Wheel No. 28 Redux

I had built up Wheel No. 28 in December of last year but have not used it yet. My 10-year old Ti Travel bike frame needed a repair to the seat tube due to a boneheaded move (I overtightened the front derailleur clamp). It is repaired, but I am waiting for it to get shipped back from the factory (in another larger shipment of frames). Welcome to the supply chain issues of 2022!

Meanwhile, I was able to secure a DT Swiss RR411 32-hole front rim that would match the RR411 rim I used for the rear Wheel No. 27.  The rear one is asymmetric, to allow slightly more even tension between drive and non-drive side. The front rim is symmetric. I decided to take the new spokes and rim off Wheel No. 28's H Plus Son Archetype rim and rebuild it with the DT Swiss rim instead. Why? Of course, the aesthetics favor a matching front and rear rim. More important, RR411 rims are "tubeless ready" while H Plus Son rims are not, and it makes sense that both front and rear rims have this designation, as I will eventually try them with a tubeless set up. Finally, at around 930 grams w/o QR skewers or rim tape, this is around 25 grams lighter than my previous lightest dynamo hub front wheel, with a 370 gram hub and 32 triple cross (Sapim CX-Ray bladed) spokes. The RR411 is probably not as strong as the H Plus Sons Archetype rim, but I expect it will hold up just fine.

Wheel No. 00028 -- First new SP dynamo hub in years!

This is around a 955g wheel, including the dynamo hub. About as light weight as imaginable for a 32-spoke, wide-rimmed, very sturdy wheel with a dynamo. 

As part of preparing the Ti Travel Bike, Voyage Voyage, for its second decade, I thought I also should replace my front wheel, built in December of 2014. The wheel and its Shutter Precision SV-9 dynamo hub has gone at least 20,000 kilometers over the past 7 years. The hub is a closed system -- can only be opened and maintained at the factory, in theory at least. So while it still "rolls good",  the bearings must have worn a bit by now. I recently noticed a very slight degree of "play" in it, so I think it may be nearing time to replace. And the wheel's H Plus Son Archetype rim is showing definite wear on the brake track -- what started as a straight brake track is now noticeably sunken/concave on both sides. I think the rim could last another year or two, but if I am going to replace the hub I might as well do the rim at the same time. If I build a new wheel, it should be what I use with the Ti Travel bike for PBP 2023 and beyond.

The new dynamo hub arrived it seemed almost overnight, actually second day I think after it shipped -- Taiwan is incredibly close to Japan and so it is practically like a domestic shipment! The SV-9 is designed to meet the German regulator's standards of output for a 20 or 24 inch wheel. On a 700c road wheel (28 inch) this hub requires a slightly higher speed than the regulatory standard to achieve the necessary output. This also is true for the SV-8/SD-8. The PV-8/PD-8 and PD-7/PL-7 are the models that clear the German regulator's output requirements. But that regulatory standard is for commuters on heavy bikes going slowly in urban environments. And it is for older lighting that drains more power than the newest, most efficient LED lights and reflector systems. The regulatory requirement is just not an issue for someone riding a road bike, even a plodding randonneur in the middle of the night.  And the SV-9 hub is just over 300 grams -- the lightest dynamo hub that works. The SV-9 (and SV-8, to some extent) have lower drag than other options. (These models are not included in any of the head-to-head tests by SON-friendly reviewers like Jan Heine at Bicycle Quarterly, or this Australian touring cyclist. Instead, they test the PV-8/PD-8. In my experience, anyone doing Audax or light, bikepacking touring will be very happy with the SV-8 or SV-9. They easily power a 50, 70 or 100 Lux LED headlight plus a rear light. And the drag is not noticeable. 

The H Plus Son Archetype is always an easy wheel to build, and today was no exception. And the H Plus Son Archetype remains, in my view, one of the best looking aluminum clincher rims out there. Just some good wheel-building therapy!

Effetto Mariposa Tubeless Conversion for the Renovo

When I picked up my new front wheel for the Renovo last week at GS Astuto (SP Dynamo SD-8 hub, Velocity Aileron reflective rim), Tim Smith confirmed that the Aileron is a "tubeless ready" rim and can be converted for use with road tubeless tires by adding the right rim tape and valve.

This offered a perfect opportunity to use the Effetto Mariposa tubeless conversion kit I got last year.  Last night, mission accomplished!  For someone who has used a tubeless set up before (or even who has not, but can follow some very basic instructions), it was very easy.  Just clean the inside of the rim, unroll/smoothly apply the tape to the interior (2x wrap for higher pressure road tubeless), insert a hole (I use an awl) for the valve and firmly press it against the rim interior and use the included washer and threaded ring to secure it.  Then fit the tire and add air with a floor pump.

The conversion kit worked just GREAT.  And the kit includes a tool case that will fit in a water bottle holder, plus lots of sealant -- several years' supply?

The front tire filled with air, pulled its bead into the rim's "slot" and held its pressure the very first time.

Enough tape for 2 standard (622) road rims, each wrapped with a double layer.  Second valve not shown.

For the rear wheel, it looked as if the rim already had internal sealed tape on it ... so I tried using that and failed to get the rim to hold air a few times before giving up, removing that old tape, and using the Effetto Mariposa tape.  After trying again, the rear also held air the first time.  As painless a tubeless tire installation as I have ever experienced.

I also swapped out an 11-28 rear cassette for an 11-32, if I am going to use this on hilly ultra endurance events with its 52-36 crank.  I bled the front disk brake ... which had been very soft.  That seems to have worked (though still not as tight as the rear brake).  And I have removed the fenders -- should be easy enough to put them back on so I can "rinko" plausibly with this bike.  I may want to change some of the bolts/nuts so I can install and remove the fenders without needing a "+" screwdriver.

Today, now that I am comfortable the tires are holding pressure well, I will add Caffe Latex sealant. Then ride!  

If all goes well with this setup, ... I will definitely use the Renovo on April's Fleche.  Fast, smooth, comfortable tires, an SP Dynamo hub and Busch Mueller light, shock absorbing Renovo frame.  Di2 Ultegra shifting. Just thinking about it fills me with anticipation!

If all goes well on the Fleche ... maybe Okayama 1200?

The rim looks almost carbon grey/black, ... but with a camera flash (photo at top of post) is very bright: reflective.

Update:  I added the Caffe Latex sealant and rode the bike to/from work.  These 700x25 Schwab One tubeless tires are very smooth and fast, though I would be hard pressed to say if they feel as comfortable as the 700x28 Continental Four Seasons.  They do feel fast.

Okitsu Classic Done; Going to PBP! 600km personal best ... riding the hardwood frame Renovo.

Katsuo!  At the Omaezaki Fish Market across from PC1, about to devour a vending machine.

The past weekend I joined the Kanagawa Audax-sponsored 600km Okitsu Classic. With this event, I am now done with the qualifiers for Paris-Brest-Paris and can register for that quadrennial lollapalooza of randonneuring, a 1230km romp by bicycle through the French countryside! Yippee!

View from my room - Suruga Kenko Land

We rode the Brevet in almost perfect weather, not too hot nor cold, only the lightest of rainfall on Saturday afternoon -- just enough to keep cool and never enough to make a damp road.  And of course, I rode on my new Renovo Firewood.

I read recently that the Fukuoka GW brevet week, in which riders can do a full 200, 300, 400 and 600 series, was called "Heaven Week".  So I would call this a "Heaven's 600 ride", in contrast to some other cyclist groups which try to turn every little hill into a Mt. Everest. True, there were 5300+ meters of climbing.  But that works out to less than 1000 meters per 100 kms.  Not bad for Japan. And there is only one really painful stretch -- the 120 kms between PC2 and PC3.

Riders start to bunch up just after the start.

Waiting at the red lights.  And waiting.

Alone on the "Strawberry Line"(Route 150).  Berries not in season ...

Flood plain of the Abe-gawa in Shizuoka-shi

On the old Tokaido between Shizuoka-shi and Fujieda.

No traffic on the old road between Shizuoka and Fujieda

Typical village in the coastal hills

Tea on the hillsides

The first 160kms, Start to PC2, were very fast.  I departed near the middle of a long line of riders -- 75 or 80 starters, I think.  Quickly the groups separated into 5-15 people each, waiting at red traffic lights.  Just the start-up at a traffic light takes a long time as each rider clips into his/her pedals and launches slowly forward.  And it is impossible to time the lights -- accelerate when you see a walk signal turn from constant green to blinking and know you can just make it if you hurry. In these early sections the Japanese randonneurs tend to accelerate very quickly from lights -- using excess energy, in my view -- but top out at too slow a speed for me.  Worse, they do not rotate at all at the front, so on a long stretch the group's speed gradually slips.  I want none of it, this burning energy yet going slowly, so this time as in other rides spend the first 15-20 minutes trying to race through all these lines and get to the front.

First view of the Rapha boys -- stylish vests!

Okumura-san's flowing hair -- his most noticeable feature from the back

This time, I managed to clear the long lines of riders, and found myself all alone along the "Strawberry Line" coast southeast of Shizuoka City.  After a climb over the small hill between Shizuoka and Fujieda, I find myself riding with Himei-san and Shukuzawa-san, both clad in Rapha brand vests and clothes.  These "Rapha boys" and I eventually join with Yo Okumura, who is on his beautiful Cherubim bike and recognizes me from a similar encounter at the front of the pack on this year's January Nishi Tokyo 200 brevet.  Yo has flowing long black hair, ... so it is always a bit of a surprise to pull up next to him and see his thick grey stubble beard.

Anyway, eventually Yo and I pull away (actually, he pulls me), and we continue at high speed to PC1.  I pull part of the way, but mostly just enjoy the ride drafting off of him.  My average moving speed for the first 80 kms -- over 29 kph.

The Renovo proves itself a great bike for this kind of riding -- I am on 700x28 tires -- fatter than I have used in the past, with slightly lower pressure (80 psi vs 95-100).  And I have a wood-framed bicycle -- a naturally shock-absorbing material.  The set up is a kilogram or so heavier than my lightest carbon framed bike, and with a longer wheelbase.  The result?  I am cruising in great comfort at higher than normal speed!

It is at least 5 minutes before any other riders arrive at PC1 (the Rapha boys are next), and just as I am settling into my snack, Yo is up and gone.  Already?  And I had thought he might be tired from that long, fast pull!

Anyway, I leave PC1 about the same time as the Rapha boys, catch them after a quick photo stop, then lose them again when I slow to take a picture of the Hamaoka nuclear plant in the distance.  For what seems like the next 50 kms, I am losing them, catching them, again and again.  Anyway, I feel much better than when I did a nearly identical ride in 2013.  This time I am at PC2 at 160 kms before 12:30PM.

Hamaoka nuclear facility (and wind farm) in the distance.  Once styled the "most dangerous place in the world" for a nuclear reactor.  Now with a sea wall 1.6 km long and 22 meters high.

Typical central Shizuoka - tea and sprawl.

Planting season for the rice farmers.  At first I was a bit frustrated, stuck behind him as trucks whizzed close by.
Then I realized it would make a good picture, relaxed and got out the camera.

I got a wave back and even what I take for a smile!

Community flower garden along Route 151 after PC2.  I passed literally hundreds such flower beds.

After PC2 we enter the hills and the pace slows markedly.  Many riders pass me.  I struggle toward a high point.  Then another slow, gradual climb to Niino Pass, the high point of the entire ride (it seems to be a few meters higher than Shiojiri Pass).  After Niino Pass, there is a big fast, curvy descent.  The Renovo is very stable and quiet on the descent -- no chattering over bumps and rough spots.  So I keep my hands off the brakes much of the time, and go FAST, definitely faster than in 2013.  When I do brake, the disk brakes are silky smooth, easy to adjust with slight squeeze or release.

Somewhere in the mountains of Eastern Aichi Prefecture on Route 151.

The Renovo next to one of MANY, MANY streams and rivers.

Small village across a big bridge from Route 151.

Get your kicks on Route 151?

More new green growth.

Near the confluence of two rivers

More eastern Aichi.  Always an expressway somewhere high up in the distance.

As I stop for photos and snack, riders start to pass me.

Same bridge, other direction.

Still in Toei, eastern Aichi

The climbs continue, the flowers continue.

I switch on my new Supernova E3 Pro dynamo light -- I have no problems at all riding at night with this, powered by my SP Dynamo SD-8 -- borrowed from my commuter bike for this ride since it is my only current dynamo hub for disk brake.  Thanks again to Vic Chen for a night of trouble free, good visibility riding.  Another rider follows me for long stretches between Shiojiri and Azumino.  I let him pass at times, since his lights are driving me crazy -- pointed too high, and not adjusted to keep out of the eyes of the occasional car or truck that approaches.  Of course, the vehicles reciprocate with high beams, and I feel like I am flooded from front and rear.  Eventually, at the Michi no Eki Azumino Horigane no Sato, I pull off for a rest and get away from his lights.  I am thankful for the E3 Pro and dynamo - just the right light in just the right place this trip.

Approaching Anan Town now in Southern Shinano.

Many more cat naps, 30 minutes' rest at a Family Mart cafe before Shiojiri, and an hour of sleep at a Gusto in Matsumoto, get me rested enough so I can summit Shiojiri Pass and Fujimi Pass in the morning, then roll down the hill to Nirasaki/Minami Alps.

The Alps west of Azumino, at dawn (4:33AM).  This is where I broke a spoke and nearly lost it on the my first 600 km event back in 2010 -- the Chubu Audax event over Nomugi Pass and to Kawanakajima from, then back to Nagoya.

Lake Suwa on a beautiful Sunday morning

The park on the west side of Lake Suwa

Farmers planting on the gradual climb from Chino to Fujimi

The famed Suntory Hakushu distillery and whiskey museum -- for another trip.

Minami Alps from Hakushu

Minami Alps from Mukawa ... beautiful if only they would put the power lines on the bridge or away from the view!

Reunited with the Rapha boys, on Yamanashi Route 12 approaching Route 52

As I continue on Route 12 through Minami Alps, who should approach from the rear -- the Rapha Boys!  I am surprised to be ahead of them.  Apparently they got a real rest at the Shiojiri Kenko Land.  Later on as we approach the last checkpoint, Yo Okumura again rides up to us.  "I thought you would be at the finish by now!"  No, apparently he also rested at the Kenko Land and his knees were acting up.  Anyway, we get to the checkpoint within a minute of each other, and it is great to be riding with people who I thought had left me far in the dust.   They do so again, however, and the three of them all finish 30-60 minutes ahead of me, my lack of sleep catching up.

At last, down the Fujikawa

More Fujikawa

The last of many nasty little hills on the Fujikawa.
This shows the middle 1/3 of the climb.  The lower part is steeper.

The finish in sight!

In any event, it was a really nice 600km.  Not too painful at any time, and plenty of leeway against the clock so no worries about whether I would make the time deadlines.  A few more long rides like this, and I will start booking hotels again so I can get better sleep.

17 riders were faster (but none under 31 hours), and 50 riders were slower, among the 68 finishers. Not bad.  My time was 34:27, as opposed to 37:05 in 2013 when stiffness and sore ribs punished and slowed me.  An improvement of 2 hours 38 minutes -- not bad.  And almost 90 minutes faster than I have ever done a 600km ride.  Not bad at all!  

Maybe it was the Renovo and its comfortable setup?  Or maybe I am getting into strong physical condition?

Am I confident that I can finish PBP?  Yes.  

The upcoming SR600?  That will be a real challenge, at the very limit of my ability.

The first 475 kms - recorded with Garmin Edge 800 -- until it died
(as often happens on multi-day rides)

Last 115 kms, after I realized the Garmin was dead ...
and switched to iPhone and ridewithGPS for recording the remainder.