Frustration & Dynamism

I was born, one day I will die...No, not that track by Soft Cell/Marc Almond (although, being a middle-aged man, it’s arguably fitting) I am referring to our old friend, supply problems. I’ve also been struggling to remove the Shutter Precision SL9’s centre lock rotor.

  

A sudden flash of inspiration led me to buying a small portable vice and some rubber “engineer’s” strips allowing me to clamp the hub in situ, without risking any damage.  

I’m incredibly fond of the Shutter Precision hubs but the need to strip the hub and send it away every few years isn’t something I’ve needed to do with Shimano units- even the Nexus unit (now 22 years old) is still turning away nicely.  

The Ultegra is in similarly rude health and has done a much bigger mileage than the once hardworking Nexus. This had led me to me pondering the acquisition of another Alfine, or ideally, something that is more readily serviced in the field. 

 

Kasai offer some “field repairable” models, which as their name suggests are more readily serviced and repaired-without going through the palaver of stripping the wheel, packaging up the hub and building everything again.  

This might be perfectly valid on a bike in hard service running rim brakes. Since the rim’s sidewalls can wear through, demanding a rebuild by default. Ideally, I’ll get hold of a Kasai, or failing that, another Alfine (since the latter is reliable and crucially, partially user serviceable) and hold onto the SL9 as a spare. Watch this space...    

Back to the SL9...I'd been toying with the idea of a portable vise, for some time. Bench mounted ones had also fired my imagination, but portable models are arguably a better fit for me.  

Enter this auction site special, which arrived over the holiday weekend. Given the budget price, I was surprised by how relatively sturdy it felt. I popped some of the dead butyl from the previous week into the jaws and gently locked the Shutter Precision Hub body in situ.  

A quick blast of penetrant spray to get things underway before I introduced my long-serving Cyclo cassette remover tool. With a brief primal grunt, and modest effort, the lockring released, revealing a light but serviceable coating of grease clinging to the threads.  

If only I’d whipped the rotor off before stripping the wheel... However, main thing the hub’s now with the UK importers and will be winging its way to Taiwan for overhaul. Another little job off my doing list. Next came my front dental crown, which fell into the sink with an audible “plink” while I was busy with the electric toothbrush.  

Conversation with my dentists suggests I couldn’t get an appointment for a month, but my best bet would be to ring them on the mornings when I’m free to see if they could slot me in that day. Main thing is the remnants of tooth are still firmly within the gum, which is something. Receptionists suggested the crown could simply be re-bonded but much as I suspected, the tooth, not the crown itself failed. I've discussed cosmetic and structural options with my dentist and paid for treatment to shore up a booking, while this was still available.  

As autumn slowly advances, I’ve reached my conclusions regarding the Green Oil Dry Chain Wax Green Oil Dry Chain Wax | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) which I’m quite fond of and will run, until the roads get consistently wetter. I’ll stick with something dry for Ursula and for the time-being, the Green Oil Wet GREEN OIL WET CHAIN LUBE (sevendaycyclist.com) on the fixed. 

  

I am also toying with a saddle swap- The Spa Cycles Aire ported over to Ursula and the Selle San Marco Concor Supercorsa over to the fixed. Both are a tan brown so complement their existing colour schemes and the former is also right royally moulded to my butt after many thousands of miles. The Concor Supercorsa is a late 70s classic, with lines from that era.  

Not to everyone’s tastes but at 265x140mm, fits my proportions very nicely. The main prompt for this switch? Well, I’ve concluded, despite Ursula’s more upright positioning that I am still served by narrower saddles-140-143mm seems optimal (indeed, regardless of machine). The Aire is,148mm wide but if it's comfy on the fixed, I’m confident this narrative will continue.

 

Zen and the Art of Peaceful Problem Solving

 

Yes, I am borrowing from Robert M Pirsig’s “Zen and the art of motorcycle Maintenance”, which is a complex, yet engaging text about a middle-aged man and his son’s motorcycle trip together. They are accompanied by an adult couple, and it explores all sorts of deep questions via the journey interwoven with and reference to, motorcycle maintenance... 

I digress...  

They say things come in three. In this instance, cooked hub bearings, punctures and recurring Aheadset play with Ursula’s recently replaced Stronglight ST. A few possibilities sprung to mind. The most obvious that I mixed old and new crown races. Stripping confirmed I had in fact, put the old, worn race on the new fork. I’d cleaned the old race to inspect condition and must’ve placed it too close to the new one. I switched and then closer inspection suggested the Gusset head lock bolt was just a little short too.  

Rummaging through the toolbox unearthed a slightly longer counterpart, so thread lock added. Everything snugged together nicely, and closer inspection revealed the crown race was old and quite well worn, given 8 years use. Used the remaining dregs of the Park Tool Polylube 1000 TESTED: PARK TOOL POLYLUBE 1000 LUBRICANT FOR BICYCLES (sevendaycyclist.com) on the replacement crown race and consigned the spent tube to the bin. Though annoying in some respects, the process of schematically working through, diagnosing and problem-solving is very cathartic. A means of decompressing, of calming the mind and working through other, unrelated things that are troubling me.  

Punctures...Well, no sooner had I become comfortable with the Specialized Road Sport, I succumbed to a series of tube-claiming flats. One thorn had left a small but pronounced cut in the tyre casing (easily fixed with a drop of premium grade super glue). A flint and glass were the next to cause mischief. Cheap (rather than discounted) tubes are always false economy.  

They’re OK as spares-getting you home, should you flat on the road/trail but very much contingencies. However, they’re often so thin, they’re bin fodder-patching is seldom reliable. Since we’re on the subject, decent patch kits are an equally sensible investment. I put my faith in the old-school feather-edged type. Glue-less types are too hit n’ miss for my tastes.  

Leaving tubeless out of the equation, there are alternatives to butyl. Latex and TPU being two I’ve had middling experience with. Latex is noticeably light and relatively strong. However, they typically need inflating every other day and are relatively expensive. TPU, such as these Pirelli PIRELLI CENTURATO REINFORCED SMART TUBE (sevendaycyclist.com) are also relatively expensive but very lightweight and contribute to a compliant ride-palpably so, in my experience. Traditionally these weren’t repairable, but this is changing. As an aside, they’re a bit easier to fit too. Nonetheless, I’d still carry a spare butyl tube, since roadside repair isn’t practical in my experience (patches require a few hours curing time).  

Sealant (typically latex) filled tubes are another option if you’re looking for some added puncture protection. These work by movement and pressure (loss) forcing the sealant to the hole. However, they also rely on the sharp being removed from the tyre casing too. Oh, and a blowout can be extremely messy.  

That said; I tend to go the aftermarket sealant route with Schrader valves and on trailer/tagalongs.  Thorn-resistant tubes are another option. These are the proverbial builder’s hose and hefty-460g for a 700x38 and made using 4.6mm butyl. However, I found them a blessing when Ursula, Joshua, and I were out on cold, bright winter rides-the last thing you want is a flat, 15 miles from home.  

Talking of which, I typically carry a couple of spares-700c and 26inch- old but serviceable (think 3rd and final patch), in case someone is genuinely stuck by the roadside. Now, don’t get the wrong idea, I’m no “White Knight” or “Good Samaritan”. However, the spare can fail, ditto the pump- maybe you’ve run out of patches...These things can strike even the best prepared. I’d appreciate someone helping me in these situations-if they could. 

Talking of life’s little frustrations seems that the second, successive consignment of maintenance sprays had been “lost in transit” by the courier. One so notorious for this, they recently had to rebrand...Thankfully, after perseverance and the manufacturer’s strong customer service, a new batch has just materialised. On a different note, I'll leave you with my review of the Kranx Strix 100 USB Rear Light that I've been referring to recently Kranx Strix 100 USB Rear Light | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)