Heavy rain last night, but thought I'd take advantage of brightening skies to get out of the house on my usual little loop down to Thames estuary marshes. Lots of puddles but all good so far, relaxing.
Then start to hit some more low-level waterlogged areas and hit that worst possible kind of mud, that hellish clay gunk that sticks like glue. I've soon picked up so much, combined with some gravel that the wheels actually don't turn! The GT designers in California obviously didn't factor in mud clearance when designing the LTS, combined with the 2.4/2.2 tyres I'm running! Had to stop four times to try and degunk and even un hooked my rear Maguras! Then had to clear off the chain as that started to clog right up.
Slog the bike back home (which is all uphill), must weigh at least a few kilos more in clay despite best attempts to wash off in puddles! SPDs don't work bunged right up.
Then get home, attempt to clean off bike in an already soggy garden. Got no hosepipe, bucket of water is brown within one dip of the brush. Everythings soggy, everything still has clay in it. Don't wanna put bike away half-cleaned. Then it starts to rain...
MTBiking. We love it.
:evil:
Then start to hit some more low-level waterlogged areas and hit that worst possible kind of mud, that hellish clay gunk that sticks like glue. I've soon picked up so much, combined with some gravel that the wheels actually don't turn! The GT designers in California obviously didn't factor in mud clearance when designing the LTS, combined with the 2.4/2.2 tyres I'm running! Had to stop four times to try and degunk and even un hooked my rear Maguras! Then had to clear off the chain as that started to clog right up.
Slog the bike back home (which is all uphill), must weigh at least a few kilos more in clay despite best attempts to wash off in puddles! SPDs don't work bunged right up.
Then get home, attempt to clean off bike in an already soggy garden. Got no hosepipe, bucket of water is brown within one dip of the brush. Everythings soggy, everything still has clay in it. Don't wanna put bike away half-cleaned. Then it starts to rain...
MTBiking. We love it.
:evil:
I know how you feel, took my Proflex for a ride last week and the combination of claggy mud and twigs/grass conspired to completely stop the wheels from turning, and as you say the SPD's don't work when clogged up with mud either (especially as the mud gets compacted from repeated attempts to get your shoes into the damn pedals).
