After two years of less-than-ideal hibernation beneath a tattered cover in my mate's garden the Routier is now back in my possession - my having moved both removing my excuses for it being there as well as presenting fresh opportunities for use.
Wednesday night saw a walk over to collect it; having ealier stuffed some air in the tyres and given it a half-arsed once-over after work.
Admirably after two years of languishing mostly unused out in the elements, it just worked. The optimistically-wide treaded rear tyre still rhythmically catches on the mudguard, but the brakes work, the gears work... the chain was notably buttery smooth despite some surface corrosion, having been waxed prior to its hiatus.
Unfortunately it's not escaped totally unscathed with a noticeable but limited bloom of corrosion in some areas - namely the cassette, seatpost, rack, crankset and front derailleur. I feel a bit bad about this as I could in theory have chucked it in the back of the car and taken it back to the homestead; however once commuting partially on the Brompton I had little desire to drag the car through the hateful traffic back into the city, while it was always my intention to return so it seemed to make more sense to leave the bike closest to where I'd hopefd it would ultimately end up.
The drivetrain has also suffered thanks partially to my wax fetish; I suspect the rings and cassette would have fared better if left covered in the thick, oily mess present when I first got the bike.. but that's just not how I roll. Some time ago I'd added some Dr. Wafter's patent paste wax to some of the steel bits in an effort to arrest further corrosion (I think with some success) so I hope it doesn't feel completely unloved.
Since I've had it back I've removed the seatpost (relatively easily, thanks to being steel-on-steel) scrubbed it with paraffin, cleaned out the seatpost tube and refitted with lashings of paste wax - again in an effort to quell any more red stuff. I've also dropped the saddle by 5mm as it felt a bit tall (have my legs shrunk?) which I think was contributing to its "uncompromising" ride.
I've only had it back for a few days, but it's already been well-pressed into service - carting me into town on May Day morning, assisting last night's acqusition of fish for dinner and then into town again today to meet a mate for a walk. The bike's trump card - being worth next to nothing and almost not worth nicking - easing my mind and allowing it to be left locked for long periods of time in my absence or just leant up against the wall outside the chippy; which would make me decidely uncomfortable with any of my other bikes.
Getting back on the bike first time felt refreshingly familiar yet tangibly different to my other bikes; the pedalling action notably "smooth" - perhaps on account of the 165mm cranks which are the shortest on any bike I own; with most others being 170mm. The gas pipe frame's ride remains pretty unforgiving (although potentially better now I've dropped the seat a bit), the 38cm bars conspicuously narrow (if not problematically so) and their paper-thin tape just as reluctant to damp out vibration as I recall.
Despite being old and low end it actually felt pretty quick - perhaps understandably since I've been used to the sit-up-and-beg Brompton and usually laden Fuji.
The cheap on-board trip computer isn't ideal as it doesn't fit well with my desire to log every mile covered, while I still need to find a viable way of carrying the lock / spares / tools since the intended use doesn't nec. lend itself well to the use of the usual rucksack that usually carries most of these items. I also need to look at some way of treating the rust that's present - perhaps some way of locally applying cavity wax or more paste wax..
Ultimately it's great to have the bike back and once more to have a use for it; which it performs very well. I still think it looks a lot classier than its modest provenence would suggest and look forward to putting some more miles on it
