@tired

nice, but for for even faster, my Mezzo (RIP) uses self closing latches as per airline seatbelts. It is a nicer solution and no folding mainframe makes for stiffer ride and longer wheelbase.

Still surprises me that the Mezzo wasn’t more successful, and no one has copied or licensed the design since as there was a lot to like about it (not least solid mudguards and rack which many folders lack).

For reference, Oakley Holbrook are my favourite sunnies.

Another vote here for prizm lowlight lenses. However, if you like Holbrook, why not get a set of prescription Holbrook which you can pick up really cheaply with a clear “Fashion”  lens. 66 quid.

https://mojoglasses.com/?s=holbrook

Plus one on the Grizedale routes above. The north face trail is A good way to get from Hawkhead to the centre for lunch and a decent way up the hill but The Various bridleways (etc!) Running east west between the lakes have a lot of fun on them. It’s a shame the logging on Claife Has made such a mess.

Of the 4 12sp I’ve killed, 2 of them bent so badly that they got dragged into the wheel. One of which snapped clean in half

that sounds very familiar happened to both of my Spain. First, I knew what I had hit the second there was nothing there

If we’re talking 12spd Shimano, then I feel your pain…

Have been so so many mechs Shimano 12 speed. I completely destroyed two in two days with BasqueMTB last year but it doesn’t seem to need much of a knock to me and they never shift properly again.

sticks pass and angle tarn. 38km (though quite a few are on road and we didn’t park in the best place) 1400m.

best ride ive done in the lakes in years. The descent from Angle tarn I’m not sure I’d want to do in the wet.

I’ve got a couple pairs of Pearl Izumi riding trousers, they’ve got rear facing pockets one big enough for a smartphone. Well thought out as they keep stuff out of the way when pedalling .

I have A pair of their shorts with the reverse pockets and they are brilliant. Contrast with the last Fox shorts I bought which had moved the pockets further onto the top of the thigh and made them too short for a current model phone (where is the older pairs we’re in a better position and big enough).

Definitely want pockets on shorts even if I don’t carry anything in them when riding but getting to the trails and the pub afterwards phone keys gloves.

On jackets, however, I’m with the minimal approach. I’ve got an old not too tight Endura roadie jacket that’s perfect. Napoleon pocket for a phone and a pocket lowdown on the back. Anything in hand warmer pockets either swings around or gets in the way when you’re actually riding.

Boots: SPD, non insulated for summer use. Robust material with a reinforced toe box. Ankle height, waterproof with an aggressive sole for walking in muddy/ sandy/ rocky/ loamy surfaces.

+1 I wear my mw7 through autumn and spring with light socks. Little insulation. Hopefully they’ve not messed up the fit as they did on the me7.  Also it looks like the latest version has a stupid “xc” sole rather than the “enduro” walking sole on mine

the ex9 looks interesting (if super expensive) as does the ex700. But I don’t think any Shimano shoes fit me since they messed with the lasts.

Personally id like to be blue to buy some riding trousers with a 35 “ inside leg.

Never had any issues with the one on our mk1 rises and the bearings are still running smooth.

@mboy good to know there may be a trick. You didn’t ask what he’d done?

Cables in the down tube

definitely not. Happens when the front is compressed with the bike stationary. No cable movement then.

The xa3 is great. I’d be a lot more wary of carrying the fiskars machete-axe. (Though it comes with a much better sheath than the xa3

@sharkattack
i had a dirtworker before my (lower powered) worx. The hydroshot has considerably more power and does a much better job with less water.

Has anyone watched Tehran? I’m two episodes in and enjoying it so far, pretty tense stuff.

I tired of it pretty quickly and stopped.  Given the shitshow of the Middle East don’t want anything reminding me of it.

Slow Horses new series has started (only ep 1 so far)

Really enjoying Sunny (near future Japanese set mystery.  Part English/some subtitles).

Spokes broke at thread, just beyond nipple I’d guess.  no nipple on the ones we found (Straight pull. – one had disappeared completely).

I bought a couple of pairs of PEARL iZUMi bibs the other year.  The more expensive have a pad that works for me, the next model down aren’t comfortable long term.  Looks like they’ve changed again now and none of the online images show the pad which doesn’t help.

Still the most comfortable I’ve got are the Zipvit I bought loads of pairs of on a recommendation from here about 10 years ago. I even found out who made them for Zipvit but couldn’t find anyone else selling the same material/pad combo.

I’ve had some success going through foreign sites in both Chrome (to translate) and another site to actually enter the details (with the site untranslated) because the translation was slightly messing with the formating/entry

They’ll be wedged somewhere in the rim waiting for their moment to break free. Could be next ride, could be a few rides down the line. But they are waiting….

that was my thought when I taped the rim after the first spoke replacement but hasn’t yet emerged.

Oh yes, HT2, Square taper. Royce.  But also Isis (which I think did get used for something other that BB’s a few years back so I was glad I’d kept it).

And of course Sram DUB BB is different to other SRAM BBs (needed to buy one of those to strip a bike and sell the parts the other week)

My Atom was second hand on eBay.  There are loads of people who buy these things and never use them – the Wattbike software will give an ‘hours of use’ figure and loads seem to have no more than a few 10’s of hours.   I looked for someone else recently and over summer auctioned Wattbike v2’s were selling for less than 1k.  (quite a few fixed price holding out for c1500).

I’ve taken mine apart and theres really not much to go wrong with them – theres what looks like a singlespeed/bmx chain. That drives a wheel that then has a gates style toothed belt to the flywheel.   The plastic wheel in the background with the velcro on is the ‘tensioner’ – I moved the velcro round a bit.  The circuitboard is all the electronics.  Then theres on my v1 a motorised magnet that moves closer or further from the flywheel (on the left in the pic), on the v2 I think a different system that varies the power of a fixed magnet (which reacts more quickly).  All the bearings look oversized (weight doesn’t matter) and it’s running completely enclosed so isn’t getting dirty/wet.

Biggest risk to them seems to be sweaty bastards dripping all over the thing and salty water working its way into the case and onto the electrics.  I’ve never found that an issue with a decent fan and a towel.

Wattbike service visit is under £200 plus any parts.  If your electronics failed I could see that might be a few £100 but nothing else looks costly.

looks like it didn’t spend a whole lot of time with a design team.

Interesting – the page is not accessible but has clearly been crawled by google as there are images and a bit of info and images.

I’m guessing the objective was lower cost via a much more basic ‘frame’ – £1800 rather than £2400 from the looks of things.  Still a lot more than the £1200 for the Zwift bike.

It looks like they’ve made all the adjustments quick and easy – I’ve an aftermarket 3D printed knob on my stem fore-aft which this already has, along with similar for the seat fore-aft (we have two seat towers as we use different saddles)

@hellothisistom

Re the Carhartts (if they’re the double front canvas) they’re truly horrible to ride in.  Wide on lower leg so catch on chain.  No stretch.  Very heavy if they get wet and the bulky crotch seams rub.   (I wear them for work but won’t ride to jobs in them any more)

I really like Rev Race Nordwand Pros (as a ‘not cycle specific trouser that are great to ride in’).  Stretch knees and arse mean they cope with pedaling motion really well. But they’re not in the least bit waterproof.  Some kind of ‘soft shell’ version (ie not seam sealed) would be good but haven’t found that yet.

Each capsule uses less coffee than a traditional Espresso 14g vs 18-22g which is good for the environment.

But a Nespresso capsule has 5-7g of coffee (normal or lungo) – and a typically double espresso is 18-22g. So 4-15g is the range of coffee savings.

So it makes a smaller coffee.  That’s like saying my pint of beer emits less CO2 than yours because it’s in a 500ml glass not 568ml.  Now *maybe* Nespresso claim that they use the coffee more efficiently and extract every last drop of flavour and caffeine out of what goes into the pod.  But it never feels like that when I’ve had them – an 18g double espresso from my machine at home is enough for me, but even having two pods from a Nespresso machine I’m left wanting more*

Convenience wise they’re great. Small, no mess, pretty much foolproof. But I’ve never been convinced for everyday home use.

*this is not 100% scientific.  Nespresso is only ever when on holiday/hotel/b&b.  it may be influenced by alcohol consumption previous night or long slow breakfasts. It could be even the best Nespresso pods I’ve used are less to my taste than the coffee I buy at home.

hmm.   Midges and nordisk tent.  While it has mosi netting doors and windows when I used mine there appeared to be no way to properly seal the front corners (where you can let the groundsheet down and have it flat so not a trip hazard).  I’m sure the way they fold up is sufficient for waterproofing but it struck me I’d not want to be anywhere midge-y in it.

Most of the site is good. But:

1) personal messages are practically unusable on a phone screen. Layout just doesn’t work.

2) autoplay video overlay is maddening. I don’t want to watch them. If you’re on a slow connection they hold up everything else. You can’t usually cancel them until they’ve loaded. (Again issue on phone). Ffs find some outer way to push them. But videos should never auto play in any case.

I got a refurbished Ydun. Very happy with it but the full price seems very high relative to their other larger tents. It had a bit of grass inside but still had the labels on

they’re probably not selling the discounted ones that quickly because it seems impossible to find navigating the OMM site. I could only find it via the link (or a specific Google search result link).

@funkydunc

Whats the bike?  Are Orbea showing it as ‘on sale’? it’s an odd time for a price to drop otherwise.

Also interesting – theres no real weight difference between an Deore (all steel) 12Speed cassette at 591g and XT link glide LG700 at 609g

(XT and SlX 12s are 469/529 with 2 and 1 alu cogs)

It’s a shame there’s not a microspline version. Having moved all my free hubs to ms going back to hg is an annoying additional expense. XT linkglide looks tempting otherwise.

I used Squirt for a few years, then switched to Smoove (which I found had significantly longer life between applications).  Just switched to hot wax on road bike and Brompton, will be trying in new mtb when it arrives.  So will let you know in a few months.

Also ran slightly quieter than a waxed chain.

that’s interesting – I was expecting wax to be quieter but the road bike did make a bit of noise after the initial wax had dropped off.  How do you tell if it needs redoing if not through noise?

+1 on the nordisk tent. Good size for 2 with luggage. Great quality. Bargain. (Though their instructions say it doesn’t need proofing and you shouldn’t do so.

2023 fox 36 38% off on Biketart (799)

Fox 36 Float Factory GRIP2 Fork 2023

or 48% off 675 plus other variants

Fox 36 Float Factory GRIP2 Fork 2023

@alanl

this is the WC curve for my veissmann gas boiler in a (very) well insulated house with concrete floor and UFH.  It should vary the temp by quite a bit.

Ah yes, for reference the Silca blog

https://silca.cc/en-gb/blogs/silca/chain-waxing-system-and-stripchip-faq

@alanl

Many of the after fit market are specifying the HP to run at 45 or 50 degrees, press them on that, and dont take no for an answer, they may gove some rubbish about weather compensation (which should be used), but find out what they have designed it as, if its above 40, tell them to do it again for a 35 deg.

When you say ‘specified at’, what does that means if they’re using weather compensation as the flow temp will be variable?  Whats the external temp for that flow?

Cooling – this guy was messing with it in the UK and wasn’t impressed. Cold feet, condensation, negligible cooling effect.  Would be interested to hear more but suspect you’re never going to get much because the delta between a floor above dew point/comfortable to walk on and room temp isn’t going to be very great. https://x.com/plumbers_urban/status/1814358476476522595

Also IIRC – most UK systems don’t cool as that means they become ineligible for subsidy/grants etc?  (that’s why air-air dont qualify)

[Weather compensation varies flow temperature based on external temperature to use the lowest (most efficient) flow temp to maintain internal target temp.  Should be using it even on gas boiler systems as maximises boiler condensing mode and gives more stable internal temps.  Needs use of long heating periods – ie not UK typical ‘blast for a few hours when get home’ approach.]

8000 activations before servicing.  Anyone have *any* idea how many times you adjust your seat post on a typical ride?  There were c40 segments on my last ride.  a lot of those had a couple of up/downs within them.  plus any time I stop/dismount.  I’d be amazed if it wasn’t 200+ per ride – so it’s at least an annual service.  ‘not user servicable’ remains the biggest issue with Fox posts for me – when you can often buy a new Brand X post for the price of getting a Fox post serviced.

That is my slight confusion – ZFC instructions recommend boiling water/compressed air/hair dryer or heat gun to get all the water out of the chain.  Surely easiest just to start the wax at 100C and boil off any water in the chain in the wax?

They also strongly advise not starting with a pre-used ‘dirty’ chain – “it’s common to use 3l of solvent to fully clean a chain that has been ridden”, “check after the final rinse the chain is feeling silky smooth – if it feels gritty repeat cleaning”, “if the clean is not so great you risk contaminating your entire pot of wax”

But once you’ve ridden a waxed chain surely you’re going to contaminate your pot of wax with greasy road grime or off road filth when you redip it?

Ok.  First chains going into Silca wax.

What neither the Silca or ZFC instructions seem to cover is rewaxing them.

1) You’ve ridden the bike through a few filthy rides and it feels like it needs lubing – how do you prepare it before dipping it in your currently lovely clean wax?

2) how do you determine when your wax is ‘done’?  presumably the level drops as you wax some chains and you keep topping it up, but you’re also getting it dirty when rewaxing.  At what point do you scrape it all out and start afresh?

Birkenstock? have a range of boots and trainers now

F it’s for voice rather than music and you’re in a quiet space (you mention noise cancelling, so maybe not) I like using bone conducting headphones for video conferencing. Don’t take you out of the room you’re in or disturb anyone else

switching to a 27.5 x 2.5 rear wheel and tyre

without knowing what tyre and rim width before and after is vague as anything.  I used same rim width, tyre width and model. 2213 vs 2333 mm for a 2.4 tyre so a 5% change = 1.3kmh

@el_boufador

confused by your approach – you’re mixing (some kind of) grease into your wax? but cleaning the factory grease off?

And you’re spraying with GT85 – isn’t that contaminating/dissolving your wax?