Magnetic Attraction

So, with freshly rebuilt dynohub wheel safely returned to me, and Univega waxed, following some mucky January mile munching, it was time to switch to fixed. 

Following frankenpute euphoria, you’ll imagine my dismay at a flickering and sometimes unresponsive computer display. Big fat flashing zeros are not cool.  

Let us be clear (as the present UK administration is so fond of touting). I had inserted fresh CR2032 cells, adding a slither of Vaseline to the battery contacts, nipped the sensor ties and magnet tight…Most probable causes isolated.

A seasonal Lurgy curtailed further diagnostics, but all seemed to be behaving normally. Both on the work stand and a subsequent mile long loop.

Three days later, back in the saddle, out along the lanes. Dynamo on, blinkies pulsing, erratic readouts... So, I switched the Trelock LS 906 https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/trelock-ls906-dynamo-front-light  lamp off. Consistently accurate, precise readouts resumed. Fluctuations gone.  This remained the case, over two rides and 45 miles.

I’ve never experienced these symptoms with my Univega’s Ultegra, or elderly Nexus hub dynamos. However, Strong magnetic forces, such as those experienced around power plants, and pylons are notorious points of interference. 97.6mph along a long, straight road, anyone? 

 I am also advised Shutter Precision hubs have particularly strong magnets.

Carbon fibre can also prove conductive, which is why good quality greases/assembly pastes must be used on metal components, to avert risk of galvanic corrosion/seizure. Bottom bracket threads being prime candidates. Could it be that the wonder weave, is amplifying said magnetic field, and creating these irregular signals?  

This may dictate moving sensor and magnet to chain-stay and rear wheel. Doing will exhaust computer and sensor cells a little faster. But provided I don’t exceed the 1 metre rule, everything should play nicely.

A wired unit is my last resort. Aside from defeating my “make do and reinvent narrative”, I’ll need to be more mindful when performing headset strips, and similar maintenance.  Blackburn have advised they no longer keep spares for the Atom units and, surprisingly, have deleted computers from their range.

Another rummage through the bodge box unearthed this VDO M3 WL, which appears to have a sensor fault. I’ve tried all the above techniques, but they won’t play nicely. Nor any other brands, for that matter, so I’ve emailed their UK importer for help. 

Despite constant headlines threatening a second ice-age, the thermostat has hovered around a seasonally typical 5 degrees.

No call for spikes just yet, although the wind chill prompted donning of Northwave Balaclava, once or twice.  These Oxford bright 4.0 gloves https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/oxford-1

have also come into their own and Steve’s been impressed by Proviz Reflect 360 CRS Plus Jacket https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/proviz-reflect360-crs-plus-jacket  

Chainsaw oil is continuing to do the business and some 140 miles in, is probably the closest to a bike specific, wet lubricant. I’m bargaining 500 miles from a single application. On paper, it’s looking a costlier option, compared with the bargain basement 5w/40. However, the latter attracted more scuzz. Most apparent within the cassette.

There’s been some further perch swapping, courtesy of this Pro Turnix gel saddle, which now graces my fixed gear winter/trainer. Its Selle Italia Novous boost superflow has been ported over to my tubby tourer and I’ve earmarked the BBB Echelon, elsewhere. Possibly the Goldhawk Roadax, if I can’t live with its stock/OEM model.

Misty for Me

Continued teething troubles with the Trelock LS906 bike –I pro suggest the OEM wiring isn’t helping. Sure, it will reach the hub and lamp but that supplied is designed for hub to fork crown drilling.

Dropping by some Coventry bike shops drew a blank, so I’ve acquired a decent length of Bush & Muller, which I’m hoping will sort it once and for all. Either way, this proved the ideal opportunity to see how the SP hub performs with my Exposure revo mk1, since I already had a revo wiring kit waiting in the wings.

The Revo is beautifully made, delivers a really pure, useable arc of light from 5mph and a maximum output of 800lumens. Hands-down the best dynamo lamp I’ve used to date. Good enough for moderate trail action too, although think rough stuff touring, not race-pace cross country mtb antics. If that’s your bag, something like the Sigma Buster 2000 https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/sigma-buster-2000-light  might be a better bet.

Some have criticised Shutter Precision hubs on the basis that servicing and bearing replacement are factory only affairs. However, Ison Distribution, their UK importer can take care of this. Lloyd Townsend also reminded me that factory returns are pretty standard for any modern “Ship in a bottle” dynohub system.

The SP family come with a two-year warrantee, which would cover such eventualities. Nonetheless, the hub shell is joined together in the centre. Accessing the internals demands specialist tooling.

Aside from the clocks going back and another birthday, autumn has gained on us somewhat. Temperatures have tumbled top their seasonal average and the lanes carpeted in a greasy top layer. No such thing as the wrong weather, so long as you’ve got the right kit. Bib tights, gloves, jerseys, jackets and overshoes solve comfort conundrums.

Decent tyres, such as the 35mm Scwalbe Marathon GT provide excellent cornering prowess, puncture protection and grip but iced bovine and equine dung can still induce the odd, unpleasant loss of traction. Something I was reminded of while hustling along at 23mph on Monday morning.

A minor shimmy followed and I turned back to see and indeed document! I’ve also had a very rude reminder regards pad replacement. 30mph along a local 1in7, I applied the fixed’s front stopper.

Lovely smooth action, those Jagwire pro road are really impressive but we’re not scrubbing off any speed… “F**king Aiiiiiiidaaaaaaaa!” Having made it round the final bend in one piece and begun the ascent, I made a mental note to strip, inspect and ultimately, replace the Spyre calliper’s pads. Swap complete and 10minutes enthused testing hence, I can confirm that grabbing a handful has the potential for lifting the rear wheel.  

Whisper it but I’ve also been donning a bit of day glow. The green BBB flexribbon is also surprisingly extrovert in overcast conditions, yet without screaming “winter-bike”. As might be expected, especially given the seemingly perpetual fettling, the dimpled texture is starting to cultivate a slightly grimy patina. Will be interesting to see how well it responds to washing and what the sudsy stuff/elbow grease ratio will be.  

Some riders have an almost pathological dislike of fluorescent kit and at the other extreme, others, including the UK government, are advocating compulsion.

Day-glow and day flash light settings have their merits, within reason. However, a lot of motorcycles and cars, are hard-wired to run side-lights. For a time, this made motorcyclists in particular, more conspicuous. However, as these become ubiquitous, other traffic becomes accustomed and the same myopia returns.

I was hit from behind while sat at the lights, on a borrowed Kawasaki GT750…

The shaft driven tourer was deep red, as were the lights. Dressed like an extra from Mad Max, this and a white helmet did not stop a woman plough her vehicle into me. Thrust into the flow of traffic, I groped desperately for the kill-switch. By now fuel was oozing from a ruptured tank and my leg was trapped beneath…Apparently, the woman, in her 20s claimed she did not see me…

My hunch that parliament is coming under pressure from technology companies who are developing automated “driverless” vehicles. I suspect their sensors are only able to register riders wearing hi-viz…

Farfetched? Well no, not really. Many courier/logistics companies will only hire self-employed drivers, this relieves them of a wider duty of care/responsibility for driver conduct.

This leads me to this week’s title, “Play misty for me”. Aside from the misty, murky mornings, I am being pursued by someone who has developed an extremely unwelcome and slightly unsettling infatuation, which is anything but reciprocal.

I have taken various approaches, subtle and direct, yet ultimately compassionate. I have even insisted she see this as an opportunity to develop herself and address some underlying issues, which have underpinned a set of behaviours for many years.

Other people cannot fix us, the desire to change, possibly heal has to come from within. If contact, electronic, or postal persists, I will resort to a more formal method of restraint. Now on a lighter note, I’ll leave you with some curious frames and some appalling arc.   

 

Staying Ahead

 

As I intimated in my last entry, my fixed gear winter/trainer’s FSA Orbit Aheadset, is at the beginning of the metaphorical end.
 


This presented an ideal opportunity to see how resilient Pure bike grease is, compared with Green Oil eco grease and through Autumn/early winter. https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/green-oil-ecogrease-long-ter-test

Another Woodman Saturn, like that fitted to the Teenage Dream and Holdsworth was my first choice, not least as they’re incredibly smooth and very well sealed from the elements. However, these have been discontinued and finding something NOS (New old stock) was proving tricky.

With that in mind, FSA Orbit XLII seemed an obvious and relatively inexpensive alternative. Mine for £18.99. Just as well replacement isn’t urgent, since it arrived without one of the cups. Nonetheless, to their credit, the dealer apologised and rushed me a replacement cup 1st class.

Unless we get a more exotic grease in for testing, I will probably default to Park PPL1  or White Lightning Crystal grease https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/white-lightning-crystal-grease . Think I’ll make a boot from old inner tube around the lower race for some additional protection, while I’m at it.

An old 26x1.95 Kenda thorn resistant model seems an ideal candidate but generally speaking, any Mountain bike/BMX section will fit snugly without recourse to cable ties/similar.

These might be necessary on old fashioned 1 inch headsets. Bear in mind that traditional Lithium and Teflon infused greases will rot butyl over time. Counter argument says we should strip, inspect and possibly, re-grease regularly.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to winter riding. Really stiff greases and stay put chain lubes, or lighter, cleaner formulas, replenished more frequently. I confess to a hybrid approach.

Really stout polymer type greases for bearings and component assembly, cleaner and lower friction chain lubes/waxes. Provided of course; that roads/trails aren’t waterlogged or snowbound.

Another blast from the past came in the form of Panaracer Pasala PT. Those who’ve been riding a good couple of decades or longer will probably recognise it as the tour guard-it’s just been re-named and justly so, given it ranges from 700x23 to 26x1.75.

25mm is narrow enough for general road duties and audax/weekend touring, although the bigger sections are perfect for gravel, or cyclo cross bikes that earn their keep as winter/training bikes. At 255g (each), the 25mm folders are pretty svelte but feature a puncture repelling Aramid belt.

Samples aside, unless bike(s) in question were on strict, calorie controlled diets, I’d be inclined to go for the wire bead version. Ours proved tricky customers with deeper section rims, such as the Holdsworth’s Miche-after much primal grunting, I resorted to my mighty Cyclo workshop tyre lever.

Formative impressions are favourable, although tyre compounds and other technology have advanced considerably in recent years, so they face stiff competition from models such as Vee tire co rain runner, which seem that bit faster and more dependable at full pelt and in foul weather.

Not that we’ve had anything close to the apocalyptic, stormy conditions predicted to hit these shores. Conditions have become damper mind, the lanes are paved with bovine dung, which is a decidedly slippery customer-worse when it’s glistening with ice.

I wasn’t surprised to discover more persistent rain and wet backroads have put a dent in the TF2 ultra dry wax’s economy. Needing a stiffer, yet still clean running pour and go potion, I headed to my lube box.

A quick rummage unearthed this Motorex dry chain lube, which is a fully synthetic hybrid of oil and wax. Previous experience suggests this composition serves to lock in the lubricant, while a superficially scabby layer of contaminant sticks to the wax.

This version is also similar, yet slightly different from other wax type lubricant. The wax component grabs hold of grot, preventing it sticking to the oily, lubricant properties and becoming a transmission wrecking paste. However, it doesn’t flake off, which can look a little unsightly. Nonetheless, it returns a fairly high mileage per application.   

Now, you’ll excuse me, this Halo white gravel rim and spokes have just arrived from Ison distribution, ready for John to build around the shutter precision PL8 dynohub. Talking of lights, here’s links to the Xeccon Mars blinkies and 900 lumen spear we’ve reviewed recently…  

 https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/xeccon-mars-30-rear-light

https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/xeccon-spear-900-front-light