I’ve been with them for a few years – got life insurance through the BMC which turned out to be working as a broker for Vitality.
I like the rewards, I got an AW3 a few years ago and have also used their rewards for Garmin, Prime, coffee, etc. Annoyingly I don’t meet the minimum premium for a watch now, else I’d get a S7.

One thing to watch is how they add the points up. For Prime, points accrued roll over to the next month, so it’s pretty easy to make the target. They don’t for the Apple Watch, so depending on what day of the month the 1st falls on it can be very hard to hit the target for the full payment, so I had to pay a proportion sometimes.

I’m glad that work pays my IET membership, certainly not worth it if they didn’t. Similar to others here I’ve worked for years without quite ever getting around to getting Chartered so wouldn’t even have that incentive.

It’s funny, I didn’t get on with the (organic) OEM pads in my G2’s. Gorilla semi-metallic are far better IMO.

Its got mtb forks, gearing, wheels, tyres, cockpit and seating position.

Maybe it should be called an “all terrain bicycle” ;-)

Only done a couple, struggled with today’s until I realised it’s using American English!

Cannondale Topstone? That’s what I got a few years ago (I have the cheapest Sora version but £1200 should get you one with hydraulic brales). It’s great for commuting down the Portway / River Avon Trail between Avonmouth and Bristol, and way more capable off road than I expected.

Edit: I forgot about bike price inflation, RRP for the Tiagra version is £1,650 now!

Yes, on the odd occasion it snows enough! We have Sporten Ranger touring skis from a few Norwegian tours, but given how thin the snow is likely to be I’d suggest trying to find something second hand so you don’t mind trashing the bases.

completely sealed to an IPX standard

IPX what? The second digit is missing, which is the relevant one for water ingress; the first digit being X just means it hasn’t been tested for mechanical protection.

417 near Cheltenham? https://417bikepark.co.uk/downhill-trails/
Not sure what it’s like after recent rain but claims to be rideable in all weather and it’s less than 2 hours from Southampton.

Agree on Polartec Alpha, I’ve a Rab ‘Strata Vest’ gilet made from it and it’s great (and Rab so you’d fit right in!), but doesn’t look like they make one any more.

+1 for Madison, I’ve got a pair of their Zenith shorts that are a good fit and below knee length.

The Zenith trousers I’ve got do have a clown waist (velcro doesn’t adjust tight enough and no belt loops) so can’t recommend for tall&skinny!

That blue SID clashes terribly with a matt green frame – even worse that on the red framed Cotic that Guy Kes built!

External sockets normally have a place marked for a drain hole too, worth checking if it’s been drilled out.

Tresseck Campsite on the Wye is also good (as long as you don’t mind portaloos & no showers)
https://tresseckcampsite.co.uk/

I wouldn’t class the Cortex as ‘downcountry’ – it’s definately not almost-XC in geometry or spec. Just a short travel trail bike for a bit of everything.

You’re supposed to upload the results of the tests onto the app.

If only! You can upload a PCR test result but not a LFT – for that you have to use the godawful website and reconfirm details/cookies every time. The results do show up in the other NHS app, but not the test & trace one.

I’ve recently bought a 10′ inflatable kayak, and after a play about at the weekend I’m pretty impressed. Sure it isn’t as fast as a rigid kayak, and the width makes a high angle paddling style like I’d usually use difficult. But it’s stable, manouverable, not too slow, and I was less affected by the wind than my wife in her 14′ canoe.
The biggest pain has been drying it!

I was impressed with Conti Touring Plus on the commuter, never had a puncture and rolled pretty well. Not sure if they’re still available though?

Nothing that comes to mind (mech hanger isn’t on your list but assume it should be!), but will take a look tomorrow. Top cable ports don’t have grommets and are pretty big – I have a couple of cable ties stashed there.

I didn’t strip and grease the bearings, keeping a hardtail around for now too so it shouldn’t get too much punishment in winter, but will see how they last. Haven’t heard of any issues so fingers crossed!

I would say that the paint doesn’t seem the toughest and there a few chips in odd places, but it’s been fine other than that so far.

Try giving them a ring, I got through straight away when I had a query. I think they’re pretty busy, and disorganised as a consequence – a month ago they emailed to say they were sending me a missing bottle cage (that I hadn’t ordered!)

Probably too late, but to confirm here’s a photo of my Cortex – solid bung. Only had it a few months but no cable rubbing obvious – cables all seem pretty tightly installed.

How about Madison DTE?

Zenith is the Madison shorts (and trousers) with waterproof rear. They look pretty long though if that’s not gravelly enough! Zenith

To anyone with them, what’s the waist fit like on the Madison Zenith shorts? I have the medium trousers and really like them, but I can only get the waist tight enough with an inch of zelcro overhanging on each side (even with lockdown weight gain ;-) ). I’ve covered the velcro hooks with a length of ‘fuzzy’ side velcro, but it still snags on tops sometimes.

Funnily enough I stripped and re-packed SRAM DUB driveside BB this weekend. Lasted 2 winters/860km but started to feel pretty rough. Non-driveside was fine, I assume because driveside gets more exposure to degreaser? Will see how long it lasts!
Mind you, it’s done better than the FSA headset…

If you’re going to put a notice in a free library, you should at least try to spell it right!

I love the shots of the dogs ‘scrubbing’, there’s some great stills over on Pinkbike.

My dog makes a great trail dog for running with, but unfortunately I never got her calm enough when I’m on the bike. She’s also getting a bit long in the tooth now.

Nice work! I live on route (Dursley) and will give the southern half a try when I get a spare day

Kind of – our collie cross definately has a preference for collies over other breeds. I think a lot though is how early encounters with other breeds went (e.g. bad encounters with staffies when she was a pup) as well as a general nervousness over large/boistrous males

Bit spendy, but Apple TV?

@porter_jamie I had one on back order from Tredz, they were due in stock on 1st April but got delayed (by a certain ship/canal interface issue I assume!) and it got to me on the 9th.
Still in stock Tredz

I asked a similar question about the G2’s the other week. After that I have swapped to 200/180 with Kevlar gorilla pads and they are much improved. I’d already got 180 on the back so I think the pads made more of a difference, but didn’t try 200 front with the SRAM pads so couldn’t say for sure.

Going to have to avoid live radio and social media for a few days!

I think lever feel is probably the best way of describing it – is too much modulation a thing? Compared to the TRP Slate T4’s on my other bike I don’t feel like they have as much initial bite. I’m sure a big handful of lever will stop me but seem to have more control with the TRP’s, which helps with confidence. Maybe I’ll get used to it.

It’s probably overkill for a short travel trail bike, and there’s nothing long enough locally (Dursley) to worry about brake fade, but will give 200mm rotor and semi-metallic Gorilla pads a go to see if the increased power makes the difference.

I doubt contamination is an issue as it’s a new bike and I bedded them in properly and there hasn’t been a sudden change in performance.

With ref to other reviews, I know it’s just a youtuber’s view but also saw DailyMTBRider didn’t like the G2 R’s on the Ibis Ripley AF.

Thanks for the info and offer Superficial. Not too keen on splashing out for new brakes after less than 3 months with the bike, so will persist for the time being and do some virtual shopping for summer!

You can buy separate shifter clamps

Handy to know!

Another vote for speciaized roubaix 30/32. 1 year of commutes (back when that was a thing) with 1 puncture (from a big shard of glass) that needed a plug. Surprisingly capable on roughish tracks too.

@mwleeds I’d forgotten about that group test. Interesting reading, especially “In size L, the COMMENCAL is the loser of this test and proof that the trend towards increasingly longer bikes has definitely reached its limit.” Although it sounds like it was as much the disproportionately short chainstays that were the problem.

So I did some measuring today. His 2.5*height (180cm) puts my ideal reach at 450mm, or 459mm for ‘RAD+’. Measuring against a wall puts my RAD at 850mm, and comparing to my bikes the Whyte 901 is 870mm and the Cortex is 850mm. Interestingly from the geometry charts the Cortex reach is 465mm and Whyte is 476mm, so the different bar/spacer stack (both have 35mm stems) cause the extra difference.
From this I assume my torso is longer than his assumed proportions, or he assumes longer stem/taller bar than fitted to either bike, as both should be way too long.
Time to try to shorten the Whyte!

Similar to the Neutrons, I’ve been impressed by the DMR V11 so far. Too early to comment on longevity yet though.

+1 for Specialized Roubaix 32mm. Virtually slick, but do surprisingly well on unsurfaced tracks. I’ve had one puncture which didn’t seal and needed a plug, but later removed a big splinter of glass from inside the tyre so can’t really complain!

@bellerophon / @sync how do you get on with the narrower tyres reducing the BB height? I’ve had my 901 for 18 months and still have a lot of pedal strikes!

I agree about the length, I’m 180cm and have a large, but kind of wish I’d bought a medium. Super stable but not very nimble.