Record so far, week on week:
-2kg
-0.7kg
+0.3kg

At this rate I’ll be the size of a house in 7 more weeks!

Truth be told I had a bad week. Lots of travel, stress and winter weather (Southern Hemisphere).

Coming week I’ll be on it. Promise 🤣

Week 2 weigh in!

Surprised to see another 700g dropped this week. I didn’t really try to change much and haven’t ridded since Sunday. I guess a problem measured is a problem managed, and I’ve perhaps made better choices with Friday’s weigh in at the back of my mind.

My GF’s car was broken into into some years ago and all they took were some Tunnocks tea cakes.

Thus confirming that scrotes have taste, and your music is bad.

Week one done. 0.55kg target loss, 2kg off!

I think this was a cheat week in all honestly, as last week I’d had a brew before weigh in. I put in next to zero effort and have knocked 2kg off. I’m certain next week will be much more difficult.

I’m in! First weigh in done, not pleasant reading but looking forward to a feeling of accomplishment in 10 weeks’ time.

Also, doesn’t increased high speed compression damping actually reduce harshness (to a point)?

The idea being that the damping absorbs the energy of impact and transfers it to the oil. If you’re using next to no compression damping then all force goes into the spring, and needs to be dissipated by rebound damping on the return stroke. Setting rebound too slow then leads to packing and harshness.

165 acres of NSW

May I suggest sir looks a little further afield?

165 acres, multiple garages and workshops, your own olive grove and two houses. Currently circa £550k.

Or, if you can make do with just two acres, but want two amazing houses, jack moir’s training spot within a few minutes, surf spots a short drive away and around an hour from Sydney, about £1m would bag you this:

Ourimbah place

I’d be upgrading. Namely:

– Carbon wheels. On a light trail bike these will make a vast difference. Some lightbicycle something or others, dt350 hubs (or hope). Probs £650
– Suspension service, and a vorsprung fractive tune if your forks are fit4. £400
– If you’re feeling flash, GX AXS. £500
– General cable and bearing service. <£100 if diy

All in that will yield £5k+ bike performance, albeit with slightly dated geometry. Definitely a bike I’d covet though!

Per George’s experience, my RX crank’s creek was solved by cleaning and copper greasing the crank/ chainring interface

Is this the new remainer line, that anyone who is against brexit should leave on a point of principle?

No Daz, that’s a syllogism you’ve created. And one which doesn’t stand up.

It’s really not a cause for self-congratulation.

My contribution goes further than the tax I pay. As does yours, I’m sure.

To continue contributing, in whatever form, is perceived to be complicit with current government actions in my mind, and to many outside the uk.

Although I’m currently contributing to discourse on important matters on a uk based forum. So I guess I’m still part of the problem!

Oldman- I’m with you. Although, you need to be sure that you’re not actually being a baddy. Business owner hoarding profits, tax avoidance etc. Make sure you’ll be happy with your decision in 10 years time.

FWIW, brexit was a huge driver in me emigrating from the uk last year. Despite loving where I lived, I was livid at having my EU citizenship stripped from me, and having to watch the unfolding car crash that is the government and their opposition. I wanted to take my tax and and set up elsewhere for a while. I’m very happy to not be contributing to the uk at the mo.

Once things straighten out I’ll be back to do my bit again.

I was in Sydney yesterday and saw lots of people wearing not much more than a covering of rainbow glitter. Looked like everyone was having a great time, and we all enjoyed the fireworks over the harbour at 9pm!

One pair of scribe 40d and one pair of light bicycle 56mm falcon on novatecs here. Both on cx rays, both tubeless.

The scribes are noisy but filling with grease does help. The novatec hubs have an easy life (Aussie weather and best bike) so I wasn’t too worried about bearing sealing.

Both sets are light and have been reliable so far. No complaints with either.

I bought a tandem for me and my lass to convert into a mega-e-tandem. I’d looked into registration, and had decided that dual 1000w bafangs would be possible. I had a dream that we could keep up with traffic on Sheffield parkway whilst laughing our heads off (in our motorcycle helmets of course). I should be clear, we dreamt up this plan whilst in the pub and hadn’t gone into the finest of detail.

The bike arrived, a 2005 26” Dawes mtb tandem in good nick but low spec. We rode it 100m and I swore never to get on the thing again. Never in my life have I felt flex like it – and that’s with all 130kg of our combined weight on board.

It went back on eBay immediately and I lost £50 or so. Not a terrible result in the end!

I’m pretty sure I put a longer coil on mine with no negative effects. Probably the 216×63 option above.

Hope BB and RX cranks here. Fitted to an ally frame used for all sorts.

Roughly 1000miles on them both so far. I did get a creak at one point but that was a dry/gritty chainring and crank interface. A quick clean and lube and all is good.

It’s a very stiff and smooth running setup. I’m pleased with it.

Also to note, I’ve been using a hope bsa bottom bracket with dub adaptors on my mtb. I expected that to last minutes, but I think that is up to 2000 miles now (although has had new bearings a short while ago as one was dry). All those additional contact faces with the thin adaptors haven’t been a problem.

– culturally they are terrified of making a u-turn, and we are to blame for that.

Balls. They’re to blame. Utter incompetence and lack of vision and resolution, leading to dithering.

My lovely wife tempts me with…..gunts? 😅

Gunts.

Greedy folks.

You didn’t invent that.

EDIT: nor does it mean greedy folks.

On the manufacturing point, a huge proportion of the capital and seed funding for new manufacturing centres of excellence in the U.K. have been funded by the EU.

For example, the current centre under construction next to and in support of BAE Salmesbury is largely funded by the “European Regional Development Fund”. The EU targets this money at economically under performing regions such as NW England to improve output and outcomes.

I doubt very much that this investment will continue under U.K. government, setting manufacturing back further. Even more worrying is that if public investment is made, it’s likely to centre on well performing and low risk areas such as Cambridge and Oxford.

Doesn’t the NHS cover tests and cheap glasses?

I’d rather have something that I can trust will look after my eyes. If you strain them you might find they deteriorate further and leave you in a very tricky spot as a blind old giffer.

I left the U.K. 5 months ago, in a large part due to brexit.

I am upset at having my European identity taken from me. I was born a European and I believe that identity has been taken from me for all the wrong reasons.

I will no longer contribute to the U.K., at least until the nation’s course is corrected. I am the beneficiary of a good Russel group education, followed by decades of European economic development funding. I’ve taken that experience elsewhere where it will securely provide for me and mine until the time is right to return.

It’s an entirely selfish decision I’ve taken because I’m not contributing to the solution to Brexit, I’m simply running away.

It feels like the right decision at the moment though.

That is lovely.

Although, none of endless rain. So I call photoshop 😄

You can revive them by prising the seals off the bearings and repacking with grease. I’ve done this many times.

Ultimately they’re a wear item though and should be replaced. I like my superstar ali ones on my mtb. They run well and make a lovely quiet mechanical sound. I’ll get some for the cross bike (rival 1x) when the time comes.

I used to drive or ride from nether edge to s60 (technically Rotherham, but the Sheffield side of the m1).

Reliably 33mins by bike up the parkway cycle route (nowhere near the road), 30-45mins in the car.

Posts above make it sound worse than it is in my opinion.

I was cold in central France in August using a 200.

I’d say go 400 for something more suited to U.K. temps.

Crikey. I wonder if the button head bolt in place of a chainring bolt came as part of- or in addition to- the service.

Makes me sad there are such chancers around. Hopefully no one falls for it.

Yep, I went spiderless and it’s ace. Such nicely made stuff, you won’t be disappointed!

I’m part of the governments Covid response

There is one? I wouldn’t be shouting about being part of THAT!

I swore never to give BT a penny again in 2008. So far so good!

The other thing that is concerning is how they sell to pensioners. My dad was upsold to £150/mo worth of stuff without realising it

Had a Berghaus jacket once. It was £200 and had a “lifetime warranty”.

<18months later it was dead. The zip wouldn’t stay closed and they refused to honour the warranty. It was used for one winter of wearing to the pub and work when it was nasty out.

I’ll not buy another and don’t recommend them to other people. There are plenty of decent brands about (Alpkit stuff always does me well).

Evil Santa taking a ride on his hover horse

the cloud poem analysis

WCA, I completely understand and I’d call the treatment of CP sufferers a success.

I probably laughed at the the outcomes of strokes myself at one point in time. Only now do I understand that it’s really not funny, and watching TV next to the affected person whilst the world laughs on is really quite uncomfortable.

Tom, that sounds like a horrible experience and I really feel for you. “The day” for us is something I try to forget but am sure it will be something that flashes back forever.

I’d also be interested to hear of other experiences with other illnesses and disabilities. I’m sure there are loads that I misinterpret or misunderstand, so it would be great to learn more.

My Dad was taken into hospital last night with a high temperature and low oxygen levels.

Nothing I can add but I sincerely hope it works out for the best, for you and your dad.

Also check out velo orange. Slightly over budget (about £65 I think) and a little harder to source, but they’re all aluminium, lighter, stiffer and better looking than sks.

Funn do them. Can be a bit narrow though

Quick calc of max-min elevation suggests you would’ve needed to climb from the lowest point of your ride to the highest 7 times to get 0.62mi or 3,274ft of climbing in.

According to the elevation chart I’d estimate you’ve done more like 700ft of climbing overall.

It’s odd as the elevation profile looks right, so how has it calculated the gain incorrectly?

Excellent work! Would you share the details of the lathe please?

Does it make the LH shifter redundant unless you wanted to do a manual change?

You can program buttons to do whatever you want. I’ve set my lasses di2 up sequential, but with the buttons on the hood tops to change the front mech up/down. That way she can hit the bail switch in an emergency.

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Works for me. Rival shifting, ethirteen xcr 9-34 cassette. I ride plenty in groups and solo and it works just fine.

Surprisingly the cassette is a particularly good performer. Quiet and faultless shifts up and down. This gave me a 380% range for 270g, making the whole thing a very light group set.

Edit – with a 40t ring I get very similar range to a compact and 11-28. 1.18 bottom gear, 4.44 top (vs 1.21 and 4.54).