The Hills Are Getting Steeper

As I am rapidly approaching my 70th birthday I have noticed a remarkable geographical fact; hills are becoming much steeper and are lengthening in duration!  I may well send this remarkable insight to National Geographic for their education.

To counteract this evolutionary change I have needed to make some dramatic engineering changes to my bike fleet.

Witchcraft, my Giant Advanced TCR SL3 with an Ultegra Di2 Groupset has had a cassette change to give a 32t large cog from the traditional 28t. This was thought to be impossible but my LBS at Bespoke  have weaved some magic and it all works fine.

My beloved Mercian Vincitore Special was equipped with a Campagnolo Chorus Triple which only allows a maximum rear tooth count of 29.  So I have had this upgraded (?) to a Shimano Tiagra Triple with a 34t cassette.

This now means that I have a lowest gear on the Giant at 28 inches whilst on the Mercian it is now 23.3 inches.

I should perhaps point out here that my son thinks this is all needless as I had yet to encounter a hill I could not climb with the original kit.....and I am a bit loathe to confess to him that so far I have got nowhere near my new bottom gears...still I am approaching 70 and regard this as future proofing :-)

Boys Toys...or Essential Purchases

I just love numbers.

Not that I actually take the analysis of my cycling data and then feed it back into a structured training regime..I leave that to the young road and track  warriors.

I just LOVE numbers

So when I had the chance to grab a BARGAIN ( defined as something I don't need at a price I cannot afford to  refuse ) of a Power Meter I was overjoyed ... loads more data.

Just think of the spreadsheets and graphs I would be able to produce AND I would have proof that cycling up hill into a head wind was hard work :-)

And using something called FTP ( whatever that is ) I will be able to digitally prove that I need a rest after a hard ride and so give my wife true explanations about why I am not able to tackle that list of ' household jobs ' she has constructed.

The PowerTap came fitted to a wheel, and so obviously I needed a matching set, and  so I acquired a new wheel set, Pacenti SL23 rims. Following my purchase of HPlus-Son Archtypes for Witchcraft, my Giant Advanced TCR, I really do like the ride that the wider rim gives and so these Pacenti wheels were an obvious necessary purchase

An other advantage of the Pacenti is that they are made to accommodate Tubeless Tyres.  The lanes around where I live are very badly potholed and the surface is forever covered in thorns from the incessant hedge trimming that the farmers carry out. Punctures are a regular occurence and having nearly lost my fingers to frostbite changing a tube whilst out in the wilds of Dalbury recently I decided that a set of Hutchinson Fusion tyres needed to be added to the list.

I believe that this wheelset with the tubeless tyres may be slightly heavier than my previous tubed Archetypes... but perhaps I will have one less flapjack to compensate :-)

Now it is often said that we Old Age Pensioners talk a good ride but rarely actually get on a bike and go for a ride. This is obviously nonsense as the tea shops of Derbyshire and the surrounding counties would not survive without our trade. But just to prove the point I have also bought another bargain from a friend who deemed it surplus to requirements

This camera is really small and I have mounted it underneath my saddle but am still getting to grips on how best to use it but with luck I will be able to record some of our adventures in France later this year when the Cycling Veterans go looking for mountains
.

But it does work..as shown here when the Derby Mercury Veterans went to Prison

Wheel Building... A Magical Art

For those who have followed this blog from its inception you will know that I have tried to become a little more proficient in bike maintenance, though  my skills are very limited and it takes me ages.  It certainly isn't cost effective!  However I do enjoy it and it keeps me occupied

The series consists of

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/pedal-to-saddlesetting-height.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/novice-bike-mechanic-part-1.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/mechanical-interlude.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-novice-bike-mechanic-part-2.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/marginal-gains.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/a-business-case-for-improved-data.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-mobile-mechanic.html

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-novice-bike-mechanic-and-wheel-rims.html

and as I succumbed to the realms of fantasy, ignoring the fact of my ageing body and general overall lack of fitness, I started to look at potential performance gains through the use of  improved wheels

http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/rolling-along.html

This post takes the whole process to a much higher domain....

The Magical  Arts of Wheel Building

I am quite good at planning and  reading instructions, it is just the following them that causes me difficulty. So the preparation part of my project was good fun;  researching the different sort of rims, the advantages and disadvantages of various spoke lacing patterns, the intricacy of  various hub materials and construction with particular emphasis on the bearing quality. Then there were decisions to be made about spoke thickness and colour to mention nothing of the finer points of material degradation between Brass and Aluminium for nipple construction. And of course I also had to consider the choice between rim tape or the much lighter velo plugs; after all, that saving of 20 grams could be all the difference on whether to have a cream cake or toasted tea cake on my next ride.

After much pondering I came down to purchasing

 23mm width H plus Son Archetype Rims drilled for a 20/24 spoke combination.
Novatech F482SB / A291-SB  Hub set
Alpina AC1 F1 Silver SSDB spokes with brass nipples
and, because Velo Plugs do not fit these rims I went with Velox Cloth Rim tape

All I needed now were some tools, and a helpful experienced advisor who could act as my mentor.  Fortunately just such a man lives close by, and in return for showing him some of the best local Cake Stops ( for which I am rapidly becoming an expert ) he offered to let me borrow his tools and help me with the build.

I chose a radial lacing pattern for the front wheel and a 2 cross pattern for the rear. The whole build process was extremely satisfying, though I expect that Rob found it tediously slow compared to his normal pace. By taking my time and tightening each spoke  in many small incremental steps, the spokes gradually developed that beautiful ' ping ' tone as they came into synchronous tension. ( Though this was helped by having a tensionometer to ensure things were going OK )

When finally finished I installed them on my Giant Advanced TCR SL3 and I do think they look grand

and they certainly ride well.

The only problem that I now have is that I seem to have only 4 bikes BUT I have 6 sets of wheels!
I must think of a constructive solution.

Turning To The Dark Side

I am ill

I am very very very ill

Indeed I thought I might be next to death's door.

I have had the first signs of an  extreme case of man flu.

The men I have spoken to have understood perfectly and been most sympathetic. Indeed one said that he had heard a rumour that the  local hospital had opened a special ward for OAPs in my condition and staffed it with particularly young, attractive nurse to dab my fevered brow..

However, the response I have had from the females that I know has been completely different!

My wife has ignored me!

Others have gone * pfft, humbug * and just walked away!

And those who are cyclists have told me, in a very scornful voice, to obey #Rule 5  from The Way of the Cycling Disciple

There seemed to be only one cure for my illness, and that was to follow #Rule 12, the correct number of bikes to own is N+1 where N is the number you currently have.

So, I have acquired another bike !!!!!

It is a Giant  TCR Advanced SL3 but equipped with Ultegra Di2

The specification sounds very impressive but some of you may be asking :-

 "  Is not that an aerodynamically contoured racing machine constructed out of Advanced SL CARBON Composite Grade Frame ?  And does it not have a Compact Group Set and hence only two chain wheels?
I thought you were wedded to Steel?  And high quality Reynolds Steel Tubing at that ? "

Another friend has pointed out that the Giant P-SL0 Wheel System seems to be short on spokes compared to his 1983 Raleigh Royal with 36 spokes in each wheel.

I also had to defend myself by pointing out that, though it did indeed have an electronic Ultegra Di2 Groupset, it was not all of Ulregra build, the Bottom Bracket is Dura Ace.

I can only put down this turning to the Dark Side and acquiring a Death Star down to the fact that my extreme illness must have rearranged some of the neural pathways in my brain and caused a moment of insanity

It is very nice though :-)