Baggage, Bonding & Time Machines

 

Now, short of a huge lottery win (The sort that buys large freehold property with even bigger workshops, welders, and all manner of tooling joy) I won’t be indulging but building Denise and to a lesser extent, Ursula’s upcoming modernisation has brought me back to the spring/summer of 1989 and Specialized’s Rock Combo.(11) Specialized RockCombo Owners | Facebook Many are now heralding it as the first gravel bike-a relatively lightweight go anywhere machine based around a cro-moly frameset. The 19.5-inch version had a 42-inch wheelbase, 17-inch chainstays and of course, four-point carrier fixings, big wide swoopy drops, Turbo saddle, Suntour XCD, thumb shifters and a triple 3x7 range.  

  

I recall it being pitted against tourers in a magazine group test and stock, with the 26x1.5 tyres it would’ve been a perfect off the peg mile muncher for me- had I the money- bearing in mind that I was on the cusp of turning 16 and I recall the Rock Combo being around the £450-500 mark. Bear in mind, I’d bought a used Claud Butler Super Dalesman from a dealer for £250 earlier that year, so there wasn’t the budget (or parental tolerance) for another machine. Time machine? Well, that would be seriously handy, and I would’ve corrected some decisions before they had the sometimes-lasting impact they did… 

  

Again, much as I love the Rock Combo and would give one a loving home, I wouldn’t pay classic, dare I say nostalgic prices for one. Between Denise and Ursula and their mix of retro and contemporary, my dirt riding needs are very well catered for.  

 

There were some great concepts that fell out of fashion, but a lot went extinct for good reason. Front loading stems being prime examples. Sure, they have a place on older builds, but I greatly appreciate the ability to pop the stem face off and slot the bars in place.  

 

No need to go through the rigmarole of removing the bar tape, accessories, brake levers etc.  Talking of retro, though I like Denise’s gear cable run, the Oxford Aqua Evo bar bag had me thinking I may need to reroute to prevent fouling… On balance, the Aqua EVO is possibly a better fit for the fixed gear winter/trainer, since it’s a disc setup, so no cable/hanger fouling hassles. We’ll see. 

  

I’m very fond of the Shimano PD ED 500 Shimano PD ED 500 Pedals | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) but changing the Wellgo MO94B WELLGO MO94B SPD PEDALS | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) was an inspired choice, the platforms giving greater support, especially off road and Denise’s lofty bottom bracket means no grounding issues, even when cornering aggressively along tightly winding singletrack. They’re staying.   

 

 

 

After some further reflection and light tweaking, the Suntour SE cantilevers and I bonded. Setup is a little more involved than a traditional cantilever but not overly complex. The arms are centred by loosening (one at a time) with a 5mm Allen key and aligning with a 16mm cone spanner. I took this opportunity to tweak the cable tension, pulling it fractionally tighter. There’s a little more travel at the lever than I was familiar with but when the pads bite, fierce, yet controllable power is on tap. 

  

Since I had the Allen keys out, I switched the Ergon All Road for the Madison Flux and then of course, decided the Carradice Carrady was a better bet, given the 600-denier polyester/PVC material was much easier to wipe clean. Of course, a ride the following morning confirmed it was too large and binding on the WTB tyre (!) Back went the SQR Tour. 

  

Now, while I liked the lived-in, long-standing patina, after 23 years, I was also conscious of it needing a deep clean and re-proofing. Ditto the Carradice Super C Rack Bag, which had served for a decade or so. The fabric is best cleaned by brushing residual dirt off and then lightly cleaning with a sponge and warm soapy water. Allow it to dry thoroughly. The reproofing wax only needs a light, sparing application and cured with a hairdryer on a high heat setting. I have every intention of keeping them going for as long as reasonably possible. I love the SQR system’s rigidity and carrying capacity both volume and weight.   

  

Talking of wax, I’ve switched Denise’s KMC chain to Blub Wax. I needed to give the Finish Line Grunge Brush a good testing. True to claims, it will work dry-I simply sprayed some neat degreaser on the bristles, chain and cassette and went to town. Rinsed with warm water, we’d gone from scuzzy to sparkling in a matter of five minutes. 

  

The wax seems to cure in 30 minutes, seems temperature stable and does the typical wax thing, trapping grit and other contaminant before it can do anything destructive, then flaking off, leaving only a clean, filmy lubricant layer behind. Corrosion resistance seems better than traditional blends but the need to replenish if the bike’s not ridden for 48-hours is a little annoying. This sounds as if this is a component in common with its Ceramic stablemate. Ending on a lube note, here’s my review of the Wolf Tooth WT-1 All Conditions Lube Wolf Tooth WT-1 All Conditions Chain Lub | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) 

 

Fresh Rubber & Lights

August continues to accelerate at an alarming rate with darker mornings and night’s crafty creep becoming progressively more apparent. Timely that I should receive these Ravemen and Kranx lights from their UK importer Bob Elliot Co Ltd - Suppliers of high quality bicycle supplies to registered traders (bob-elliot.co.uk) I have the TR500 USB Rechargeable rear light, TR1600 USB Rechargeable Curved Lens Front Light and Kranx Strix 100 USB Rear Light.  

On the rubber front, these CST Czar700x28 Dual Compound Tyre arrived. However, I was also disappointed (but not remotely surprised) by the response of a Dutch supplier, who likes Seven Day Cyclist www.sevendaycyclist.com but says the costs (due to Brexit) prohibit supply of some very tasty test products.  

Then of course, there’s the very real prospect of power shortages and “black outs” during winter, which will be sold as character-building and doubtless heaped with rhetoric, evoking the second world war. Expect to hear “Blitz Spirit” and “pulling together” ad nauseum (which drives some sections of the British public into a palpable jingoistic frenzy).  

I’m still waiting on some component upgrades, which should’ve materialised by now-I'm hoping they turn up before much longer, given the impending strike action at Felixstowe.

 

Back to tyres...For general, year-round riding I’ve tended to favour those with a 60tpi casing. Now, sweeping generalisations are, begging for contradiction. However, while they lack the zing of those with 120, maybe 170 tpi, they still roll easily, ride quality isn’t overly harsh, and durability is similarly impressive. I’ve done several thousand miles with the Kenda Kwick Roller KS Plus KENDA KWICK JOURNEY TYRES | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and they’re still in rude health. At 757g apiece, they may be a little portly for some tastes but in the darker, colder months, I preside reliability over outright speed.  

The Vittoria Roubino Pro Control Graphene 2.0 Vittoria Rubino Pro Control Graphene 2.0 | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) are slightly narrower but palpably lighter and faster. No flats to date and it’ll be interesting how they fare during winter (although I may well swap to bigger sections, when conditions turn a little more challenging). This may not be for some time, given some sources suggest a heatwave will continue into October, possibly November.  

That said; back in the late 80s/early 90s, when many of us were whizzing along on 20-23mm road rubber, 28mm was very much the preserve of lightweight/weekend touring. Still perfectly viable, with lighter loads, or indeed, a low-slung touring trailer.  

 

Otherwise, where frame clearances permit, 35-40mm is my sweet spot for road-biased touring, although I err toward the upper end of this scale.  

Weekend, or indeed “credit card” touring aside, tyres for laden duties should have strong sidewalls and a decent puncture repelling belt (preferably one that runs bead to bead and 3-5mm thick)   

Much as I suspected the Souma Leather Bar Tape improves with use and has settled beautifully on both bars. I’ve fed ours a few times and it's darkened the hide slightly but thankfully, this is uniform, so doesn’t detract. This is to be expected with all leather products, so test an inconspicuous area first, especially if you are treating a light colour.  

The Green Oil Dry Chain Wax continues to impress with its cleanliness and longevity. It's designed for dry, dusty conditions, so arguably in its ideal element. In terms of characteristics, it's somewhere between a traditional dry and wax, meaning it's clean and dry to touch.  

Much as I expected, it uses plant-based ethanol, plant oil and antioxidant. This version also employs graphite as a friction modifier. Continuing this theme, Ursula’s KMC chain is still in rude health, reassuringly so, given it's done 1500 mixed terrain miles. It's been a dry summer, but winter and spring conditions were more varied and I’m thinking cleaner lubes are the determining factor.   

Honeymoon period passed and I’m still pleased with the switch to carbon forks. The weight saving is genuinely palpable, especially since I’ve also switched to the lighter of its dynohub wheels. It’s the compliant ride quality, which is the main draw.  Sure, Cro-Moly forks, like the “school chair” type that Ursula has sported can still be found, new for £60 (although lighter, cross-country models with disc mounts are still available for around £125).  

These might be a more cost-effective choice for some, especially since 26inch wheels are increasingly regarded as old-fashioned. That said; there is a small but seemingly growing community of people who are going the “gravel” route with older, mid and higher end cross country mountain bikes.  

Closer to the Specialized Rock Combo (694) Specialized Rock Combo 1989 commercial -- the first production gravel bike? - YouTube 

 that blew my fragile teenage mind c. 1989 (although the drop bar mountain bike first sprung to my attention in March 1987, when I clapped eyes on Muddy Fox’s Trailblazer). I am forming the opinion that the Carbon fork is an affordable and realistic upgrade for those with older, mid to higher end mountain bikes given new leases of life. 

Painted fork ends bode well for winter and the clear cost uniformly good, although I’ve applied some Zefal Skin Armor roll ZEFAL SKIN ARMOR ROLL | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) on those areas where cabling, or cable ties rest, to prevent unnecessary wear-especially when wet, muddy and gritty stuff are thrown into the mix.