Change Your Weather, Change Your Luck…

 

September has brought with it refreshing rains, which flooding aside, is very welcome for water levels, life and er, product testing. A long, dry spell is great for making the most of our best bikes. Extreme heatwaves aren’t particularly comfortable, even with SPF50 jerseys, shorts and sunscreen, our bodies take a toll.

I’ve been glad to reach for the ultralight, packable race jacket (not to be confused with the old school condom type, which kept the rain off but didn’t breathe. A rabid, sweaty mess isn’t the best look), cap and arm warmers-just in case. It’s also been my cue to tackle some preventative maintenance.

Aside from overhaling long-serving, faithful dyno hubs, I’ve taken the opportunity to re-grease quick release skewers, thru-axle converters, since they’re easily overlooked. Prevention is always better than penetrant spray and persuasion. I also needed to adjust the front brake, which had become a little impotent. Just a question of pulling the inner wire through, snugging the lever’s cable holder and calliper pinch bolts down.  

The Juice Lubes Slick Juice seemed an ideal candidate, not least since I’m exploring its qualities and limitations.  Same goes for bike washes and similar potions, although dry, dusty spells mean bikes tend to get coated in a stubborn filmy layer. Especially around the rear triangle, bottom bracket and downtube.

Tyres are another consideration as we transition to hedge clipping season and of course, wetter, colder conditions. Both are conducive to cuts, punctures and similar stuff I’d sooner not be tackling by the roadside with numb digits.  I switched Muffin’s 38mm Vittoria Adventure Tech for a 35mm Vee Tire Co Zilent MK2 TESTED: VEE TIRE CO ZILENT MARK 2 TYRES that I’d resurrected while on a different treasure hunt. In common with the Adventure Tech, it’s a portly but dependable wire bead model with a 5mm thick puncture repelling centre strip and an aramid strip running bead to bead.

 There are similarities with Schwalbe Marathon too. The centre strip works with a capillary action to push thorns, glass and similar out from the tyre. Muffin’s other dyno hub wheel is shod with a bigger (42mm) Maxxis Roamer TESTED : MAXXIS ROAMER TYRES which I may well switch to during drier, fair-weather spells. The front Mud Hugger Gravel Hugger Mudguard MUD HUGGER GRAVEL HUGGER MUDGURADS | cycling-not-racing  will manage 40mm. I experimented with a model identical to that sported by Ursula. However, it wouldn’t sit high enough around the fork crown, so back to the drawing board. The guard was only £1.50, so no great loss.

 Now was also prudent to do a tube inventory and retire or patch any suspect looking examples.  

Leather saddles are very durable but require a quick lick of hide food every so often. I’d suggest every six to eight weeks as a rough n’ ready. This will keep the hide nourished and protected from the elements. The Spa Nidd pictured has served me well, year-round, for thirteen years.

The wetter weather has also presented an opportunity to get a proper feel for how well the Nutrak Vee Swift Gravel Mud Frenzy cope in softer conditions. We’ve not got to the gloop proper as yet, but they’ve cut through softer sections reassuringly well. Something I attribute to a mix of profile and tread pattern. Pressure also plays a part. I’ve been running them between 50 and 55psi, the upper end of their range, given I’ve been doing a mix of tarmac, trail and green lane.

Despite this, their relatively supple casings ensure sprightly,, yet compliant passage over washboard surfaces, tree roots, stones and ruts. I’m expecting them to cope better than 2.1-, or 2.3-inch cross country mountain bike rubber due to these characteristics and greater clearance. Theoretically, less chance of clogging around fork crown and rear triangle.  Time will tell.

The M Par Ridge Pannier rack also continues to grow on me. There are some limitations common to single tier designs per se, but lateral stiffness is excellent-even with heavy loads. I’ve also been impressed by oodles of heel clearance with big (20 litre) panniers, including the mighty Lomo Zephyr and this Halfords Advanced Waterproof Pannier Bag.

Aside from the top sections, which employ nuts with nylon inserts, I’ve applied some medium strength thread lock to the fasteners- precautionary but good practice, especially when hauling the proverbial kitchen sink, or escaping the maddening crowd.    

 

Puddle Muddle

 

The weather has turned wintry over the past week and for the most part, I’ve been enjoying the changes and minor challenges it presents. Forecasts had threatened but thankfully not delivered ice. I set out on Friday morning a little later than usual for a longer meander around the lanes.

Harsh winds, sleet and snow showers greeted me as I warmed up along the winding descent. I’d opted for these Primal Dawn Men’s Bib Knickers BUFF PACK BIKE CAP | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and Oxford Products Ox socks OXFORD OX SOCKS | cycling, but not usually racing (sevendaycyclist.com). Up top I opted for a short sleeve base layer with windproof panel, long sleeve jersey and technical jacket. For some reason, I switched gloves and meant to grab my Belgian style cap but stuck with the Buff Pack Bike Cap BUFF PACK BIKE CAP | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com).  Perfect conditions for evaluating the FLR defender.

On the outward leg, roads were wet, greasy but I quickly upped the tempo and cruised along. Ten miles in a flooded causeway and seemingly stranded Audi signalled a quick U-turn and alternative route. Checking the fixed’s chain revealed a stubborn but increasingly filmy layer of Muc-Off ebike Wet weather Ceramic Chain Lube and I was yet to be serenaded by the faint metallic tinkling, so charged up another climb and along some very windswept, lonely lanes.

Three miles from home and the narrow lane had become a river. Calve-deep by the time I’d done a proper risk assessment. Riding was too risky, so I shouldered the bike and trotted through cyclo-cross stylee.

Two miles later and I was home. Soggy but relatively warm feet meant I treated the bike to a thorough wash, and I stripped the chain of the residual lube and embedded gunk. In fairness, this particular wet ceramic doesn’t overly attract drivetrain gobbling muck but there’s no sense allowing it to reach that stage, especially since the bike needed washing anyhow.

One thing lead to another and I decided to swap the excellent Redshift Sports Shockstop Suspension Seatpost REDSHIFT SHOCKSTOP SUSPENSION SEATPOST | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) for the Kinekt 2.1 seat post (with a long Cane Creek 25.4-27.2 shim not the 25.4-26.6mm, pictured) and this bespoke Dill Pickle Store Bag that has been doing the rounds, very capably for a few years.  

Shims have a slightly dubious reputation in some circles and having witnessed some frame popping caused by the very minimalist designs, back in the early-mid 90s, can appreciate why. If you are going this route, spend a tenner and get something decent. People risking a decent frame for the sake of a few quid astound me.  I would not go this route with carbon-posts, let alone framesets.

The Cane Creek shim is 100mm long, and very nicely machined, which should eliminate risk of additional stress being placed upon the seat tube, especially, since there’s ample post inside the frame. I’ve used a light grease between post and shim, shim and seat tube. To avoid the risk of galvanic corrosion, between an alloy sleeve and steel frameset, go for a synthetic, or PTFE infused, rather than lithium-based prep. 

Talking of lubes, I was also stunned to discover a phantom creak. I initially attributed this to the front hoop’s q/release having worked loose, permitting minor movement of the wheel, causing the rotor to catch the pads. To my astonishment, said sound was traced to the Kinekt stem. This seemed to ease out, as the miles progressed, silence restored of its own accord some five miles later. However, I’ve since added a precautionary drop of Green Oil Slip Eco Lube GREEN OIL SLIP ECO LUBRICANT (sevendaycyclist.com) to the unit’s linkages.

 I’ve also switched to the Halo White Line and Shutter Precision PD8 wheel  HALO CLASSIC RIM & SHUTTER PRECISION DYNOHUB DISC WHEEL BUILD (sevendaycyclist.com) and shod it with the 38mm Vee Tire Co Zilent MK2 Tyre up front TESTED: VEE TIRE CO ZILENT MARK 2 TYRES (sevendaycyclist.com)   Chain lightly lubed, a quick shot of maintenance spray on cables and cleat mechanisms-job done and warm bath for me, before I ran the cold gauntlet.  Talking of which, Steve has been impressed with these Showers Pass Crosspoint GlovesSHOWERS PASS CROSSPOINT GLOVES | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) . More next week..