Out n back spin along the old railway line to Stanley Crook / Crook

I was up and out very early this morning to get an out n back ride in from Bearpark along the old railway line to Broompark, then up to Stanley Crook. From the top I descended down to Crook to do a lap then back up the hill to return via the same route. The lines were totally empty first thing and never seen a sole until Crook. It started off cloudy but the sun came out after sunrise and was quiet pleasant apart from the 20-30mph wind! The lines are mainly dry and hard under tyre apart from a couple of damp sections. On the way back there was a few early morning dog walkers out and one other cyclist. The headwind sections were hard going but I kept my head down and plugged away. All in just under 24 miles with an average speed of 13.1mph with 1400ft of climbing. Below are a few snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Fresh Goods Sunday - Specialized MSC Centerlock speed sensor magnet holder Lock Ring Part No S199900012 W3637

 

I bought this Specialized speed sensor last year as a spare as they can be very hard to get hold of quickly if you ever need to replace it or need one if you buy a second set of wheels. Since buying yet another pair of wheels (see last weeks Fresh Goods Sunday Blog) I have now used my last spare sensor so I can now use use all four pairs of wheels I have to fit my two Creo's. I have covered this sensor in a previous blog and nothing has changed, they replace a standard spline disc rotor lockring on the rear which has a magnet so the sensor within the frame can pick up the rpm. The tool required for installation / removal is a standard 12 spline cassette lockring tool. 

UPDATE - Specialized has now changed the Part number S226800004 Version 2. I will cover this in a future Blog but the rrp has also gone up to £11.99. 

RRP £9.99 and I paid £9.99 from Certini Cycles 

Manufacturers blurb - 

This part is a centerlock speed sensor magnet holder for Specialized E-bikes. 

It is compatible with the following bikes:

Model Year Category Model

• 2021 CREO SL CREO SL COMP CARBON
• 2021 CREO SL CREO SL COMP CARBON EVO
• 2021 CREO SL CREO SL E5 COMP
• 2021 CREO SL CREO SL EXPERT CARBON
• 2021 CREO SL CREO SL EXPERT CARBON EVO
• 2021 CREO SL CREO SL SW CARBON
• 2021 CREO SL CREO SL SW CARBON EVO
• 2021 LEVO LEVO COMP 29
• 2021 LEVO LEVO COMP 29 NB
• 2021 VADO SL VADO SL 4.0
• 2021 VADO SL VADO SL 4.0 EQ
• 2021 VADO SL VADO SL 5.0
• 2021 VADO SL VADO SL 5.0 EQ
• 2020 CREO SL CREO SL EXPERT CARBON
• 2020 CREO SL CREO SL EXPERT CARBON EVO
• 2020 CREO SL CREO SL SW CARBON
• 2020 CREO SL CREO SL SW CARBON FOUNDERS EDITION
• 2019 COMO COMO 4.0 LOW ENTRY 700C (19)
• 2019 COMO COMO 4.0 LOW ENTRY 700C NB (19)

Some man cave bike fettling, degreasing & cleaning

 

I had planned on doing quite a lot of cleaning and catching up with some repair jobs on my bikes yesterday after I come in from my ride but it decided to chuck down. 

Today the sun came out so made a start on degreasing and cleaning the drive train on my Specialized Creo gravel bike. I did not realise just how much build up of old oil and winter crud there was until you get a good closer look in the sun. Once I had finished degreasing with Fenwicks Foaming degreaser, cleaning and re lubricating the Creo with GT85 & Finish line Cross Country oil I moved onto the Cube E mtb. Now I know this has not been done for a while and was worse than the Creo. I have not checked / topped up the Stans in the tyres for over a year so that was the first job. I tried to remove the inner valve core but they were the fixed type so that meant cracking the bead of the tyres next to the valve first. Buy god they were tight! Once I had the beads cracked I decided to change the tubeless valves to ones where the valve core comes out so topping up in the future is a lot less hassle. I fitted the new valves, blew the tyre back up to seat the beads then removed the valve core and added 150ml of fresh Stans in each tyre with my injector syringe. Re fitted the vale core and aired the tyres back up and put the wheels back in the bike. Whilst the wheels were off the bike I checked the disc brake pads as its very hard to see what is left on the pads with the wheels in on my Magura brakes. The back ones were ok but the front ones were nearly down to metal at one end of the pad. I found some spare EBC pads in my stock and fitted them. After that it was degrease the drivetrain, wash and dry the bike. Lubricated everything and its ready to rock n roll again on the trails. 

I also washed my DT Swiss 700c gravel wheelset and degreased the cassette as they are hanging up at the mo. 

A cold and snowy ride on the tops along the old Railway lines of County Durham

 

Well the forecast was right for the back end of the week, three days of on and off heavy snow, freezing cold, windy and an odd sunny spell in between all that lot. Just as well as I did not have any spare time for a ride but last night I swapped over onto the 27.5" wheelset on my gravel bike, pumped up the tyres, oiled the chain and adjusted the cable tension on the rear mech as it has not been shifting as smooth on the cassette on the last couple of rides. 

Today I drove over to Bearpark and parked up and dropped down onto the old railway line and headed towards Lanchester. There was a sharp overnight frost with the Garmin reading minus -3 degrees. The track was mainly frozen and so were the puddles so it was easy going under tyre. The sun was out so I knew it would not be like that on the way back. Once I was climbing out of Lanchester valley the Garmin dipped down to minus -4.1 degrees but did not feel that cold in the sunny parts. Once I reached Consett the snow was still lying so headed over Hownsgill viaduct towards Parkhead. The line was clear to start with but the further I went the more snow and ice there was. At the road junction I turned and headed back the same way. There was quiet a few dog walkers out but only a couple of other cyclists. As perdicted the frost had melted out of the line so was freezing cold black sloppy mess in places. Once back down to Bearpark I kept going to Broompark Picnic area, turned and back to the van. All in just over 30 miles in 2 hours 18 minutes with 1100ft of climbing, nice flat route. 

Below are a few photos from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon-