Yep, really like the soul and the Flare looks interesting but again nothing happening demo wise near or soon.

I’d second that one from Decalthon, beam isn’t as good as something like a myo xp, but it’s nowhere near the cost.

Two observations having had one for two years with frequent winter runs. Firstly it flares light into the top of my perhiperal vision, so have to add a strip of insulating tape along the bottom of the lamp – can be annoying. Second, it’s started randomly switching between light modes when on and battery life is defiantly declining.

You could try taking the stabilisers off, then put a long scarf around their chest under the arms with ends and held behind their back and above their shoulders.

Allows them to wobble but you can give enough support to stop a fall. The theory being the child can feel the balance without fear of falling. Did it with our child and friends have had success this way too.

I’m also Wallingford area, not much to add apart from the ridgeway East from wally to the bottom of grims ditch (going both ways) is great tight single track, there’s some fun but short trails around Collins end, heading to Pang, then the river path back (best late or when dark, less walkers).

Lastly, if you’re into it, there are some superb pubs tucked away in the chilterns and Berkshire Downs. Everything from a downright superb multi course meal through to beer straight from the barrel at pubs that haven’t changed in a century.

I reccon the issue is partly the hob in how it cycles the power to the rings and your pans.

Induction hobs need good pans to work at their best, with a heathly content of ferrous or other magnetic material in the base – this is the only way the hob can transfer energy to the pan. To little of it and there’s only so much energy that can be inducted across.

If I put a cast iron pot on 3kw hob (all ferrous) it’ll get ferociously hot in seconds.

See if you can borrow some other pans like Meyer, stellar, circulon, JL etc and run a comparison.

Looks like each ring tops out at 3kw on boost. If the hob is unable or run two at this level (with the others off), could be a fault or could be how the hob cycles the zones on and off. I’d say at 7.2kw is should be pretty effective hob.

Simplistically, if you were looking to run three or four rings flat out, that’d need 9 or 12kw probably.

I’ve seen some induction four rings that are intended to run on a 13a plug, so max out at a bit over 3kw. These simply don’t have the grunt to work well as an induction hob.

I’d expect a decently powerful one to rate somewhere towards 7kw, or higher.

I don’t think your wired connection would be a limiting factor as either you’d be dangerously heating the wiring or it would trip out at the fuse board. The hob won’t know what ampage it’s connection is, if it wants 16a, it’ll try and drawn that.

Check what your hob’s wattage rating is, that’ll tell you if it’s a fault or just not that powerful.

We went for the poco, great design details, like hip and shoulder strap pocket, great rain and sun shade. Mirror so you can see what the passenger has thrown down your neck. Also carries the load better than any other type we tried. We were carrying our daughter right up to and over the weight limit very comfortably.

Should also say that the little one loved it too.

Id have recommend going for the premium due to storage capacity, but seen its gone up in in price by over a third in four years. Ouch.

I like a theme, thanks for the suggestions.

On the DT 360 hubs 36t ratchet and std, anyone able to offer a comparison on the freewheel engagement and how this compares with CK hubs? I run them on my 26er currently but are north of 15 years old and need to be retired. I’d like to keep the pickup slack as minimal as reasonably possible.

I’m going for Goose.

I’m local so had a gander at the spot on my back earlier. It’s defiantly a hole, narrow and deep for the size. Looks like the end of a previous repair has degraded leaving quite pronounced edges. There’s not much gradient to the trailing edge, more like a little step. I’d say you’d have a fair chance of puncturing or damaging a wheel on it.

Reckon it would be hard to spot unless you had a clear view of the road.

From experience I’d say the passat is a far nicer place to travel in. Yes, ultimately a bit less practical but a better drive, smoother engine, probably quicker if it’s a 2.0, better interior and stereo. Boot / back seats will still accommodate a fair bit of kit. Have had 6 ht 26ers in (both wheels off). Main restriction is trying to cary bikes upright, Zafira will win hands down here.

Had them installed last week. Check out the green lights on the meter, according to the engineer if they all flash in unison every 5 secs or so, its all working correctly and pinging data back to the central hub, which feeds Bulb. If you’ve only got an elec meter then I think less lights will flash.

The main benefit to me is never having to access the meter every month to keep our pricing schedule in check, we always use lower than their estimate. The rest I can do on the website.

As an aside, I think bulb have some billing issues with the new SMETS2 meter roll out. I’ve been automatically cretitied all the actual readings energy costs since joining and will be correctly invoiced again at some point in the next week or two. Bulb couldn’t really explain the issue other than saying it’s glitch they’re in the process of resolving.

What kind of flow and pressure do you get from your mains? If the mains is poor then you can go for an accumulator if combi or u/v cylinder or pumped vented cylinder set up. If its good, run a new supply pipe in from the mains perhaps. For combi boilers and u/v cylinders, performance is ultimately governed by the supply you have.

Quite a few options, with much variation on price and complexity. What are the current tap flow rates you’re looking to improve on?

Can’t get links to work, but Google Paving Expert. Should tell you all you need to know.

True, wain with missiles is Peter Kennard.

O/T, but currently enjoying this one, with the current state of affairs.

I used MSE’s forum on parking appeals to successfully challenge a ticket last year. Found it a little easier to get the info I needed over Pepipoo, other users were pretty responsive to questions and requests for advice.

MSE Forum

Always liked the idea of calling a cat Monty. So you can holler the Withnail and I quote down the garden when calling it in for the night.

Last summer we went from a 1960’s floor standing gas boiler on a 9 rad single pipe gravity system to a modern combi setup with evohome control and TRV’s.

House is a 4 bed 60’s detached with reasonable insulation. Gas bills have basically halved. Obviously a chunk of that will be boiler efficiency and not storing hot water, but bring able to heat the house exactly as and when we need is a significant benefit.

We chose evohome as it was the most mature product and does exactly what we need, with very good aftersales from the evohome shop. Not fussed about geo-caching, we’re always zipping all over the place, the system would get giddy. Also, we wanted a local controller rather than an app and dependency on an internet connection.

Thanks for the thoughts and advice, to answer some questions:

Think tyres were possibly Maxxis high roller 2.4, so yes, not light.

Fitness, I’m no athlete but happy with 30 mile rides including 1k climbing, on consecutive days.

I climb with low cadence generally, I’ve got big legs that have no problem generating power but don’t like to be spun too quickly. I don’t stand and mash unless necessary though. Run CK hubs and never had a freehub problem 😉.

Uphill terrain was hardpacked steepish and reasonably technical double track.

Sounds like the solution here is multifaceted, check the bike suits me as much as possible, better set up (though I was running 300 psi on the shock out of a maximum 325), so perhaps a coil shock could be an option. Consideration of rotational equipment, bike fit and then add more fitness and most importantly, technique. Smooth out the power delivery.

On the the last point, it’s easy to be lazy on a HT here, as generally whatever you plough in sends you up, unless you spin out.

I need some re-education, ride a few bikes back to back with a shop who knows their stuff and pay attention to what I’m doing. The answer is out there and in the main I probably need to evolve my riding style to get the best out of a fs steed.

Our daughter is three now, we had her in a sling practically from birth but as you’ve probably already been advised you need to use the right sling or carrier for their age, generally to do with head and correct hip support.

We moved onto an Osprey Poco which she loves, from about 10 months iirc, but still use a Lille Baby where it’s a short trip and we need something more compact.

Regarding backpack carriers, we tried many but found for us the Osprey worked the best, comfortably transferring the load onto our hips and is very adjustable. She’s quite a heavy lass now but I can still wear the Poco for a few hours hill walking without discomfort. One thing I would recommend is make sure you get a good rain cover whatever, one thst covers all of the passenger, a cold wind will have them howling quicker than you can imagine, keeping this off will certainly increase their comfort significantly and alllow more adventures.

Buggies were also mentioned, we picked up Chariot CX1 from eBay for £250, it’s been brilliant. Tow behind a CX or mountain bikes on trails and roads, convert to a three wheeler for road and trail running. Daughter loves going out in it, great for napping also. These can be used before 12 months with the right support inserts.

Enjoy.

We’ve got a Chariot CX1, we use it for day’s out, road rides to the park / pub, wide tracked off road,  road running, trail running, town bimbling and shopping. It’s  got them all covered, especially the trail running. Used from 12 months with the head support, she’s  three now and loves going out in it, whatever we’re  doing.

Keep an eye on Ebay, Gumtree et al,  we paid £350, it’s  an older version but in great condition. One thing I would say about alternatives, if you’re  doing any reasonable  running, having an effective brake is a probably worth considering, they can carry a fair  bit of momentum.

In the past I’ve emailed their HQ in the States and they’ve either sorted it from there or put me in touch with someone who can in the UK, can’t remember who they were now though.

Thanks, already ridden the Esk trail but would happily check out the Burnmoor Tarn loop. From your description,  when heading back to Boot are you aiming to descend on the more Western of the two bridleway’s coming down?

Pop off or unscrew the grate on the shower waste,  select a donor toothbrush, drop in as far as you can then get twiddling.

Brissles capture any hair lodged down there and should pull out any associated gunk also. Works every time on ours.

Be careful with the caustic unblockers,  possible to knacker pipes or joint seals,  that stuff can get very hot when reacting.

I had exactly this on some Reba SL’s last year, if they’re comparable. Turned out part of the damper assembly had been fitted 180 degrees out. Once reassembled all ok. Oil can cause the problem too aparently, but cycling through the full stroke a dozen times or so will resolve if this is the issue.

Picked up a second hand outwell bear lake 6 for less than £300. Masses of space and internal living area for four. Family is very happy with it. Polycotton, so all those benefits.

Took less than an hour to pitch the first time, basically single handed. You’d need a big boot though!

Just used them to bring an old pair of Reba’s back to life, slight hiccup with the lockout not functioning on return but this was dealt with quickly and professionally. Forks are working very well now. Would use again.

Another vote for Winston Vaz at Varohna, he’s ex Chas Roberts and recently replaced the ovalised 853 top tube on my Dogs Bolx. Cost was about £120 iirc (he actually built it originally).

For finishing, I took it to Armourtex for power coating, who did a pricy but superb two coat job on it. Alternatively I think Winston’s brother runs Vaz finishers, on the floor above Winston’s workshop, though as lead free paints are now used, they’re much more prone to chipping. You should be able to get a plain powder coat for £60 ish.

As others have said, I’d probably want to strip the frame down first and try to ascertain if the problem is isolated to just the seat tube. If you’re looking at problems with the BB shell, chain stays etc too, then unless the frame has personal value retirement is probably the best option.