Ride, Tweak, Refine & Return to Wax

 

I concluded I’d the cable tension a little too tight, thus wasn’t getting the right amount of travel and ultimately power from Muffin’s TRP SLC calliper. An easy fix, just a matter of slackening the cable very slightly, then snugging down. Sometimes it pays to run a component in and then make a single adjustment-my experience with Magura Hydro stops, which I had fitted to a Kona Lava Dome some 27 years back. Impressive stopping prowess but tempered by stubborn setup.  

Early season generally means middleweight chain lubes, Weldtite All Weather Lube Weldtite All Weather Lube | cycling-not-racing being a particularly good, wallet friendly default in my experience. Sometimes, conditions permit something lighter and cleaner. I’ve had very mixed experiences with wax formulas in changeable conditions, some are more durable than others. Momum MIC Momum MIC Wax Lube | cycling-not-racingand Smoove TEST & REVIEW: SMOOVE UNIVERSAL CHAIN LUBE: SUMMER TEST have a definite edge in these contexts.

That established, I’ve been sent KMC Go. Now, given KMC’s immense experience manufacturing chains, I was very intrigued. Retailing at £ 17.50 for 150ml, its relatively pricey, so I’m expecting something rather good. KMC say it’s “Designed to significantly reduce friction, enhance shifting and providing optimum efficiency”. Look closely and you’ll notice a chain’s side plates decorate the seam.  

It promises to create a durable water repelling, friction reducing microfilm and supposedly more durable than oil-based products. While good practice to deep clean drivetrains before switching to different brands and genres, waxes are very particular, so aim for surgically clean rings, cassettes, derailleur jockey wheels and cages. This also presented the opportunity to scrutinise the Izumi track chain for wear and its Ok, but I’ll be replacing in the coming weeks.

If I’ve been running oil-based middleweights for any period, I may remove the crank, baste the inner ring in degreaser and leave it marinating for a little while, before introducing a suitably clean, stiff brush. There’s a solid argument for removing rings, chain and cassette and leaving them marinating in a parts washer-or indeed an ultrasonic cleaner, should means allow.  

Now, I’m a big fan of the chain cleaner brushes, particularly this Oxford Chain Brush Pro Oxford Chain Brush Pro | cycling-not-racing and Finish Line’s Grunge Brush Solo  Finish Line Grunge Brush Solo | cycling-not-racing . However, while I’ve found some passable bike-specific brushes for purging cassettes, I’ve yet to find one that excels, which has prompted me to go the heavy-duty dish scrubber route. While wandering the supermarket isles, I spotted this one and it looked suitably sturdy and the handle seems suitably ergonomic.

Ask someone about degreasers, or drivetrain cleaners and you’ll get a tsunami of differing opinions, some advocating high end premium formulas, others more industrial citrus blends and another group advocating washing up liquid (dish soap) as the only way forward, claiming that all bike-related products are a big con. Let’s explore this a little…The problem with washing up liquids is (a) they contain salt, which isn’t good for painted, plated, anodised, or lacquered surfaces, seals and rubberised parts. (b) Then of course, these are designed for organic fats, not petrochemicals, so while they might shift mud and similar gloop, they’re not optimal for petrochemical based chain lubes, greases etc.  

Fenwick’s FS1 concentrate is a good default, but I’ve had great results using Squirt Bike Cleaner Concentrate SQUIRT BIKE CLEANER CONCENTRATE | cycling-not-racing and for a long time, Green Oil’s Degreaser Gel GREEN OIL CLEAN CHAIN DEGREASER JELLY ruled the roost in my workshop. I used to have a litre supply. A workshop friendly 5 litre version is available for £145. I’m pondering my next formula, once this Dynamic Bio Drivetrain Detox is exhausted. For reference, it’s pretty economical-I’ve been using it regularly across the fleet since late spring 2025.   

Elsewhere, I’ve been sent this Lezyne KTV Drive Front. It’s a compact safety light in the classic sense of the word, producing a maximum of 200lumens. The sort that makes a good backup for extended summer playtimes on best bikes, or as backing singer to a higher power dynamo lamp. This one is a very practical black, but red, white and blue are the alternatives.

Talking of practical, it complies with IPX7 for weatherproofing, which is reassuringly good. This means it will withstand immersion in water for up to 30minutes-not that I’d be going bog snorkelling with it but stands more than a sporting chance in the worst most road, or indeed, gravel outings will throw at us. I’ve still some Lezyne lights going strong a decade or so down the line.  In terms of modes and outputs, there are five-two steady (70 and 15 lumens) and three flashing (200lumen day, 30 and 15 lumens). The KTV has been around for a good while, but there have been some rather impressive improvements in run time-a claimed 40 hours for flash 1 and flash 2.

 I’ll leave it here with Paul Brodie’s restoration and modification of a 1988 Rocky Mountain, since I like his channel and find his skill very relaxing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdBWFtQJiZ0&list=WL&index=3&t=81s

Shakedowns & Subtle Tweaks

 

 Built, checked and tweaked, it was time to take “Muffin” the Mulo for a quick 15mile shakedown ride. I’d erred on the side of less chain tension with a view to dialling it in, rather than too tight.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given my switch to 40mm tyres, the ride quality was much smoother, though it wasn’t difficult to coax “Muffin” up to speed and keep on the boil- 41cm chainstays certainly help. The front end also feels more responsive, without being twitchy, and the frame’s lateral stiffness is also an improvement over the otherwise very loveable V2.

Predictably, I needed to tweak the Aheadset bearing tension and found myself switching the TRP Spyre for its loftier SLC stablemate, having given the calliper a good clean and replaced the pads. Three rides in and I detected the ring bolts needed snugging down slightly. A small, insignificant job…

However, my Park pattern tool that holds the collar still while you tighten the 5mm/T30 Torx bolt wasn’t arresting the collar properly. This prompted purchase of a T handle design from a well-known London bike dealership that I frequented regularly when living in the capital.

Given it was a bank holiday weekend, I had to wait a day or two, which presented an ideal opportunity to hop aboard Ursula and get some miles in on the Continental Cross Kings. Having enjoyed a frolic through the forests, I found myself being chased by an incredibly determined goose. Mercifully, I was able to outpace-either that, or the goose recognised I wasn’t a threat.

550 miles racked up with The CST Patrol, I’m generally impressed by their capabilities as wallet-friendly all-rounders, although I’ve noted the Continental Cross King Black Chili require less effort to coax up to speed in comparable contexts/conditions. Puncture resistance, specifically vulnerability to hedge clippings and similar sharps was an issue I’d had with earlier incarnations of the Cross Kings, so it will be interesting to see how influential the Black Chili compound is. While testing the CST Patrol’s prowess, I happened upon a completely deserted stretch of unmade and sometimes quite technical gravel road.

I’d had a quick exploratory hoss along the bridleway on previous occasions but was deterred of further exploration due to farm traffic and general agricultural activity. The Patrol coped handsomely, offering excellent traction, control and indeed cushioning over the lumpy, bumpy and sometimes pot holed route, which ran for a mile or two.    

I’d also switched from the Motorex Wax Lube to Peaty’s Link Lube All Weather courtesy of Dynamic Bio Drivetrain Detox. The Link Lube All Weather is best thought of as a bridge lube for those conditions where you want something more substantial than a wax, or dry formula but with a friskier shifting and feel than traditional middleweights.

Wax chain lubes may be less stoical than other types, but in my experience, they can congeal quite stubbornly, particularly on rings and cassettes. While the Dynamic was visually engaging and crucially stripped the rings and cassette clean with nominal effort, it was slower acting than some degreaser stocks I’ve evaluated over the years.

Water must be applied to the hosts beforehand and The Drivetrain Bio Drivetrain Detox left to marinate for two to three minutes, so one of those formulas seemingly best suited to holistic bike cleans, rather than situations where the bike’s fundamentally clean, but you just want to change lube.  It’s also reckoned sufficiently potent to strip waterproof greases, so we’ll see. 

Back to “Muffin” Chain ring tool in hand, I whipped out the Park Tool Wrench, dialled it up to 10nm, introduced the crank bolt tool-Huzzah! Another little job done. Talking of torque Wrenches, here’s my mini budget model group test Three Budget Torque Wrench Test | cycling-not-racing

 

 

  

Puncture Plagues, Torrential Rains & Perpetual Cleaning

I awoke at 4am to a chill 1 degree. On with the Belgian cap, bib tights, Pearson jersey and waterproof technical jacket and out to the garage. A quick, cursory check of Ursula’s Maxxis Overdrive Excel tyre Maxxis Overdrive Excel Tyre | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) revealed the front was pancake flat.  

I switched to the fixed-an ideal opportunity to test the Sanmarie GT saddle to see whether it was the saddle or machine that were incompatible with me... Seems the latter-having ridden with various bib tights and pad styles. This switch also presented the opportunity to touch up Ursula’s Ritchey dropout with some matching Humbrol enamel paint and giving it sufficient time to cure between coats.  

Back to the Maxxis, I returned and fixed the flat. This was caused by a small stone that had slowly burrowed into the casing, beyond the puncture-repelling belt and nicking the wafer-thin butyl tube.  

Said tube already sported one patch, so I scrapped it- two patches is my general limit on mid-higher-end butyl. I might patch a budget offering once but it’s not worth the false sense of security as a spare- the risk of failure’s too great. I inflated the tyre and filled the casing with a drop of superglue. I tossed another spare in the Axiom Monsoon Ocean Wave City+ Sea Bag AXIOM OCEANWAVE CITY+ SEAT BAG | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)  and thought I’d be fine.  

Fast forward three days and, yes...the dreaded hiss. Rear this time and another that had the good grace to hold off until I was stripping the scuzz from another week’s riding through monsoon conditions. Two spares (wafer-thin) proved faulty and were similarly dispatched to the bin. I couldn’t find any foreign objects or minor holes within the rear Maxxis on this occasion. Time to order another batch of new, better-quality butyl-added to cart very promptly, especially at the price offered.  Oh, and here’s my review of the Topeak Shuttle 1.2 Tyre Levers Topeak Shuttle 1.2 Tyre Levers | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) 

The STX front mech has now settled down to the point I can confidently slide the Microshift bar-end shifter without fear it might travel too far in either direction. Particularly welcome on sharp, dark climbs.  

I’m pleased with these upgrades and plan to just ride, clean and enjoy the old girl for a while. I haven’t decided which machine will sport the TRP HYRD calliper. Assuming Ursula isn’t the beneficiary, I’ll replace the Disco Brakes semi-metallic pads Disco Disc Brake Pads and Wavey Rotors | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) with another set, come the close of May. Wear has been pedestrian so far, but it has been very wet as with chains, cables and other consumables, managed replacement rather than waiting until they’re wossnamed.  

Another 280 wet miles licked the Muc Off Wet Lube clean- not a reflection of the lube’s quality, or performance but an indicator of just how wet and filthy the roads and lanes have been recently. Perfect conditions for testing lubes, greases and protectant formulas though. Oh, clothing too, obviously. Here’s my review of the Showers Pass Elite Cycling Cap SHOWERS PASS ELITE CYCLING CAP | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)  

Concentrates are my preferred choice when it comes to bike washes and degreasers. Primarily, since they can be brewed to suit different applications- watered down 10:1 for a standard, like for like bike wash, 15-20:1 for a potent blitzer- in contexts where organic and petrochemical stuff (spent chain lube, diesel and other oils thrown up from the road) has become caked on.  

Neat for degreasing drivetrains, hubs, headsets etc. When it comes to deep cleaning, I brush degreaser into the chain, rings, derailleur(s) etc and sometimes along the down tube, bottom bracket and chainstays. Then I apply bike wash liberally over the bike, starting at the bars and working along.  

Remember, gravity is your friend. Leave that nibbling away at the ingrained grime and give the drivetrain a tickling with a medium stiff brush-firmer pressure to the chain, cassette and rings-being mindful not to catch the arms and other surfaces.  

Agitate those subtle bubbles clinging to the frameset with a soft brush and once you’ve got the grime stripped, rinse with a bucket of Lukewarm water. Rinse again with cold, if needed.  

Dry and lightly relubricate chains, give cables a quick shot of maintenance spray (GT85 GT85 ALL PURPOSE LUBRICANT (sevendaycyclist.com) Motorex Joker 440 Motorex Joker 440 | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)  and of course, WD40. Staying with lubes a moment, I’ve reached for Zefal Extra wet Nano Ceramic ZEFAL EXTRA WET NANO CERAMIC CHAIN LUBE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com), just to see how well the Muc Off Wet Lube compares with some old favourites in comparable conditions.