I’m in same boat, gave up regular drinking due to long covid, never really miss it as can have a zero beer, occasionally have alcohol for a wedding or stag do, but only takes a few to get the feeling, then stop again. But i was never particularly fussed about chasing the feeling of alcohol, was mostly for socialising, also gave up regular caffeine, find the day much better without it

Having discovered my specialized defroster boots are now too narrow for my runner toes, I bought 3 pairs to try, Lake mx146 did the correct measuring technique, found they are still ridiculously narrow, I pretty sure i don’t need the wide fit as its only my toes i struggled with, and my feet are low volume. Also ordered Northwave x-magna from merlin but due to royal mail strike is been 2 weeks and they havent arrived yet. Ordered 2 pairs of shimano MW7 boots, and fortunately the 47 fit well with room for toes to wiggle and warm socks, seem close to five ten/new specialized fitment

Slight hijack but any tips on making shakedry jackets actually waterproof again? Mine is a few years old but seems to wet out pretty easily!

I’m not a city person but very much enjoyed Granada & The Alhambra when we visited at Christmas, helped there was some quite good trail running local to our hotel.

Note: there is various places to buy Alhambra tickets, think we paid £13 each without a guide

I use saucony peregrines in the winter, pretty low on the cushioning but may suit some, I’m not keen on the moon shoes type soles

As beaker says, plenty of local trails, check out the strava heatmap if you can, alternatively head out of cparcs and hang a right past the archery field and follow the tyre trails, should still be dry (ish) if its this weekend. I rarely ride windhill despite being very close, I should make more effort

Yeah I’d say the same, I did a lot of research into taking the mountain bike using the heatmap, there are definitely trails but quite a bit of climbing to get to them, and some may be walkers paths, i believe there may be some more enduro trails but they are up in the north. There is the new bikepacking race which crosses the island, but i’m glad i took road bike, but yes, its definitely very hilly!

had covid in 2020 and it wrecked me, during exercise it mostly did what id expected but would remain elevated from what i’d expected for hours after, making sleeping difficult. Round 2 has been less aggressive but still remains high after exercise, least dodged the grim fatigue this time

could also be the start of sticky lever piston, but that tends to be the lever goes floppy after its applied. I had to change on my Force levers think i ordered this part

I have a Sonder Signal Ti, with 130mm forks and light carbon wheels, its my locals and bike packing bag, is a capable bike, but need to re adjust after i’ve been riding my yeti sb130 for a while! only thing i’d swap it for is a Kingdom as they have a steep head angle, but that won’t be any time soon. loads of choice but didn’t fancy the premium price tag of most stuff!

good thread, few of these in my time…..

Walking down KohSan Road in Bangkok pre social media etc bumped into some fellow uni pals who made the same trip, completely independently

Same trip, on a train in north Vietnam, only other traveller folk on the train were from the next town along from my home town and went to school with a good friend from uni

On the ferry to the south island in New Zealand, which had been delayed 6 hours, bumped into a customer I had taken to hospital whilst working as a cycling guide in the french alps.

had my first official ultra distance race on saturday in Marlborough, fun course but self nav so had to concentrate! took a few wrong turns. Happy with performance as had a slight niggly ankle, think a mild sprain. got round in 5hr16 good for 21st. legs recovered well generally, if it wasnt for ankle could have ran monday. onwards to a June for next race on the north devon coast path, hopefully work on my leg cramps!

i’d avoid those ZTTO ratchets like covid, mine failed on the first ride leaving me stranded miles from home. i have some spare ratchets knocking around if no one else helps you out.

if using the sram spacer kit, need spacer, concave spacer, caliper, then concave and convex spacer. i only know this as i was desperately trying to set up my G2 rsc last night so they didn’t rub, good brakes but PITA to setup, also don’t even think about Hope rotors as the foul on the caliper

been following this thread, racing used to be so important to me, social plans and proper relationships suffered slightly. long covid took me out pretty bad for a few years and decided then I had no intentions to race my mtb again, bought a trail bike did some bikepacking and started running, did my first trail marathon few weeks back and won, so happy to just be fit again and not so stressed about training! but enjoyment is key, luckily never need too much motivation to “train”

just bought a pair of Dirtlej trailscout pants i have long legs, saddle height of 800mm and they fit well for a 30inch waist. seem to breath well, good quality

I seem to be back to my “new normal” health after long covid for 18months, originally i wasn’t particularly ill so tried to get on as normal, plus everyone telling me (including doctors) that there was no reason i should be feeling unwell. Seems a lot better understanding of it now, but i’m still petrified of getting ill again but hopefully my body will be better placed to fight it off. But its turned me from a fairly elite athlete in to a much more regular human, used to race alot but haven’t had the inclination to race a bike since, turning to ultra running for my racing fix, when i’m not injured.

i did a fair amount of research into 1 man tents, was close to getting the lanshan but wanted double skin, so went for MSR freelite 1, happy with my choice, expensive but well made and 1kg, poles are quite long but fit in my frame bag. would consider the 2 man lanshan for when i go on trips with my GF as the freelite is tiny! but plenty length for me i’m 6ft

been properly back running a year, got upto running a 1/2 marathon distance fine within a few months but then got plantar fasciitis over xmas, then shin splints after that, had a good stint of running after dropping down to two runs a week, sunday longer run then shorter in the week. all going well but then did a 24mile trail run, totally fine during the run and subsequent runs but feel mild shin splints again, hopefully i have learnt how to treat them this time as got a trail ultra in 3 weeks! i only run trails, couldn’t imagine solely road running, its faster but so aggressive on the body! always get put to shame by my girlfriend who was running 50miles at the weekend then ran the south downs way! and she never gets injured!

have two, first i bought new and is 6 years old, never had an issue with it, on rotor crank, battery is a pain to change

got a second hand ngeco, seems as reliable, and battery is easier to change, no right/left balance.

seems really good kit, few friends have them and never had issues

there seems to be many theories regarding the virus laying dormant or still remaining in organs, not sure why it would re-emerge after so long, perhaps exposure to the virus, even if double jabbed. Long covid is bloody awful, suffered with fatigue and high blood pressure for nearly a year, not sure if body will ever return to how it was, seem to be missing half my leg power. Least doctors being helpful, I was continually told all my tests were normal, still pushing to get more tests done but not sure they can cope with the demand, kinda resigned to the fact i won’t be racing bikes anytime soon, or not to the level i did previously

met a few riders coming through my home town last night, and josh on sunday, think its been harder going in the south than expected due to wet conditions and overgrown trails. Josh was looking forward to wales and faster terrain…

can use google maps > your places> maps > create maps then can add gpx routes onto map layers, is a handy tool for quick comparisons and easy to access

I’ve been liking the force AM as a rear tyre, shame nowhere has stock of 2.4″ version

been using a ztto 11 speed version posh version for a year or so on gravel bike, its ok, has worn well, but shifting isn’t as good, using with di2 and gets stuck on a few gears.

I’ve had a Sonder Ti for a year, coming from mostly xc bikes before its been great, a slightly steep seatube angle would be good, but otherwise really like it and haven’t ridden my full suss bike since. hoping to take it on some longer bike packing rides this year once lockdown eases. would share a photo if it wasn’t so complicated!

Good thread! these are just my mtb’s

Claud Butler Hardtail
Klein Palomino
Specialized Stumpjumper FSR
Specialized Stumpjumper M5 hardtail
Genesis Altitude Ti
Niner Sir9
Singular swift
Chinese carbon Hardtail
Hong Fu 056 carbon Hardtail
Ktm Myroon
Pivot Les
Pivot 429c
Carbonfan full suss
Sonder Signal Ti
Waltly dropbar adventure bike

Recently returned to riding road after a long lay off due to long-covid as it just seemed to increase my fatigue compared to a mtb or gravel ride, i used to train through the winter as much as possible and usually found it fairly motivating, unsure i currently have the same drive for the 6am rides to work, hoping once i’m fully better it’ll become second nature again. Have discovered a bit of passion for trail running, which sure beats going on zwift during the wweak, reminds me of years where i’d happily ride my mtb most nights through the winter!

did anyone have any joy with getting any restocking info? 2pure don’t reply to emails, not sure any distributors in the uk reply to customers emails……

I’ve got 2, the posh 10-42t and the 9-46t, as before, they’re ok, the 10-42t seems to work well as i use it on my gravel bike which is di2, the 46t was on my trail bike, shifts up a dream, but shifting down is slow and basically requires no cable tension, the mech isn’t the freshest so can forgive some of it for sloppy joints and weak spring.

they are light and seem to last more than one chain, so think they’re worth a punt, can get some good deals on them sometimes on AliE, just gotta keep an eye on sales etc

charlie’s happy bottom bum butter is the best stuff i’ve used, seems more a balm than a cream so lasts longer, rather than just sinking in like regular creams. a little goes a long way, half a tub got me 1800miles down the great divide route

i’ve had many pairs of chinese carbon rims, i’ve a light bicycle 29er front wheel from 2013, been raced extensively, i’m a fairly safe rider but even still, now been used on my gravel bike, built well they will last a long time! i’ve had one rim go wrong when some wally of bikeshop redished my wheel to fit a wonky KTM frame and tensioned them so high the bead bed de-laminated, otherwise very good. newest pair are 30mm internal and still weight 1650grams for the pair.

Some great deals on the Heimdallr website, shame all the watches they make are bloody massive, really like the turtle homage but its just far too big for my girly spindle wrists!

from all my previous chinese wheelsets they always end up more expensive than first thought. There are ways of avoiding taxes, but usually cost around $70 to ship a wheelset. I’d never buy a complete wheelset again as their wheelbuilding skills are usually quite poor, maybe light bicycle are better now but last pair i had weren’t dished properly, if you you LB a rim is minimum you will pay is $150ea.

Don’t get me wrong i’m about to get 2 more chinese carbon rims, but i expect to pay decent money, else they are bound to be sh@t and not worth building up. my first rims came from LB in 2013, i still have them, but because they were built up properly. Plus, would avoid bitex hubs as made of cheese, novatech better but still fairly cheddar, right to go for dt 350 but avoid straightpull

ive had a 70mai dashcam from aliexpress for 4 months, seems good, software can be a little funky but otherwise very good, think they are around £40-50 and 1080p etc

The Parnis is excellent, 40mm so suits my small wrists, not the fanciest movement but was a bargain and nice first diver

Started to get into watches this year, 1st is my 1920’s (ish) Rolex, before they were Rolex, the movement is WM Rolex but i can’t find much out about it, was bought by my great aunt after the second world war, inherited from my grandfather. Second, Parnis diver, total bargain £63 for an automatic. Third, quartz Hamilton Khaki field, slightly regret not getting the mechanical.

379EAFBF-4B95-419F-94E0-D14CD64A9604 by chris.noble87[/url], on Flickr

also some education on the bulb icon on the dash means your headlight bulbs have blown and to replace them, not drive around with fog on cos headlights are so s**t, amount of cars driving round with one working headlight is becoming ridiculous!

i took mine to the genius bar, they are happy to plug it and hopefully tell you the problem but they won’t offer to fix it. i know machines of that age had an issue with the graphics card, mine melted twice. i used a guy called BGA Repairs who was excellent, most shops won’t do repairs in-house so usually better to go direct

had mixed fortunes with komoot, it does sometimes link “paths and tracks” together that don’t actually exist in the real world. bikepacking sure is a learning curve. my first trip my waterbottles froze overnight, but i was on a trail i knew well so it worked out ok!

racing definitely isn’t everything, i used to do five 12hr races a season but so far i’ve done one scott marathon this year, but now i’m doing more adventure rides, south downs double etc, much less admin! still riding as much as ever but seems easier to squeeze in with no pressure on it.