Well Merlin were very good about my incorrect cassette and the replacement XT one came by return of post today. Good customer service in difficult times much appreciated.

10,8 & 6 here. Both of us are working from home – but my wife is working 06:00-09:00, 12:00-13:00 and then 18:00-21:00 to home school them, (so yes I get the better deal – I do lunch)! I find it pretty hard to concentrate – I still tend to help the 10 year old when my wife is focusing on the other two. They have complained her lessons are not as fun as school, (despite it being work set by school). She asked them to rate the ‘fun’ level vs. teacher, this was the 6 years old’s laconic response:

Mum: How would you rate the fun level against your teacher?
6 yr old: teacher – 10/10 you – 7/10
Mum: What do I need to do to get from 7 to 10?
6 yr old: Make it more fun

I mean, you can’t fault the logic.

My 8 year old only gave her a ‘2’. When quizzed this seems to be mainly because her two best friends sit next to her at school but don’t here…I think we might be losing this battle.

10 year old is doing OK – spends a lot of time complaining\panicking about running out of time – but overall trying very hard to stick to his on-line timetable. Not sure how kids with no access to a computer are supposed to manage; it is all online assessments.

We are lucky to have a nice garden – they spent a lot of time outside when it was warmer last week in ‘break time’. Been a bit harder to get them outside this week – but we are trying!

Frustrating as it all is, I hope one day we look back on it as a bonus to have spent the extra time with them while they are little….

@bentandbroken

I just got your PM – reply sent – if there were a kudos button somewhere here – you just got some!
All the best.

Hi @bentandbroken

Thanks for the link – very timely. My in-laws are near Christchurch, (a long way from us), and are worried about food supplies, (both over 70, ill and father in law had to queue 1.5 hours to get into Sainsburys). I think they are OK for supplies at this moment – but worried about their options. Might be the place in your link gives them a home delivery option for the essentials.

Shackleton
Subscriber
arrived but the buggers sent me an SLX cassette!

After reading this I checked my delivery (that came two weeks late!), the packaging said XT….
Today, I opened the packaging to fit the cassette – it’s SLX.

Strongly advise anyone else who ordered this bundle to check what they have been sent more carefully than I did. The other bits are XT. I have written to Merlin to see what they can do about it.

I realise this is very much a first world problem in the scheme of things – just annoying.

OK: I have just done an hour of turbo training. It hasn’t got any less boring while I’ve been away! Still, better than doing nothing, might need to dig out my garmin edge 200 and cadence/heart rate sensor next, it’s like 2005 all over again!

CC24, I see you have put brakes on yours though 😉

Yep – I’m a completer finisher! I figured when this is all over it deserved a trip into the wild for old time’s sake. 🙂

I also haven’t turbo’d for at least 11 years – thought I never would again – yet today I resurrected my 2004 Stumpy from a pile of spare parts and dug out the turbo with exactly that intention…still haven’t actually done anything other than build the bike though!

Resurrection Stumpy

I’ve got vittoria gato 2 on my would front and back set up for xc riding. They’re a mud specific xc tyre so suit where I ride it. It coped with a wet rivvy well this morning. Not sure if there’s any deals on the 29er versions but they’re a tenner a pop in 27.5 at the moment.

Planet X have got them so cheap that i’m still looking for the catch!

The Specialized are a good price too…

@mcdonagh2962 – agree everyone has their own view – it’s great though – throws up good info like your own experience there.

@honourablegeorge – a friend following me recently (and quite derisively I think) described it as ‘watching Bambi on Ice’ – if I can now blame it on tyre choice – I am going to grab that opportunity right now!

Thanks for the offer @chakaping – but for my first go at tubeless and 29er I want to start with new tyres so I only have myself to blame when they don’t stay up!

Thanks for the ideas so far everyone – a few I hadn’t considered there, so I’ll go and look at them in more detail.

@honourablegeorge – I’m certainly no Danny Hart. I find that the Mud tyre on the back is enough for control when losing traction going up\along but when I used one on the front too I found it horrible on fast chalk\flint surfaces downhill – could be quite unpredictable. The Ignitor works reasonably well in all conditions, but seemed particularly good on chalk. As above, it was all a bit of a compromise when 26″ tyre choice was limited.

Thanks again.

I used to have ignitor front and rear but
Ignitor on the back feels like riding with the brakes on its so draggy. I find the mud x on the back easy to ride through the worst of the slop we have had this year and fast rolling when on compacted surfaces, so happy with that, while the Ignitor is quite predictable on rockier, chalkier surfaces for the front.

Happy to try mud x front and rear on the 29er if suitable – they are pretty cheap if nothing else.

I’ve just had a set of the Pikes from r2. Arrived in three days, much cheaper than anywhere else, can’t fault them.

I had an issue with an order from r2 a while ago, they were fantastic at putting it right so they’re my go to now for

That’s reassuring – thanks.

Here.. similar price,newer model, no risk

https://r2-bike.com/ROCK-SHOX-Suspension-Fork-29-PIKE-Select-RC-DebonAir-SA-130-mm-BOOST-tapered-black

Yep – that was my next stop. I think probably follow my instincts and pay a little more at a known retailer like r2 in case there’s a problem.

Thanks for the thoughts all – if it was a lower value item I’d risk it but just a bit too much to risk this time.

@martinhutch

Thanks for that – perfect timing :-)

P.s. slightly surprised it includes bottom bracket too – doesn’t always seem to.

Anyway, cheapest I’ve seen it by far so ordered pdq!

Cotic did a nice article on the practical differences riding different offsets, (and impact on bar width).

https://www.cotic.co.uk/news/2019/forkoffset

There’s a small Escapade frame on eBay for about £50 at the moment – bidding ends tomorrow – possible cheap way to what you originally wanted?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F303485518307

An old woman who has decided her life is coming to and end ( its always women IME) She decided to stop eating and drinking ( “turning her head to the wall”) it takes a week or two to die

This was my Nan: she died yesterday. She made it to 100, living on her own in her own house and after being admitted to hospital a week or so ago with multiple organ failure and being told she wouldn’t be able to go home, decided she had enough. I would argue she still retained her dignity really well and good for her for choosing her time. If given the choice of a quick and painless injection I believe she would have taken it.

Thanks for raising the subject.

Thanks both, you’ve confirmed what I thought.

The Pike select I’m looking at is definitely Boost, Debonair and Charger – looks like slightly upgraded version of 2019 Revelation Charger. It also has the benefit of being readily available with a 42mm offset which is closer to Cotic’s preference (46mm) for steering.

I’ll just tell myself it’s still considerably cheaper than the X-fusion fork I nearly bought with the frame, (and if my wife asks – I’ll say you made me do it!).

Sorry to have highlighted the weight difference – if it makes you feel better, I’ll probably have to buy some really heavy wheels now!

Ok, final question on this, (I think)!

Background is that I’m starting from scratch building a Solaris Max, (delivered today – haven’t been able to open the box yet)!

On a typical 20-30 mile ride, realistically 70% ‘could’ be ridden on a gravel bike, 20% very grateful for being on a mountain bike and 10% wahhh-hey!

Budget was £350 for the fork, looking at 120-130mm travel, boost.

I have tracked down (new):
35 Gold 120 for £285
Rockshox Revelation RC 29 130mm Debon Air one-loc – £398
Pike Select 120 – £418

I think I am ruling the Gold out, partly because it is 2.5kg vs. 1.9 for the other two, partly because of some of the comments here.

I like the idea of the one-loc on the Revelation and it’s a bit nearer to the budget….but it’s the old motion control whereas the Pike Select is the charger (not charger 2).

Soooo…..take the pain on the budget and go for the Pike – or would the Revelation be just fine for my 10% moments…?

Solaris Max: Silver build, (11 speed XT at the moment), ‘downgrade’ to a Trace fork (still decent) – £1799. N.b. As mentioned above – 2 bottle cage mounts.

Are you sure it isn’t an old vent pipe? Our 1930’s build had a pipe running from the manhole cover to the boundary and I worked out it used to be a vent pipe (now buried under successive generations of driveway). It would have had a cap that looks a bit like a periscope on it originally right on the boundary. About half the houses in the street seem to have them still and they were to equalise the pressure in the sewer system. Ours had been broken and buried for years – local plumber said don’t worry about it!

Going from a medium (26) Soul to a large Solaris Max, I’m trying not to think about garden gates! 😳 Or tight corners! I’m sure it’ll all work out though…

Oh, nice treat! Sod the fence. It’ll only blow down again in a few weeks.👍

Yep, it is a bit expensive but I’ve just worked out I seem to by a new bike every 7 years, so it’s cheaper than some 7 year itches I guess! 😉

As for the fence – well I’m sure the wildlife will prefer it nice and open for a while.

Solaris Max – can’t get a wind reference but apparently it means “ pertaining to the sun” so a bit ‘weathery?’ I could say I’ll ride like the wind when it’s finished – but realistically I ride more like I’ve got wind which isn’t quite as impressive.

Thanks both for the feedback – very useful.

Sorry for the thread resurrection but @thisisnotaspoon how have the ’35 Golds worked out? I am on a tight budget and am weighing them up against an older (new\old stock) Solo air Pike. Just general trail riding, nothing particularly extreme.

Oooh does this kit need the factory-option bars already on the roof or does it attach without them?

I’m looking for a roof rack kit for my 17 plate S-Max Grand which does not have the factory option bars.

Hi @GrahamS,
My 2017 S-Max needed the foot pack that hooks under the door aperture. Not sure if this was because of the panoramic roof – but I ‘think’ they changed it for that model year onwards.
I needed:
Thule 754 Rapid system foot pack
Thule Rapid System 1796 141796 Kit
Thule 963100 Wing Bar 963 Rapid System (150CM)
A bit ugly, but does the job and I just leave it fitted.

If you are used to riding a 34, I’d say go for the 34. I don’t think it really equates to a 36 anywhere in the stroke in terms of gearing so you should be able to pedal it just fine – apart from any considerations for frame clearance you might still need to check first.

Wolf Tooth seem to make them – but even more expensive at £83

Elliptical Direct Mount Chainrings for Shimano Cranks for Shimano 12spd Hyperglide+ Chain

No doubt more will appear as the Shimano 12 speed gradually becomes more prevalent.

Edit: Beaten to it!

Next q: what offset would be considered best suited to a SolarisMax XL?

I believe it was designed around the 46mm of the Xfusion McQueen – but in an article about it Cy said although that was his preference, 51mm was fine too – just a different feel to the steering.

I wouldn’t worry about travelling home at all at the moment. Sounds like you are needed at home…

What pumps are you call carrying though?

Lezyne Pressure Drive Mini for regular 2-3 hour rides (no pack) and Topeak Morph Turbo Mini for the now rare occasions i’m out for the day. Both date from 2007 and going strong!

@twistedpencil

Sorry to hear that things are still rough for you and your son. You’ve got more experience of this than me from your earlier posts – but I think you are doing the right thing looking at private options – 7-8 months is such a long time in a kid’s life whatever the outcome of the tests.

Glad you were able to have a good Christmas day and are now back to work. The fact you want to post but are getting overwhelmed probably* means you definitely need to keep talking about it with someone\somewhere! Vent on this thread, start a new thread or talk to a counsellor about how it’s affecting you – whatever it takes to stay functional.
*Not a psychologist or very good at following own advice.

For what it’s worth I often think of your words of support and experiences from this thread when we are having a bad day, so thank you.

Yep – we’re really proud of how mature he has been about it and how resilient he has been; the pressure on him has been immense. To be fair, the school have been very supportive, hard to fault them at all. I think these are the moments that will define him as an adult.
I hope he can rediscover all the things that used to excite him now (and I can get him out on his bike regularly again)!
P.S. he’s still very ‘10’ when it comes to homework\chores – the maturity can be switched off apparently! :-)

Hi @trailwagger,

Thanks for the update. Glad the early indications are positive – looks like your instincts were right! Hope she finds her feet there and you get some head space back!

My lad’s on an ‘up’ at the moment – he decided in the week before Christmas that he couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to tackle it head on. He got his teacher to get all the boys from the class together and basically hammer out what their problem with him is. We were worried this would backfire – but he was adamant. Looks like he is smarter than us. The main bully didn’t turn up to the session, (since seriously disciplined) the other lads basically apologised and admitted it had all got out of hand for no good reason. Since then he has still had good days and bad days but what’s noticeable is that he no longer seems to be excluded from the group and has a better support network. Our challenge is to not be too over-protective of him and remember he has a brother and sister that also need looking after!

Everyday I give thanks that I am not 10 anymore!

Yep – I always carry a pump (and tube + repair patches)- just a small, lightweight Lezyne one strapped to the frame. I sometimes go months without a puncture – but have had one on each of my last three rides due to thorns, flints and broken glass respectively, 5 minutes to swap a tube over much more preferable to walking 20 miles back.

Hey @trailwagger, I was thinking about this thread earlier and wondered how you are getting on; whether things got any better for you?

Same for @twistedpencil – hope all is OK.

I had the same problem and now use the ‘piggy on bike storage’ bracket to strap everything to the frame.

https://www.76projects.com/shop/thepiggy

Works well for me with the same stuff you are carrying. They do a pouch to keep it all dry/safe – but I’m cheap so a sandwich bag does the job just as well for me!