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... 

Boing, Belts & Blinkies

Christmas within sniffing distance, the roads seem to be carpeted in a thick, greasy slime that engulfs pretty much everything-even if you’re running full length guards. For me at least, waxing working bikes isn’t about beautifying; rather protecting frameset, components and finishing kit from that corrosive cocktail.

The Univega’s fork blades, bottom bracket shell and rear triangle are caked in this unappealing and potentially damaging gloop. Thankfully, the fusion of silicones and polymers in Pro Green MX After shine 101 http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/pro-green-mx-triple-pack  is proving a robust, protective barrier. This coating of crud remains as I’m awaiting the arrival of some more boutique cleaning and polishing kit.

These days, seat posts boil down to two diameters 27.2 and 31.6mm but this wasn’t always so. Cane Creek’s enduring and for me at least, endearing ThudbusterST is still available in a huge choice of diameters. http://www.sevendaycyclist.com/cane-creek-thudbuster-suspensuin-se .

Weaving through the greasy moonlit bends, I had cause to contemplate acquiring one for the Univega. Though fairly portly at 460g or so, it’s extremely well- engineered and doesn’t bounce around uncontrollably like a pogo stick. 33mm of suspension doesn’t sound much but will iron out the sort of bumps experienced along lumpy lanes.

The Thudbuster compresses down and rearward, absorbing force at the same rate, so the net saddle movement is zero. Rebuild kits are readily available and even though my beloved tubby tourer is dressed for the foulest weather, I’d probably protect those linkages and elastomer components with a genuine Cane Creek neoprene boot. 

I’ve seen patterns around but pattern parts can be a vague fit.  

Now, being an old frameset, the Univega’s 26.6mm seat tube diameter still makes life complicated. I could go for a 25.4 and hope for a 26.6 shim, or more likely, get a machine shop to bring a 26.8 or 27.2 down on their lathe. If a suitable one comes up at the right price on a well-known auction site, perhaps...

After eight years, my Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre belt finally perished at a crucial point, nearly taking my dignity along with it. Laura Zabo kindly came to my rescue with a replacement. This one is another Schwalbe, a 28mm slick, which is arguably lower key, dare I say more discrete than the deep tread touring icon.

Laura Zabo doesn’t just make belts; she’s into guitar straps, furniture accessories and jewellery. Staying with belts though, manufacturing techniques depend on whether she’s working with rejected (new) rubber, or reclaimed.

Both contexts demand careful inspection of their casings, to see how much usable width remains. 

She trims to size, disinfects and then chooses a suitable buckle. Worm tyres require more careful inspection; given glass and other sharps can become deeply embedded. Once thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, she can paint the rubber to taste. Full review and an interview coming soon to Seven Day Cyclist but in the meantime here’s a link to her site. www.laurazabo.com 

Having spent several years riding almost exclusively at night and along unlit roads, I get excited by high power lighting systems; while having a very soft spot for blinkies.

Edinburgh bicycle co-operative has sent us their Revolution vision COB rear light. Bearing close resemblance by Cat Eye Rapid Mirco X, albeit with a lower maximum output of 30 lumens (frankly, this is more than adequate for most riding contexts).

Bright but not likely to induce singed retinas, when crawling along in rush hour traffic, although some f the flashing and pulsing settings certainly discourage wheel sucking on group outings.

“Chips on Board” technology has almost become ubiquitous in bike lighting circles. Size is their main advantage over traditional surface mounted diodes.

Affixed directly to a printed circuit board, manufacturers can literally cram dozens of tiny diodes into the same space. Instead of applying individual phosphor coatings, they can simply use a single blanket, resulting in both brighter and uniformly spread lighting.   

Rather than being soldered, they are attached directly to the board, which makes manufacturing simpler while creating superior thermal performance i.e. in principle at least, heat is dispersed more efficiently, minimising the likelihood of premature diode failure. 

Unlike more powerful models, including Moon Comet X pro, it runs a cooler, negating the need for a heat sink.

The vision COB has four steady modes-30 , 15 and 7 lumens with some distinctive flashing and pulsing options.

The mounting and switchgear are very different though. Rather than the wraparound-O-ring, Revolution has plumped for a watch strap type, which is neat, achieves reliable fit on most post and seat stay diameters and a clever little interface means the light can be mounted vertically, or horizontally.

Its switch is located on the reverse, which is again, trickier to locate wearing full finger winter gloves but despite being soft, requires a definite, continuous press before powering up, so accidental engagements should be something to write home about.

Full zero to hero refuelling demands 3 hours at the mains-a green diode chimes in when the lithium polymer cell is ready to go and is a useful visual of reserves. Like most these days, it uses the almost universal USB cable, so if you lose the original, chances are you’ll have plenty of compatible units lying around the house, or office.

A memory function is another nice touch and changing modes is simply a question of two rapid prods. Formative impressions are very favourable-in all settings, though we’ll see how it fares given a few weeks in different conditions and riding contexts...