At last the stars aligned and I had my first ride on Dionysus since putting the front tire on the right way round. I can’t say I noticed any difference in the ride.

I’d spent some time sorting out the brakes. The rear is much improved and both brakes perform adequately — good enough for an emergency skid to a stop. The feel has improved a bit, but the brake noodles are the limiting factor. As I rethreaded the cables through the noodles last weekend I could feel how much resistance they added.

I don’t know if this could be further improved. I’m already using polymer coated cables, and the noodles have low-friction liners. The rear is a Shimano, so I don’t think quality is a question. Premium cable maker Jagwire has noodles in a couple of angles, as well as flexible ones, but they don’t make any particular claim about their performance (and don’t even specify if they’re lined). I doubt it’s worth the cost to find out.

I’m probably just spoiled now that I have hydraulic brakes on Kuroko. The difference is nothing short of astonishing.

The final area of attention is the chain and derailleur. The chain is a bit quieter following the cleaning and lube job, but it’s still noisy compared to the original. I like the way this chain looks, but I think when it’s time to replace it I’ll go back to the stock chain. The price is very similar. As for the derailleur, it’s still not quite dialed in to perfection. I’m going to have another look at it before the ride home this evening.

OK maybe just the one

I had a bit of a late start this morning, and the Garmie didn’t wake up for a couple of hundred meters. My thighs felt good, and I made some traffic lights and missed others (as always). On a moving time of 37:26, I averaged 20.6km/h.