Ta da! Trail & Green Lane fun

Having whipped The Maxxis Ikon aboard Ursula’s Ryde/Alfine Shimano Alfine UR700 Hub Dynamo | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) and Sputnik/XT hoops, I took to the backroads, byways, dirt roads and bridlepath and swept myself back in time. Not one I was nostalgic for, rather my construct of the drop bar mountain bike-an all-terrain bike in the literal, purist sense. One conceived while mentally disengaged from an English class in March 1987.  Lightweight, yet rugged, ones that could be ridden beyond the confines of metalled roads and maddening crowds.  

Whoosh! I’ve always revelled in the ability to hop aboard a well-loved, carefully serviced two-wheeled vehicle and leave the world behind. Even if only for an hour, or two. The intoxicating sense of freedom. Increase the cadence, feel the machine respond to your every effort. With the miles come contemplation, reflection, solutions and clarity-although sometimes I need to write these down before they evaporate in a stream of consciousness.  

Much as I expected, the Ikon deliver a responsive, compliant, and engaging ride over dry hardpack and loose surfaces. Be these trails and bridlepath, or unmade roads. Their rolling resistance is quite palpable over metalled roads and I’m glad I put some precautionary goo in a batch of Schrader tubes, mind.  

Being the base model, there’s no puncture-repelling belt. I didn’t want to take the edge off their speed but wanted some added peace of mind.  Theory behind latex/sealant-filled tubes is that rotational forces plus release of pressure traffics the goo to the affected hole.  

Most work on nicks and holes around 1-1.5mm. The downside is a bigger hole, let alone blowout will result in a sticky encounter by the road/trailside. Time and miles will tell whether, and indeed, what contexts this proves an issue.  

A minor point, but I needed to raise the Mud Hugger Evo by a few millimetres to ensure some very necessary added clearance, coming from The Maxxis Overdrive Excel. However, that’s because I’d used these as the mounting template and wanted a super clean aesthetic. My fault for not factoring in a knobbly first-time round.     

Talking of which, long-term, I’m really impressed by the Motoverde PTFE Chain Lube Motoverde PTFE Chain Lube | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) staying prowess, and economy. Sparing is the word when it comes to application. Ditto 12 hour curing times but both Ursula and fixed gear winter/trainer are still sporting theirs, with no sign of reapplication coming. In contexts which have all but dismissed some middleweight wet blends. 

 

Seems to be doing better than several on the cleanliness front too.  Talking of clean, here’s my review of the Weldtite Bike Cleaner Concentrate Weldtite Bike Cleaner Concentrate | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)   

A year and 8,000 all-weather miles down the line, the Souma Leather Handlebar Tape Souma Leather Handlebar Tape | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) is holding out well. I’ve fed it with a decent quality leather food periodically and being a natural fabric, it has relaxed a little, resulting in slight slippage. Predictably, there’s more patina on Ursula’s, given the off-road ventures. On both bikes, I’ve needed to unwind and re-wrap a few times to allow for this and then of course a couple of cable changes but the backing adhesive is high quality, so no issues.   

Regarding contact points, midway through a 4am ride, I became convinced that the fixed’s top tube or stem were growing like Pinacho's nose. Laughably illogical thought but this kind of stuff creeps in however fleetingly. This was simply attributable to a slackening saddle cradle bolt on its Cane Creek Thudbuster ST G3 TESTED: CANE CREEK THUDBUSTER ST SEATPOST (sevendaycyclist.com). Would explain some low-level but intrusive chatter (which I’d originally attributed to a pump, the Lezyne riding shotgun on he down tube, specifically). Talking of down tubes, I’m a fan of the large PET cages-great for lugging big stuff. No wondering where you’re going to park that 1.5-litre bottle of mineral water you bought mid-ride.   

Topeak Modula range has always caught my eye and I’ve always had a particular soft spot for their Modula XL. The rubberised strap holds different diameters of bottlenecks very securely, eliminating chatter, not to mention ejection over rougher surfaces. Minoura made a similarly innovative model, although that’s been discontinued as the market seems to have moved toward multi-purpose models aimed at bike-packing audiences.  

They look similarly well engineered and I wouldn’t mind acquiring one for testing. Minoura makes some nicely engineered solutions- the VC100 camera mount that graced Ursula’s bars for some time being a case in point.  Back to Topeak and I find myself similarly endeared to their Modula Java Topeak Modula Java Cage | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com)  

Right, time to mix things up a bit- I’m off for some more skinny-tyred fun on the Teenage Dream! John Moss (link) has also been in touch, saying his finished making the calliper mount for a TRP HYRD calliper. Think Ursula will reap those benefits, come the next cable change.   

Big Grins

 A week on from the Maxxis Re-Fuse TR arrival, the brand’s Ikon (26x2.0) were being handed to me by a very amiable courier. The following day I whipped them aboard Ursula’s Shimano Alfine/ XT wheelset, complete with fresh butyl. They’re slightly reminiscent of Kenda Small Block Eight, which I had run in 700c and 26 versions and similarly straightforward to fit.  

Interestingly, the Ikon have a maximum payload of 90 kilos, so best suited to lighter riders. Ours is the baseline model with a 60tpi casing and isn’t tubeless compatible (ready, if you prefer) and doesn’t feature a puncture-repelling bet, so it will be interesting to see how they fare in terms of rolling and puncture resistance.  As a precaution, I’ve gone for some Schrader valve tubes, so I could get some sealant sloshing around them.

    

With a maximum, tame by road standards 65psi, I was also surprised by the number of strokes needed to deliver the full 65- that's with the SKS track pump.

Beyond 50 and my biceps were beginning to course with lactic acid, and we were close to locking out at 63psi. Now, arguably you wouldn’t go to the maximum, but I like to see how a tyre behaves at the cited maximum, before tapering down to find the sweet spot for different contexts.   

Anyhow, I’ve put them to one side for a moment while I concentrate on racking up miles on the fixed with the Maxxis Re Fuse. I’m finding the latter very dependable-in every sense thus far. Not the most compliant ride but by no means harsh and what I’ve come to expect from 60tpi single compound casings.  

May has seen an improvement weather-wise, namely drier (although still very cool in the morning)- single digits mean I’m sticking to the three-quarter lengths and long-sleeve jerseys and indeed full finger gloves when it’s sliding down to 5 or 6.  Baggier fitting mitts also allow liner-type gloves and this combo can be a great middle point for changeable conditions-long rides, in particular.  

Anyhow, the more Spring-like weather has meant the Teenage Dream has come out from seasonal hibernation, giving me chance to get some miles in with the CST Cito. For the uninitiated, the Cito are a dual compound 170tpi model available in 23, 25, and 28mm sections. Formative outings have really brought the best from the build, which may be quaint by contemporary standards but still brings huge grins.  

I ran Vee Tire Co Rain Runners for a good while and was impressed by their low rolling resistance, compliance, and wet weather grip. However, the Cito are a notch better in my book and very competitively priced. The ride quality doesn’t match that of a mid-range tubular but isn’t that far behind either and without the maturing, gluing and sewing that came with them. 

  

125psi is their maximum and even at these lofty pressures they’ve never felt harsh, or skittish and have held their line impeccably. CST hasn’t cited a minimum pressure and at present, they haven’t released a tubeless compatible/ready version but I’m reckoning the sweet spot for me and my 70kilo frame is between 105 and 110psi.

Not that we’d want to invite these things but puncture resistances courtesy of their EPS lining, which also features in their Czar CST Czar Tyres | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com) cousins and indeed, the Pika CST Pika Gravel Tyres | cycling-not-racing (sevendaycyclist.com). This is a flexible Poly fibre strip running beneath the casing’s centre strip. This doesn’t run bead to bead, which may have implications for puncture resistance.  

However, the Cito are intended as a fair-weather training/competition tyre, 5mm thick Aramid belts and similar technology is uber dependable, but tyres featuring these tend to be on the weighty side- think 700g or so apiece, not the sort of heft you’d want on a pared to the essential's plaything, race, or TT bike.   

Talking of which, for those of you wondering why I hadn’t whipped the Cito aboard the Holdsworth, it’s primarily because the Holdsworth has bigger clearances- could go up to 28 up front and 32mm plus at the rear, while its 25mm tops, with the Teenage Dream. Every so often, I contemplate upgrading the latter's frameset, probably bespoke, but definitely steel and fillet brazed.  

However, I’ve let these thoughts drift since I can’t justify it on grounds of cost and space. Practicalities aside, I’m also very fond of the frameset and then there’s the memories tied up within it. Bikes are like friends. Some come and go, and others stay a lifetime.