Derelict delights & Other Developments

Had an extremely creative location shoot with Krystal over in Tendering, using derelict farm building, church and petrol station as our backdrop. Aside from some rubber-necking and quizzical glances from passers-by, we were largely (and thankfully), left to our own devices.

For me, it is imperative that models feel completely comfortable with the briefing and location. Krystal and I share a mutual love of derelict buildings and reminisce about those, lost to widespread gentrification and development, in Hackney and elsewhere in London’s East End.

Continued, summery conditions have meant plenty of miles, at full pelt aboard the Holdsworth. There’s something very satisfying about its simplicity. Blinkies and bar mounted computer and Stem captain clock aside everything about the build is strictly functional. Enough parts to make it stop, go and handle in great proportion but otherwise, completely pared to the essentials.

Then of course, there is my feline who seems to take great exception to and seemingly assassinates anything that isn’t Schwalbe. Those likeable 42mm Maxxis Roamer https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/maxxis-roamer-tyres being the latest casualty, so I’ve reverted to Schwalbe Marathon GT https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/schwalbe-marathon-gt-tyres  up front. 

Hopefully, said feline will approve. Perhaps it was the lack of absolute uniformity that fuelled his latest bout of contempt.  

Passed by John Moss’s house, while out running an errand, only to be distracted by his friend’s Newton trike.

This one was made from Reynolds 525, featured hope hydraulic brakes and a Shimano LX drivetrain. Another thing that caught my eye was the wheel choice- 700x28 at the rear, 26x1.5 up front. The rear Vittoria was showing obvious signs of perishing around the sidewalls, prompting a quick dash to a well-known and in my experience, justly popular French superstore.   

After some experimentation, John has commissioned a machine shop to make a crank spider, compatible with his Mango’s Sun Star system and of course, the additional ring. This leaves him free, to engineer a suitable chain tensioner system. This is to prevent derailment/jamming at a crucial point.

Staying with chains, we’ve just received these from Crankalicious. The Gumchained remedy, is basically a high performance solvent degreaser, used in their K wipe chain cleaner sachets https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/crankalicious-kwipe-chain-cleaner .

This breed of gunk gobbler pretty much evaporates-a quick clean rag once-over is all that’s required, before fresh lube can be introduced. No rinsing with fresh water/similar faff.

There are several ways of administering it. Chain baths are the most obvious, mess free option but I’ve gone the old school team mechanic’s route. Having poured a little into a plastic tube, I brush it into the links, holding the tub beneath to catch any overspill. Though chains, cassettes and derailleurs are the obvious candidates, I will also be testing its prowess, as a degreaser.  

The fleet has been fed dry and wax based lubes given summer’s here and these months are, afterall, the fairest measure of their performance (That said; it’s still relevant to see how well they endure cold and wetter conditions).  The Joe’s dry lube is behaving in very much the same fashion as other PTFE infused blends, including the Finish Line dry. https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/finish-line-dry-bike-lube

Unlike Squirt and other “flake away” types, which “ingest” grime before falling away from the chain, these just run a bit cleaner and remain slightly tackier to touch. No transmission branding on the calves, as yet, which bodes well for commuters who scoot to work in smart, pale trousers.

One quirk, seems to be the residual waxy film that builds up around the inner ring. Even after I’ve given the side-plates and ring(s) a quick, clean rag cat-lick, the milky fluid seems to collect and ultimately congeal. Experimentation suggests it’s possible to reclaim and redistribute the residue to cables, lock and cleat mechanisms. Waste not, want not and all that.

In common with the Finish Line dry, curing times are around the 15minute mark, which is also a boon, given some otherwise excellent competition can require several hours. Hardly convenient when you’re running late on Monday morning, or a mate’s dropped by, inviting you out for a spin. I’m expecting around three hundred miles per application, through a predominantly dry, though occasionally moist June/July.

We also received this Crankalicious Mayo Jaune frame polish, which they describe as a “Deep cleaning polish and glaze, for removing scratches and marks in all frame types”. We’ll see. Now, remember the blasting and prepping last week...Sparked your curiosity? Well, click this link https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/gravel-bike-on-a-budget , and wonder no more!  

It Just Burst!

No, not that kind of Latex calamity. I’m talking tubes and flats (again). Not a year passes without someone, marketing a new cure for the common puncture. Well, quick fix resurrection is probably more accurate. Timely these GUP sealant and inflator cannisters arrived at my door.

 

These work to the “spare wheel in a can narrative”. Find and remove any offending sharps from the tyre casing(s). Open the valve, deflating completely. Shake the cannister vigorously, plug the yellow “smart” head on and then push upwards to release the mixture of sealant and CO2. In common with pocket Co2 inflator tools, delivery is very controllable. Releasing your grip, eases the flow.

Other designs I’ve used previously haver managed around the 60-65psi mark. This sort of pressure’s enough to limp home on but not going to blow a 700x25c into smithereens. Jettisoning the whole lot in one press isn’t problematic.  

I’ve managed 90psi inside these 38mm Soma Shikoro https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/s , which is impressive. Whip the head off, then spin the wheel quickly, so sealant can race to and plug holes. Give the tyres another, quick onceover; then scoot off.

Sounds perfect for the Monday commute, or when you’re weary, toward the end of a long ride…

Alas, there are limits to any goo-based product. Should they fail, the result can be a big ‘old, undignified mess!

Most will seal small holes (1mm or so) with no problems, provided the sealant is still mobile (varies from brand to brand but expect a year or so’s useful service from this genre).

Much bigger, or something close to the valve, spells new tube and big clean up. So, ensure you’ve a decent spare holidaying in your luggage, and carry some wipes/cloths too-just in case. The Shikoro succumbed to a very aggressive sharp. This had sliced deep into the centre strip.

Taking an educated gamble, with the GUP reaped great reward. It didn’t, with this Panaracer T serv.  A phantom flat by all accounts and not one that, I can attribute to my malevolent farm cat, either. (Although, I’m convinced the old boy takes exception, to the scent of some tyre compounds). Further inspection revealed a weakness around the valve stem, one seemingly common to the budget bundle types.

600 miles in, I’ve reached my short-term conclusions about, which have delighted me with their quick, yet super compliant ride quality. Soma Fabrications Supple Vitesse EX tyres https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/soma-fabrications-vitesse those seeking something more tourist; should look at these Schwalbe Evolution Marathon Supreme https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/schwalbe-marathon-supreme-tyre

Steve gave them a good blast through Cumbria https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/cycling-in-cumbria-s-border-country . He reckons they lack the outright invulnerability of the Marathon plus but are that bit friskier, easier

Trailers and folders also deserve good rubber.

However, all too often, when it comes to trailers, OEM types are the cheapest knobblies going. Functional enough, to a point. However, something I’d look to upgrade expediently.

Now I use my Yak homage as part of the testing process. This might be a tourer or adventure bike’s stability, or “just” seeing how tyres perform in different contexts. Dave Taylor at Schwalbe UK has learned of this, so is generously some Marathon Plus.

Elsewhere, having discovered the Mango body is in fact, GRP, I’ve been approaching motorcycle refinishers, to see if they’d be interested. I’ve had a couple of very positive leads. Another, similarly helpful spray shop said he didn’t have the room but…had some contacts in Northamptonshire, who would be able to facilitate.
 

A couple have been very enthused about the project and given, back-of-an-envelope quotes. That’s for John to decide but progress, nonetheless. Nothing from Sun Star either, so he’s machining a spider from a budget Sun race triple…

I on the other hand am beset with excruciating toothache, which as suspected, is an abscess. Prescribed antibiotics and more, heavy duty ibuprofen painkiller, I’m presently sporting a pout. The kind, some people pay a fortune for. Wasn’t expecting these side effects though…

Hot Air

Perhaps I’m in a minority but despite having preferential telephone listings that theoretically prevents invasive cold-call telesales; I am pretty much guaranteed to experience cognitive interruptus while someone reading from a script and on commission-only contract unleashes their sales patter- double glazing, loft insulation, kitchen scrappage (or whatever laxative scheme the present administration can inject into a merely flatulent UK economy).

Thrust from academia back in the mid-1990s into a landscape of immediate starts and media sales, it seems eerily familiar two decades on. Having been one of those battery-grads cruising through a printed call-list, supervisor over one’s shoulder checking to ensure everyone is rigidly conforming to company schpeel; I’m generally compassionate in my decline.

Hard sell artists on the other hand engage my subversive streak, especially as I’ve since discovered there’s a commonly used database linking my landline with an unrelated property several miles away. Often I have sent cocky sales monkeys on fool’s missions in the hope a seamless procession of unwelcome vans bearing solar panels, “installation engineers” and “surveyors” descending on their doorstep might see the penny drop.

Inner tubes tend to be forgotten until we’re assaulted by a heavily patched butyl octopus when sweeping into the garage, or serenaded with the dreaded hiss miles from civilisation, only to discover spares didn’t come along for the ride.  It’s amazing how many will spend good money on a top-flight wheelset for whatever purpose, yet bung in the cheapest, wafer thin, poorly moulded fare with excruciatingly vulnerable valve stems.

Twenty eight years back, Latex tubes were revered by time trialists/road racers (who weren’t necessarily die hard tubular devotees) on account of their low weight and rolling resistance when paired with the best clinchers. Abrasion and therefore, puncture resistance was another feature manufacturers were quick to promote in the era’s cycling press. Not without merit either; since the material tolerates considerable deformity and it’s precisely this fluidity that resists pinch and penetration flatting.

However, since Latex is porous, received wisdom suggested daily (rather than weekly) inflation with narrower, high pressure tyres experiencing greatest losses of pressure. Specialist sealants lining their interior walls supposedly counteract this without blunting performance advantages but then of course, said material has no blocking property so degrades really quickly exposed to extremes of temperature, UV light oils and indeed heat induced during braking. Hmm, seems glaringly obvious why these haven’t become universally adopted.

Goo-filled models certainly fired public imagination, or should I say faith, which is no bad thing if it encourages people to ride more generally. However, green gloop enjoys a lifespan of around six, possibly nine months before losing mobility, or in some instances leaking through the valve stems, leaving trails of mysterious spatter marks.

Admittedly; they’ll owe you nothing if you’ve enjoyed trouble free commutes during this time but very messy should a particularly vindictive sharp burrow home. In common with patch kits, qualities vary and sometimes it boils down to faith/other decidedly “unscientific” stuff.

Whatever your preference, track pumps are probably the most cost and labour saving acquisitions for newbies-enabling optimum pressures with nominal effort, greatly extending tyre life, reducing punctures, improving ride quality/comfort and damage associated with potholes, ruts and similarly destructive surface imperfections.

My first was a Silca unit-all steel with bright orange barrel and lozenge shaped handle. Pressure gauges bore only passing affinity with reality but these were easily and inexpensively rebuilt (mine finally expired after eleven years’ relentless service).

Actually, I part exchanged it with a then local dealer/friend, in favour of a deluxe version sporting longer barrel, smoother piston and wooden handle.  More than adequate for most contexts perhaps but designs have come along immeasurably since with greater refinements, not to mention improved accuracy.

I’ve always run higher end metal models alongside a cheap, yet cheerful composite (back up-more convenient consuming less car space when attending race meets, a week’s cottage based touring escape etc).

However, the trend for loftier designs has been a godsend for efficiency-requiring notably fewer strokes, while overcoming the discomfort of being stooped. Arguably this latter point’s a moot one in two bike households but those with bigger fleets, or taller riders serving as race-service/club mechanics.

Loftier desingns, especially those exceeding 68cm can be a little unstable-so look for a nice, sturdy base. Oh and in these times of terrorist anxiety, be wary about using them on the drive since ignorant passers-by may believe you are preparing to detonate explosives. Absurd-perhaps but alas I’ve already been on the receiving end of such hysteria once this week! Now going to educate myself regarding platforms and other digital/e book structures….