Along Came Alfine

 No sooner had the Alfine idea started becoming the ONLY idea, Madison Cycles graciously sent me a unit for testing, 32 hole and better still, black, which will go handsomely with another Ryde Andra 40 hoop, laced to black spokes. Tipping the scales at 612g (including skewer), Ursula will be the beneficiary and my fixed gear winter trainer will receive the overhauled Shutter Precision PD8 HALO CLASSIC RIM & SHUTTER PRECISION DYNOHUB DISC WHEEL BUILD (sevendaycyclist.com) as before.

I’ve also harvested a silver left hand Tektro RL340 to colour coordinate with the RL520 lever, which will of course, command the TRP SPYRE SLC, once I’ve got some quiet time to strip and bolt everything together. Will be the perfect opportunity to overhaul the Stronglight Aheadset too, lashings of Peaty’s Bicycle Assembly Grease PEATY'S BICYCLE ASSEMBLY GREASE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) this time around, methinks.  

Peaty’s Speed Grease PEATY'S SPEED GREASE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)has really won me over for applications demanding minimal friction and despite some initial suspicion, it’s proved remarkably stoical despite high mileage and often dodgy weather. It’s also best suited to bearings with seals, hence my old school cup n’ cone Campagnolo Athena hubs were fed the last of the Park PPL1. White Lightning Crystal High Performance Grease TESTED : WHITE LIGHTNING CRYSTAL GREASE (sevendaycyclist.com) is another good bet, especially for components employing rubber/composite parts- sealed hubs, suspension components to name but two examples. Then, of course, there’s Green Oil Eco Grease  TWELVE MONTH TEST: GREEN OIL ECO GREASE (sevendaycyclist.com) is another, planet and person-friendly option- I went that route when installing the ti bottom bracket into Ursula’s shell. Then of course there’s lard.

 

No, I’m being facetious. However, 30 years back, I encountered the odd, mechanically inept engineering student sold on this animal-derived product for their bike. On the subject of lubes, here’s my review of the Bike Medicine Purple Extreme Synthetic Chain Lubricant| cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) Ursula’s KMC chain is still hanging on in there, still has a couple of weeks, maybe more before the BBB checker registers .75 and said faithful electroplated chain becomes bin fodder.   

The Lelumia The Beast rear Light continues to impress me with its blend of power and relative frugality. Belting out 150 lumens in the highest setting, 65 lumens is as low as it goes. Not ideal for built-up areas, but bang-on for the backroads, and of course, deterring wheel sucking.   

Talking of deterrent, I’ve received some Motorex Grease Spray. This isn’t a bicycle-specific blend and appears to be an old school lithium blend. Now., this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Lithium greases are very tenacious and long-lasting. Good bets for headsets and cup n’ cone hub bearings, metal to metal contact points e.g., sealed bearing cartridge bearings (provided the metals are of the same family I.e., aluminium alloy to aluminium alloy, titanium to titanium etc).  

Lye soap and oils are a mixture that bonds very well to metals. However, they can result in galvanic corrosion-a chemical reaction between metals of different parentage, when exposed to the elements, or long sessions on the indoor trainer, seizure can strike. In common with PTFE based blends, they aren’t kind to seals, or other composites either.  Being a sprayable formula also means it also makes a handy internal frame preserve. Good for protecting frame ends, lubing quick-release skewers and of course, those oft-forgotten cleats.  

It’s no secret that I have a “thing” for practical fixed gear builds- sensible clearances, mudguard mounts etc. Machines that follow the short-lived “Road path” narrative, not forgetting what are essentially traditional cyclo cross bikes with mudguard mounts, cantilever bosses etc.

No surprise to discover my excitement at discovering The Brothers Cycle AlldayThe Allday | Brother Cycles while having a wander round the web.  Even closer to the traditional cyclo crosser with track ends narrative in my book. I really like the gold and black spatter fade too. Not my usual colour scheme perhaps and evocative of the champagne and brown effect a friend had on his Raleigh Maverick, back in 1986.  

Hey Mr. Tambourine Man...

 After several weeks and 600miles, I’m forming my conclusions regarding the Shutter Precision SD8 hub and curious as to how Shimano Alfine 6V3 Watt DH-S01 compares in terms of resistance and output. I wasn’t completely surprised to discover the SD8 employs contact seals, whereas the Shimano employs Labyrinth, which is in principle superior and probably explains why Ursula’s Ultegra unit has served 10 years without missing a beat.  I wasn’t surprised by the SD8’s marginal drop in output at slower speeds and on the climbs. 

One such gradient takes me past a poultry processing plant, which though fully operational and quite harshly lit, has a strangely eerie feel, amplified by the humming vats and pipework. A “closet” fear some thirty years ago was failing my A levels and being consigned to a slaughterhouse or similar environment. Then of course, there were the small electronics factories that littered out of the way industrial estates. 

 

Contexts where the health and safety at work act were more casually observed. Those with a mild learning disability could be found in the dipping/varnishing sections with minimal, if any PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). Upping the tempo and the K-Lite Bike Packer Pro V2K LITE BIKEPACKER PRO V2 FRONT LIGHT | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)’s full 1300lumens come back on tap and I’m escaping the hulk, feeling the crisp swoosh as the Schwalbe Land Cruiser and Marathon Mondial keep traction across the hard, frosty asphalt. The swooping rush of a descent, a sharp left, and I’m along another silty, gravelly singletrack road, with the odd, solitary house illuminated by moonlight.

  

Conditions where I’m glad for a Belgian style cap, mtb booties, waterproof socks, a heavyweight winter jersey topped off with a technical jacket. The Oxford Venture OXFORD VENTURE JACKET | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) has become my default- its thin, stretchy, and more comfortable than I was expecting from a garment boasting 10,000mm for waterproofing and breathability.  

To my surprise, even when it's minus 2, these Seal Skinz gloves keep my digits temperate and mobile. Eyewear is another thing to neglect at your peril-nothing worse than stinging, salty tears, and blurred vision. Besides, as my military motorcycle instructor so rightly stated, you only get one pair.  

For the last few months, I’ve defaulted to these Smith, which sit comfortably and banish draft. There is the occasional mysterious and deathly silent figure, emerging from the misty shroud of a ploughed field. Otherwise, I’m free to contemplate, reflect and crucially, enjoy. Occasionally I get the urge to sing but thankfully, this is usually tempered by the fear of awakening something supernatural hiding in the foliage.  

Black Shuck could take exception to my rendition of The Stone Ponies “Different Drum” and I don’t fancy my chances of outrunning him. Well, 5am conjures these possibilities... Having said that, I’ve seen cloaked, hooded figures emerging from forest clearings and I am firmly of the opinion there are things that shouldn’t be dabbled with. We would also be phenomenally arrogant to assume there aren’t incredibly advanced societies elsewhere in the galaxy.  

Conditions eased a little under rubber, so I’ve also been out to play on the fixed, which also proved an opportunity to bed in the TRP SPYRE SLC and address some cable tension. The Cane Creek SC5 lever CANE CREEK V BRAKE DROP BAR LEVERS | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) was drawing closer to the bars before I was getting bite at the rotor. Well, the modulation and feel, I prefer. Nothing a quick tweak of the barrel adjuster couldn’t rectify.  

However, this called into question the viability of the RL340- the 520 would be a more satisfying union, simply due to greater cable pull-afterall, it was designed for V (Linear pull) brakes. Staying with the fixed, low temperatures also do nasty things to cheap and cheerful batteries. The CR2032 cells in the fixed’s VDO head unit. Located a spare while searching for a rather handy Ice Toolz  pedal and 15mm track nut wrench, so switched, since the white unit was doing something close to nothing.   Right, on that note, I'll leave you with Steve's review of the Cushion Aid saddle Donut proSADDLE DONUT PRO | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)

 

Fork, Rotors Action...

 After some foraging, I’ve everything together for Ursula’s front end upgrade. The Project 2 fork sports a crown race, has some corrosion inhibitor sloshing around its inner sanctum, and the TRP Spyre SLC calliper bolted to the IS adaptor. Following the “use what you have” mantra, I’ve blasted the remainder of some heavy-duty PTFE spray inside.  

The sort that forms a thick, protectant layer and can also evolve into a fat-ball, causing sticky control cables. Great for protecting electroplated frame/fork ends, derailleur cable guides that run beneath the bottom bracket shell, trailer hitches and locking mechanisms, garage rollers. Jobs, where grease is too heavy and traditional maintenance sprays, are too easily dismissed by wet, wintry roads.  

Indeed, a couple of teaspoons of 10w40 motor oil coursing through the tubes would do much the same job, although, in this instance, I’d need to deliver it via a syringe-messy but again, dirt cheap and very effective.   

Now, I’d been believing, nay convinced myself that the RL340 wasn’t compatible with disc brakes, so needed an RL520. However, closer scrutiny of the Tektro site contradicts this (I wanted to swerve travel agent or similar adaptor), so hopefully, that pans out, in the real world. I have a sliver right-hand RL520, but cosmetic symmetry is also important.  

The rotor in this instance is an auction site special. I was curious as to its performance and durability. In any case, I have a Clarkes unit sitting in the brake spares box...Somewhere. The transplant will take place at a more convenient time, probably when the weather turns a little less wintry and I can switch to the fixed for a while.  

However, I’ve gone the slow and steady route to cut down on time and potential snarl-ups. Tucked away in Ursula’s Deore crank, the Torque 7 tool is remaining rattle-free, and pleasant to use. The magnetic components mean everything’s still together. There's been a faint hint of taint but nothing a quick once over with an oily rag won’t arrest convincingly. On the one hand, I’d expect that, given the price point but reassuring and the tool itself is genuinely much nicer to use than I was expecting.  

The Schwalbe Land cruiser has been another pleasant surprise. Traction and rolling resistance have been more convincing across the board, even along untreated, slippery backwaters and at 70psi.  Puncture resistance is lower on their scale than say the Marathon plus but again, thus far no unpleasant surprises. During one freezing ride, I went for Ursula’s bar con, ready to drop down a couple of gears, in preparation for the climb that would take me past the poultry processing plant-an eerie pulsing hulk, especially at 530am.  

Nothing, it was if the lever had frozen solid. Thankfully, I wasn’t in an overly tall, knee popping gear, so cruised my way to the summit. Over the top, the Microshift brifter behaved normally once more. Weird. It did remind me of tales pro mechanics told of treating chains with anti-freeze, during winter cyclocross races.     

For months, the UK media has seemingly been obsessed by whiteouts, “thundersnow” and the general second coming of the ice age. Now, I’m no stranger to spiked tyres and really rate them, for tackling winter’s more extreme conditions. I was very intrigued by Kenda Klondike, but these aren’t so readily available in the UK and then I happened upon what may be the holy grail. Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro. I’ve been impressed by the Schwalbe Winter TESTED: SCHWALBE WINTER SPIKED TYRES (sevendaycyclist.com) and the upgraded Schwalbe Winter Plus.  

However, the Ice Spiker Pro is reckoned to be the “turbo of spike tyres” with a maximum of 402, yes 402 spikes. These are made from tungsten carbide but coated in aluminium. They still weigh 997g apiece (which is still lighter than the Schwalbe GT365 TESTED: SCHWALBE MARATHON GT 365 BICYCLE TYRES (sevendaycyclist.com)  

Continuing the cold weather narrative, here’s Steve’s review of the Funkier Nueva thermal skull cap FUNKIER NUEVA THERMAL SKULL CAP | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)