Brilliant vid, I was uncomfortable watching it and relieved when they reached the end. Amazing skill and confidence

I wear my wear my rad8 glasses for everything but I’m not working. The main part is 0, the bottom is +2. I do seem to break an arm once per year but customer service is excellent

So, at the other end of the spectrum …
I’ve had a great year and have run 75% further than ever before. 1 x 5K and 1 x 5-10k per week, first 10k in 30 years, broke 25 mins for a 5K and 53 mins for a 10k, first park run, just bought a pair of trail shoes, no running injuries, and really enjoying it. Not sure of goals for next year, but probably speed and off road rather than distance

Crankbrothers Speedier Lever for me, nothing has beaten it and so easy to use

Im still the owner of a genesis fortitude race and still really rate it, my idea of the perfect gravel bike! But was also a fan of the trek 69 and trek district carbon belt drive

I too have this problem. My fix is posh bifocals made by Rad8 which are also photocromatic. The bottom of the lens is +2 and the rest is 0. I now wear them for riding, running and hiking and have no problems reading my various gamins and maps. I actually wear them all the time and don’t care that I look like Joe 90 – that’s ageing me!

Signed

I never did much structured training but I read fast after fifty by Joe Friel in my early fifties and it really transformed what I do and how I do it. If nothing else, its a really informative read for people who want to keep doing what they enjoy, good luck

@100psi, I have the same shifters as you and the original calipers are BR-RS685. I recently replaced one of the calipers like for like. Out of curiosity why did you choose an XT caliper, are they easier to set up? Thanks

I have the same calipers BR-M785 and mine started leaking but the bike has done almost 20k miles so I think I got my monies worth. Before changing the calliper, my bike would stop but it was far worse than normal and the squealing was horrendous and it was the squealing that I couldn’t live with. Changing a caliper was far easier than I anticipated and I found the same caliper at a good price. I took the caliper apart in an attempt to replace the orings but my lbs didn’t stock them and considered Shimano / sram calipers as consumables. Good luck

Happy in our house, and fortunately for him he got a 9 in French so his French mother won’t kill him!

Im no expert but we moved into our house in 2004 and the back garden was decked. Still has the original deck. I’m not the most diligent, it has been jet washed once and reproofed twice. The decking probably needs replacing soon, the real problem is the wooden supports that go into the ground and the cross braces, they have started to rot and do need replacing. Thinking of using the concrete deck posts this time. From what Ive read it does depend on the quality of wood used for the deck and some are guaranteed for a long time but they do cost substantially more

I too would miss it, I’m on the forum too much and find it to be a huge source of knowledge but I struggle to make the effort to read the digital mag

I’m in the same boat but was also thinking of a chrome book, but would it be a pain not being on Microsoft products?

I’m a big fan of the Gp5000, excellent puncture resistance, grip and speed but they are expensive and have been hard to find in stock in 28mm width. I’ve had a Pirelli p zero tlr on the back for about 1000 miles and am very impressed, holds pressure over time much begetter also

Yes, because I live in a street with no drive and no charge points. And I don’t drive that often but when I do they are motorway runs of 1.5 hours minimum. Final point is the second hand market isn’t established yet and new is too expensive for me, I bought a 69 plate Honda Civic sport which I’m really pleased with and am getting 52mpg

Val Cenis for us over Christmas, daughter worked for MGF last season so she’s keen to show us all the secret stuff. My family are all competent off piste skiers except for me, so I’m a bit nervous and will be looking for any excuse to get back on piste!

As has already been said, everyone will be there to support you however you deal with it on the day. Take care and I’ll be thinking of you in 10 days time in what must be a huge ordeal

Lots to check out, thanks all. A shower block, place to pitch a two man tent and decent pub are the key points, and we’re hiking on this trip

At the other end of the spectrum, I’ve been running and slowly increasing my distance / speed over the last couple of years. Goal has been to avoid injuries and keep consistent and finally ran my first 10k in 37 years ! ( 55 mins so can hopefully only get faster !). Not very far of fast compared to all you mega runners on here but thanks for keeping me inspired

The commentators are constantly talking about Yates helping Thomas up the mountains. Can someone explain this to me as Thomas looks stronger, there’s no drafting benefit because they are going too slowly, and Thomas is quite capable of pacing himself – what don’t I understand? ( quite a lot probably! )

Slight hijack but when people say ride in zone 2, does this mean heart rate or power? Or can it be either?

Well I’m going to go against the flow of this thread and I think the OP has a difficult decision. In the last couple of months industrial commodity prices have all dropped significantly ( Iron, Copper, Tin , Aluminium, etc ) which indicates that manufacturing is slowing down as demand slows. But it takes time for factories to ramp down as demand slows so inventories have and are being built. Also with inflation rising and winter approaching the general public will be being far more selective about how they spend their ( if they have any ) disposable incoming so luxury items like expensive bikes could be collecting dust in warehouses. Sorry for the doom and gloom post!

what’s big and red and eats rocks, a big red rock eater

what’s yellow and dangerous, shark infested custard

what did the big chimney say to the little chimney, you’re too young to smoke

I’ve got more if you want …

I’m exactly the same as luket. I could only find the wide fit shimano shoes on the german sites, don’t think they are available in the uk

@ sjors, i don’t honestly know but I think it’s unlikely that stans would have developed two different formulations. I didn’t see any problems with mixing when I inspected it recently. I think this is the best belt and braces solution for road but I do find that regular stans works fine on road tubeless on 28mm min Gp5000 and Pirelli p zero tlr if the pressures are below 75 psi and will probably just stick with the regular for the future as its cheaper and one less thing to think about. But tubes / tubeless is a fine line, @ Montgomery above makes a good point ! There are some very good clincher tyres out there these days, I really like Pirelli 4s

I set my wife’s road bike up tubeless because she often rides on her own and struggles to replace tubes. No punctures in a couple of years. She weighs about 52kg so pressures are low at around 60psi. I’ve used standard stans and it’s lasted a long time, I probably check it ( break the bead ) every 6 months. I’ve used race on my road bike on the initial set up but topped it up with regular as i didn’t want to break the bead.

I went to a funeral at a crematorium two weeks ago and the final song was elvis singing burning love. The first line is ‘I can feel my temperature rising’. Everyone walked out to the reception laughing which was a wonderful experience. Sorry about your mother.

Ive been dipping in and out of this post whenever Ive needed a new series but I haven’t seen any mention of Derry Girls. Absolutely loved it and still feeling a sense of loss two weeks after watching the final episode!

Did my first ever park run this morning. What a brilliant event. Its free, welcoming, inclusive, and fun. Got a clap from all the runners for it being my first park run! I did learn that starting near the back is not perhaps the best idea as it took quite a while to politely work my way through the slower runners but it made it very sociable as the back markers are all having a good crack! I’ll be back …

I also like it but not sure about TSS as it averages the week rather than totalling the week and I find this really misleading

Growing up, would be taken to a second hand bike shop each year to get the next size up then my first new bike …

A gleaming red Raleigh chopper
Raleigh arena road bike bought with paper round money but stolen
Holdsworth lugless framed road bike, grew up next to their shop
First MTB, Specialized Rockhopper in 92. Loved this bike which has always pushed me towards Specialized
Marin Pine Mountain 96 ( now living in Arizona ), MTB scene massive
Ventana el habernero 98, first full suspension
Specialized Epic, 04, 2nd version, back in Uk,
Santacruz superlight 07, loved that bike but sold it in a panic as the market for 26 inch wheeled bikes plummeted and still regret it
Orbea aqua, 09, first road bike as children were wining my time
Whyte 901, never clicked with this bike
Genesis Equilibrium frame, boring but smooth
Specialized roubaix frame
Genesis fortitude
Giant Anthem 29er
Specialized Tarmac Sl5 comp disc

Still got the last 3 but very tempted by new Specialized Crux Comp.
This is like a therapy session

Really enjoyed that, inspiring stuff

Mavic have a good app for working out pressures

@ footlaps, any chance of a review when you have had a chance to play with it, it does look good ? Thanks

From the last what waterproof thread I ended up buying a montane fleet ( standard goretex ) which I’m very pleased with. I have a paramo Quito which is over 10 years old and I have used it for everything from skiing to hiking and it has always kept me dry but it is bulky and struggles in the warmer months. I tried the mountain equipment jackets in the same price range as the fleet but personally didn’t get on with the pit zips, found them uncomfortable in the arm pit. I’ve always been a montane fan, more so than rab but for no real reason and also wanted to buy british although I realise they’re not manufactured here

Ground effects baked Alaska jersey has a 3/4 zip and they last for ever

I’ve been on tubeless for about 15k miles. As said previously, the combination of rim tyre, rim, and sealant is critical. Started on roval wheels and if the tyre lost pressure the bead would drop of the rim, now on mavic which are excellent and don’t need taping which gets rid of another problem. Sealant is stans race at set up and then top up with stans regular when needed. Tried Hutchinson and Goodyear but settled on 5000s which are excelllent. Used anchovies 3 times with no problems and they have stayed in for the life of the tyre. I think 28 mm is the minimum, tried hutchinson 25s in the beginning without much joy. Also use crank brothers speedier tyre lever which is really good and ride with co2 just in case tyre needs to be reseated on the ride, but never used it. Wouldn’t go back, lower pressures, puncture resistance, fast tyres.

My daughter is working in the alps this season and she has been telling us that English skiers are flying to Turin, hiring a car ( with Italian plates ) and driving across the French border with no issues as they are not being stopped for passport checks. And the French resort that she is working in is very grateful for the business. Not sure if I would be bold enough to try this, could be an expensive mistake if you are randomly stopped

Thanks all, that’s helped