Washed, Waxed & Revisited

 

250 very wet miles later and I wasn’t surprised by the subtle metal-on-metal tinkling of Ursula’s KMC chain. Closer inspection revealed some obvious orange patina along the inner side plates. Good for a wax lube in these contexts but confirmed my suspicions that while relatively stoical, the oil part wasn’t going to hinder corrosion in the way a similarly sophisticated petrochemical chain lube will.  

Given constant exposure to waterlogged, wet, greasy roads, Ursula was beginning to look a little sullied. Not sufficient for a sudsy bucket wash but needing more than a furniture polish blow-over. Hmm, let’s see how this Motoverde Waterless Wash & Wax bridges the gap I mused. This blend has carnauba wax, which is a popular choice in automotive formulas, thanks to its stoical, glossy results and it’s safe on all finishes.  

Given the relatively small surface areas, I’ve applied ours via a micro-fibre cloth, rather than trigger spray, to avoid wastage. Simply give the bottle a good shake, pour, apply sparingly to the frameset and components, leave a minute or two, then buff to a sheen with a fresh (ideally micro-fibre) cloth.  

Their main advantage over silicone-infused products (which add a great sheen and will lightly nourish elastomers, seals and other rubberised/ plastics) is that waxes of this type won’t attract dirt. Silicones leave a very slight film behind, which is helpful but rather like PTFE sprays encourage filmy stuff to become embedded in the surface. Again, welcome as a protective masking agent on working bikes/winter trainers with electroplated and polished aluminium alloys, since grime will stick and mothball them. 

Waterless cleaners are minimal mess, minimal faff and some, including Motoverde’s will keep UV, salts and similar corrosive elements at bay into the bargain. Obviously, waterless cleaners are for light to moderate grime. Cyclo cross style grot, like that adorning my fixed gear winter/trainer will require bike washes/warm buckets of wash n’ wax, sponges and brush (es).

250 miles in and I'm also pleasantly surprised by the Smanie GT saddle. 

 

137mm wouldn’t be a compatibility surprise on the Holdsworth and yes, a few millimetres shy of a designated ideal might make negligible difference but there is a fine line between something not fitting, not functioning correctly and indeed, failing. (Those seat collars being prime examples- 4nms, not a fraction more).  

Point of this preamble? Well, I wasn’t expecting it to work so well on Ursula-on and indeed off-road. One of the main attributes of the GT is that it’s designed to hold the rider at the most efficient point-for folks that like to get and stay in the zone, so not a shuffler's saddle.  

I’ve also noticed a slightly quicker cadence, though no loss of support to the ischial tuberoses (sit bones), let alone soreness/chafing. That said; Ursula and I also got along very well with The Selle Italia Sport Gel Flow FEC-Alloy saddle, which is relatively short (270mm) and narrow (140mm).  

FEC (lower rent hollow steel) rails put the weight up a bit too-330g, which is light, compared with a traditional leather saddle. even those with titanium rails, such as the Spa cycles Aire. This, loosely speaking, is a Brooks Swift homage which my derriere has spent many thousands of miles on.  

Another product that I’ve spent many miles with is Kinekt suspension Stem Kinekt Suspension Stem 90mm | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com). It’s heavier than some and may be a little too reactive for some tastes, but the parallelogram design is well engineered, doesn’t change reach, or geometry and though minimal maintenance, is easy to work on/adjust when needed.  

Chains are something I keep a close eye on. Not to the point of becoming a bore, neurotic, or borderline obsessional, I’m talking a quick weekly inspection using the humble nickel-plated chain checker, which can be picked up for a few quid.  

Inspection and prompt replacement prevent more costly wear-rings, derailleurs and cassettes being the obvious casualties. These also need periodic inspection. As a rough n’ ready rule, I replace cassettes every third chain-at least on bikes in four seasons’ service.  

Chain whips are the most common means of wrestling the cassette into submission while freeing the lockring. Functional enough, Pedros Vise Grip changed my cassette-swapping life- an end to slippage, grazed knuckles and agricultural outpourings. One of those tools (along with my headset press) that I never loan.  

Then along came Feedback sports offering me their Cassette Pliers. These work to the same principle as the Pedros, so it’ll be interesting to see if they’re any different, dare I say, more refined. Pedros set the bar very high.  Feedback also has a rather nice three-in-one bottom bracket and lockring tool, which has the ends welded in situ, so the splined cassette/centre lock bit can’t get lost or come adrift.  

I don’t change cassettes too often (or disc rotors, for that matter), so the little cyclo does the job well enough. However, it can struggle a bit on stubborn, weathered examples... Ending on a different note, if you want to keep your carbon happy, Peaty’s Max Grip Carbon Assembly Paste Peaty’s Max Grip Carbon Assembly Paste | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) has proved an excellent default.   

Frustration & Dynamism

I was born, one day I will die...No, not that track by Soft Cell/Marc Almond (although, being a middle-aged man, it’s arguably fitting) I am referring to our old friend, supply problems. I’ve also been struggling to remove the Shutter Precision SL9’s centre lock rotor.

  

A sudden flash of inspiration led me to buying a small portable vice and some rubber “engineer’s” strips allowing me to clamp the hub in situ, without risking any damage.  

I’m incredibly fond of the Shutter Precision hubs but the need to strip the hub and send it away every few years isn’t something I’ve needed to do with Shimano units- even the Nexus unit (now 22 years old) is still turning away nicely.  

The Ultegra is in similarly rude health and has done a much bigger mileage than the once hardworking Nexus. This had led me to me pondering the acquisition of another Alfine, or ideally, something that is more readily serviced in the field. 

 

Kasai offer some “field repairable” models, which as their name suggests are more readily serviced and repaired-without going through the palaver of stripping the wheel, packaging up the hub and building everything again.  

This might be perfectly valid on a bike in hard service running rim brakes. Since the rim’s sidewalls can wear through, demanding a rebuild by default. Ideally, I’ll get hold of a Kasai, or failing that, another Alfine (since the latter is reliable and crucially, partially user serviceable) and hold onto the SL9 as a spare. Watch this space...    

Back to the SL9...I'd been toying with the idea of a portable vise, for some time. Bench mounted ones had also fired my imagination, but portable models are arguably a better fit for me.  

Enter this auction site special, which arrived over the holiday weekend. Given the budget price, I was surprised by how relatively sturdy it felt. I popped some of the dead butyl from the previous week into the jaws and gently locked the Shutter Precision Hub body in situ.  

A quick blast of penetrant spray to get things underway before I introduced my long-serving Cyclo cassette remover tool. With a brief primal grunt, and modest effort, the lockring released, revealing a light but serviceable coating of grease clinging to the threads.  

If only I’d whipped the rotor off before stripping the wheel... However, main thing the hub’s now with the UK importers and will be winging its way to Taiwan for overhaul. Another little job off my doing list. Next came my front dental crown, which fell into the sink with an audible “plink” while I was busy with the electric toothbrush.  

Conversation with my dentists suggests I couldn’t get an appointment for a month, but my best bet would be to ring them on the mornings when I’m free to see if they could slot me in that day. Main thing is the remnants of tooth are still firmly within the gum, which is something. Receptionists suggested the crown could simply be re-bonded but much as I suspected, the tooth, not the crown itself failed. I've discussed cosmetic and structural options with my dentist and paid for treatment to shore up a booking, while this was still available.  

As autumn slowly advances, I’ve reached my conclusions regarding the Green Oil Dry Chain Wax Green Oil Dry Chain Wax | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) which I’m quite fond of and will run, until the roads get consistently wetter. I’ll stick with something dry for Ursula and for the time-being, the Green Oil Wet GREEN OIL WET CHAIN LUBE (sevendaycyclist.com) on the fixed. 

  

I am also toying with a saddle swap- The Spa Cycles Aire ported over to Ursula and the Selle San Marco Concor Supercorsa over to the fixed. Both are a tan brown so complement their existing colour schemes and the former is also right royally moulded to my butt after many thousands of miles. The Concor Supercorsa is a late 70s classic, with lines from that era.  

Not to everyone’s tastes but at 265x140mm, fits my proportions very nicely. The main prompt for this switch? Well, I’ve concluded, despite Ursula’s more upright positioning that I am still served by narrower saddles-140-143mm seems optimal (indeed, regardless of machine). The Aire is,148mm wide but if it's comfy on the fixed, I’m confident this narrative will continue.