I upgraded from the Arions to the Arion Mags. They give me so much more flexibility in the types of work outs I can do for not a lot of extra cost. Use mine once per week and really like them ( and cheeky stealth ad, some arions for sale! )

I retired at 53, 5 years ago for many of the reasons listed above. You can’t predict what’s going to happen but my super healthy 47 year old wife died 12 months ago quite suddenly. Although devastating, I also feel very fortunate to have had 4 years of living in each others pockets – before that I was a workaholic and we would never of had that time together. And I’m very grateful to the person that sowed the seed of early retirement

I was also nervous but 5000 silent smooth miles on my giant defy in all weathers. I had the chain off last week and the cranks were running so smoothly and couldn’t feel any play with over zealous torquing ( not sure if that’s a word ! ). I know that giant bikes have had a bad record on here for warranties but its the one brand I would really trust to get press fit bottom brackets right – I really rate their attention to design / detail backed up by huge volume of sales, but I could be in a minority here!

I bought the JRA monitor core wheels for my crux – very pleased with them

Woke up to Covid this morning after a bad night, great birthday present for me!

Rode up and down my first Alp, as much as I enjoyed the down, it definitely revealed my lack of bravery but first ride abroad! First 100 mile road ride ( just scraped in under 6 hours riding solo ) in memory of my wife who rode the event the previous year, wonderful day.

I’ve also had good support from Giant. When I bought my Defy Advanced Pro ( at a great price ), they were happy to order in and send me 2 different  length stems to try out at no cost

I went from a Roubaix to a tarmac with 28mm tubeless. I found the tarmac so much more fun to ride and regularly rode 60m on it with no issues, sold it after 20K miles. I’ve got a defy now which sits towards the sporty end of endurance bikes,  giants seem to be so much better value than specialized

could you record him, he might find hearing himself so embarrassing that he calms down? ( my son is also shouty but does calm down when told / threatened with the router being switched off )

Enjoyed that, but then I’m an engineering geek from an industry with a lot of similarities – thanks

@mjsmke, a lot of places selling it far cheaper – bike tart £58

Very pleased with my endura pro sl. Sizing guide spot on for me, I’m a small. Easily fits in jersey pocket

Did my first 10k of the year yesterday. Not quite in the same league as scotroutes but I’m buzzing !

Agree with many of the above but I’ll add

Just about any Hitchcock film

Life is beautiful

Schindler’s List

Apocalypse Now

The Green Book

@escrs, of all the road tubeless tyres that I have tried, Hutctinson Fusion 5 Performance were by far the most most fragile. Even GP5000s are far more robust. So it might be worth trying a tougher tubeless tyre, Ive really got on well with Pirelli p zero race tlr all year round as a fast but tough tyre

Fabulous, simple and inspiring film, the French do seem to ‘get’ the importance of the quality of life better than we do

Looks like a brilliant trip, envious!

Ive just bought the JRA monitor core wheels for my Crux. They arrived yesterday, weigh 1620g with tape, went up tubeless with no problems, bearings super smooth, free hub relatively quiet, tape perfect. Very pleased, 2nd set of wheels from them, very helpful customer service, great price

I drove out of Swansea on Sunday towards the Gower. Getting out of Swansea is very up and down and I encountered a fit and fast roadie almost immediately. The signage wasn’t clear so I kept at 20 and the traffic was light. On the ups I overtook the cyclist and on the downs / flats he undertook me, this happened 4 or 5 times and both of us had bemused looks on our faces – I would have really liked to know what he was thinking but I expect he thought I was hindering him rather than helping. There are a lot of road cyclist who can comfortably ride at 20, and possibly don’t have the speed metric on the main screen of their computers so are unaware of their true speed, I wonder if they are prepared to slow down too.

I’ve bought a new gravel bike with 40 11-42 and am now having the same thoughts. Thought I would try either a 38 ring or 11-46 cassette but not sure if my rival 1 derailleur can handle it, any opinions on which way to go?

Thanks all, great information. Think I’ll try the front 38 ring first as its cheaper. Last question and probably very stupid but are 11-42/46 considered as MTB or road cassettes ( just want to check width compatibility with my hub )

There was a similar thread about 7/8 years ago and Trove was recommended, mine’s been perfect

@prawny   I wouldn’t wait too long to decide as there are some fantastic deals around at the moment. Shops and distributors are carrying far too much and its very easy to find 30% off, I got 36% off the crux

Well, I have finally made the change from my Fortitude Race ( rigid steel flat bar 29 ) with Gravel King SK 42’s and  bar ends inboard of grips for a Specialized Crux – why did I wait so long! More comfortable, faster, more agile and much more fun!

I’ve never seen the Troy vid above before – so so powerful. Such sad news.

I’m on 28mm Pirelli TLR’s. 56 front 62 rear rider weight 64kg ( hookless 22mm internal )

@sirromj I think you have really hit it on the head with ‘it depends what you’re coming from’. I compare it to a road bike on the road and a MTB on the trails and it is neither! I really need to change my perspective! But im so tempted to get a Crux!

Ive gone from a 34 to a 32 to cope with steep punchy off road climbs at the expense of road speed – another compromise but climbing is a bigger deal for me than road speed ( just )

This is my attempt at a gravel bike ( Fortitude race ). Gravel King SK 42’s,  bar ends inboard of grips for aero on the road, and 32 11-42 gearing. As others have said, it’s always a compromise somewhere, for me this set up works on the trails but not really on the roads so have to pick my routes with care. Im really tempted to buy a gravel bike but that would put me at 4 bikes …

A bump for the morning crowd …

I’ve always had great service from them so I would persevere with emails and calls

The Times article referenced earlier in this thread is a very interesting and educational read

“Killer cows: the one-tonne menace bringing fear to the footpath”

I will now be far more aware when in their presence, take care out there!

Thanks all, no dog. They were definitely full on galloping but I couldn’t get out of they way as they were coming straight at me. Think they were younger but most were definitely full grown

I’ve got 42mm Sk gravel kings on my Genesis fortitude, their grip really surprises me in a good way. I’ve now put some bar ends inside of the brakes so I can get down a bit lower, it works well

Road.cc have just reviewed the JRA carbon monitor wheels and liked them – sorry I know its not the model you asked about!

Thanks for the link. I’ll be riding the Pilgrims hospice 100m ride tomorrow, my wife and I rode it together last year but I’ll be doing it on my own tomorrow and waving at the hospice as I go past. As scotroutes said, I’m looking forward to a reflective ride remembering all of our fabulous times together

Just ordered from lordgun, only place that had what I wanted in stock, great price, great website and here in 3 working days ( order under £135 ). Definitely using them again

We also have a bell tent which is a great place to be, doesn’t smell of nylon, goes up very quickly, stays up in big winds when others are chasing their tents around the campsite!
But heavy and harder to dry, would buy again

I’m loving this thread and I’m not even doing the ride! Good luck to you all and looking forward to hearing all you stories from the other side!

Thanks for the input, @scotroutes gets the award for making me laugh

I think you need to put it on to wake it up