Muffin Racks up The Miles

 

Having tweaked the chain tension and tightened the ring bolts to 10nm, I was feeling more confident with Muffin and keen to gently rack up some miles to bed everything in properly and possibly reflect on further modifications/upgrades. Frankly, I’d built with everything I’d intended, rather than older parts and compromises.  Consumables such as chains, sprockets and bar tapes will be replaced but nothing major.

After some deliberation, I found myself pruning the chain by two links, sliding the frame forward in the dropouts and getting the chain play to 1/2inch, which is the textbook suggested ideal. I also found myself replacing the inner brake wire, then dialling in the TRP Spyre, which improved stopping somewhat. Presented the ideal opportunity to play with the Park torque wrench some more.  Simple tweaks can often make huge differences. I also run a little scrap butyl where the frame fit pump rests against the top tube’s underside, protecting it from unwanted rub and ultimately, paint damage.

Though the V2 was always fun and predictable, Muffin’s bigger clearances, improved lateral stiffness and general modernisations make for a very well-balanced machine with a magic carpet ride-especially with the Continental. These clearances also mean I can run 35mm Schwalbe Marathon Winter (spikes) during the darker months. Features that better suits my riding style. That said, I remain fond of the V2 and its geared, first generation Kaffenback (Think Café’ & back) cousin (which would also take 32mm tyres including mudguards). Think winter/trainer cum working bike, although some folks report theirs were reliable lightweight tourers- I can well believe it.

Talking of small jobs, shoe cleats are often neglected, and these Shimano had served me very well but were showing obvious signs of deterioration. Mercifully, the bolts, though slightly arthritic came away with a quick shot of Muc-Off MO94 Muc-Off MO94 Multi Use Spray | cycling-not-racing. I had thought one wasn’t going to budge, calling for the drill bity but thankfully this also shifted with a T25 Torx. I instated the new Leatt cleats with a liberal helping of Oxford Toque Assembly Grease Oxford Mint Assembly Grease | cycling-not-racing and torqued them to 4nm using the Velo Tool Torque Wrench.

 I’d also been keen to test the effectiveness of some degreasers on waterproof grease. Ironically, Ursula’s Shimano XT seemed slightly reticent to budge. A quick shot of MO94 helped with this reticence. Some Park Tool PL1000TESTED: PARK TOOL POLYLUBE 1000 LUBRICANT FOR BICYCLES still remained on the threads, which is impressive, since it had been a year or so since I removed them. I treated them to a modest helping of degreaser, reinstating them with a liberal lick of Oxford Torque Assembly Grease. 

Ursula and I have also been enjoying further exploratory meanders far from the maddening crowd. The CST Patrol is running behind, the Continental Cross King Black Chil up front. There’s a method to this, primarily since the CST Patrol are slightly narrower, thus giving greater clearance at the rear triangle. The Patrol are also 80g heavier than the Cross Kings and I’m wondering if this has any connection to the EPS (Extreme Puncture Safety) belt, which is 4 on CST’s scale. It also allows me to compare rolling resistance and similar performance characteristics.

 I’m genuinely impressed by both at the moment and in similar contexts, although there’s a substantial price differential between them. The Patrol (at least in 26inch guise) aren’t tubeless ready, which may be a consideration, nay dealbreaker for some. I can appreciate some very palpable advantages of tubeless setups but on balance, still prefer tubes, whether the humble butyl, or TPU.   

 Either way, both tyres are providing a dependable, compliant ride over some very badly surfaced gravel roads and farm tracks. Longer excursions also confirm I’ve got Ursula’s saddle height absolutely right.      

      

 

 

Shakedowns but no breakdowns...

 

Forty miles in, Ursula and I were bonding very nicely. Then, to my surprise (and good fortune, since this struck 2.5 miles from home) I glanced down to discover the left-hand crank was creeping off. No 10mm Allen key on the multi-tool meant nursing us back, minimising contact with the left side. Having returned, I whipped out 10mm, 5mm Allen keys and of course, trusty torque wrench. I can only imagine things stretched during the formative outings. Pre-load faffed and ultimately everything rejoined and behaving to type, I pondered some more pre-winter prep.  

The recent wet roads had me thinking I should add a protective butyl boot to Denise’s lower headset race. I decided rounding up the tools and taking a decision from there was the best route. Before I knew it, I’d plunged in head-first and met a few surprises. The quill converter had become mysteriously stuck. Nothing a quick tap with a rubber mallet didn’t solve (although I still needed to tap the expander wedge free- a long flat screwdriver and controlled nudge from the mallet fixed this).   

Everything else came apart easily and ample Juice Lubes Bearing Grease clung to the bearings and races. Fork out, I slid the butyl over the head tube and rolled it up. Another quick lick of grease to the lower balls, I reinstated fork and mysteriously had the headset adjustment bang on first time.  

Reassembling the quill adaptor, I added some of the Oxford Assembly Grease to hopefully subvert and further episodes of stubbornness (adaptors are prone to seizing). Same went for the hardware. While the Juice Lubes Bearing Juice is a synthetic, putty type formulation, I applied a quick shot of Muc Off Silicone Spray to the underside of the tube, to help it glide over the headset.  

 

Allowing for the fact I geustimated, rather than measured the length of tube, the coverage is precisely as I wanted it and should, with the added helping of grease, lock the elements out. Lizard Skins and others used to produce neoprene covers, but unless removed every wet ride, could cause moisture to get inside.  

 

Old inner tubes are plentiful and could even be scrounged from your friendly local bike shop. It’s tempting to strip the crankset come next chain replacement and treat the axle to some Peaty’s Speed Grease (for the last word in low friction) but the Wolf Tooth is a premium blend and seems highly effective thus far. Will be interesting to see how it fares against winter’s witches’ brew.  

 

Staying with pleasant surprises, I was sent another set of the WTB Nano, not the TCS tubeless ready versions this time. Their UK importer tells me these are the 120tpi versions employing their SG2 puncture repelling belt that runs bead to bead, so will be interesting to see how they cope in this regard during the darker months.  Aside from gravel and indeed “more adventurous touring” they’re also aimed at cyclo cross audiences and, given their “most conditions” persona, it’s not difficult to see how the genres ahem, cross-over. I’ve found them surprisingly good in gloopy UK mud, but again we’ll see how this translates through a mulchy mucky British winter.  40mm wide, they’re going to be a little portly for more traditional ‘cross bikes, which can typically swallow 32-35mm, 38 if we’re talking a slick commuting/touring tyre for off season’s road duties. 

  

Despite the rise in popularity these past twenty years, cross meets still have a very eclectic flavour. Sure, there are packet fresh disc equipped carbon fibre bling machines but plenty of traditional cross bikes, repurposed tourers and indeed, mountain bikes looping the circuits. Single-speed transmissions keep things rugged and reliable, provided you’re prepared to stick with something around 63 inches…  

 

There are a few folks who also brave it on a fixed. I can see the appeal, but as I say, very much a niche thing. On-One’s Mulo might be a prime candidate. There’s clearance for 43mm tyres without tickling the chainstays and you could either run it with a disc up front or go the old school cantilever route.  

 

The latter are again, still very popular. Lightweight, simple and still relatively effective, set up correctly, with decent quality pads and cables.  Standard cables with PTFE linings and stainless-steel inner wires are good staples, although the jump between these and more elite, sometimes sealed systems, such as the Jagwire Road Elite is very palpable.  

 

Aside from the fit n’ forget weather sealing, the inner wires are extremely high quality, thus virtually zero stretch and very tolerant of fine tuning. I’ve set ours up and removed them from Ursula’s callipers with no signs of compression, let alone fraying. Braking is very progressive, stiction free, but again, I’d expect so at this end of the market and again, I’ll see what impact if any, winter has upon their stopping prowess.  

 

Transfil Flying Snakes were another solid (and much cheaper) choice on the sealed front, but fitting was more involved and cable rub could be an issue if you hadn’t used the little protectors or applied some helicopter tape to the head tube and other areas where the outers sit, or brush against the frame. Right, I’ll leave it here with my review of the  Magicshine See Me 50 Mag Light Magicshine SeeMee50 MAG Light | cycling-not-racing 

Gearing Up (& Fresh Grease) for a New Season

 

Ursula’s drivetrain purged with the NZero Bike DegreaserNZero Bike Degreaser | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com), new chain and other parts set aside, I’m awaiting a 100g (about 3.53 oz) tub of Oxford Mint Assembly grease ahead of the rebuild. Oxford describe it as “a high-performance red grease with pressure additives to provide excellent lubrication and dirt repellent properties”. The base is solvent refined mineral oil with a lithium complex thickener.   

In this instance, Oxford recommends it for low-speed applications, such as bicycle bearings and pivot points, which need low friction, while being highly resistant to the elements.  Synthetic blends are best for modern bikes where carbon and other composites are typical. Traditional lithium pastes are very stoical on old school cup and cone hubs, unsealed headsets etc.  

However, they will do very nasty things to rubberised components, including seals and encourage galvanic corrosion (where ferrous and non-ferrous components, such as aluminium alloy seat posts in steel frames get chemically welded to their hosts). If you’re only going to have one blend on the shelf, I’d go synthetic. Purpose specific blends are the way forward if you’re looking for the last word in performance.  

Assembly greases for contact points, bearing grease for hubs, headsets and pivot points. Ultra-low friction blends, such as Peaty’s Speed Grease PEATY'S SPEED GREASE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) are particularly good for competition riding, or summer bikes. Contexts where you really want to blast along and get every last benefit from that top drawer groupset.  

The speed Grease has also proven surprisingly stoical, clinging on through winter, although I’d still be inclined to strip and replenish every six months or so. Ok, so the darker months aren’t here just yet, but preparing for them makings riding more fun and breakdowns infrequent. Thus far, the Shutter Precision SL9 hub still sems in good health but I’m contemplating taking another direction before it does.  

Experience suggests it’s the sealed bearings that get the grumbles given 20,000miles or so and I’m edging towards that. The most obvious, dare I say cost effective solution is to have the SL9HALO EVURA & SHUTTER PRECISION SL9 DYNOHUB BUILD (sevendaycyclist.com) overhauled via Ison Distribution (their UK Importer) and have the silver anodised Shimano unit presently in hibernation, built into the existing Halo rim and have that as a dedicated front wheel for Denise...Waste not, want not, use what you got and er, rationalise the spares bin.    

Talking of which, I was eager to find a longer shim for Ursula’s Kinekt 2.1 seat postKINEKT 2.1 SUSPENSION SEAT POST | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com), since a longer unit should offer greater support to the post and ultimately, prove kinder to the frame. A cursory rummage through my small parts bin confirmed I had a Cane Creek unit, so another thing off my mental list and though always a worthy investment, I didn’t want to spend money unnecessarily, since insignificant amounts can quickly add up.   

Days are slipping towards autumn, which as I’ve said many times, remains a favourite season but also a reminder of how precious time is.  

Once the preserve of aspiration and optimism (embarking on a university degree and moving to London’s East End, meeting a woman who would ultimately come with me through thick n’ thin, hell and high water-seemingly unlimited horizons) The last fifteen years, autumn has been a reminder of how much I need to achieve. Never put off tomorrow what can be done today.  

This in mind, I’ve switched to racking up the miles wearing the Madison Flux mitts. They’re a little on the snug side, so I’d recommend paying particular, not cursory attention to their sizing chart. That aside, they’re proving competent, comfortable options-on and indeed, off road.        

I’ve also been contemplating cables ahead of Ursula’s rebuild and decided that, given we’re creeping toward the darker, wetter months I’d go for a sealed system, at least for the brakes. Extra UK has sent me Jagwire’s Road Elite. In common with other “sealed” systems, it employs a continuous, factory lubricated liner.  

This runs from the lever to calliper offers much greater protection from grit, grime and other performance robbing contaminant. The inner wires are also polymer coated for. However, these 2.4mm liners may not be universally compatible with frames and/or components. We shall see...  I’ll leave you with my review of Ergon SR All Road Core Comp Saddle Ergon SR All Road Core Comp Saddle Men | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)