Weekley catch up inc some new goodies

There has been some cracking buys in the sales this week so I splashed out and bought some new goodies for myself / the bikes.
First up is a new track pump. My old Topeak Joeblow Pro is sounding like an old dead donkey in use so picked up this more modern Silca Digital pump with over 30% off!
I also bought myself a new set of allen keys / Torx keys as my jobbing keys as I call them have now started to round on the ends on some sizes but they are very old and have done hundreds of hours spannering. So I bought some new ones - Silca HX-Two Travel Kit. Again these were in the sale.
I also bought another Park Tool valve core remover for my mobile small tool kit in the van. Again there was some canny discount off.
Last but not least was a Restrap Cannister Bag - handle bar bag. It is not very big, which is what I wanted and cannot wait to see how it fits / load it up. Merlin Cycles have them in stock and discount off inc free p&p.
Also I got my wheels back from Evans Cycles. The third & forth Specialised tyres were also faulty, no it was not just me setting them up wrong! so they have fitted a pair of Panaracer Gravelking 700c x 32c amber side wall tyres. Seated and sealed first time and holding air well.
I have not been out on the bike this week, a due to the near continuous rain everyday and b me and Angus inc Arran & Jane have started refurbishing my mums house. We have stripped it out completely and starting to put some walls up after knocking one down, new door frames in, re wire, plumbing and hopefully plastering soon. This will take up probably every spare hour I have for the next couple of months as we are going to try and do as much as we can ourselves to keep the costs down. All the best and hopefully more soon! -

Once I get a chance to open everything p and fit / use them I will post updates on my Fresjh Goods Sundays in the coming months.

Evans Cycles opens in The Toon

Fresh Goods Sunday - Specialized Creo Speed Sensor / Disc rotor lock ring

After I purchased my new DT Swiss carbon gravel wheelset the original wheels that come with the bike have been hanging up and not getting used. I refitted the original Ultegra disc rotors and the Sunrace cassette. The only thing missing was the speed sensor rotor locking on the rear wheel. So I ordered one from Specialized Concept Store, Harrogate when me and Jane went down for a weekend away. The Part number is C5640 and the rrp is £6.90. Fitting is simple enough if you have the correct lockring tool, I put a small smear of copper slip onto the new threads and nipped it up with my Park Tool lock ring tool. I then fitted the wheels to the bike and turned it on to make sure it was working, all is good. Now I have my DT Swiss gravel wheels with 43c Gravelking tyres and the original wheels set up for the road with 32c tyres. Jobs a good'un.

RRP £6.99 and I paid £6.99 + £3.99 p&p
Manufacturers Blurb - none as I cannot find any info on this product on the internet!

Early morning spin around a very wet Durham loop + Catch up

After a crazy week of work last week I took last Friday and yesterday off. I had loads off jobs to catch up with around the house /  cars etc.  Myself and Jane had a weekend down in York as well. York city centre was not busy on the Saturday but the Designer Outlet Shopping centre was rammed on the Sunday.
The weather has been poor to say the least and this morning the sun has finally come back out and it has stopped raining. I was up and out early doing my normal loop down to Durham, over to Maiden Castle / Houghall Woods / The Trod back around Durham then home via Frankland / The Sands. All in 15.5 miles in 1hr 17 mins. The tracks and roads are soaking wet and up in the eyes in clarts! Below are a few snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon -
ps - Fresh Goods update at the bottom

PBK sent me a 14% off voucher code so ordered another spare pair of 700c x 43mm Gravelking tyres. They worked out at less then £25 per tyre inc p&p.

 

I took the Specialized tyres back to Evans and they exchanged them for another pair. I fitted one to the front wheel without any sealant just to check if the sidewalls would leak. I fitted them with some washing up liquid and they seated first time but the sidewalls was leaking on both sides nearly all the way around. I checked the second tyre and that was just the same. I have left the wheels and tyres with Evans for them to see what the hell is going on with them.

Fresh Goods Sunday - Schwalbe SV17 60mm Valve Presta 700c x 28-45mm Inner Tubes

After I bought the new DT Swiss gravel wheel set I only had one old spare inner tube that fitted the rim/tyre circumference/width with the correct valve length. I tried quiet a few local Cycle Shops but none had any in stock so went on line. A lot of on line shops had also sold out but found the Schwalbe ones in stock at Spa Cycles down in Harrogate. I ordered three, one for the saddle bag on the bike, a second spare for the storage water bottle on the bike a third spare to keep in my van for just in case emergencies.
I have used various different sizes of Schwalbe inner tubes over the numerous years and they have never let me down. They are good quality and the valve cores don't pull out of the tube easily either. The quality of the presta valve is good and you cannot really go wrong for a fiver each.

RRP £8.49 and I paid £5.00 from Spa Cycles

Manufacturers blurb - Schwalbe tubes are designed & manufactured to retain air pressure considerably longer than their competitors. Not only is each individual tube inflated & inserted into a mould to ensure that there is even wall thickness & excellent air retention, they are also stored under pressure for 24hrs to test air retention. Valve length of 60mm for Extra Long version. Weight 150g.

 

Conti also do an inner tube that is the same size, same valve length and the same price, fiver!