Bank holidays are a great
opportunity to relax, reflect and therefore be more productive as a
consequence. That said; self-employment in any capacity/context requires long
hours, forward planning and oodles of self- motivation- I’ve seldom seen bed
before 1am these past few months. Presently I’m working on my collaboration and
specifically cover designs, which is a different but extremely rewarding
challenge with intense flashes of inspiration.
Further investigation
revealed the Ilpompino’s GXP cranks and cups had become sitting tenants, though
three timely blasts of penetrant spray and gentle persuasion from this ACOR
wrench accelerated a tidy eviction.
Obviously closed cup pro
grade designs hold the winning cards when it comes to absolute precision,
though open type enable loosening of the non-drive side, facilitating release
of reticent two-piece Truvativ without recourse to more forceful techniques.
Much to my surprise, several
salt strewn winters had infiltrated the chain-ring bolts, leaving their threads
unexpectedly brittle. Hence I’ve introduced an understated but worthy sealed
square taper bottom bracket and low mileage Stronglight 55 crankset for the
short to medium term until such time the latter’s non-detachable ring becomes
bin fodder, or I acquire something more glamorous.
110mm long axles might sound
another curious choice for fixed gear builds but the chain line’s bang-on, those
extra few millimetres breathing space prevents arms fouling cadence sensors and
similar electrical gizmos.
Dropping a couple of teeth
has lowered the gearing slightly (from 81 to 77.6 inches), lessening joint strain on more
intense climbs and improving acceleration without hampering cruising tempo or
inducing quasi comedic spin-out during long descents.
Such moments had me thinking
about chain life. Derailleur set ups ascend the stairway to heaven
between 800 and 1100 miles depending on rider sensitivity, standards of
maintenance, lube and riding conditions but things seem considerably less
prescriptive with single speeds. Obviously the former
variables, not to mention chainline are significant players.
However, theoretically at
least (given the additional loading associated with braking, track
standing and explosive acceleration) one would reasonably expect this to be
level pegging with their variable cousins.
I’ve had a brown 3/32 Sedis
expire somewhat fatally nigh on 25 years ago while hurtling along at 42mph, inducing
unwelcome mirth and interesting rider antics. Aside from last year’s infamous
crush injury, there’s never been a spiteful moment or sense of impending expiry
using 1/8th track fare.
The Ilpompino's KMC is starting to shed its purple
finish in places and I keep a generous length of links lest disaster strike miles
from home but we’re well into three thousand miles. My preference is for
half-links since they allow more precise pruning, especially on conversions
where tensioning can prove tricky (vertical dropouts being a case in point) and
some whisper 10,000 miles plus is readily attainable.
Galvanised coatings according
to others are show-stopping must-haves, particularly but while taint resistance is pretty good, those I’ve used have lacked
finesse unless fed a wet lube diet and eventually the zinc layer flakes away,
leaving links exposed and therefore equally vulnerable to Joe n’ Joanna rot. Perhaps
Inox is the answer to these particular prayers…
