Another local mainly off road loop around Esh Village, Stanley Crook way on the Creo 2

 

Another wild and windy outing on the bike around another local loop that I have not done in a while. I took the Specialized Creo 2 back out again after yesterday's slop fest and it was less sloppy today as the flooding had drained away and yesterdays / last nights wind had dried the top off the old railway lines. It was lovely and quiet with just a few dog walkers out n about. The Creo is going well and no problems to repot of yet. I am think of turning down the power by another 5% in the middle setting as there seems to be too big a jump between eco and sport. Below are a few snaps from the cold and very windy loop. Enjoy and hopefully more soon-  

Back to more flooding / mudfest but the sun is shinning in Co Durham

 

Well after over 24 hours of solid heavy rain the tracks, trails and old railway lines are back to a total slop feast again. Not to unexpected though and there was long stretches of flooding on the lines where the side ditches are not coping with the amount of water coming off the saturated farmers fields. My new Ass Saver Wing Win 2 is doing a cracking job of keeping my back clean but seems to throw more shit down the back of the bike. It was one of my regular loops taking in a couple of Co Durham's old railways lines and a short road sections to join them up. There was a few others out n aboot enjoying the sun after yesterdays total wash out, the wind has died down a little as well. Below are a few snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon - 

New Goodies - Shimano RT-CL900 Ice Tech Freeza Dura Ace disc rotors / Absolute Black pads and tinkering time

 

If you have followed my Blog over the many years you will know I have always used Shimano disc brakes excluding my old Cube e mtb's which had Magura fitted. I have Shimano fitted on my mtb's, road bikes and gravel bikes. I have spare mineral oil and olives etc to keep them working. I also have loads of spare brake pads as many of the different models all use the same shaped pad. I have only ever had one problem many years ago with Shimano disc brakes - XTR lever seal failed and had to buy a replacement lever. 

Now my new Specialized Creo 2 come with Sram groupset inc the brakes. I have not used Sram disc brakes before but have read loads of different stories about them, some good'ish and a lot of not so good. The lever feel is totally different along with the biting point. The power is also totally different and with me using Shimano on all my other bikes it was taking some getting used to. One thing a lot of riders say is the cheaper Sram road disc rotors are poor so I decided to swap them with some of my older Shimano Dura Ace rotors and things were slightly better. After around 200 miles of mud cutting paste rides the original pads have started to bed in and the brakes have improved. I was thinking of swapping the calipers to Hope RS4+ but after some discussions with riders who have used and fitted them I decided not to go down that path at the mo. 

Anyway back to the Shimano rotors, I have them fitted to all my bikes / wheels sets and spare wheels. I decided to go for the latest Dura Ace 900 model in 160mm (from Wolf Cycles £81.98 inc 48hr p&p) and put them onto my Creo 1 road bike. I took the rotors off that and put them onto my Creo 2 Hunt wheels The ones from the Creo 2 went back onto my DT Swiss 700c wheelset which are now on my Creo 1 gravel bike. The ones from there went back onto my spare 650b Creo 1 wheels set. That means I have three generations of Dura Ace rotors on my bikes and older Ultegra rotors on my Cannondale Synapse Neo and spare 650b wheelset. 

I have also bought some Absolute Black brake pads from the Creo 2 but I am not going to fit them yet and wait and see if the braking improves over the next month or so of winter riding. I was going to go for the SwissStop Exotherm pads which I have fitted to my road Creo but opted for the Absolute Black ones for a change. 

I also fitted s new bell to my Creo 1 & 2 gravel bikes so other users on the lines will hopefully here me better when coming from behind! I also washed, dried and lubed both bikes and charged them up ready for some more miles in the saddle. 

I have a new pair of more comfortable grips to fit onto the Trek Marlin+ but I ran out of time. 

Enjoy and hopefully more soon. 

Fresh Goods Sunday - Shimano XT RT-MT800 Ice Disc rotors (180mm)

Following on from last weeks Fresh Goods Sunday I am going to cover the Shimano XT RT-MT800 disc rotors in size 180mm. As I explained last Sunday when I bought the Trek Marlin+ the factory standard Shimano 4 pot disc brakes were poor to say the least. I bought these rotors to replace the RT64 rotors. They had a shiny chromed finish to them and looked cheap to be honest. Swapping the disc rotors is simple enough with a deep cassette lockring tool and spanner. After a few rides and the rotor surface had scrubbed in on both sides the braking had massively improved with a better feel at the lever and the stopping power. They laos look a lot better in my eyes as well. Yes they are not cheap but they are excellent quality and should last the lifetime of the bike as I don't do that many miles on it. They come with external lockrings but I reused the internal lockring on the rear as I had the magnet holder to fit and there was not enough frame clearance with the external lockring. 

Now I have fitted the Shimano XT 4 piston brakes the braking / stopping power is more than ample of me. They are still running true with no wobble. 

As ever shop around for a deal as there is many to be had at the mo. 

RRP £109.98 (pair/2no) and I paid £71.90 from Wiggle inc 24hr p&p (now £65.98) 

Manufacturers Blurb - 

SHIMANO DEORE XT - CENTER LOCK - Disc Brake Rotor - ICE TECHNOLOGIES FREEZA - 203/180/160/140 mm

SHIMANO's DEORE XT RT-RT800 compact and lightweight disc brake rotors feature rapid heat dissipation thanks to ICE TECHNOLOGIES FREEZA heat management system. Installing and removing the rotors is quick and easy with SHIMANO's CENTER LOCK design.

FEATURES

Advanced heat sync design reduces brake fade
New disc brake rotor construction boosts heat dissipation and reduces fade
ICE TECHNOLOGIES FREEZA
Easy disc brake rotor installation with spline mount and lock ring
CENTER LOCK

MODEL NO	RT-MT800
SERIES	ABS AU301 Series
Average weight	88 (140 mm)
Remarks	With anti loosen tightening plate

CENTER LOCK	✔
ICE TECHNOLOGIES	✔
ICE TECHNOLOGIES FREEZA	✔
Outside diameter (mm)|203	✔
Outside diameter (mm)|180	✔
Outside diameter (mm)|160	✔
Outside diameter (mm)|140	✔
Alloy lock ring	✔
Pad lining shape compatibility|Narrow	✔