Tooled Up & Misdirected Blame

 

With hedge-clipping season in full swing, my attention turned to tyres, tubes and crucially tyre levers. The latter are largely forgotten until we're crouched by the roadside on a cold and rainy night, trying to release a particularly tight bead. With this in mind, Weldtite has sent me their 2.0 tyre levers and a rather nice looking twenty-function multi-tool.

The latter's design is reminiscent of the Crank Brothers M19 with its knurled side plates for grip-even with sweaty palms or wearing winter gloves. I’ve an M17 still serving, it’s a little world weary now, the chain tool long expired and a bent (but still operational) 3m Allen key.  One of the more interesting features-a welcome addition in principle is the disc brake rotor tool.  

They also sent me the smaller version of their Rubber Workshop Matt with Magnet. The Rubber ensures it won’t slide around and the magnetic layer ensures you’ll foil rogue felines looking to play ball bearing billiards. I’ve gone for the smaller size since it’s portable, meaning I can do small jobs, like headset and hub overhauls outside, should need, or fancy take me. The relatively thick rubber will protect surfaces, especially if exerting force- say exorcising a stubborn pedal, or hub.

Having tweaked the Spyre into what I believed was sweet submission, I was still experiencing a faint, intermittent tinkling. I decided a quiet byway was the best place to conduct a thorough troubleshoot.  Monitoring the rotor and pads with sporadic acceleration confirmed this wasn't the culprit.

A gentle tug of the cassette revealed some minor, but palpable play, suggesting the freehub was the most likely culprit. Post-ride investigation confirmed this. Murphey's Law also revealed the spare XT laced hoop was also showing signs of isolated play. Yup, another freehub bit the dust.

Not having replacement freehubs and hub bearings to hand, I decided the most efficient use of time and energy was to leave both wheels with Madgetts Cycles. This was an opportunity to get everything checked ahead of winter, while I tackled other pressing matters.

Decent bike shops are worth their weight in gold. Just because we can do the jobs, it’s not always convenient, or the best use of our time.  I’d have my wheels sorted and ready by the time it took two compatible freehubs to arrive in the post. 

All this had me pondering the acquisition of a newer XT hub running a centre lock disc and having that built into a wheel, laced three-cross for some added strength. Not that I'm unduly heavy or have a less than compassionate riding style, but greater stress is placed upon the rear wheel, especially with a disc brake.

I'd contemplated 36 spokes, but chances are I'll stick with a 32, since this would allow me to use an existing rim.  The most likely candidate being that presently hosting the Halo Spin Doctor, which has done a very modest mileage.  During this phase, I spotted this 36-hole Shimano FH-RM70 going for proverbial pennies. Loosely comparable with Alivio, it’s simple and rugged, although will benefit from a really beefy grease to keep winter’s worst out. Designed for rim brakes, its most likely something I’d have built into a spare wheel for Denise.   

Meantime, I’d noted Ursula’s chain was closer to .6, so replaced it, along with one of the cassettes, since a new chain will only kick up on new sprockets and vice-versa. I’ve reverted to wax while the autumn seems fair-weather, although chances are I’ll default to the Weldtite All Weather Weldtite All Weather Lube | cycling-not-racing . Weldite have also sent me their Wet Lube, which I’m advised is a successor to their Extreme Wet WELDTITE TF2 EXTREME WET CHAIN LUBRICANT .

The Extreme wet was a mix of ISO oils and specialist additives, whereas the wet consists of (detail). While stodgy wet lubes will attract dirt ad grit, which left unchecked, can significantly shorten the lifespan of drivetrain components, they still have their place.  Aside from staying put in really harsh conditions, they double as passable grease substitutes on fasteners- stem bolts, mudguard and rack, bottle screws and cleats being prime examples. A drop into electroplated Allen heads will also fend off the dreaded orange taint.

Too heavy for cables, a drop on the ends where they enter the ferrule will help seal the elements out. Another useful product that works well on cables is Finish Line 1 Step Cleaner and Lube TEST & REVIEW: FINISH LINE 1-STEP CLEANER AND LUBE. Marketed primarily as a chain lube, the aerosol version is particularly effective-I’ve witnessed it bring gummed up shifters back from the brink with a couple of blasts. The solvent component does the cleaning and leaves a light lube-much sturdier than a maintenance spray behind.

In a pinch, a few drops of wet lube will also keep quick release skewers mobile-at least until you can get to some decent grease. I’ve been fairly impressed by the Juice Lubes Slick Juice Juice Lubes Slick Juice Low Friction Gre | cycling-not-racing which is kind to rubberised and composite components, so can be applied most components and surfaces.  Obviously not for carbon and other materials requiring a gripper paste.

Right, since we’re creeping ever closer to the wetter months, I’ll leave you with Steve’s review of the Leatt MTB Hydradri 5.0 Jacket Leatt MTB Hydradri 5.0 Jacket | cycling-not-racing

Call Up & Clipless Dilemmas

 Dawn is calling sooner and by 545, it's surprisingly bright. So much so, that I’ve often thought I’ve been running late...Pre-dawn rides are where I enjoy the silence, sensation of speed. Yes, much of my ride time is spent evaluating products, but I'm a three-dimensional entity, a multi-faceted human. I am forming the belief that World War 3 looms perilously close, and much will depend upon whether NATO countries employ a no-fly zone.  

Then of course, there are reports of troops going AWOL, supposedly to form a resistance. My feeling is that if Russian forces cannot take control of Ukraine, they will bomb it into submission, or indeed, out of existence. They will then advance into neighboring countries (Hungary and Poland are my guess), destroying their infrastructure. For the first time in 37 years, I feel nuclear war is a very tangible and frightening possibility.

  

I often reflect upon what my grandparents would make of this.  

Pragmatic people of principle, they believed and strove for a peaceful world, one free of destruction and divisions. One of hope and opportunity. My grandfather was a highly skilled welder who worked on the first Magnox nuclear reactors and when he realised the potential abuses of nuclear energy, refused to work on Dounreay. Story goes the firm respected his principles, and in return he agreed to train and mentor welding apprentices. 

Digressing again, I know. Back in the saddle, having formed my conclusions regarding the Alfine hub dynamo, I’ve spent the past few weeks racking up miles on my fixed gear winter/trainer. Sure-footed, yet with sufficient sparkle to induce a big grin, I’ve been enjoying the 700x38mm Vittoria Adventure Tech’s compliant and yet surprisingly quick qualities. Staying with Vittoria, I mourn the discontinuation of their Randonneur Trail VITTORIA RANDONNEUR TRAIL TYRES LONG TERM TEST (sevendaycyclist.com) which served me and Ursula handsomely for several seasons. Yes, there was an element of compromise, and at 900g apiece, quite portly. Crucially they were swift, solid and great for green lane and bridle path deviations. 

I’ve decided to switch the pedals, from the otherwise very likable Wellgo MO94B WELLGO MO94B SPD PEDALS | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) to these ISSi II Tripple.  

The latter’s cosmetics have aged less gracefully than a polished, or anodised finish would. However, they’ve done plenty of miles in the last six years. My reason for switching boils down to a hunch around cleats and misalignment, causing tenderness in my right knee. 

This is not an issue with Ursula, I’m using the same cleats and shoes on both, and I don’t turn tall gears with any regularity. Saddle alignment and height have also been checked, ruling that out. These HT Leopard 878 TESTED HT LEOPARD 878 CLIPLESS PEDALS (sevendaycyclist.com) were another good bet, but the cleats are different, so ruled out on the grounds of uniformity. As an aside, they’re also 70g heavier than the ISSI.  

Single-sided designs, though perfectly serviceable aren’t my first choice, especially on the fixed. Though a small thing, dual-sided models mean I can just click in and power away. Time ATAC are another favourite of mine- lots of mud-shedding prowess and knee-friendly float-Holdsworth and Teenage Dream sport these. However, though generally durable, Time’s brass cleats wear faster, being a softer metal and unlike SPDs, patterns aren’t plentiful, thus more expensive.  

While playing “lucky dip” in my transmission box, I also took the opportunity to switch the fork crown race over (having treated the school chair fork’s cantilever posts and small chips to some high build marine primer and black topcoat) Said rummaging also unearthed my Gerber Cool Tool. Well, not the original that my father gifted me for Christmas 1992, but a later version he bought for his drum braked, hub geared Pashley sit-up n’ beg roadster.  

Mine was “lifted” by someone, while I was living in London and had a red silicone pouch. Some thirty years on, some of the tooling is a little dated perhaps, but the adjustable cone/headset and track nut end is a seriously useful, ditto the chain tool. Combined with something like the Soma Woodie SOMA WOODIE MULTI TOOL | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and save for spoke keys and tyre levers, you’ve most bases covered-even on a group ride, with an eclectic group of machines.