Commute which is mostly road, and occasional trips to Peaks, Pines and parks.

Size 9.5 shoes here.

I initially bought some Sealskinz ones, but they lasted three weeks; it was such a struggle to get them on that the pull tabs gave up, then the seams,  the velcro and finally the zips. In the bin.

The MT500s looked much sturdier so I went for it, despite the high price. I could just about get them on but it was a struggle, and I didn’t want that battle every morning and evening again, so they went back.

I invested in some good boots instead, and am now happy.

My cycle commute goes near that area, so I’ll keep an eye out along the route.

Starting at Hope, up Roman Road, down the Beast, round the reservoir (inc. up Cable Ridge and down Cutthroat) and back again.

Lovely ride, but annoyingly my brand new chainring acquired a bash/wonk during one of the rocky descents. Still rideable thankfully. My hammer and I will try to persuade it to straighten out today.

I’ve been cycling to work (Nottingham) for about two years now. I did have a lovely ride which was 70% off road, but a change of job means a 7 mile each way road route. A few observations:

– I’m healthier. I’ve lost weight and have increased fitness.

– I only put fuel in the car every seven weeks or so

– I feel energised when I get to work.

– If there were no hills I’d get bored

– I have never been beeped by a motorist. I’ve had a few close passes but no offs or even near misses so far. I like to cycle as if I’m driving; stop at lights, signal, look before manoeuvring, only filter if the traffic is stationary, although I do exercise extra caution and not assume I’ve been seen.

– Motorists tend to see a bike and think (possibly subconsciously) “must overtake” regardless of whether or not they have anything to gain.

Having written this, I’ll probably get run over tomorrow 😁😢

Lake MXZ303 are great and tick your SPD/Boa boxes

Blue stem, hubs, chainring, fork decals and BB. All in slightly different blues just to annoy people

If it’s any help, my commuter wheels are 30mm internal and have 38mm tyres on them. It’s been about 1000 miles so far and no issues. The commute is mostly road with a bit of singletrack thrown in. I have them at 60psi.

I’ve had mine for about 18 months, and yes they do soften up. I remember them feeling stiff, but not uncomfortable initially. In comparison to my Ion Raid shoes, the Freerider Pros are less stiff, more comfortable, more durable, and grip the pedals much better

If you’re up Edale way, have a look at the Hope Triple 8 route – a fun ride and ticks your distance/ascent boxes.

My commute is not as long as yours, but have seen good weight loss results by combining the commute with a reduced carb diet:

Porridge before setting off

Fruit mid morning

Salad with something proteiny eg tuna or boiled egg

Normal tea.

All I need to do now is stop raiding the cupboards and stuffing my face with sugary treats before bed!

Yep, battery saver mode sets the GPS so that it is only active when the screen is on. As most riders don’t look at their phones during the ride, only at the start and end, it tricks Strava into thinking you have zoomed from start to end in a few seconds.

My last forgot-to-deactivate-power-saver-mode ride showed an average of 1,281 mph!

Thanks for the links and comments folks. It’s been helpful info.

@mattyfez

Cheers, yeah, I’m waiting in the walk in centre now to get it checked out, and will see my GP in the week.

@Elshalimo

I’m ok thanks. I’m a pretty rational and logical chap and have been fine, if a bit pensive today. The main emotional spike comes when I think of a family member being in the passenger seat. I’ve driven down that ramp scores of times with my wife or daughter in the passenger seat.

Just to clarify, it’s a barrier of two halves meeting in the middle when closed. The right hand one was safely locked in the open position. The left one was seemingly unlocked and free to swing. Doesn’t seem to be tampered padlock, as you can see above pic, it’s intact and locked to the post.

It was not locked open; the padlock was intact and locked onto the pillar. Not sure but I think the rope was a temporary measure by the fire service to keep it open.

Note how the impact has bent the barrier!

The other driver hit it at a different angle, so the barrier just bounced off the windscreen. The windscreen was broken, but no other damage and no injuries.

Cheers. Yeah, I feel very lucky!

The fire service came to safely extract the car from the barrier. I’ll speak to the insurance tomorrow – the supermarket manager assured me that their insurance will sort it all no quibbles.

I’m the same height and weight as you (waist approx 32″), and have the size Large. They are a good fit. You have some adjustment what with the elasticated waist sections and the belt.

Great shorts BTW, I much prefer them to the regular Humvees.

I had that issue, until I quickly realised that you can just unbolt the clamp section and switch it to the inner side.  (Thule 591)

Hopefully this is still on topic and may help with the OP:

I’m currently deciding between Garmin Vivoactive 3 and Suunto Spartan Sport (wrist HR)

Any recommendations either way?

Sherpa in plus and 29er modes:

Hope Triple 8 for the first time today. Challenging, fun, and a beautiful area.

That’s how I store my bike at work, always making sure Reverb is fully extended. No problems so far.

I’ve just bought some extra 29er wheels so I can switch my bike between commuter mode and MTB mode as required.

The commuter wheels have 38mm 700c Vittoria Voyager Hyper tyres (tubeless) which are very fast indeed – I’d definitely recommend them, as long as you’re not going to be cornering in mud on a regular basis.

Saw this PSA at 17.57!

Checked out watched items and quickly bought a pair of running shoes I had my eye on. Tenner off.

Thanks OP!

FYI the Lake 303s, despite being a great winter boot, has the tread in all the wrong places for (my) flats, and it feels like pedalling on a pair of oily mackerel.

It’s MTB. By the sounds of things I just didn’t have it set properly onto the hub, causing it to be raised a few mm.  I’ll try again tomorrow

ok, good to know, cheers. I must have assembled/stacked it incorrectly.

Mtb

Yeah I have. The cassette sits s couple of mm too high and the end cap cant get enough purchase to screw on. What am I doing wrong??

Thanks for this thread, i was on the verge of posting a very similar one. I have my eye on some ztr rims (25.5mm internal diameter) and was hoping that i could get away with Vittoria Voyager 700c 38mm tyres – looks like it could be a goer. Thanks op!

Grey mk2, set up as 29er (27.5+ was fun too bit ultimately not for me)

I need an all-rounder and the Sherpa is perfect at that. I played around a bit with stem length and 40mm gives a very nimble bike indeed which climbs well.

It’s weird, as the marketing talks about all-day loops in the peaks, which I’d normally take with a pinch of salt. Then I took it for some loops in the peaks and it feels perfect for that type of riding, like it has come home :)

Other than that, trails, commuting and general hooning are all well served.

What hasn’t been considered is the need for twist in the frame to compensate for the females’ COG being quite set to one side*

*sidesaddle

(Hopefully interpreted as a gybe at silly marketing, not at women)

My feedback on the Saris Bones 2:

-It’s versatile, in that it fits both my estate car and MrsCB200’s small hatchback.

– It holds the bikes securely

– It goes on pretty easily

– If you are anal about paintwork, it’s not great; the hooks brush and tap against the car when installing, and the feeling of metal on metal is unsettling. Saying that, there’s no visable damage to either car.

– Make sure you turn off automatic rear wiper, as it will jam against the upper foot

– You can’t lock it to the car, so you can’t leave it unsupervised and relax.

Overall, I use the Thule 591s when possible, but the Saris makes an invaluable extra/backup carrier.

Well worth mentioning the Stanton Sherpa. I’ve run mine in both plus and 29 mode and it’s superb.

I’ve settled on 29er as it works best for me overall, but the plus was a whole heap of fun:

@theboatman – we must have been pretty close!

Nice loop at Little Longstone, Peak District. Some mud, some snow, some fog, some Highland Cattle.

In the last 6 months: cheap riser bars, a tyre and a gear cable set.  Lots spent on keeping warm and dry though.

My Evoc one is great, and again able to be turned inside out is a bonus feature.