After several weeks and 600miles, I’m forming my conclusions regarding the Shutter Precision SD8 hub and curious as to how Shimano Alfine 6V3 Watt DH-S01 compares in terms of resistance and output. I wasn’t completely surprised to discover the SD8 employs contact seals, whereas the Shimano employs Labyrinth, which is in principle superior and probably explains why Ursula’s Ultegra unit has served 10 years without missing a beat. I wasn’t surprised by the SD8’s marginal drop in output at slower speeds and on the climbs.
One such gradient takes me past a poultry processing plant, which though fully operational and quite harshly lit, has a strangely eerie feel, amplified by the humming vats and pipework. A “closet” fear some thirty years ago was failing my A levels and being consigned to a slaughterhouse or similar environment. Then of course, there were the small electronics factories that littered out of the way industrial estates.
Contexts where the health and safety at work act were more casually observed. Those with a mild learning disability could be found in the dipping/varnishing sections with minimal, if any PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). Upping the tempo and the K-Lite Bike Packer Pro V2K LITE BIKEPACKER PRO V2 FRONT LIGHT | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)’s full 1300lumens come back on tap and I’m escaping the hulk, feeling the crisp swoosh as the Schwalbe Land Cruiser and Marathon Mondial keep traction across the hard, frosty asphalt. The swooping rush of a descent, a sharp left, and I’m along another silty, gravelly singletrack road, with the odd, solitary house illuminated by moonlight.
Conditions where I’m glad for a Belgian style cap, mtb booties, waterproof socks, a heavyweight winter jersey topped off with a technical jacket. The Oxford Venture OXFORD VENTURE JACKET | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) has become my default- its thin, stretchy, and more comfortable than I was expecting from a garment boasting 10,000mm for waterproofing and breathability.
To my surprise, even when it's minus 2, these Seal Skinz gloves keep my digits temperate and mobile. Eyewear is another thing to neglect at your peril-nothing worse than stinging, salty tears, and blurred vision. Besides, as my military motorcycle instructor so rightly stated, you only get one pair.
For the last few months, I’ve defaulted to these Smith, which sit comfortably and banish draft. There is the occasional mysterious and deathly silent figure, emerging from the misty shroud of a ploughed field. Otherwise, I’m free to contemplate, reflect and crucially, enjoy. Occasionally I get the urge to sing but thankfully, this is usually tempered by the fear of awakening something supernatural hiding in the foliage.
Black Shuck could take exception to my rendition of The Stone Ponies “Different Drum” and I don’t fancy my chances of outrunning him. Well, 5am conjures these possibilities... Having said that, I’ve seen cloaked, hooded figures emerging from forest clearings and I am firmly of the opinion there are things that shouldn’t be dabbled with. We would also be phenomenally arrogant to assume there aren’t incredibly advanced societies elsewhere in the galaxy.
Conditions eased a little under rubber, so I’ve also been out to play on the fixed, which also proved an opportunity to bed in the TRP SPYRE SLC and address some cable tension. The Cane Creek SC5 lever CANE CREEK V BRAKE DROP BAR LEVERS | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) was drawing closer to the bars before I was getting bite at the rotor. Well, the modulation and feel, I prefer. Nothing a quick tweak of the barrel adjuster couldn’t rectify.
However, this called into question the viability of the RL340- the 520 would be a more satisfying union, simply due to greater cable pull-afterall, it was designed for V (Linear pull) brakes. Staying with the fixed, low temperatures also do nasty things to cheap and cheerful batteries. The CR2032 cells in the fixed’s VDO head unit. Located a spare while searching for a rather handy Ice Toolz pedal and 15mm track nut wrench, so switched, since the white unit was doing something close to nothing. Right, on that note, I'll leave you with Steve's review of the Cushion Aid saddle Donut proSADDLE DONUT PRO | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)
