Tubus Front Rack

Yesterday, while surfing through the Happy Earth store I suddenly came across a Tubus front rack. Not that I had a specific requirement for it right now but it was indeed in the wish list. After seeking Monisha's approval I placed the order. Apparently, they had just one in the warehouse. At Rs 11K it is not cheap. In fact if I had it brought in by someone it would work out much cheaper for me. But then you cannot really request someone to bring in a bicycle rack for you. It is quite bulky I am sure and no one will like carrying it. I do not know when it will come from Happy Earth. Perhaps next week. 

Tubus has quite a few different types of front racks. This is the Duo Low Rider. These are essentially two S shaped tubes that you fix on either side of the front wheel. There is nothing connecting one to the other like the Tubus Tara. There is another like the Surly one that has an elaborate ladder kind of platform in the middle (above the mudguard). I did not want that. It would be quite heavy and bulky. Happy Earth has the Surly model too. But I have the Tubus rear rack and the moment I saw the front one I went for it. 

(If you are not an Indian and chanced onto my blog - getting quality, high end products for cycles is not easy in India. Even if you get some reputed brands - getting a choice of different brands and varieties is almost impossible. So one has to be on the lookout all the time. You cannot buy them just when you need them. In my cycling cupboard I have two chains and two sets of brake pads. I am also on the lookout for Garorskin or Schwalbe tyres.) 

The online review for this particular rack is almost non-existent. All the reviews are for Tubus Tara. There are a few discussions of people who have had problems fitting it to their bike. But it was reassuring to find a few reviewers saying they are happy with it on their LHT. Some say that with the rack on the skewer becomes a problem and taking off the front wheel is an issue. I will have to see. I have the additional problem of the mudguard also :-)

I think there is a case for making a video on how to install it. I shall do the unboxing live on GoPro when it arrives and show the pros and cons of installation. Let me see how it goes. 

Wednesday, 24th February 2021

Fedex delivered the big box at the office yesterday. I am yet to open the box at home. I will do the entire unboxing in front of camera. Therefore I will do it when I have the time. Possibly around the weekend.

January Gran Fondo

Indulgence at 99

One of my cycling goals for the year 2021 is to do a century ride every month. The January century ride wasn't somehow happening, though in terms of daily rides it was turning out to be one of the most productive months in my short cycling life. The last two days of the month were weekend. On Friday evening I didn't go out, thinking that I would do the century on Saturday, so I must rest on Friday night. But Saturday came and went. I couldn't motivate myself enough to go out for the ride. In fact I ate my breakfast at 11 or so. It was cold in the morning by Calcutta standards. I thought I would go for an evening ride and slept the entire day. In the evening also I felt sleepy and went back to sleep, intermittently watching English football. I told myself I will go out tomorrow, like I always tell myself every Saturday in winter. Sunday was the last day of the month. If I didn't do it I would miss the January target, right in the beginning of the year. Also, my monthly odo was showing 725 Km. That was another motivation. I wanted to push that to 800.

Sunday morning came. I couldn't get up early enough. My target was 6 am but that remained illusive. Finally after 10 am I decided that come what may I will go. I must go. May be a late lunch but I will go and at least finish the 800 Km target, if not a century.

Went out after my usual breakfast, which now means two eggs, one piece of toasted bread, a toasted bacon and some green peas. Took two boiled eggs in the small Apidura bag and two bottles of plain water. I also carried a packet of Electral in my pocket - just in case.

For the unsuspecting stranger who might be reading this - what follows after is a rather drab route description and may not make any sense to you unless you know the roads and geography of North 24 Parganas. 

As is my wont, I didn't have any plan. This is the benefit of solitary cycling. I went towards Golpark and then off towards Gariahat, meaning to go towards Gurusaday on the way to the Red Road area. At Gariahat red light crossing I was on the extreme right lane. When it turned green, all the vehicles to my left started turning right towards Ballygunge station. After some time I decided to follow the herd and turned right. Okay I will go to Rajarhat. 

During Durga Pujo Chenka and I with Atish had gone to Badu via Kharibari. At that time we saw a wide four lane road meeting the Kharibari Road on the right hand side. Evidently it came from the New Town. So this time I thought I would explore that road, as it meant quite a short cut and of course the opportunity to ride on a nice new road. 

 

I got the exit right in the first attempt. The main arterial road of New Town takes a sharp turn to the left towards Rajarhat and VIP Road/Haldiram's. This is after the Eco-Park. There is a big traffic island there with artificial rock climbing walls, subways etc. From this point I turned right and kept moving straight. It's a wide four-laned sort of road. As of now it's all vacant plots of land on either side but in a few years I am sure this place will have lots of buildings all around.

As expected, this road met Kharibari Road beyond Rajarhat. From here I turned right towards Kharibari (going left would bring me on the Rajarhat junction going towards VIP Road). This Kharibari Road, as I had discovered during my Pujo ride, has now become a nice wide road. It used to be a narrow road with water bodies all around even a few years ago. But now I can see visible signs of urbanisation all around with large, tall buildings. Work is on to make it four-lane up to Taki Road. I stopped for a moment to drink a glass of Chhatu (ground chhola powder, mixed in water with chopped onion and chillies - poor man's health drink but very tasty and mildly spicy) from a road side vendor. It was quite a refreshing drink for Rs 25 only. Off I went towards Kharibari, which was around 10 Km from the point where I emerged on the main road. 

Last time I had turned left from Kharibari towards Guste (my grandfather went to a school here), Kanchantala, Badu, Madhyamgram. This time I pushed further on. I wanted to see Taki Road where the Kharibari Road ended. As per my calculation, it should come at 46 Km from home. And it did. Kharibari, incidentally, was 42. 

Taki Road is a T-junction. Here one can turn left towards Barasat (Chapa Dali Morh) or right towards Basirhat and on to Taki. I had originally meant to come back tracing the same road. But once there I turned towards Barasat. I wanted to see how good or bad Taki Road was. Turned out Taki Road was pretty bad and not at all suitable for a narrow wheeled roadie. 

I wanted to check out the new road that goes through our village. It connects the Kharibari Madhyam Road with Taki Road. I thought I would find it from Kadambagachhi. But they said no, the road is to be found near Dharmatolla. So from Dharmatolla I found this new road. Kanchantala is just 2.8 Km from here. This road goes through my village Kuberpur. 

My Parents 

It was quite a cultural shock for me. The first thing I found here was a three storied building which is a multi-gym. I cannot imagine a multi-gym here near my village where my cousins don't get a square meal every day. I soon found myself cycling through Kuberpur. I saw the small house my father had built. The old brick road is now a narrow but concrete road. My father would have been very proud of this. I regret that I have done nothing for this house. I somehow never liked the local village society here. They are not only extremely poverty stricken, the cultural atmosphere of the village is terrible. I heard extremely loud music blaring from some speaker in what used to be Khudu or Ronu Jyatha's garden. Some picnic party was having a good time. 

I remember taking this road in the 90s to visit my parents when they would stay in the village for a few days. It used to be a narrow village road with paddy fields on both sides and small village houses full of green orchards. Now it is urbanised in a very ugly Indian way. Sree-heen as we call it in Bengali. Meaning, looking shabby and impoverished.

I regret I could not keep this last wish of my father. I did nothing to keep the small one-room house in a well maintained state. It looks like a haunted house from a distance (not the least because our aunt had committed suicide setting herself on fire in our balcony). I cannot imagine ever going and spending even a night there. I will write about this in some other post somewhere else. To keep it short, the abject poverty of my cousins there shocks me and embarrasses me. We support them financially for their children's education or in some crisis but there is a gulf of difference between them and us. Both financially and culturally that I cannot reconcile myself to.

I soon cycled out of the village. No one noticed or recognised me. Reached Kanchantala which is now quite a well populated square. I remembered my parents standing in the sun there for long to catch a bus to Calcutta. We didn't have a car then. I cycled through Badu, which is a big town now. Even the small non-descript sweet shop where my father would customarily stop to get some sweets is now a swanky shop. I thought of stopping there but didn't. Pedalled on towards Madhyamgram. 

From Madhyamgram I was on the Jessore Road towards the airport. The road is much wider now and from Doltala in fact it is a four-laned road. Once on VIP Road I saw my odo was showing only 70 Kms. If I took the straight VIP Road I would reach home at 95. So I entered Rajarhat. At Gariahat I was still 95. So from Jugal's I turned towards Southern Avenue and went towards GolPark. Near Anderson I bought a chock-o-bar for myself and ate it at 99 Km outside Narayan's tea stall. I hit 100 infront of Menoka and reached home just after 101. It was well past 4 o'clock. I had a late lunch after a big shower. Didn't feel too tired. But it was a very dusty ride. 

I did not need the eggs. Drank one bottle of water and a little from the other one. Of course finished the other bottle when I reached home.

My cycle is all dusty. The front wheel I thought had come loose. I tightened the skewer. Next morning I took the Surly to work and didn't ride the customary 40 Km evening ride. Tonight I will. Possibly on the Surly but with the Brooks saddle. 

New Brakes For Roadie

 

I just got for myself two sets of brake pads for my Red Roadie. These came in from Happy Earth and cost me around Rs 3000 for the two pairs. These are arguably one of the best brake shoes available in this country, if not the world. 

The brake shoes that I have are there since the beginning. They came OE with the new bike and it never occurred to me that they might ever need to be replaced or might even need cleaning. After taking them off at around 2500 Kms the other day, (read about the cleaning here) I realised they were hopelessly damaged from use without maintenance. I am not sure if they require an immediate replacement (they are working fine as of now and the bike is indeed stopping pretty well, save for the hideous, gritty noise once in a while) but I went ahead and bought the new sets nevertheless. I don't want to wait for even a day if and when the current ones give way. Right now there is a terrible crisis of bicycle components and accessories.

I will keep a detailed note about how to replace and adjust the pads, when I do replace them. I know it's very simple but still I would like to keep a detailed record. 

Incidentally yesterday I did an adjustment to Mezda's rear brakes. He felt the brakes were not hard enough and asked me to ensure that it aligned perfectly with the rim on the left hand side, which I did. After getting back home he reported it was holding remarkably well. Seems like a happy customer. My only customer so far. 

Saddle Comfort

 I am so much in love with my Brooks B 17 that recently I swapped the Surly's saddle with the Red Roadie's. Since I was not riding the LHT and was taking out the RR every evening I wanted to go for the more comfortable seat on that bike. The LHT had the Brooks while RR had the Shimano. To keep the swap process simple I took out the entire seat post and placed one into the other, so that swapping it back would be easy, if I need to. 

While the Roadie became super comfortable, despite its geometry being different, the Surly has become super uncomfortable (I use it for the short office commute once in a while). Now, I am a little puzzled by this. I have ridden the Surly with the Shimano seat on before. In fact before the arrival of the Brooks that was my installed seat on the Surly. It wasn't so uncomfortable then. I went to Darjeeling in this combination. So what could be the reason for this new found discomfort?

I have two possible explanations. A. I have got used to the comfort of Brooks B. The seat post has a major role to play in saddle comfort. 

The LHT seatpost is a stainless steel one, while the Merida seatpost is made of aluminum alloy. But I must also add here that the Red Roadie with the Shimano seat and Merida saddle wasn't as uncomfortable as what the Surly feels now. 

My Daily Cycling And Goals For 2021

 

Before reviving the Red Roadie 

After the lockdown was lifted in 2020 and offices partially re-opened, I had started commuting to work on my LHT. Around this time I also started cycling every day in right earnest. I was quoted in Telegraph and the TOI etc. This routine of cycling every day for fun continued for a few months. 

Sometime in June/July I also installed two new tyres - Continental Gatorskin - on my Red Roadie. They were size 25, as opposed to my OE tyres that were 23. This dramatically improved the comfort level of the bike. I don't know if it was the slightly broader tyres or the make and model or a combination of both that did it but the bike became more welcoming for me. This made me ride the bike more frequently.

Sometime after the Pujas Monisha started going to office more frequently and I had to drive her to work. So I started cycling in the evenings. This dramatically improved my daily mileage. I started riding around 400 kms every month for a few months. Mostly on the Red Roadie. I guess the lower temperatures of the season also helped.

January has proven to be the most productive month so far, in terms of total distance cycled. Till date - 27th January morning - I have already done 650 Kms, riding around 5 days a week. I am sure I can do 800 Km this month. 

When I started this new year, my goal for the year was to do 5000 to 6000 Km, with one gran fondo every month. But the way things are going and if this can be maintained through summer and monsoon I am sure I can clock above 10K Kms. But I am happy if I can make a total of more than 5K at the end of the year.

As of now every evening I ride for two hours covering 40 Km. My cruising speed is 25 Kmph (that is on decent stretch of road and without traffic interruption) and the average over two hours, given the bad roads and heavy traffic, is around 19/20 kmph. I feel a little exhausted at the end of the ride and drink a mug of milk and banana smoothie mixed with some whey protein. Once in a while I stretch the legs before the ride but I have to make it a daily habit. As yet, I am injury free. 

I think one major difference maker was my decision to ride in heavy traffic to work. This made me accept traffic as part of life and ride even in the evenings. I wouldn't call it more courage. It's just that I am now okay to ride in traffic because the pleasure of riding is very high and I have become more accepting of traffic. Of course it slows me down but I don't feel intimidated by them. I take adequate care not to do stupid things like change lane suddenly on a fast road. After that it's all in the hands of God. 

I now have the Brooks installed on my Red Roadie too. And it's now super comfortable to ride the bike. Only issue is that, at this rate of daily riding this tyre will wear out by the end of this year. I don't think they can last for more than 5/6000 Kms. So what happens after that? India has well nigh banned tyre imports. My tyres were perhaps two of the last tyres that were imported. At the time of purchase I had no idea about the import ban and frankly I never thought I might be riding close to 800 Kms a month. 

Now we have to depend on someone to bring them in for me. Of course these are folding tyres and it should not be a problem for someone to bring two of them but I have to pay for it from here. Let me see how to address this. I have got to do something about it. 

Few Learnings

If I don't ride for two days, it becomes difficult to go out on the third day. But once I am out I am good for 40 Kms. I have often gone out thinking I will do just a short 10 Km ride but ended up doing 40.

So forcing yourself to go out is a good strategy. Even after one day's rest one feels lazy to go out. I often wonder whether taking a complete rest day is a good strategy or whether one should go out for at least a couple of kilometers. Since my riding intensity is not very high I might get away with this. 

I am better disciplined on working days. I get back home at around 6/6.30 and off for the ride at 8.30 pm. Rarely have I deviated from this. On holidays however, when I sleep the whole day or laze around, I find it lazy to go out at all. Every Friday night I go to sleep promising to wake up in the morning of Saturday and go out for a Gran Fondo of 100 Km but I find myself waking up at 8.30 or even 10.

 

Brake Cleaning

My Red Roadie is now almost 2500 Km old. For the last few weeks I had been hearing a most annoying sound whenever I pulled the brakes. I have rim brakes on both my bikes. To get rid of the sound I had cleaned the rim a few times with alcohol. Things would improve for a day but again go back to square one. The other day I took the pads off one by one and cleaned the shoes thoroughly. They were pretty dirty, as you can see. Truth be told. They had never been cleaned since my purchase. Shiny metal deposits were visible as evident from the photograph. 

Rim brakes for road bikes are really simple. Just one nut and two washers on either side hold it to the post. First I tried cleaning with a fine grade emery paper kept for my tube repair. It failed to do a thorough job. I tried various methods. Rubbing them on the carborundum block meant for sharpening my knives was one. The final removal of the last bit of the shiny thing was achieved by using my heavy duty iron file. 

I do not know if I over did it but possibly a lot of rubber got rubbed off and it might not have been even uniformly sanded off. I am hoping that the rim will eventually rub the pads off to a uniform flat. The braking efficiency has improved a lot, no doubt.

There was still some noise coming from the rear brakes. It is not really a squeal. More like someone was dragging a large bamboo along a road. A rough vibrating kind of noise. I adjusted the pad to make the front touch a little before the back. This is called toeing. Things seem to have improved quite a bit. I will have to be alert. I also adjusted the torque in the rear brake's central bolt that holds the unit to the frame. It was so loose that one could turn it by hand.

Today I also ordered for two sets of Kool Stop brakes. The brakes I have as OE on my Red Roadie are integrated and brand less. That is, you cannot just replace the pads. You have to change the whole unit. So I invested in a good pair of brakes costing me close to Rs 3000 for the two sets. Ordered them off Happy Earth. I have Kool Stops on my LHT also, upgraded before the Darjeeling trip. 

I will change the existing ones on the Red Roadie when they stop working, which I suspect will be pretty soon. 

After the upgrade I will just need to change the pads and not the entire unit including the holder. 

IceToolz Multitool

Now that I ride both the Red Roadie and the Trucker I was thinking about getting another set of multitool. My Crankbrothers stays in the Red Roadie's saddle bag. The Trucker, which I ride less now due to Monisha's regular office commute, is ridden without a multitool unless I was going far with it when I take the Crankbrothers out of the Red Roadie. 

So the other day when I went to Rito's Stay Tuned I picked up this IceToolz multi tool. They have two types. I picked this up which is a little more expensive at Rs 650. I picked it up due to its sober colour. The cheaper one had a very loud lemon green colour. 

This tool has all the basic Allen keys that might be necessary on the road. A few fancy spanners are there but I doubt I will ever use them. It does not have any chain breaker.