Ours gets blocked occasionally. It’s not a U bend, but a shallow circular trap surrounding the drainage hole. The screwfix spinny whisk thing is way too big to do any good. A coathanger bent into a hairpin hook can just about loosen the blockage. The biggest culprit is plastic razor covers stuck in the trap.

I had the 2014 Sentier, and as above, its a good, capapable bike. Great climber and trail bike – definitely more than a pootler!

Lizard Skin Northshore grips. I’ve just taken a set off as they were too thick for me – might be just right for your manly mitts

I had a similar creaking recently. After taking the saddle off, cleaning and greasing twice – still creaking. Swapping the saddle – still creaking.

It turned out to be some dirt where the Reverb goes into the seatpost. Remove, wipe, put back – no more creaks!

I’m on my first month of Lake MX303 boots. Very well made, comfy and easy to put on. Warm and dry enough so far. They might be a bit Frankensteiny for your tastes though.

A large screw extractor should get a good purchase in the bolt hole. IME these have about a 50% success rate. About £3.50 for a set from screwfix.

If you have a dremel/multitool, you could cut a slot into the top of the bolts, then unscrew with a flat screwdriver.

If you use the blue pair, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You use the red pair – you stay in Wonderland and you find out how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

Sounds like the thin, soft variety of DMR Death Grips

I bought some Altura “winter cycling tights” and they are annoyingly baggy, especially around the knees (despite being correct waist/length)
The Aldi ‘Crane’ ones are really good, but I think they only put them out a few times a year.

A bottle of scotch of my choice and a commemorative engraved tumbler. That’d do nicely, not that I’m in that winning echelon in the real world.

Disappointed with the Sealskinz ones, I thought these looked great, so bought the l/xl ones. There was no hope in hell that these were going to fit over any of my 9.5uk shoes, so they went straight back.

I’ve now opted for some warm mtb boots instead

I have two Thule 591s (on wingbar edge) on the roof, and a two-bike Saris to clip on the rear when the whole family are cycling.

The Thule is really handy; up and secured in seconds. The locks are mild reassurance for a toilet break, but having seen how quickly they can be compromised by thieves, I’d use an extra chain/cable if leaving for any time.

The Saris is a bit of a faff to put on the car, and the bikes are a bit ‘swingy’ when mounted. Also, there is no security, your rear wiper can’t operate and you can’t open your boot. Other than that, it’s great :D

northwave yeti looks like it should do the job, so down to the lbs to get some ordered

Did you get These? How do they work with flats?