre clearances (and choice of tyres), dynamo lighting... It’s not difficult to see why I’ve defaulted to her as my daily driver/working bike, especially through winter’s worst.  John Moss has taken the decision, after much soul searching to part with his Sinner Mango Tour Velomobile. Genuinely interested parties should contact me in the first instance.   

Sinner Revamp

 

We are looking for a carbon specialist to refinish John’s beloved Velomobile body. Ideally, you’ll be based in the midlands and have a 2K paint booth big enough. Colour-wise; John’s looking for a retro-reflective yellow (think the sort of effect used in vehicle licence plates). Feel free to get in touch here, or email Michaelsevendaycyclist@gmail.com  

Roads Paved With Dung

Shod with the Schwalbe Marathon GT, Cross flavoured fixer and I have been belting along the back roads. The GT feel a lot faster than their 808g suggest and continue to inspire confidence by the bucket load-in every sense. Talking of tyres, Seven Day Cyclist has an eight month test of another beefy section tyre, Maxxis Roamer http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/maxxis-roamer-tyres  

Fun is obviously high on any rider’s agenda but for me at least, reliability is level-pegging on a daily driver or winter/trainer. I want to concentrate on the ride, or let my mind wander in reflective/creative directions. While punctures and mid-ride mechanicals per se, are all part of riding, being sat by the roadside tackling a flat; or broken chain are events I prefer to keep infrequent.

Last Thursday, the thermometer had barely crept above minus 2, so I headed out late afternoon. Run at 85psi, their contact with the surface, coupled with the ability to regulate speed by holding off against the cranks, made 1in 4 descents and similar efforts that bit more comfortable.

Ascending one climb, dancing on the pedals and shoulders shuffling to similar tempo, my heart momentarily sank at a fut-fut sound, synonymous with a flaccid tyre. Glancing over my right shoulder, I was relieved (and somewhat amused) to discover this was a wheezy, asthmatic contemporary Fiat 500. Said super mini eventually regained composure and passed, observing a welcome 1.5 metre gap a few hundred metres later.  

Three miles from hot coffee, I swept around a bend to discover a young man tending to his motorcycle. I called out, checking he was OK; he affirmed this and explained his motorcycle’s final drive chain has snapped. This was literally 50 metres from where I was performing link surgery the previous Tuesday evening.

I offered to call someone but he politely declined, much as I did at his age and continue to. In parallel with the sheer fun and freedom, Cycling and motorcycling tends to engender a fierce sense of self-reliance.

We wished each other safe journey and I spun my way home, fingers and toe boxes nipped with chill. Next morning, I took the same route and saw his machine parked on the verge. I’m hoping he got home safely, acquired a new chain and is back to enjoying his machine again.      

These Super B professional cable cutter and inner cable puller arrived this week. We’d hoped to get them in ready for the Univega’s rebirth but no matter, these things can’t be helped and it’s timely enough given the stage I’m at with Graham’s GT. 

In common with other workshop kit, such as work stands, cable pullers aren’t essential but make maintenance and repair jobs that bit easier and quicker. Cable pullers; sometimes referred to as fourth hand tools tension the inner wire, leaving yours free to nip everything tight. Care is needed to avoid over-tensioning when feeding the inner wire into the slot but that’s as difficult as things get.

A decent set of snips, by contrast are the staple of any basic toolkit and will repay their investment countless times over. To some degree, there’s no limit to what you can spend. £30 odd is my benchmark and these Jagwire Pro my all-time favourites to date, anyway. http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/jagwire-pro-cutters  At £29.69 the imaginatively monikered Super B TB-WC30 are quite a bit cheaper, which fuelled my intrigue. Will be interesting to see how they fare in the longer term too.       

Elsewhere, John Moss has been plagued by a slipping Alfine set up. He attributes this to the manual system, so is talking in terms of upgrading the mango to Di2-price dependant. Mercifully the tandem’s Nu Vinci hub seems to be behaving itself impeccably since its rebuild.  

The same goes for the Univega, aside from another chain breakage-easily sorted with a few spare links and this Pedros multi-ttol. The 1x9 set up has enough range for long hills and fast descents. 

Full length guards offering ample protection from winter’s slimy slurry and of course, rural backwaters.The highways agency appears to be encouraging farmers to resurface with generous helpings of dung- even its Time ATAC aluminium pedals were showing signs of being engulfed. 

I also resurrected the Geonaute G-Eye2 to capture some footage. Lazily described by some as a poor man’s Go-Pro, it’s less intuitive than the Tom Tom but still offers decent image quality for a budget model.  

Right, I’ll leave you with the Visijax Gilet review http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/visijax-led-gilet  

Grinning Through The Gloom

These Schwalbe Marathon GT tyres arrived for testing from Schwalbe UK. Ours were the narrower 35mm section- nigh on1.4 inches in old money but there’s an even beefier 38mm, which seem a fitting choice, for the latest generation of disc equipped tourer, or tarmac tamed cross/gravel bikes.

These are much faster than the legendary and justly revered Marathon. Something that is immediately obvious from the first few pedal strokes-they’re also significantly easier to mount-no tyre levers required. Stiffer sidewalls, 7mm and 68g apiece separate them from the generally likeable, uber plush Maxxis Roamer.

Their E-bike compliance is also likely to explain the additional girth, although the Schwalbe inspire greater confidence along the wet, silty lanes. The sort that seem perpetually carpeted in gooey dung, complete with thorny, talon-like hedge clippings.

They use the “Dual Guard” system. Rather than our old friends Kevlar/Aramid, Schwalbe employs a two-layer nylon casing and a further 2.5mm strip of India rubber that works like a trampoline, forcing sharps out, thus minimise the risk of a flat. Schwalbe rate it 6/7 and say it strikes the optimal balance between speed and puncture prevention, which sounds perfect for bikes in daily service.

Talking of which, sidewalls feature a reflective strip and dynamo track, adding to their appeal. 

Retro-reflective strip and the Chevron style water channelling grooves are very reminiscent of Vittoria Voyager hyper http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/vittoria-voyager-hyper-tyre .

Interestingly, their profiles are slightly narrower than the faster rolling, Italian brands’ 35mm section, meaning a more comfortable fit in my winter/training fixer’s rear triangle.  

Formative impressions are very favourable. 65 miles along greasy/icy back roads suggest a quick, yet ultra dependable tyre. It’ll be at least 400 before I arrive at anything near tangible conclusions.  

Meanwhile those slushy lanes see regular post-ride rinse-overs to prevent salty, caustic stuff taking hold and moreover, nibbling away at pretty paintwork and components. I’ve got this down to around 10 minutes, including a quick, precautionary squirt of PTFE based lubes on exposed cables, pivot points and similarly sensitive mechanisms. 

I’ve also reverted to the Rock n’ Roll gold lube for more staying prowess but without the stickiness associated with traditional wet lubes.          

Decent lights are imperative during the winter months and not just the retina melting type, of which I am so very fond. Often it is the blinkies, retro-reflective and tertiary lighting that first registers on a driver’s radar. Aside from the Visijax gilet (www.visijax.com ), which continues to impress me with its presence, I’ve discovered the origins of John Moss’s preference for yellow, signal yellow to be precise.

Both his Tandem trike and Mango fairing sport this shade. Having recently changed the Velomobile’s gearing for a 2x9, thus improving efficiency overall, he’s decidedly dissatisfied with attempts to repair the scuffed nose using single pack acrylic aerosols. His godson works at the sharp end of car body repair, thus is fully equipped to apply 2K. We’ve tracked down a suitable Ford shade, so watch this space...

Elsewhere, we’re a bit further along with Graham’s GT rebuild-I’ve just introduced some cheap but cheerful, Jagwire brake cables. While Graham locates the wheels and I await derailleur cables, I’ve sanded some superficial glazing from the Alivio pads and I’m leaving those stainless steel inner wires to stretch to capacity. Then I’ll re-tension, prune and superglue the ends to stop fraying before it starts.

Premium grade cable sets, such as those Jagwire Elite presently stopping the Univega and are immune to such vices-simply tension, tighten the anchor bolts and trim to size. Budget models, though generally faithful servants benefit from a different approach.

Having set cable tension, pump brake levers ten times in succession to induce some slack. Loosen those anchor bolts, pull the inner wire through again and snug tight. I lean toward leaving them overnight and re-tensioning the next morning. They will have stretched to capacity by this point, so once tweaked, shouldn’t induce any short-soiling moments when tackling a 1in4 descent. Same basic principle applies to derailleurs. 

Right, well that’s it for this entry. Off for a chat with someone about a gravel bike...