Tubes, Glorious Tubes

 During the dying embers of 1979, I recall a Z-list comedian letting a balloon roar flatulently into the crowd, quipping “That’s what Mrs. Thatcher needs...Deflation!!” Fast forward 43 years, prices of food and other essentials are rocketing. Inflation is at a sobering 9%… 

Moments from home I was struck by another, all-too-familiar sinking, and squirming, as I engaged Ursula’s front brake. Yup, the Vittoria Evolution had succumbed to a sharp flint that had lodged within its chevrons and burrowed into the casing.  

Blowouts are rare.  

Most punctures follow this narrative and this one had the grace to hold off until I was parallel to home. Being 5.55 am, I simply switched the Ryde/Alfine Shimano Alfine UR700 Hub Dynamo | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)  for the Ryde/Shutter Precision SD8 SHUTTER PRECISION SD8 HUB DYNAMO | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) shod with a Schwalbe Land Cruiser, which employs a similar level of puncture resistance to the Vittoria and broadly on par, price-wise.

  

My first flat in 750 miles, too. Inspecting the tube revealed a tiny pinprick, which was easily patched. I left it hung up and inflated while replenishing the patches in my two kits, while on my mind.  

I had some business in the midlands and made arrangements to leave my car at John Moss’s house. LOVE RESURRECTION: JOHN AND JANE MOSS'S TANDEM TRICYCLE (sevendaycyclist.com) 

Transpired he and Jane are doing some “Swedish Death Cleaning” so very kindly gifted me a batch of new, unused tubes (700x32 and a 26x1.5) which was very welcome and extremely kind on their part. Ironically, I returned to discover two 25mm Eclipse Road inner Tubes and this Kask Protone Icon Helmet awaiting me.  

The Tubes are TPU and reckoned not only to be lighter but reduce rolling resistance while being more resistant to flats. These feature a welded valve stem, which is also reckoned to be superior to bonded and glued types.  

The Eclipse are also reckoned repairable, although dedicated patches require a decent curing time-overnight, ideally. So, I’d be inclined to carry a butyl spare, or two just in case. These are earmarked for the Teenage Dream, which frankly, is the most obvious candidate, save perhaps for the Holdsworth...  

Weather conditions have presented opportunity to go out and enjoy my beloved road bike and given its presently sporting the now discontinued A520 pedals, I’ve clicked in and racked up some miles with the Shimano MT701 shoes.  

Took me a few rides before this incarnation of the Boa lacing system became truly intuitive. Well, release was the issue. I’d gone into Child-at-Christmas mode, without reading the instructions and couldn’t work out how to slacken the laces. This is just a matter of pulling the Boa wheel upwards. The MT701 are increasingly becoming my go-tos for general riding.  

That said; think I’ll stick to the Quoc Pham Tourer when it comes to the Teenage Dream since the soles are that bit stiffer. As for the PD ED 500 pedals, no surprise to learn I’m warming to their charms as the miles rack up. A good bet for touring and indeed, light, dry trail work. Dare I say the G word... 

I managed to lose a spoke magnet on Ursula’s Ryde/Alfine wheel but thankfully, I had a couple of generic, auction site specials in stock. I was also slightly surprised to find the Cat Eye Viz 100 LED light had lost its USB plug. Porting it beneath the saddle, thus sheltering it from rain and spray, was the obvious move. 

 

Talking of which, I’ve concluded the Teenage Dream’s saddle height was just a fraction too low, so raised it by a few milimetres- now perfect. Must’ve been when I re-greased the Thompson post, using the Peaty’s Bicycle Assembly Grease PEATY'S BICYCLE ASSEMBLY GREASE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) 

Warmth & Waxes

 250 miles in, and I’m warming to the Momum Mic Wax. Several things have stood out. Waxes tend to be less temperature stable than other lubricants but ours is still running very clean. I’m told its best described as a Tribolubricant.  

It contains natural waxes that come from the palm Copernicia and offers high resistance to wear and has a melting point at 85 degrees c. The latter is much higher than traditional waxes, which tend to assume a mushy state and would account for the Momum’s cleanliness thus far.  

Presently we’re experiencing temperatures around 70 degrees, so perhaps not surprising but certainly reassuring.  The blend penetrates deep within the chain’s inner sanctum, so the transmission feels refined, while shifting remains snappy and crisp. No thunderstorms to date, but plenty of wet roads, which are failing to make tangible impression on its integrity.  

Will be interesting to see how many miles I get from a single application...I’m also wondering how well it serves on cleat mechanisms and other metal to metal interfaces.  No sooner had this thought entered my head, Madison Cycles (Shimano’s UK importer) sent me two sets of pedals. Shimano PDM8100 (XT by another name) which almost require no introduction and these PD ED500, which are a slightly more intriguing design.  

Featuring generously proportioned aluminium alloy bodies, these are dual-sided for easy entry, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn, have cartridge bearings. Cro-moly axles aren’t the lightest options but should be ultra-dependable.  Shimano seems reticent to pigeon-hole them but suggest they’re perfect for road touring. Given those strong axles and sealed bearings, I’d wager they’re a good bet for mixed-terrain touring, gravel and indeed commuting, too.  Time and miles will tell...

A bit like these SH-MT701GX shoes, which are built for “all weather mountain touring, bike packing or commuting”. They feature synthetic leather uppers, a Gore Tex  breathable, waterproof liner for dry feet, a Boa L6 dial, for quick and precise adjustment, a toe cap for additional protection and a chunky sole for comfort on and off the bike. 

About soles and stiffness, these are 4 on Shimano’s off-road scale, which goes all the way to 11. Road, to 12 but while I’m fond of mixing things up, I’ve never gone the Look ARC, or KEO route when venturing beyond asphalt. Did run these on Ursula during periods of extended road riding. Primarily since I was curious, and the confused double takes from some road riders always amused me.  

Gravel is arguably an offshoot and “logical evolution” of cyclo cross and mountain biking and to some extent a genre with obvious appeal to yours truly- drop bars, knobbly tyres, wide ratio gearing and the ability to escape the seemingly ever maddening crowd.  

I’m less of a pioneer than I’d like to think, judging by the wealth of photos depicting mountain bikes ridden in competitive contexts, with drop bars. John Tomac was famous for it, during the late 80’s Ross Schafer, too.  However, go further back in the days of quill stems and 25.4 diameters, it wasn’t just Specialized and Muddy Fox who were colluding in this sorcery.  

The Vittoria Evolution Road Bike Tyres are also proving very competent on wet, greasy roads. Particularly welcome since it had been a few weeks since any tangible rain. This means diesel, oil and other slippery contaminant gets flushed from verges and into the road’s surface.  

The next obvious move was to take a detour and see how they’d behave along some varied bridle path. Spoiler alert, if you want to hoss along at warp speed, or tour primarily unmade roads, I’d suggest spending a good bit more and looking toward Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Double Defense TEST & REVIEW: SCHWALBE MARATHON MONDIAL TYRES (sevendaycyclist.com)   

That said, the Evolution are still quite agile and relatively composed in these contexts to around 17mph. Spirited enough to give a sense of freedom, or to engage young protégé's cruising behind in their trailers or contributing on tagalongs. Still miss Vittoria’s Randonneur Trail though... 

Dawns have become sufficiently balmy that I’ve switched from my default 3/4lengths to these Funkier Bib shorts, which have a decent pad and some nice features.  

I initially found the Lycra a little slippery atop traditional leather saddles, such as the Spa Cycles Aire Titanium and Cycles Berthoud Solour CYCLES BERTHOUD SOULOR LEATHER SADDLE | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com). However, no annoying, power-robbing surf. Moot point with the Teenage Dream’s long-serving and seemingly discontinued Selle SMP Strike Plus.