Where There's A Will...

This week we’ve been looking at trailers for touring and commuting http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/tug-jobs.  Hopefully we’ll have some samples of Dani Foffa’s new urban clothing range in for testing very shortly. In the meantime, these 42mm Maxxis Roamer tyres arrived from another title and our Revolution ‘Cross test bike seemed the ideal candidate.

The Roamer is a wallet-friendly family of e-bike rated urban rubber, supposedly designed to cope with everything from commuting to touring. 60tpi semi slick casings, maximum 75psi operating pressure and a Kevlar breaker strip certainly indicate so.

Giving the ‘cross a visual once-over, I reckoned the roamer wouldn’t present any concerns clearance-wise and those portly, supple casings also implied a compliant, easy-to mount set...  welcome antidotes to the Bontrager several weeks’ back.

Well, I was nearly caught out on both fronts.

The first 65% slipped aboard the rims effortlessly and sans tools but it wasn’t long before I was close to agricultural language and guttural groaning more commonly associated with hospital labour wards. “Oooooh! Go-on, go-on!!!! You will! You will, you will!” probably wasn’t the sort of tea-time entertainment my neighbours hard bargained for either.

Order was restored with the retrieval of my magic tyre wand that had mysteriously escaped its hook and was hiding behind the chest freezer. Having dialed the Spyre’s barrel adjusters in to provide some slack, wheels were repatriated.

Clearance up front was good-pretty much what you’d expect on a modern disc braked ‘cross/adventure biased build but at the rear, you’d be lucky to slip the proverbial fag paper between casing and chain-stay bridge.

To my amazement, it didn’t clog following a ride or two on the wild side but something to check, especially on frames with vertical ends where there’s no leeway. Lighter than the OEM kenda, these have been delivering a magic carpet ride over the lumpy lanes and increasingly battle scarred main roads.

They’ve given the ‘Cross2 a perkier persona and rolling resistance is much les than I was expecting from rubber weighing over 700g apiece, although thanks in part to the widely spaced gearing, ride/handling still feels closer to that of a middleweight tourer than ‘crosser per se.

The other objective that evening was to continue getting it as filthy as possible since this fetching blue Zefal bike wash had also been sent my way…Bike washes provoke quite a bit of debate and most work to broadly similar science with comparable results.

Most solutions (aside from citrus based versions) are alkaline and employ non-ionic surfactants. These basically break down the grime on a molecular level; ensuring non/organic grot is easily flushed away and does not reattach itself during the washing/rinsing phases.  Aside from distinctive blue colouring, Zefal reckon theirs imparts a protective, dirt and dust repelling glossy film...Time and testing will reveal whether there’s any substance to these claims.

Working on the basis most knobblies become slicks when feed sufficient gloop, I decided it was time to revisit the bridle path featured on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Sevendaycyclistmagazine/videos to see how they’d behave.

Despite some initial skepticism, the Roamer’s comparatively supple casings literally glided through the gloop, taking thorns, flints in its stride. However, while the strip is comprehensive, its thinner at the shoulders... Given another seven miles or so, a sharp hard infiltrated the recessed, traction boosting, water channelling grooves. Just as I’d pulled up outside the house, its rear tyre let rip with a hearty hiss. Ruptured tube seam, so new tube and back to testing…

Elsewhere, the Univega now sports this Guee silicone bar wrap. Despite materials in common it’s proving quite different from the venerable Genetic flare http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/genetic-silicone-bar-wrap   in many respects, though most obviously, texture.

Price is a stumbling block for some people but compared with space age polymers commanding similar cash, the rubber’s natural tenacity means these don’t require backing adhesives, so aside from introducing fresh UPVC (electrical tape) they can be repeatedly rewound.

The Guee benefits from a little extra pre-stretch (especially when feeding the first few centimetres inside the bar end). Thankfully, it’s less susceptible to stretch marks/discoloration under tension, which is helpful since it’s less generous than the flare. (I had sufficient left over for the Holdsworth’s pursuit bars) Only time and miles will tell whether performance justifies the £7 price differential...

Swapping, Selling & Getting One’s Leg Over

After last week’s forward planning and kit harvesting; I’ve been busy with the post production phase of a Punjabi wedding; burning them to disc for the brides’ family. 

The Univega’s 2x9 cut down continues to delight, ditto the Avid shorty 4.

Minor cable stretch corrected, grabbing a handful of front lever delivers satisfying amounts of bite. Yet to receive the free parable T2 http://www.cyclemiles.co.uk/shop/blow-the-budget/t2-single-wheel-bicycle-trailer/ but bombing missions along 1in7s with this store branded Yak homage en tow suggests I’ve got the mix right.

Now; I really like the free parable cleat system, allowing the cage to be clipped on/off at will but it’s proved incompatible with pump brackets. Hence, for several weeks mine cadged a lift in the tubby tourer’s Axiom Gran Fondo pack.

The arrival of this surprisingly Tardis-like, passport priority quick release wedge pack put paid to that and demanded a rethink of bottle geography. Fitting two bottles in the main triangle of smaller semi/compact geometry frames can require lateral thought.

Side entry cages are my default solution, although in this instance, a quick game of musical cages saw adjustable Topeak Shuttle cage and pump mounts on the upper set of down-tube bosses. Moments later; that Unich midi pump was riding shotgun once more.

With careful organisation, the passport priority quick release seat pack will manage pretty much everything the Axiom did-two multi-tools, tyre levers, spare 26x1.95 goo filled tube, patch kit Co2 inflator and cartridge. Admittedly, we are talking full to the gills but not enough to put strain on the zipper.

It’s made from rugged waterproof polyester with semi-rigid internal base. Stitched construction renders it water repellent but thus far, this should only be an issue for hardcore trail riding, or those determined to shun mudguards on the wettest days.

While continuing a rationalisation of my parts bin, I happened upon these older aluminium bodied time; so swapped its resin bodied ATAC 4 over to the teenage dream. Shimming the makeshift mudguard mount brackets with scraps of old inner tube has also cured minor, though irritating chatter over roughly surfaced tarmac and of course, unmade roads.   

Back to the test goodies, this Fizik Antares R5 Kium road saddle was another highlight for my discerning derriere. Titanium alloy rails, carbon composite base 205g... An odd choice for the Tubby tourer, though having fallen for Selle Italia’s Flyte and similarly minimalist models during the late 90s, I thought I’d strike a comparison.

Somewhat predictably, the more upright stance places much greater weight on the saddle; so even allowing for the shells’ inbuilt damping and springy (but not whippy, rails) 100miles in and things turned decidedly uncomfortable.

I’ve reverted to this relatively broad, though medium density, gel impregnated Selle Royale with cro-moly rails; something of a departure, though arguably more comfortable than the carbon railed turbo matic that usually graces its BBB skyscraper.  Switching the Antares to the Holdsworth, Teenage dream and other road configurations-its intended genre; my buttocks are singing a much sweeter tune.    

Staying with this region but at the other end of the price spectrum; some bargain in-house shorts, jackets and jerseys from big sports and supermarket retailers have also been gracing my battered body.

These aren’t for Seven Day Cyclist; rather another highly respected publication who I write for under a pseudonym. It probably goes without saying that I love all kinds of machines and equipment. From pared to the essentials carbon exotica to fully-faired recumbent trikes, tandems/specialist builds and most things in-between.

However, at SDC, we have a particular nose for lightweight, practical, well-equipped yet fun-to-ride workhorses. In the literal sense, a commuter can take any guise you like. Admittedly, most of my willing Dobbins have been mtb or tourer based, especially in the concrete jungles but I’ve used more traditional fixed/ geared trainers to good effect when covering longer distances.  

Charge Grater 2 has certainly fired our imagination for this very reason. Described as a hybrid; which it is in the literal sense, I’ve shied away from the term given its connotations of lower end sit up n’ beg 700c builds that came along in the early 90s and overshadowed some very capable commu-tourers...

2x9 transmission, disc brakes, full guards, flat bars- we’re in decent commuter, straight from the box territory. Have had a quick word; Charge suggested they’d be happy for us to have a play but waiting for their distributors to give the final nod. WD40 also like what they see-they’re sending us samples from their GT85 range of lubes, polishes, degreasers and bike wash.