Frankensets

 

I’d continued to build Ursula in short, little and often bursts. I’d instated the Microshift bar con, replaced a tube in the rear Ryde XT wheel and inflated the Continental Cross Kings to 55psi and then began contemplating Ursula’s bar tape. Change for changes sake, a new era? I didn’t want to say goodbye to the Cycology 8 days Cycology 8 days Handlebar Tape | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) just yet, but fate (and the elements) had other ideas. I’ve gone for the Acros Silicone Bar Wrap LONG-TERM TEST: ACROS SILICONE BAR WRAP | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) the orange rather than blue, given winter’s looming. It's easily wrapped and naturally sticky, so no need for a backing adhesive, which makes cable swaps that bit easier.   

While I pondered this, my place in the Universe etc., I decided to install a fresh set of Microshift bar cons. There was nothing wrong with the original left shifter, but I decided since I needed to fit the rear bar con, I may as well go for uniformity at this stage. I want the rebuild right, from the off. Jagwire Road Elite sealed cables (173g complete and uncut) were also installed but fatigue left me convinced I’d a full set of derailleur cables. I had several inners but only one outer and one complete set of ferrules. I left everything snug but not pruned and decided to quit while ahead.   

The following day, I managed to whip the rear wheel in, set up the rear brake calliper and fitted a KMC chain, using the sleeping hub to hold everything in alignment. I’ll dial in the rear mech another time, probably when the front mech cable arrives. Meantime, I’ve popped the Acros tape (left side) into the wash.  All was going well until I tried the headset. Having stripped the Stronglight unit, I discovered it wasn’t all it seemed- a frankenset, made from bits of headsets. I had another, a cartridge model bought a while back and yep, despite being in a sealed envelope, was also missing parts. Bottom line, I was weary of wasting any more time, removed the Stronglight and bought an FSA, consigning the former to the bin.   

Elsewhere, the ORP Smart HornTESTED: ORP SMART HORN (sevendaycyclist.com) has returned to my fixed gear winter/trainer’s Genetic D-Riser 4 bars GENETIC DRISER 4 HANDLEBARS | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) The two-tone powder coat finish is enjoying its 9th birthday and is still in great shape. Though wet has been the primary narrative of the past fortnight, I found time to give the bike a seriously good clean, removed the seat post and blasted some of the waxy corrosion inhibitor inside.  I hung it up for a few days, switching to Denise for some fun along the lanes, allowing the fixed’s corrosion inhibitor to cure thoroughly.   

More lights have been coming our way-as you’d expect, given we’re entering the darker season. Magicshine See Mee 100AD Rear Light, which can produce, you guessed it, 100lumens. AD stands for Auto Detect, referring to the sensor system, which produces a more intense flashing light when it senses another vehicle approaching. It can also be synced with other compatible taillights for heightened presence.  

Not forgetting the Alty 800 V2.0/1200/1200U front lights. IPX6 for weatherproofing seems increasingly to be the default, which is good news for most consumers. It’s not waterproof in the submersible sense, but will certainly fend off very heavy rain, standing water, mud too, in my experience.  

I’ve not had too much issue with lights confirming to the lowlier IPX4 over the years- at least for road biased duties. However, there have been occasions when I’ve needed to flush a drowned unit out with a few liberal blasts of water displacer.  

Formative impressions suggest the See Mee 100AD sensor is very accurate and the flash deployed remarkably effective at grabbing and holding attention. Theoretically, this should mean being able to run a lower setting, conserving power and letting the intelligent technology do its thing when other vehicles approach.  

This doesn’t come naturally to me. Surrendering to tech’s mercy isn’t something that sits naturally with me but in the interests of testing. I’ll give it a go. The relatively flat lens design also aroused some minor concerns around peripheral presence, say when crossing junctions etc. but the projected light seems to counter this.  

Another nice feature is mount compatibility with others in the SeeMee family, so I can just switch places with the See Mee 50Mag, or indeed, the SeeMee100 and SeeMee 200 V2 without any issues. Super convenient and very welcome. It also makes sense from the vantage point of manufacturing economics.      

Money For Old Rope?

 

It has been suggested by some that gravel is little more than repackaged 90s cross country mountain biking. As a means of starting debate, it’s a good opening line. I disagree. Any sweeping statement is by definition inaccurate. As with any other genre of riding, gravel will mean different things to different people. 

I removed the Topeak MTX Trunk Dry Bag Topeak MTX Trunk Dry Bag | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and gave the DX rack a clean. Some grittiness had made inroads into the centre channel’s powder coated finish and there was some fastener taint. Both easily remedied with a drop of chain lube and some Motoverde Waterless Wash & Wax Motoverde Waterless Wash & Wax | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com). Lastly, I switched the Ergon All Road and Ritchey saddles around. Both have proven good choices for me, but I was keen to see how well the Ergon performed with Denise along rougher roads and trails. 

I would argue gravel is an evolution of cyclo cross, which started with models such as Specialized’s Tri Cross. Cyclo cross bikes with daily driver friendly features such as mudguard and carrier mounts, several bottle bosses and wider gearing. Running in parallel, we had the adventure bike, which were tour friendly cyclo cross bikes with longer wheelbases, bigger clearances and tour-friendly geometry, disc brakes, braze ons and a hint of MTB DNA. 

  

For me, gravel is the lovechild of adventure tourer and thoroughbred cyclo cross bike with some XC mountain bike DNA for good measure. Some more, some less. Some competition models are closer to pared to the essential's cross builds with bigger clearances and hydraulic stoppers. Though very capable, they’re a little too prescriptive for my riding needs/tastes. I’m also very fond of the suspension tech evolution-seat posts and stems, specifically but feel that a fully blown suspension for is, for me, pushing things too close to full blown mountain biking.   

 

In its purist sense, the internet is a fantastic resource (allowing of course, for the mine of mis and disinformation). It allows us to experience and share skills and information at lighting pace and in our own time. Since my early teens., I have always been fascinated by manufacturing processes.  

 

Frame building and enamelling/paint being the most obvious. Yes, these were the starting points- I’d needed a frame built/repaired and/or refinished by a skilled and sympathetic workshop, but it extended to other areas- an interest in building my own touring trailers along the lines of Bob Yak. During these years, aside from some welding and unrelated professional courses, much of my formal learning was academic. 

  

I have always held a desire to learn wet spray refinishing along with powder coating, if only for my own projects and amusements. Having finished listening to You Tube stories while drafting copy, You Tube waved some interesting channels and gravel cycling in particular. Paul Brodie’s  Painting my GRAVEL BIKE // Paul Brodie's Shop (youtube.com) 

 

channel where he discusses his latest gravel build and disc mount, before showing the start to finish wet spray. He’d gone for an orange and spatter effect. I was sat there transfixed as the grey primer tubes came to life in a bold orange. 

  

I’d seen this before obviously, and it’s never lost its magic. As with so many things, a skilled person makes it look effortless. I watched Mario Vaz in his paint shop and marvelled as the paint magically stopped at certain points.  

 

During our conversation, he reflected and said one of the things he really enjoyed about paintwork and stoving enamels in particular, was that every colour is different to work with. Aside from the obvious satisfaction in being able to undertake the work to a high standard, there’s the other long-standing narrative about me not wanting to be reliant on or beholden to anyone else. At least no more than is strictly necessary. 

 

I’d been contemplating the fixed gear winter/trainer’s gearing and chain tension. The Pirelli Angel DT’s flat was another tiny sharp that had grazed the tube, hence the slow pressure loss. An easy fix, but given the bike is now more road-biased, I went for a 28mm Schwalbe One 365, which gives a gear ratio of 70.7 inches, greater clearance and a more responsive ride. 

Changing chain tugs, for some nicely made, long-serving Genetic and opting for a previously cut, but unused KMC S1 proved the cure. It also presented an opportunity to check the rear Halo sprocket's health. Fixed drivetrains are simple but take a lot of stress-especially if you, like me, don’t run a rear brake. Replace chains regularly and get the tension right to prevent reduced efficiency and accelerated drivetrain wear. Talking of drivetrains, I'll end here with Steve's review of Blub Bio Degreaser Blub Bio Degreaser | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)