Bubbling Beneath The Surface...

The past ten days have been a roller-coaster ride of highs n’ lows; my illustrator, Michael J Murphy has brought the main characters in my series of children’s stories alive as Jpegs. 

Given digital media dominates and portable devices have become the viewing tools of choice; we’re considering releasing a narrated version for younger children.

In keeping with our everyday focus at Seven Day Cyclist (www.sevendaycyclist.com    https://www.facebook.com/Sevendaycyclistmagazine/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel ), we’re awaiting delivery of an interesting trailer or two.

Some of the team are leaving their wives behind and heading off for a quick gander at the Czech Republic...

My strange and some would say; irrational love of crumbling Soviet military/industrial sites, coupled with an uncanny ability to get arrested, detained and interrogated by the authorities means I’ll be testing kit on domestic soil through June…

A recent dry spell enabled me to slather some of my home brewed waxy preserve over the KA’s chassis and underside. 

Build quality seems an improvement over its predecessors, suggesting there’s some truth in the long held belief that last-of-the line cars were the ones to go for, since all the faults had been ironed out. That said; rust behind the filler cap remains as problematic as ever.

Moisture gets trapped between the rubberised seal and bodywork. A distinct lack of galvanising means the elements nibble away unsupervised until the bubbling becomes apparent. Thankfully, remedial action wasn’t too intensive. 

Having removed any flaking paint, I sanded the affected area; then added two light coats of Krust; a water-based neutralising agent before turning my attentions to my two-wheeled fleet while it cured.

Some minor play had crept back into the Holdsworth’s headset bearings, swiftly cured by a quick bit of spacer shuffling and introducing a 2mm “carbon” unit beneath the stem cap. 

Forty miles hence, suggests this unexpected flash of inspiration has solved the problem. 

WD40 water displacer is one of those truly iconic products; look in any household cupboard, garage, bike shop and chances are, you’ll find the blue aerosol (or 5 litre solution) sitting on a shelf/workbench.It’s not particularly kind to seals and other rubberised parts but inhibits corrosion, prevents squeaks, lubricates cables, pivot points, mechanisms etc. 

GT85 is another justly popular, Teflon fortified maintenance spray, which keeps these areas slicker for longer. It’s also owned by WD40 and they’ve also launched a bike specific GT85 range including bike wash, dry lube, degreaser and silicone polish.

While my preference (and that of many bicycle/motorcycle dealerships) errs towards high quality beeswax furniture polishes; dirt cheap, they achieve high quality, lasting sheens on painted, plated and polished surfaces with minimal effort. Silicone products also nourish plastics and rubberised components-suspension elastomers, seals being obvious candidates.

Traditionally, silicone based polishes-bike specific, or otherwise have tended to quickly cultivate grimy patinas. Credit where it’s due, while this formula still seduces some filmy grime, it is easily dismissed (almost as quickly as these U-locks) given a quick, soft-cloth onceover, though the lion’s share of protectant remains. Looking forward to putting the rest of their range through its paces...

John Moss is another perpetual fettler, perhaps unsurprising given his engineering career. In common with coach-builders and other engineering grade trades I’ve encountered in the past, he’s been trained to discover weaknesses and improve designs accordingly. His Mango being a prime example; Alfine 11sped hub, much bigger ring instated, gearing now permits 35mph at modest cadences and theoretically in excess of 80mph on a long descent!

Richard Ballantine once suggested that having motorcycle experience can be very beneficial when pushing recumbents hard-I was somewhat smitten with his “Speedy” during this period and would certainly indulge today...Along with some kind of 850cc trike project if other priorities and space permitted.

John affirmed that his ten years spent riding large capacity motorcycles develops an intuitive understanding of exactly when to push and of course, to back off.  He’s also learning to work with glass fibre and appears to have commandeered the couple’s trailer for solo shopping runs and other errands. The hitch is presently undergoing refinement so it tracks more accurately behind the Mango...   

Back to the KA

Next came three light coats of red oxide primer. Ideally a colour coat would’ve been applied but in my experience, these will keep the region solid and grot free. Before reinstating the filler cap assembly, introduce some decent quality, rubber friendly grease to the seal. It won’t cure the problem but greatly inhibits further bouts of grot and therefore, more intensive exorcism.

If you’ve bought a late model MK1 with no signs of corrosion in this region, I’d recommend a similar strip-out before filler and more serious intervention’s needed...

Happy Holidays

Managed to steal away to the midlands for a few days and got a look at John Moss’s new fully faired Sinner Mango. He only took delivery the week before and I first spotted him whizzing past on Christmas morning while I washed and waxed my KA.

Frustrated at finding myself bereft of camera, thus missing that moment, I subsequently emailed John and we arranged to meet before he headed out for a Boxing Day blast down to his sister’s.

Speaking of the elderly eight-valve Ford, 150,000miles marked another full service (£122 including parts, labour and VAT). This basically consisted of 10w/40 engine oil, filer, pollen filter, grease and other top-up fluids.

Christmas night was spent doing some light trace photography, which drew the attention of several passers by and of course, the law. Thankfully, everyone was brimming with seasonal cheer and ultimately, left me, tripod and Samsung mini CSC unmolested.

John has taken the electronic option in case he should run out of grunt many miles from home but has been topping 33mph on the formative, local outings and under his own steam.

Glancing inside the Kevlar shell finished in yellow 2pac and integrated electrics/lighting aside; the layout is reminiscent of Mike Burrow’s iconic Speedy/similarly high end recumbent trikes.  Twist grip shifters command a Rohloff hub transmission and more traditional front mech, double ring set up.

He’s added a bit more cushioning around the headrest and is sticking with the hard shell, all weather cover. Suffice to say, he’s delighted, less so the couple’s cat’s, who are now barred from the workshop!

Elsewhere, rumour has it Lee Cooper is making a return to building under his own name and Heidi, my intern has been working on the social side of Stenning photographic. I have already lined up some interesting photographic projects and working on relocation. A new batch of test kit is also keeping me productive and out of mischief during the corridor between Christmas and New Year.

Contact points are extremely personal, so guaranteed to divide opinion. In terms of damping and control, I’ve always liked Lizard Skins DSP range, although it’s much higher maintenance than corks or similarly traditional coverings. Silicone rubber is beginning to enter the fold.

After six months daily service and despite some tell-tale stretch marks (resultant from minor over-tensioning), the Genetic wrap remains in rude health six months and many mucky miles hence.

Widget components also offer a similar covering, this time with a dimpled texture for improved grip in really wet, slippery conditions. This one costs a few quid more and comes in five colours, complete with expandable wedge plugs.

The naturally sticky texture rules adhesive backings redundant, meaning it’s easily unwound to correct aesthetic imperfection and doesn’t render it bin fodder in the event of cable replacement or handlebar swaps.

Most coverings are pretty generous these days to accommodate broad, oversized drops, so I wasn’t surprised to discover eight inches or so apiece leftover on these curvy Salsa Bell Lap-even with double ups.

Our green was interesting too. Aside from being an obvious choice for the teenage dream, it appears to change colour depending on the light-fluorescent when it’s overcast, less garish in brighter conditions.

Thus far, purchase, comfort and control are living up to the hype and while greater owner involvement is needed to keep it clean, compared with corks and leatherette types it’s not proving highly strung in that respect either.

Right; back to testing-lots of blinkies and commuter combos to put through their paces, some 700x25c tyres and strategies to complete before mid January 2016.