The Herman Miller chairs are very nice. I hsve one in my office and it’s a pleasure to sit in. Get a mesh base though as leather/foam/material will give you sweaty nads in the summer.

Low end bianchi Via Nirone 105. The old version used to have carbon seatstays

https://www.evanscycles.com/bianchi-via-nirone-105-2019-road-bike-EV360258?1=-1,esvcrea:328101370930,esvplace:,esvd:c,esvtg:pla-620673244481,esvo:EV360258-55-GRN,esvaid:50080&1=-1&lsft=esvt:54378-GOUKE6703288,esvq:,esvadt:999999-0-1417522-1&esvwa=NISO_Road%20Bikes_Bianchi_2019_Normal&esvwa=NISO_Road%20Bikes_Bianchi_2019_Normal&esvwc=UK_Shopping_PR_Bikes_Road%20Bikes&esvwc=UK_Shopping_PR_Bikes_Road%20Bikes&esvt=54378-GOUKE6703288&esvq=&esvadt=999999-0-1417522-1&esvcrea=328101370930&esvplace=&esvd=c&esvtg=pla-620673244481&esvo=EV360258-55-GRN&esvwm=CPC&esvws=Google&esvwt=&esvaid=50080&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkMDiBRDNARIsACKP1FHQ7s8n-NA-_VZcUYqQUSGU4mFjSFpzGtLNcalzzzEBN5t-oVEKaskaApIxEALw_wcB

Its not a myth. Some of it is down to operator error but some of it is due to the bikes not being designed to be flexed from side to side with the axle fixed rigidly.
I have seen damage/failure to three carbon bikes that has only become apparent when put on a turbo.
A low end Bianchi where the carbon seat stays de-bonded from the dropout on the drive side. The second was a carbon trek where the seat stay cracked just above the dropout during a hard sprint. The third was another trek where the dropout split lengthwise at the chain stay on the drive side.
These could all be coincidence as the frames had been used on the road. I wasn’t willing to put my carbon bike on my turbo because the seat stays are so thin looking. A mate uses the same bike on the same turbo and has been fine for about a year. I ended up buying a nice alloy road bike to use as a turbo/winter bike but it hasn’t left the turbo yet.

Stay well away from the t2240 they are pants I tried two. Mine struggled for connection, the outer casing rubbed the flywheel inside, the wheel slipped, it wouldn’t hold a constant power, it halved my cadence reading, it lagged between power changes to the point that short hard intervals were pointless in erg mode and didn’t have enough resistance for properly hard intervals. If I hadn’t tried other turbos it may of been enough to put me off turbo training. I gave it to a mate who found it ok to start with but has since thrown it away and bought a flux. Have a google for reviews they are generally bad from anyone who actually uses regularly.
I would stay well away from wheel on trainers all together. There are ok ones but they are all rubbish in comparison to even a budget direct drive.
I would buy a flux from your local halfords and if you have any problems get them to sort it. I have tried many turbos from different brands over the last few months and the neo is by far the best followed by the flux for nearly half the price. I know a few people who have them and no problems yet. Buying from a local halfords means it will be be easy to sort if there is a problem.

Hope brakes or exposure lights I can’t decide. Not cheap to buy but that wasn’t the title question. Both will still be working in 10 years time, won’t burn your house down when charging and won’t need throwing away when something simple prematurely fails.

Couple of hours up and 8 – 10mins to get from the top of snowdon to the gate at the bottom of the rangers path. That’s providing you don’t get a mechanical. After the rangers path you have telegraph as the logical finish but I normally carry on and do something else.

Why didn’t you ring them first if it’s so far away?

Winter ruins bikes, No getting round it. The mud, salt and general road grime that covers the bike in winter wears everything faster and when you have dura-ace it gets expensive quickly. No way would I ruin my 8k bike when i can buy something for 2k and dedicate it to winter with mudguards and bigger tyres. The low spec parts like 105 are arguably more durable too meaning stuff will last longer. I suppose if you don’t do many winter miles then you could get away with it but i do almost the same amount of miles over winter as i do the rest of the year.

Tacx flux if the budget will stretch that far. I can’t describe how bad wheel on trainers are compared to direct drive. The flux is no where near as good as a neo but less than half the price. Whatever the reason for keeping the wheel on will easily be outweighed by the benefits of direct drive.

halfords have the flux at £399

The ride was over the top of the Malvern hills so any locals will know it’s fairly easy to get to 50. Long straight fairly steep downhills.

On difference today was that I was wearing a castelli thermo headband which did make the helmet feel different.

Mountain equipment wet and dry duffel bags are some of the best I have used. I have a collection of sizes and they are always on offer in Cotswolds or blacks.

https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/c/equipment/rucksacks/duffels.html

Shame you cant stream youtube though

you can easily stream YouTube to Sonos with an app called Sonostube. It looks and works just like YouTube but with the ability to pick and choose which Sonos device to send it to.

Can’t comment on the standalone Sonos devices but I have connects and connect amps in most rooms of my house. I have a mix of kef surround sound, kef free standing speakers and kef ceiling speakers. I have had it set up for a few years and I would do exactly the same again. I have them all set up in a purpose built media room and everything is wired from there. I’m probably going to get a play 5 next for summer in the garden.

I would hang out for the 7 black. It has the hyper smooth stabilisation which makes it far superior the silver or last years black. But yes, Black Friday is a con.

God no. I don’t think I have ever hated a type of music more than whatever that noise is he makes.

Definitely the explosion in swordfish.

Be honest. Have you ever seen anyone riding like that in real life. Just looks daft and inefficient. Lots of bobbing up and down in short burst that no one would maintain for long. Just looks like over exaggerating a a normal ride.

His videos don’t do anything for me. I like watching people do things I can’t or wouldn’t do. All this looks completely doable, uninspiring and like the director wanted it to look like it was filmed in one go but obviously wasn’t.

Strava premium you can log multiple bikes and every component on them. Not sure about the free version.

Ceramic for me. Purely for longevity. Can’t say I have noticed the extra 3watts or minuscule weight saving but every little helps.

My indoor and outdoor ftp varies. The outdoor one is normally done as part of a local 10 mile time trial where nothing is left on the table. It’s still not 100% accurate as I drop a few watts at road junctions. Indoor is lower but more consistent. I don’t think it’s really worth trying to take an estimate from power achieved on normal rides. An ftp is an evil undertaking if done properly. It’s more about your mind than your body. I don’t consider that I have given it 100% unless I’m sick at the end. I keep a bucket by me know when I’m testing.

Thanks for the suggestions. Because it’s a tacx and they aren’t exactly known for their quality control I would prefer to go for a new one from a reputable store more than eBay. I have heard of manufacturers not honouring warranty’s on items bought from eBay shops. Not so much though any more as some big shops have eBay stores but I don’t want to risk it for a few £££

Bump for the evening

Hasn’t the CRC discount changed to £10 not 10% ?

I Have a couple. The one is nearly 2 years old and the other about 1 year old. They are my go to jersey/jacket for most weather apart from the extremes of hot and cold England. The wife just chucks them in the wash with everything else. No special treatment. Both look as good as the day i bought them which is weird as most of my road clothes look tatty quickly with how many miles I do. The reflective is still in tact and still reflective.

I came 2nd in an xc race on an enduro bike with a magic Mary front and a hans dampf rear. A lot of the competition were Lycra racing snakes on lightweight xc bikes. At the time I had snapped my xc frame and had already entered the race. I made loads of time up on the downs but lost out on the ups but I had enough fitness to hold my own. It was hard work but doable.

I have tried many and now use an exposure six pack. Our local roads are terrible in places with mud, gravel and huge pot holes. I got fed up of not being able to go fast enough on training rides. The six pack on high reflex setting means I can keep a similar average speed / power to day time riding. For slower road rides I rarely turn it off the low reflex setting.

I still have some old Deore shifters that have probably done  at least 50,000 miles of commuting since 1999 . At one point a mate told me that sram x9 was much better and I needed a new rear mech so I swapped all my stuff to x9. It barely lasted a winter and I ended up throwing most of it in the bin. The shifters went first. First the front then the rear. I went back to Shimano and carried on using the Deore shifters. I never did a bit of maintainance on them. They are still in my spares box somewhere.

Sram yes

Shimano no

I looked years ago but bought a beastmaker instead. I think it was due to the type of wood it needed to be. I think beastmaker use tulip wood that isn’t slippery under sweaty fingers which will be important for slopers and small crimps.

Just Jugs and deep pockets that you may be ok with any wood.

https://m.dji.com/product/tello?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgr-Qr9qK3gIVSOR3Ch27owkgEAQYASABEgL8KfD_BwE

I had 2 2240s before giving up. The first one constantly slipped the wheel even with the tack turbo tyre. The casing was also out of alignment so something inside clicked to the point of distraction. The second one also had wheel slip under high power which I fixed by removing the tension screw and replacing with a longer bolt and a couple of locking nuts. The main issue with the second one as mentioned above is that it will not hold high enough power. I gave up on doing short intervals and ended up only using it for sweet spot with erg mode holding it at 360 ish Watts for 20 mins.

I gave it to a mate who has an ftp of 150watts and he finds it perfect for the Zwift structured workouts but without trying to sound nasty his high power 10 second efforts top out at similar wattages as my 20min intervals.

Just get an Apple TV. They work perfectly and much better than even a decent laptop. I bought the 4K one for the turbo in the garage as I cba to mess around with a laptop. I believe the graphics may be slightly better on a top end laptop but if your doing proper intervals/training you won’t care.

The convertible Castelli gabba/ perfetto jacket was a revelation for me. I have binned so many clothes that I no longer need because I have the perfetto. I use it in cold weather with a base layer, I use it in cool weather on its own, I use it in warm but windy weather with the sleeves off. It really is amazing. So good I bought another one for when my the other is in the wash.

Same here with 5-10’s. I used to wear size 8 and now i have to buy a 9.5

Means i rarely buy online as I have had to send too many back to swap for a different size.

Those sort of wattages I wouldn’t be looking at the tacx flow. Some of the intervals I do currently involve holding 580w for 2 mins and the flow tops out at about 520. It also lags to the point where short intervals are pointless. By the time it gets up to resistance the interval is over. I gave mine away as it was useless. I have a neo now and intervals on that feel similar to on the road.

If you have a low ftp the flow would be fine but higher than 300 and look at something else.

Cant you do this with the Google streetview app on most smartphones?

I remember trying it a couple of years ago. The results were good.

Yes. I had some and they lasted many years before the stress risers took hold. I had a chunk missing from one and got a new bit rig welded in. It was a bit lumpy but usable

I mentioned it in a conversation about rotors whilst on the phone to hope tech support about an unrelated subject and even though they were probably 10 years old they sent me a new pair.

Don’t use concrete screws. They are great for fixing things like windows and doors that are mainly in shear but not good when put under tension with potential movement (loading unloading).

Thanks again all.

I have ordered the spigen ultra hybrid and a couple of others off amazon to give a try. There are loads available but not with 360deg coverage. it amazes me they advertise them as shock proof/ rugged then the main glass is still exposed. I have tried in the past to buy an open faced case with a screen protector but there is always some exposed edges that end up lifting and getting mud underneath.

I don’t look after my phone but want it to last the year contract hence the protection. I have found the tempered screen protectors work really well as a sacrificial cover.