All Terrain Escapes

Forty miles in and I’m beginning to bond with those Schwalbe Marathon GT 365. Although a hefty pairing, they complete the Univega’s all-terrain persona, which has also swept me back to the early 80s spirit of UK mountain biking-go anywhere machines that were light, fun and enabled the rider to leave everything behind.

Escapism is a positive thing and not to be confused with sticking one’s head in the proverbial sand. It’s a chance to reflect, figure things through and return with a cohesive, pragmatic strategy. Does wonders for episodes of writer’s block, or those occasions when paragraphs simply merge into a tangled, congealed mass on the screen.

Full-length mudguards naturally limit the machine’s true off road potential. That said; in its present guise and with those tyres; loose surfaces, unmade roads, forest trails and yes, disused railway lines are easily passable at a decent tempo.

The line in question doesn’t go any distance now, thanks to extensive housebuilding, it’s essentially been reduced to a short strip of woodland. Undeterred, I tried the lane in parallel, mindful of getting over-enthused, taking a wrong turn and hammering through someone’s back garden!

I’d been that particular route some years before while rejoicing in a stretch of super smooth forest on my’ cross bike around midnight. All of a sudden, my 1000 lumen headlight picked up two large plastic receptacles and our presence triggered a security light.

Hmmm, wheelie bins… Prod right brifter down two cogs, turn and sprint back was my MO then. Back to those Schwalbe, well, run at 65psi, they held their own with plenty of feedback and no hint of skittishness across the loose, gravelly surface. 

Back on metalled road, more effort was required to overcome the additional rolling resistance but unlike an MTB knobbly, cornering is vastly superior. Two inches wide, they literally smooth over bumpy, battle-scarred rods like a steamroller-the tarmac laying type, not Surly’s iconic plain-gauge fixed frameset.     

Staying with Seven Day Cyclist and the tubby tourer a moment, this storm sure flexible repair adhesive has successfully salvaged its wedge pack’s torn LED tab. https://stormsure.com/  

Composite and plastic materials can be tricky customers but when applied on a warm spring day and left the full 12hours, the repair seems pretty dependable-at least I’ve been happy enough to slip this Moon shield in situ.

Rediscovering my stash of rubber solution permitted a butyl mending binge. These days we can pick up a bunch of tubes for a fiver, almost disposable but where possible, I repair, or recycle them.

Talking of storms, a few showery rides saw enough grime adorning my winter/trainer’s tubes to warrant testing some bike wash and giving the bike a quick once-over. Bike wash did its job in a competent way and closer inspection revealed the rear crud guard’s 5mm fastener needed nipping tight.

In the zone, I decided it was the ideal opportunity to inspect/re-grease strip the seat post and repack the headset bearings. Out came the fix it sticks https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/fix-it-sticks-t-way-wrench .

I was pleasantly surprised by the thin but stoical layer of green oil eco-grease https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/green-oil-eco-grease  still coating both components, although the lower race was definitely due a liberal top-up.

Having wiped the races and double checked for any signs of corrosion, I cleaned both with a rag dipped in solvent before flooding top and bottom races.  The yellow goo’s flow rate is broadly comparable with petrochemicals, although it’s particularly good when temperatures creep into the high teens.

Super smooth again, though I’ll probably strip and replenish every 9, rather than 12months-6 if you’re a rough stuff tourist or mountain biker who can’t resist river-riding.  

Last Train to London

Schwalbe UK likes what we do at Seven Day Cyclist www.Sevendaycyclist.com so I was delighted to discover their Marathon 365 awaiting me, having just returned from a quick reckkie of that disused railway line.

 

As their name suggests, Schwalbe designed these to cope competently in all conditions and year round. 2 inches wide and a portly 1048g apiece, the 365 are to my surprise, heavier than their spiked winter siblings. We’re slipping into summer at this point but it’ll be interesting to see whether they can genuinely deliver when conditions threaten a face-plant at every corner.

Though the UK doesn’t get snow in the Scandinavian sense, the spiked versions will tackle snowy back road in full confidence and at respectable speeds. Frankly, I’d rather be relaxed at 17mph and enjoying the ride when roads are under several centimetres of snowy stuff than risking a face plant at every bend.   

Staying with their similarities, both tyres are wire beads and generally speaking, incredibly easy to re/mount- I experienced some minor creep while fitting the 365, so squeeze the sidewalls while reinstating the remaining sections to counteract their initial tendency to roll off shallower rims.

Even though I’m a dynohub devotee, I was delighted by the sidewall’s dynamo track and retro-reflective detailing. The dual guard puncture preventative system bodes well for dependability. As the name implies, dual guard employs India rubber and nylon belt. Should a sharp pierce the casing; these flex, pushing it out before it nicks the tube, causing a flat. 

Operating pressures for the 365 are between 35 and 65psi, lower than their winter specific siblings and more typical of two-inch trail rubber. Formative impressions suggest there’s less rider-sapping drag, or squirm over metalled roads compared with common or garden knobblies. 

Nonetheless, rolling resistance was something of a culture shock coming from the excellent marathon GT I was testing earlier this year https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/schwalbe-marathon-gt-tyres  A few hundred mixed terrain, all weather miles will give much better insight as to their persona, strengths and weaknesses.  

Elsewhere, we’ve a review of the back bottle https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/the-back-bottle-water-bottle , route guide https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/cycling-the-loire-cycle-route  and some shots of Mick Ives on his solo giro d’italia mission https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/m16-podium-stage-system-complete .




 I was in the capital on business this week and was pleased to see fixed remains popular. Plenty of Specialized, Genesis and less prosaic one-cog hacks shackled to street furniture. Well, I got excited!

So, that railway line...It’s a long forgotten service that was derelict and overgrown forty years back. We lived locally then and my father would often hoist me atop his shoulders to get a closer look at the track that nature had largely reclaimed.

Having awoken to discover the Ilpompino’s front Vee Rubber had a slow flat, I prepped the Univega and fifteen miles into a loop, took a left turn along a narrow, unmade road. The street specific 1.75 Panaracer coped surprisingly well along the loose gravel-even at 75psi and sure enough, the banking was still fully accessible. Hoisting the tubby tourer over my shoulder, I ran to the bottom.

Track long gone; it was more like a green lane. A bit much for the street-centric Panaracer, so bike back on my shoulder, I ran diagonally up the banking, nettles and other foliage ravaging my exposed legs and remounted cyclo-cross fashion.

A narrow, little used lane, just wide enough for a small car presented, so we followed that a mile or so before rejoining the main road and the final seven miles home. The ability to escape and explore on a lightweight but durable machine was mountain biking’s biggest draw for me back in the 1980s.

Arguably my cream and black friend is the closest to that era’s ideal. Amateur psychologists (of which, there seem plenty) would suggest I’m yearning to revert to those times. However, I felt acutely alienated during my teenage years and have no desire to revisit them.

This also proved an ideal opportunity to test the claims of a repair product. Look closely and you’ll see I’ve glued the LED tab on its wedge pack. Left curing for the 12hours cited, time will tell just how effective and indeed, permanent the repair really is.

Back in the midlands, I had a tip-off about some long abandoned, derelict buildings, so headed off early morning with CSC and lenses. Following my nose and commanded by bladder, I found a stretch of wasteland. The external barrier had been flattened, allowing easy access.

Timely too, since Police with dogs had passed seconds before! Walking through the undergrowth, I was soon greeted by obvious signs of recent substance misuse, so continued carefully, ears attune to any little sound, or movement.

Charred chairs and mattresses aside, no-one was home and the neighbours didn’t seem particularly perturbed by my presence. Guess they presumed I was working on behalf of a developer.

The building was very well sealed-squatters or metal thieves weren’t going to be another force to contend with, so I had a relaxed half hour’s mooch. Bottom line, if asked to leave, I smile a lot and walk away pretty swiftly. Right, lots coming up and lots to get done, so back to the keyboard!      

Gearing Fixed

 

Well after some deliberation and a quick wander round the web, I sourced this 20tooth fixed sprocket and a new Sram PC1 chain. Functional, rather than exotic but crucially; the right size and at the right price! Chances are I’ll save this for the big sprocket and the stockier KMC for day to day stuff.  

Magic links, which enable easy, tool-free chain fitment/removal for cleaning are pretty standard these days. Though their appeal isn’t difficult to grasp, especially for pro mechanics needing to strip and prep a fleet of bikes after each race, even with derailleur set-ups, I consider these a weak spot, so default to the traditional and in my view, more reliable pin.

The PC1 is a nickel-plated single speed, rather than a half-link track-specific model, so in some respects and bikes with a single speed freewheel, I can see the reasoning but it’s still not for me!  

Fixed sprockets by definition tend to get wound on extremely tight. I opt for a lock-ring just in case but for the most part, unless I’ve been doing a lot of transmission braking (i.e. holding off against the cranks to regulate speed, say in slow moving traffic, or to prevent a face plant slippery roads etc).

However, their simplicity means they also tend to get forgotten-doused in wet, gritty stuff for months and potentially, years on end…  

Applying a layer of decent quality grease to the hub threads should be a no-brainer. Even then, wrestling them free can require a surprising amount of effort and the Ilpompino’s left hand EAI Superstar sprocket was no exception. To my surprise, the lock-ring came away quietly, with a deft nudge my Pedros’ Trixie.

However, it took the combined efforts of a carefully directed blast of penetrant spray, Pedro’s vice whips and some primal grunting before the sprocket would budge. Thankfully, grazed knuckles and agricultural language were conspicuously absent.

A carpet of blue Corrosion Block grease was applied to the hub threads and the big, black sprocket spun home. Since I was giving said bike a quick onceover, I took the opportunity of exchanging the titanium bottle cage for the Fidlock system and reinstating a “winged” carbon composite to the Univega’s seat tube boss.

Though pocket tools are a convenient and therefore, tempting default, I’ve been sticking religiously to the Fix-It sticks T-way wrench http://fixitsticks.com/t-way

for generic workshop fettling, primarily to hunt out any limitations in their design. I have one minor “room for improvement” box ticked but generally speaking, I‘ve been impressed by the quality of construction and standards of engineering.

A full review coming soon to Seven Day Cyclist www.Sevendaycyclist.com . This week, we’ve a photo love-story two-tone powder coat makeover piece and long term review of its performance almost two years, four seasons’ service later. https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/two-tone-frame-makeover Steve Dyster has been riding his similarly faithful touring Lorry round the Radnor ring https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/riding-the-radnor-ring.    

Here in the UK, Police forces are starting to roll out “Close Pass initiatives” designed to target poor overtaking of cyclists by drivers. 1.5 metres is the magic number space wise. These initiatives involve incognito officers riding along some of the busiest sections of road.

In the event of sloppy, or downright dangerous pass, they communicate the vehicle details to motorised colleagues further along. These officers can then intercept and dispense advice and guidance on appropriate overtaking.

Many riders, myself included can cite close encounter on a seemingly daily basis. Some are more noteworthy and unnerving than others. Last Thursday, an elderly Lexus passed me along a long, clear stretch of road with inches to spare-close enough that I could tap the door skins with my finger-nails. 

This week, I almost became an ornament on the bonnet of a black Peugeot estate. The driver ignored my right of way and ploughed on regardless. I also noticed a young woman passing me erratically. When I glanced over, she appeared to be angling her smartphone directly at her crotch. Another posed for a selfie at every junction. Hopefully neither is going to become a trend.

Right; I’ll close with some more creative birthday decorations from Dolly Blue Blue.     

 

Gravitating Toward Fixed Gear Gravel...

 

No great surprise really given my love of ‘cross inspired bikes and escaping metalled roads on them. Yes, I’m leaning toward an endurance event, similar to the dirty reiver https://www.dirtyreiver.co.uk/ . I pondered this, while exploring some long forgotten lanes-the sort just wide enough for a very small car and zero wriggle room.

Shod with those 30mm Vee rubber, ‘cross inspired fixed and I took the centre-strip-an impacted mound of mud, silt and grit in our stride, albeit at a more cautious 15mph-in case a John Deere, or similar behemoth be winding uphill.

At 105psi or so, they’re really quite capable on softer surfaces, though more of a tyre that give a taste of gravel, rather than something I’d deliberately set out to tackle a big event with. Neither, for that matter, is a fixed gear of 79 inches but it was perfectly manageable in these contexts.

Hmm, I feel another reconfiguration coming on. Received wisdom says a gear of 63 inches is optimal for trail biased fixed gear fun but I’m erring on the taller end of 60. We are talking a 700c build and I don’t want to be spinning myself into another dimension, or whipping the wheel around when I come to long stretches of metalled road.

The MK2 Ilpompino’s frame and Kinesis cross fork permits tyres up to 32 and 42mm respectively, without clearance hassles but ideally, a gravel build’s rear triangle will entertain 38mm with room to spare but we’ll see.

Talking of frames, Seven Day Cyclist has a feature on refinishing aluminium alloy, complete with a step by step renovation of a Specialized https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/aluminium-frame-refurbishment   

Back in 2008 I toyed with going the two speed Sturmey Archer route. Frankly, though it has some obvious appeal, especially in the scenarios outlined here, in practice the system was short-lived first time round. It also adds unnecessary cost and complication to proceedings.

Some, scrappy, note pad doodling points towards a 19tooth sprocket. I’d like a decent CNC machined unit. Cheaper elliptical types with bevelled teeth hail from the days when racers would retire an old road frameset from competitive duties and convert it to fixed for winter training.

These sprockets compensate for chain-line imperfections and certainly have their place but below par for a purpose build. Ideally, I’d have another EAI Gold Medal premium (CNC machined unit with straight cut teeth).

A truly beautiful piece of precision engineering but to my knowledge, 18 teeth is tops. More likely that I will opt for a cheaper but extremely cheerful Halo, which is also CNC machined, offered in the magical 19. Think that’s a done deal, for now at least…

Generally speaking, living in a house completely devoid of heat during the winter of 1992, coupled with 30 winters on two wheels has left me with a high tolerance for cold.

That said; I’ve been taken aback by how chilly April and May have been-psychologically, I’m anticipating 15-18 degrees and on many morning’s its barely crept to 7 degrees, less when wind chill is factored in.

For the most part, I’ve been comfortable enough wearing mitts, as has Steve https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/santini-micro-mesh-gel-mitt  but on Wednesday, I resurrected these full-finger Endura Strike from my gloves drawer.

Revisiting them 8 years in, I’m still impressed by the standards of warmth and wicking. Even in relatively mild temperatures they wick much better than padding density and overall design might suggest. I’ve added Respro retroreflective stickers to accentuate hand signals on dark nights and unlit roads.

Elsewhere, I was called in to cover an event the Indian Community Centre in Coventry on Saturday. I’d also like to take this opportunity to introduce some creative wrapping and card making services from Dolly Blue-Blue.

Like what you see? Don’t be shy, get in touch and I’ll pass your enquiry over.