Shakedowns but no breakdowns...

 

Forty miles in, Ursula and I were bonding very nicely. Then, to my surprise (and good fortune, since this struck 2.5 miles from home) I glanced down to discover the left-hand crank was creeping off. No 10mm Allen key on the multi-tool meant nursing us back, minimising contact with the left side. Having returned, I whipped out 10mm, 5mm Allen keys and of course, trusty torque wrench. I can only imagine things stretched during the formative outings. Pre-load faffed and ultimately everything rejoined and behaving to type, I pondered some more pre-winter prep.  

The recent wet roads had me thinking I should add a protective butyl boot to Denise’s lower headset race. I decided rounding up the tools and taking a decision from there was the best route. Before I knew it, I’d plunged in head-first and met a few surprises. The quill converter had become mysteriously stuck. Nothing a quick tap with a rubber mallet didn’t solve (although I still needed to tap the expander wedge free- a long flat screwdriver and controlled nudge from the mallet fixed this).   

Everything else came apart easily and ample Juice Lubes Bearing Grease clung to the bearings and races. Fork out, I slid the butyl over the head tube and rolled it up. Another quick lick of grease to the lower balls, I reinstated fork and mysteriously had the headset adjustment bang on first time.  

Reassembling the quill adaptor, I added some of the Oxford Assembly Grease to hopefully subvert and further episodes of stubbornness (adaptors are prone to seizing). Same went for the hardware. While the Juice Lubes Bearing Juice is a synthetic, putty type formulation, I applied a quick shot of Muc Off Silicone Spray to the underside of the tube, to help it glide over the headset.  

 

Allowing for the fact I geustimated, rather than measured the length of tube, the coverage is precisely as I wanted it and should, with the added helping of grease, lock the elements out. Lizard Skins and others used to produce neoprene covers, but unless removed every wet ride, could cause moisture to get inside.  

 

Old inner tubes are plentiful and could even be scrounged from your friendly local bike shop. It’s tempting to strip the crankset come next chain replacement and treat the axle to some Peaty’s Speed Grease (for the last word in low friction) but the Wolf Tooth is a premium blend and seems highly effective thus far. Will be interesting to see how it fares against winter’s witches’ brew.  

 

Staying with pleasant surprises, I was sent another set of the WTB Nano, not the TCS tubeless ready versions this time. Their UK importer tells me these are the 120tpi versions employing their SG2 puncture repelling belt that runs bead to bead, so will be interesting to see how they cope in this regard during the darker months.  Aside from gravel and indeed “more adventurous touring” they’re also aimed at cyclo cross audiences and, given their “most conditions” persona, it’s not difficult to see how the genres ahem, cross-over. I’ve found them surprisingly good in gloopy UK mud, but again we’ll see how this translates through a mulchy mucky British winter.  40mm wide, they’re going to be a little portly for more traditional ‘cross bikes, which can typically swallow 32-35mm, 38 if we’re talking a slick commuting/touring tyre for off season’s road duties. 

  

Despite the rise in popularity these past twenty years, cross meets still have a very eclectic flavour. Sure, there are packet fresh disc equipped carbon fibre bling machines but plenty of traditional cross bikes, repurposed tourers and indeed, mountain bikes looping the circuits. Single-speed transmissions keep things rugged and reliable, provided you’re prepared to stick with something around 63 inches…  

 

There are a few folks who also brave it on a fixed. I can see the appeal, but as I say, very much a niche thing. On-One’s Mulo might be a prime candidate. There’s clearance for 43mm tyres without tickling the chainstays and you could either run it with a disc up front or go the old school cantilever route.  

 

The latter are again, still very popular. Lightweight, simple and still relatively effective, set up correctly, with decent quality pads and cables.  Standard cables with PTFE linings and stainless-steel inner wires are good staples, although the jump between these and more elite, sometimes sealed systems, such as the Jagwire Road Elite is very palpable.  

 

Aside from the fit n’ forget weather sealing, the inner wires are extremely high quality, thus virtually zero stretch and very tolerant of fine tuning. I’ve set ours up and removed them from Ursula’s callipers with no signs of compression, let alone fraying. Braking is very progressive, stiction free, but again, I’d expect so at this end of the market and again, I’ll see what impact if any, winter has upon their stopping prowess.  

 

Transfil Flying Snakes were another solid (and much cheaper) choice on the sealed front, but fitting was more involved and cable rub could be an issue if you hadn’t used the little protectors or applied some helicopter tape to the head tube and other areas where the outers sit, or brush against the frame. Right, I’ll leave it here with my review of the  Magicshine See Me 50 Mag Light Magicshine SeeMee50 MAG Light | cycling-not-racing 

Rise of The Machines & Slippery Stuff

 

After many hours, the fleet is fettled, and as I’d hoped. Aside from Ursula’s rebuild, I’ve switched racks around, changed brake pads, machine washed bar tape (yes, you can do that with natural silicones). Torrential rains and harvests have seen roads resembling a scene from Paris-Roubaix. I’ve been tackling these on the fixed gear winter/trainer and relieved to report the WTB Evolution and Schwalbe One365 have held their line convincingly through the slippery stuff.  

However, I’ve been quick to brush (and sometimes wash) their casings down afterward, to dislodge any thorns or similar sharps that get bonded to the gloop, causing flats. The Wolf Tooth WT-1 All Conditions Chain Lube Wolf Tooth WT-1 All Conditions Chain Lub | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) continues to impress with its staying prowess and cleanliness.  Conditions where the simplicity of a single speed/fixed setup is arguably most convenient. I reward it with a good, sudsy bucket clean every few outings, which it duly deserves.  

Clean bikes tend to be more reliable, and problems easily spotted before they strike. Talking of which, while going this route with Denise, I spotted a cut in the rear WTB Evo tyre casing, so plugged that with some super glue. No need for a boot but I really didn’t want a sneaky sharp sneaking inside and causing mischief.   

I’ve increasingly thought of myself as a machine, and while I was hossing down the lanes, it occurred this may serve me well. Assuming the present Labour government isn’t robust enough, it’s a matter of time before large swathes of the UK public are convinced to vote to withdraw from the ECtHR (European Court of Human Rights) courtesy of a charlatan fuelled referendum.  

Those crying for the culling of “Nanny State” were and remain the largest beneficiaries. Concessions such as universal health care and other social cohesion weren’t gifted by benevolent politicians. They were fought for by highly organised and skilled campaigners over many years. People with vision and drive to improve the lives for the betterment of all.  

Staying with humans a minute, good bike shops are worth their weight in gold. Use them (or lose them) and moreover, treat them well.  The odd packet of biscuits also curries favour, although I’m a believer in letting good people know they’re valued and appreciated.  

I’d decided Ursula needed a TRP Spyre rear stopper. Had issues setting up the otherwise intuitive calliper, which boiled down to a not-so-accurate pattern mount. A quick email to mine confirmed they had a suitable mount-less than £7. I could discuss options; ensure it was correct before leaving their workshop. Saving me wasted time, headaches and frustration.  

Within 5 minutes, I had the calliper correctly aligned and impeccably behaved.  I pruned the inner wire, added a drop of superglue to rule out fraying. Next came the derailleur cables, since I’d left them overnight and taken up the slack.  Grand finale’... I aligned the bars, tightened the stem’s pinch bolts to 6nm, rocked the bike back and forth with the front brake on to ensure everything was slop-free and then reapplied the freshly laundered Acros bar tape.   

I added some more helicopter tape-this time along the down tube, since I would be tethering the Ravemen XR6000Ravemen XR6000 Front Light | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) battery to it and left this a day or so before heading out for a shakedown ride. I’d replenished the tube stash, multi tool, tyre levers, spare links and similar little spares that could come in very handy down the line.  

Though I’ve got the Topeak Gravel Two-Stage Mini Pump Topeak Gravel 2 Stage Mini Pump | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) riding shotgun on the bottle bosses, I’m very sold on the portable compressor types, which take the struggle out of getting going again following a flat. This is particularly true on colder days.  I didn’t take Ursula far- a 5-mile round trip as I needed a break from the keyboard and wanted to check everything was settled. Afterall, braking and shifting can be perfect on the stand but imperfect in the saddle.    

Predictably, I needed to snug the bar con shifters down a little-they were slipping slightly, meaning some chain rub and phantom shifts at the rear. I also needed to push a chain pin further in, since this was slightly proud and catching the front mech every few revolutions. The left brake lever also needed minor realignment-easily rectified, although the deeply recessed 5mm Allen bolts common to the Tektro family of levers requires a suitably lofty ball ended Allen key.   That sorted, I’ve been extending playtimes and reconnecting with my beloved two-wheeled companion.