Post Pondering

 Sometimes I contemplate replacing the Holdsworth’s Crank Brothers Cobalt3 inline seat post. I love the lightweight inline design on many levels but the clamp, despite employing a T25 clamp fastener is a weak spot. In fairness, the clamp seems to settle, requiring just a quick tightening tweak after a few outings following a saddle switch.  

I’ve gone that route and will leave sleeping saddle cradles lie for the time being.  Should this prove a more prevalent experience, I’ll switch but that’ll be a job for another time before it goes into seasonal hibernation. Meantime, I’m enjoying the Madison Flux. Madison says they’ve spent considerable time testing and refining the design, and this shows.  

I’m not sure the Unisex design favours women, primarily because of the length but otherwise, its performance and specification are extremely attractive. Nice enough for a best bike but inexpensive enough for a working bike-although its Cro-Moly railed stablemate might be the best fit, giving change from £30. 4130/Cro-moly rails strike a fabulous balance between weight, strength, durability and price (although they need a decent coat of paint). 

The Burls Ti seat post with 15mm layback sounds like an obvious choice and would complement the stem beautifully. However, I’m an inline fan, or at least I like to be positioned directly over the bottom bracket shell-have done since my mid-teens. Yes, even on a tourer.   

The other contender is this Genetic Syngenic TEST & REVIEW: GENETIC SYNGENIC SEATPOST (sevendaycyclist.com)  which is inline and relatively svelte at 249g. I'd also given the Holdsworth’s pedal tension a quick snug down, having found my left foot unintentionally releasing while pulling away at a set of temporary traffic lights.   

I’ve also been getting some proper miles in with the Ergon All Road Core Comp Saddle and it's proving surprisingly agreeable, despite being wider than my supposed (and generally preferred) ideal. Much of this I attribute to the shape and padding density. A good six hundred miles plus before I arrive at any tangible conclusions.   

Vanguard Cycles have sent me the NZero degreaser and dry wax lube, the latter is a little ironic, given my last entry discussing my preference for hybrid blends. Both are petrochemical free, and the former is reckoned to blitz tenacious petrochemical lubes and greases. Formative impressions suggest its quite potent and effective on chain lube, but greases in my experience, can prove very stubborn (which is obviously a good thing), so we’ll see how effectively the eco-friendly chemical brew breaks them down. 

I was heartened by the news that Mercian cycles has been rescued and will continue building frames in Derby. It was bought by four local businessmen, who are cyclists themselves and will keep the frame builders. That might sound obvious, their main selling point but it could easily have been a case of the brand being bought and essentially becoming a retailer. Frame building being limited to off the peg frames made in the Far East and given Mercian decals. In many respects, I doubt the latter would fly with the cycling community but could’ve easily happened.  

In automotive circles, MG cars and BSA motorcycles have reappeared but have no connection with the original, British brands. Despite this, I’ve heard patriotic breast beating regarding the latter’s “return”. The collapse of Britain’s motorcycle industry was different to other sectors and influenced by changing social expectations, standards of living and the mini. However, in common with the car industry, complacency and a reluctance to develop and innovate on the part of senior managers were major players.  

While deep cleaning the house, I accidentally knocked the believed dead Apeman A80 4K Action Camera APEMAN A80 ACTION CAMERA | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com), only for it to mysteriously power up AND begin recording. Puzzled (but glad I didn’t consign it to landfill) I decided to park it on charge and see whether it will perform reliably going forward.  I had a spare battery in any case. The unit needs a weatherproof casing for anything other than dry conditions, hence my defaulting to the Compak, which has an integrated weatherproof casing.  

Talking of waterproof, here’s Steve’s review of the Showers Pass Crosspoint Ultralight Breathable Waterproof Socks ShowersPass UltraLight Waterproof Sockc | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)   

143mm Revisited

 Last week’s disc brake refurbishment also gave me cause to reflect upon other things, specifically saddle width. Now, product testing means I test and review a wealth of different contact points and sometimes I am sent slightly wider models, or designs with more/less padding, of varied materials, and so forth.  

I am of the belief we need to spend at least 400miles with products generally and contact points in particular, before arriving at definitive opinions (longer in the case of traditional leather saddles that can require considerably more miles to mould properly and thus, become comfortable.) 

Switching the Spa Aire (titanium) saddle (265x148mm) to Ursula did not reap the rewards I’d initially thought, so I revisited the contact points spares’ box and replaced this, and the fixed gear winter/trainer’s 145mm BBB Echelon for the 143mm Selle Royal Respiro and 142mm Pro Turnix Gel.  

Both are cutaway designs, the former sports galvanized magnesium rails and tips the scales at 276g. The Pro Turnix Gel features painted stainless steel rails and weighs 278g. Both save a few grams from both builds.  

I had successfully run the Selle Italia Sport Gel Flow, (another cutaway model with thicker padding but slightly narrower at 140mm) with Ursula for a thousand miles, so will also keep that within easy reach, just in case. At 380g it’s a bit heftier than the others, courtesy of the hollow feC steel rails, but still a good bit lighter than the loveable Aire titanium. 

  

Back in 2008, I was lucky enough to receive a thorough 90-minute bike fit consultation, courtesy of Specialized and their BG Fit Specialized BG Fit System - BikeRadar. This revealed that my saddle height was 1mm out and yes, 143mm was my ideal saddle width. It also revealed that despite legs of identical length, one femur is fractionally longer than the other-cured using their insoles. This meant I had a very slight tendency to lean, inducing shoulder discomfort over longer distances.  

Being so remarkably close illustrates it is possible to get fit bang on, without a consultation but it is a very thorough means of assessing correct positioning and could save a lot of money long term. Not only in terms of wrong component length, but potential injuries requiring physiotherapy and other professional rehabilitation.  

Factors such as bike type and positioning will also play their part. A more upright stance will place more pressure on the ischial tuberoses (sit bones). Therefore, a slightly broader, more padded saddle might be prudent. At the other extreme, the Holdsworth is a long, low machine, sporting a 137mm BBB Razor saddle, which is also music to my derrière.  

A reliable ballpark measure of saddle width is achievable by sitting on a padded, leatherette chair or sofa for a minute-long enough for sit bones to leave their indents. Place two small coins to mark these and measure the distance between them in millimetres (just don’t tell Jacob Rees Mogg).  

A few 4am blasts suggest I’ve made the right moves, but we’ll see longer term, especially in Ursula’s context. Aside from sunrise being around 7ish, it’s also much cooler now- there have been a few mornings I’ve gone for the heavier weight long sleeve jersey, winter weight gloves donned a cap beneath my helmet.  

These Seal Skinz Leather Road Cycle Gloves are my default for general cool seasons riding, before temperatures really tumble. They offer excellent insulation, breathability and crucially dexterity. Some of the “lobster claw” types are fabulous when its bitterly cold and you’re cruising along but aren’t conducive to dexterous tasks and can often require removal for roadside mechanicals/inspections.  

Talking of inspections, I have been rather impressed by this Ravemen LR1600 Front Light. There are a few weeks to go before I arrive at a firm conclusion and root out any potential flaws but I’m certainly warming to it.  

As the name implies, it’s a six-mode front light producing a maximum of 1600lumens and staircasing down to 800 (medium) 450 lumen (low) and 150lumen (eco). It also has a 600-lumen daylight flashing and a 1600 emergency function.  

Aside from really build quality, it features clever optics. It employs a similar polycarbonate lens with the “Total internal reflection” and “refraction” technology meaning it’s a lot brighter than figures suggest.  

While there’s no denying the full 1600lumens are ideal for the navigating the darkest backwaters at warp speed, the 800lumens is still practical in these contexts. Anecdotally it feels closer to 1,000, maybe 1100lumens and I’ve had no issues cruising along at a steady 20mph.  

This also conserves battery reserves. Ravemen are no strangers to remotes, but these have been wired types. The LR1600 features a wireless unit fuelled by a single CR2032 cell. Range is approximately a metre, meaning the LR1600 is more practical than some as a helmet mounted option.  Let’s see what the coming weeks bring... Meantime, I’ll leave you with my review of these carbon forks Carbon Cycles Exotic Fork | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)