Another Fait Accompli

Well frankly it was, credit card materializing within my fevered fingers as if driven by occult forces. £29.99 lighter and several minutes later, said square taper LX crankset was winging its way here. 

Presently cocooned within bubble wrap, I’m denying child like urges to undertake transplant surgery since the Alivio remains in extremely rude health. Once the existing chain, cassette and late middle-aged LX mech sing their swansongs, I’ll give said tubby workhorse’s Microshift brifters responsibility for an extra sprocket and take advantage of readily available mid range consumables. Besides, time management will be a familiar concept to most freelancers. The ability to escape for a ride, introduce new equipment etc on my own terms is deeply liberating but with such reward comes great responsibility/discipline.

Submitting successive, decent features/book proposals is exhausting, it can take several weeks for their recipients’ response, especially during what’s dubbed “The silly season”. In press parlance this has traditionally referred to freelancers stepping in to fill the boots of more established anchor folk while the world and their offspring are reading trashy airport novels on a beautiful beach somewhere or just mingling at late summer barbecues. For some it’s an ideal opportunity to demonstrate their true potential, though easily leads some people punching above their weight.

I regularly listen to Women’s Hour while slaving over a hoit keyboard, primarily because I find the differing perspectives on a wealth of subjects are delivered with considerable insight and ownership by Jenni Murray/Jan Garvey.Alas, I found myself increasingly irritated by Kirstie Allsopp’s feature exploring women's childbirth choices. Clearly very passionate  she couldn't execute with sufficient authority and the piece felt closer to the standards I'd expect from an A level media studies student than seasoned broadcast journalist. 

More convincing than the recent litigation brought forward by supposedly disillusioned readers of Lance Armstrong’s inspirational works though. I read the first while holidaying in Rome but never really bought into the franchise or fairytale. Suing Armstrong on the grounds of fraudulent misrepresentation strikes me as little more than a deeply cynical means of financial gain and marginally less irksome than a decidedly aggressive young man who ploughed into my  Endura engined Ford Ka back in 2006.

He (successfully I might add) sued me for “hurt feelings”. Against this and a backdrop of increasingly fractious road encounters, I lost no time in renewing my third party cycling cover. Pragmatically, I have little qualm about this since it reinforces the message that bicycles/tandems/recumbents are vehicles with equal rights/responsibilities when navigating the public highway.

Parallels with Armstrong’s case might be somewhat tentative, though illustrate how eager people are, especially in less favourable fiscal circumstance to seek easy financial remuneration.  Negotiating some deeply deprived neighbourhoods on a daily basis for many years left little doubt that people would wantonly stray into my path, seeking damages, spurred on by the relentless barrage of television advertisements.

Collision with a car could also result in the owner/driver seeking financial redress for repairs. Simple and relatively inexpensive cover is often available through clubs/organisations, typically with some sort of legal support. Obviously, this wouldn’t stem the claims culture outlined above but it might go someway to muting disturbingly mainstream assertions that people choosing to use human powered vehicles are reckless reprobates needing institutional help. Sadly, we have it seems, also reverted to an insidious “Asking for it” misogynist mindset-even amongst young women, some of whom would readily identify themselves as feminist. ...

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Evolution of a Species

Dull and overcast November brings with it ideal testing conditions for the latest lighting systems. Helmet lamps are really exciting as they allow the rider to precisely attune the beam and in the context of Light & Motion's integrated (front and rear) VIZ360 direct 150 lumens at driver eye-level having the desired effect of registering your presence from afar without blinding oncoming traffic. Mounting effortlessly to most lids there's ample peripheral vision and output in the highest setting is sufficient to navigate forest trail and rural backwater.

However, UK law dictates it must be used in conjunction with bike mounted types. Given the way the legal system operates, a careless driver could be acquitted on such a technicality and even though the four lumen rear is genuinely visible in all contexts, it only takes a split second turn of the head, the approaching driver momentarily distracted for a fatal collision. That said, the Vis 360 has saved my bacon once following main systems failure-impromptu ride, lost track of time etc and to be frank its the perfect companion for this interesting Haloglow helmet. Sure on the face of things the Haloglow is just another very competent universal fit road lid with twenty vents conforming to CE1078 standard. Look closer however and there's an LED type halo around the circumference. Pressing the positive rear mounted switch for a few seconds engages and toggles between static and flashing modes. First impressions are favourable but the coming weeks will cement my opinion in a constructive and informed manner. In the meantime, take a closer look (http://www.moorelarge.co.uk/)

Continued subtle reconfiguration of the mighty Univega sees only the headset, Ultegra bar cons, front mech and Kalloy post remain of the original build. The rear wheel has been upgraded to a disc compatible Mavic/Alivio offering. Detailing is remarkably good, includes disc mounts, extremely well sealed bearings coupled with a satin ball burnished finish serves to illustrate how far lower end components have come in the last decade or so as technology trickles downward. Contrary to popular misconception, the spokes and the rims are to some extent, of greater significance to a wheel's quality than the hubs themselves.

A skillfully built budget offering can be a much better bet than superior components thrown together by a machine or "Saturday boy". That last remark reminds me of a situation some twenty years back when a customer came into a bike dealers collecting £200 worth of bespoke road wheels. Alas the hapless employee omitted rim tape and the subsequent explosion caused raised voices and red faces a plenty. These days litigation wouldn't be an idle threat. The Univega also enjoys a tyre upgrade courtesy of some lovely Schwalbe. With two inch wide profiles you'd expect them to be as responsive as the proverbial snail on mogadon. Oh contraire, they're the fastest two inch rubber I've used to date with superb acceleration and control whether thundering along the slimy rural backwaters or trickling through town.

Positively gliding over man hole covers, shards of glass, speed humps there's been no sign of the dreaded hiss and provocatively sneaking an extra fifteen psi past their 70psi maximum couldn't detract from the graceful, magic carpet ride. The 14-28 cassette left us feeling under-geared though so was substituted for a nickle plate 12-25. Lock ring tools, especially cassette types are so readily misplaced. Mercifully I found this hyper cracker pocket marvel in the spares drawer- It's really designed for touring, using the frame as a giant chain whip to remove (or refit) the ring but salvaged that particular evening's ride.

Contact points are amongst the most hotly debated (and oft contested) subjects when cyclists congregate for any period-saddles being a time honoured favourite. BBB are a Dutch firm doing things slightly different to the rest of the world in a very positive sense. Understated, the brands' Razer comfort lite sports remarkable attention to detail. Cro-moly rails are extremely well finished while the composite base and micro density memory foam are equally impressive. White leatherette covers usually turn my blood cold but this one's encased beneath a thick, durable lacquer meaning greasy finger marks, dirt and general ingress vanish with the first flick of a damp cloth so its practical, even for 'cross.

So where's the rub? Well, it just comes down to the 130mm base that is thirteen millimetres too narrow for my posterior over longer distances, leaving me uttering more "Ooooh!" than the late Frankie Howard (Titter ye not). Those worried about mutual compatibility will need to get themselves over to their nearest Specialized dealer for an assometer measurement or alternatively go the DIY route. Find an old but clean foam off cut. Sit on it long enough to leave a deep, obvious butt-print. Now, mark these points with ball bearings, marker pens or similar reference and measure the distance between the "sit bones" Voila you now have your optimum size!

Allow a little leeway- slightly wider for a more upright touring/mtb configurations such as the Univega but your newly discovered measurement will work just fine in the contexts of track or road mounts...

Now, you'll have to excuse me, I'm off to play with another lid, One23's 1 watt extreme light and Schwalbe's Kojak- who loves ya baby.