We went with Igloo last year after 25 years with British Gas. They weren’t the absolute cheapest – but were very competitive with a good customer service record. Also, they pay interest on any balance – better than my savings account!

The switchover was effortless, the website or app is easy to use and that’s all you need really.

Prices went up a bit in the year – but have just gone down again – so they seem to play fair. Main thing is I have saved more than £500 moving from British Gas – wish I had done it years ago!

I recorded it on Quest HD (Freesat). I thought the coverage was OK – agree, they could shorten the Moto3 and 2 race highlights and add a bit more into the main event. However, I thought it was pretty comaparable with the c5 coverage last year and it was FREE! N.B. Must remember to fast forward the adverts quicker next time – they showed a screenshot of the podium when advertising the later repeat of the show!

Yep – doesn’t appear in the listings yet – I found it on the Eurosport site:

https://www.eurosport.co.uk/moto/quest-secures-exclusive-free-to-air-motogp-highlights-from-2019_sto7176595/story-amp.shtml

The Blackspire website makes quite a point about that chainring being compatible with all SHIMANO 96 bcd cranksets. It doesn’t say so — but therefore it’s probably not FSA compatible, (sorry)!

Zecto drive is quite floody too – and it looks like the 250lm is only in strobe mode. Think the problem you have with all these sort of physically smaller lights is that they are really designed to be seen by road users rather than project a strong beam. The Exposure Trace is another strong contender for an emergency light (110 lumens) that does project a bit and is incredibly small and light (£33 Halfords on line) – but off road, on its own you might struggle. After that I think you start looking at things like the Cateye Volt 400 for a stronger beam at a reasonable price – but heavier and bulkier – that’s the compromise.

These look quite good as an emergency light: Lezyne Zecto Drive – claimed 250lm and less than 50g?

I’m really happy with my Joystick mind, it hardly weighs anything, is pretty compact and lasts for hours on the lower setting – but if you specifically want small – the above is probably more suitable – certainly cheaper!

Sad day for me too. Saw them a few times but I think the most memorable was when they played Battersea Power Station a few years back. Industrial wasteland was about as perfect as you could get for their sound at the time. Gone but never forgotten.

About 25 years ago I was a mediocre guitarist with a Squire Strat when I got my first ‘proper’ job. I blew my whole first pay check on a beaten up early 70’s Gibson SG I’d been walking past in a shop window for weeks and fallen for. I was still mediocre – but it was so much nicer to play and sounded mean! Even now I’m still mediocre and I’ve still got the Gibson – no regrets!

Wee Cog Slider for the saddle bag?

Slider – for dropper posts

Thanks for the thoughts both. Sounds like good advice. Very impressive seeing these young kids winning races, bet you are super proud!
I’m just glad to have the kids out riding with me at the mo. and am trying to make sure they get the most fun. My oldest has had a rough time at school recently and it really brought the old him back when he finished the ride in one piece! There’s no rush, the Hotrock is ‘OK’ but looks like I need to get saving, (again)!

Hi, yes I get the sentiment – I think by 9 I was at least out with my older sister, terrorising the streets on our crappy bikes. We live in quite an urban area here though and there’s nowhere really he can go on his own, (I’m amazed how few of his friends can even ride bikes too). I can take them to quite a big park that they can do laps of on their own – totally flat but he can race about, try and do bunny hops etc. There’s light at the end of the tunnel though – watching him yesterday it won’t be long before he can ride at least bits of the blue on his own – it’s just the getting lost that’s a bit of an issue at Swinley – but a few more laps with me and he’d be ok.

Well I took 9 year old to Swinley as planned. He was quite apprehensive about it – riding for years but nothing man made. We rode the green a few times to get him used to the what to expect. He was fine with that – less blasé than I expected. He then asked to a do a bit of the blue – we started at ‘1’ and finished at the finish. I had to talk him through the first swoopy descent before he would try it – but after that he took them all in his stride. Similarly he had to walk up a couple of little nadgery bits – but was pleased to cycle past an adult on one uphill section. He was buzzing at the end of it and we went round a few sections again until the car parking ran out. Oddly he still thinks the green is worse than the blue! Oh and he likes ‘Stickler’- which is definitely odd behaviour. Kids!

Thanks for the replies – separately is difficult (for complicated reasons) but yes, I try and do that where I can. However, looks like roping some other families in is the way forward – strangely although we have lots of friends with kids, a disturbing number of them don’t have bikes – but I’ll focus on the enlightened few that do! 5 year old is a bit short for his age – I’m encouraging him to grow so he can move up to 20″ wheels which will also help!

Hi,
I rode down from the Atlas Mountains to the coast in March a few years ago and apart from the spares listed above – think carefully about the clothing. It was seriously cold up in the mountains early AM but baking by lunchtime. Lots of lightweight but warm layers that you can lose during the day should make it more enjoyable.
Enjoy your trip – I’m jealous!
P.S. be prepared to be raced through villages you might visit by kids on frankenbikes (and be prepared to lose)!

Last update on this: I switched to the 32t (oval) and suddenly it all makes sense! the 34t was ‘OK’ but I was using the 3 largest sprockets with the largest jumps between ratio disproportionately. Using the 32t has moved me back down the cassette into the closer ratios. That means that I am using the gears more effectively, riding more smoothly and only using the 46t sprocket as the last resort it was intended for (and it’s more fun to ride). Basically it feels like the useful ratios from 2×10 setup but without a front derailleur – which was the point! Only time I feel under geared is on a steep tarmac descent back into town – really not worth worrying about.

For anyone following a similar path – I couldn’t get the indexing quite right when I switched to the 32t. I took it to my LBS and they whipped another chain link out – then it was fine, (best £10 I have spent!). Wouldn’t have been an issue normally but the asymmetry has a bigger effect on chain length between similar rings.

Anyway thanks again.

I’ve very recently switched to one. The weirdest thing I found was that it just felt normal! (Sorry if that is underwhelming – it’s actually a good thing). I think the power delivery is a bit smoother – I went from 20 years of SPD’s to flats a couple of years ago and yet with the oval it was reminiscent of feeling clipped in. Might all be placebo – but main thing is it didn’t feel wrong, I needed a new chainring anyway and it was only about £25.

@reggiegasket

I’ve ordered a 32 to experiment with too. Even if it’s marginal on my 26 Soul I think when I eventually get a 29er frame it will be the right ratio – so no harm trying it now.

As an aside, the black coating on the Sunrace cassette lasted exactly one ride, (thanks Surrey Hills)! Still looks nice from the other side! :-)

I followed this thread with interest but went for the Joystick in the end (to complement the ancient but still going strong 1600 Fluxient on my bars).

I ended up paying £103 for the Carbon MK13 from CRC (I signed up a new account and got a £10 off voucher). That was the cheapest I could track it down on line I didn’t particularly want the carbon one but it was cheaper than the Aluminium version.

Used it for first time last night and it was excellent (and the weight was not noticeable on the helmet).

The Diablo looks great – Joystick just more suitable for my needs.

Thought I’d give some feedback:

Went for first ride on the 1×11 setup this evening. It was ‘interesting!’

Solo ride, 15 miles(ish) in Surrey Hills. 5 degrees, raining, comically muddy and dark!

The XT/Sunrace/Blackspire combo worked faultlessly throughout. I found it a bit of a psychological challenge as much as anything. It felt like I was never quite in the right gear – although I remember a similar feeling going from 3x to 2x so think that the legs need time to get used to the new ratios. Didn’t notice any weird sensation from the oval chainring – felt like a nice even power delivery.

I found the jumps between ratios OK. Not sure about the 34t chainring at this point. I managed to get up Box Hill OK but am not convinced I would have survived a more technical climb or bigger hill! I used the 46t much more than I had hoped to. Having said that – I did it quicker than I have for ages – so hmmmm maybe just need to have a few more rides and get used to it before reaching for the 32t.

I did find it harder to get the back wheel in the air on any little hops – might be something to do with the lump of steel I added!

Anyway hope the experience helps anyone considering a similar setup.

P.s. if anyone finds a £6 commuter light still glowing in the Surrey Hills – it’s mine – but you can keep it!

Boringly: Mud Guards. Only took 25 years to realise I can ride longer and choose better lines if I’m not being hit in the face with mud, stones, water, various animal outputs! Nice not being soaked through from the back wheel too…

Yes some of my friends found it abhorrent – oddly they’ve been more quiet recently… ;-)

If you go Eagle next time you can get a 32t chain ring and enjoy the same low gearing you are used to but have lots more at the other end too. Even 46t on the XT 11 speed is close. No need to fear the future! ;-)

Cotic were advertising an ex demo Flare Max on Friday – might still be there is you are quick?

This is copied from the advert:

Sam’s 2018 Demo Tour bike. Medium blue FlareMAX with orange Hope parts including Tech X2 brakes, Tech XC wheels. WTB tubeless tyres, XT drivetrain with Sunrace 11-50 cassette. Cotic bars and stem, HELM29 and DB Air IL. It’s a Gold build with a lot of hop ups, worth well over £4k new. Yours for just £2199.

Hope it helps!

Hi Pedlad,

I just went through a similar process for my Soul (26). If it helps, I went for 11 speed, mainly XT and it came to £172 for the whole setup (I am using my old 10 speed M785 XT cranks).

Blackspire Snaggletooth 34T Oval £26.99
XT M8000 GS Mech. £59.99
XT M8000 shifter £32.99
SRAM NX PC-1110 11 Speed Powerchain £9.90
Sunrace CSMX8 11-46 £42.30 (I got this from Wiggle in the end with a £10 discount for opening a new account).

I might be being optimistic with the 34t – we’ll see – but I’m happy to experiment a bit with that – fairly cheap to go down a chain ring if I spend too much time on the 42\46.

For me 12 speed was a bit pointless without investing in an SRAM hub to get the 10t benefit – not worth it on this bike and 50t seemed overkill anyway – if I need it, then I’ll be on it all the time – so I might as well drop a chain ring – then I don’t need the 50t!

The Sunrace cassette gives about as evenly spaced ratios as you could hope for an 11 speed (and the 46t in black doesn’t look too weird on the 26″ wheel!). First impressions are that the 11 speed shifter has a heavier action than the old 10 speed – but it is OK for me. The cassette is really nice – the shifting very smooth between sprockets and it isn’t as heavy as I had feared.

I just need to ride it up some hills now!

Hi Solaris Mx can take a front mech. Cotic website says:

Front Mech: 34.9mm band on, high clamp, Shimano Side Swing only

Hope that helps with your choice!

We switched to Plusnet about this time last year after BT tried to convince me their unlimited broadband package was worth £70+ Per month because….well actually just because!

Pay £19 per month (paid line rental for the year up front – cheaper than BT for that bit too). Unlimited broadband, free landline calls to other Plusnet users (never use landline anyway though).

We get about 60-70 download speed – suits us fine for streaming from Amazon Prime, iPlayer, lots of music, kids X-box etc. No buffering or delay so far, not sure if it will be enough when the kids hit teenage years!
We use the BT router as it was a generation ahead of the Plusnet supplied one.

Anyway for £19/month it makes BT look like they are intentionally trying to lose custom to their subsidiary….

@martinhutch
Thanks for the tip on the bike-discount cassette – I think you are right – that is the cheapest even with the postage. There is an MX80 version with two alloy rings – but the MX8 version with only alloy 46t is probably more suitable for me (I’ll probably be using the 40t enough). I have already ordered the M8000 mech. and shifter (so I’ll have to take the chance over SLX). They were a few £ cheaper than bike-discount in the sale anyway luckily.

@vincienup
Agree the 10 speed has been good. The thing at the back of my mind is that my next bike may not accommodate a front derailleur very well (and will most likely have a dropper to add to the bar clutter). So to some extent I’m using the Soul as a test for what that will be like while it needed drivetrain replacements anyway.
Unfortunately my old XTR M986 derailleur can’t go bigger than a 41t sprocket (OK – it might go a bit further with fettling – but not to 46) and the tooth count is not great, so I ruled out trying to use it for this as I would have to go too small on the chain ring and drop to a 2.73 ratio max (just a bit too slow on the flat bits).
If I do end up at 2×11 then I might just try my old 10sp front derailleur and cranks in the first instance – just change the rings in that case, I think the chain line will be OK. I take your point about the SRAM range and 10t – I’m not precious about staying Shimano except – I don’t want to spend any money on my existing 26” wheels – this exercise might show me I need to go SRAM on the 29 for all the reasons you mention.

By the time I actually get a 29er SLX 12 speed will probably be common place and there’ll be a new wheel standard to confound me but it’s all improved my understanding of the gearing choices and what’s available anyway.

Just a quick update for anyone in the same position:
I went for 1×11 in the end, with:
Blackspire Snaggletooth NW 34t Oval Chainring (£24)
SRAM NX PC-1110 chain (£10)
Shimano XT M8000 Shifter (£33)
Shimano XT M8000 Shadow+ GS Mech. (£60)
Sunrace 11-46 cassette (£50ish – still shopping around).
So for around £180 I get to try 1x. My final reasoning was that I was going to need to spend £125 to replace my worn out 10 speed parts so worth the extra £60 to try 1x.
I will lose a little bit at both ends – (0.72 to 0.74 and 3.45 to 3.09), I think I’m really only likely to notice that on any drawn out road sections – which I want to avoid as much as possible anyway.
This then means that:
It will help me understand what I want from my eventual 29 build gearing (when I can save up for a frame). I appreciate the bigger wheels impact the final gearing – but I figure it will still give me some idea of what will work best for me.
If I hate it – I can go 2×11 quite easily (albeit probably need another cassette or ignore the 46t sprocket) or try other chain rings.
I’ll have an 11 speed mech. and shifter I can take over to the 29 build whenever that happens which will keep the cost down at that point.
If it works out OK then it changes the nature of the bike a bit and keeps it interesting!
Anyway thanks again for the advice – it all helped.

Thanks for the offer – appreciate it. However, think I’ll go for some new shiny rings this time – and hope for another 4000 miles out of ‘em!

Out of the 10 people I generally ride with only 3 of us are still riding 26. With varying abilities, it doesn’t seem to make a massive difference. I do notice that my mates on the big wheels seem to have less concerns over line choice to me when I follow them over some stuff!

As for rust: I changed my bottom bracket last night expecting 6 years of rusty water to come out – but nope clean as a whistle, (so no excuse for anew bike there then)!

Thanks for the responses.
The 1x is tempting but I would need a 32t for the hills (with 11-42) and I think it’s just going to leave me short of gears on the boring road bits I have to ride to join trails together (plenty of those around me). I could ‘nearly’ go to a 34t – but then I will struggle on the climbs just a bit too much – I could try the Sunrace 11-46 to mitigate that – but I think the XTR M986 SGS will struggle with that range even with an extender, (the mech. does have a clutch btw.). That’s the compromise problem – waiting for 11 or 12 speed probably makes more sense for 1x with my ability.

The M6000 setup sounds good – but I’m running 38/26 11-36 at the moment and it suits the terrain I ride well, (Surrey Hills, Chilterns, Cwmcarn, Swinley). Anything I can’t climb with that gearing tends to be from a lack of talent!

Looks like I should replace like for like and enjoy the fact it is pretty bullet proof for now!

Thanks again.

Another vote for Skeddadle. Did a self guided week across Sardinia with them a few years ago and they were excellent – good route notes, good choice of accommodation and the luggage always turned up by the time we did!

XT Hollowtech 2 bottom bracket – I paid £13 just before Christmas (although they are at a heady £15.99 on CRC now)!

The last one has lasted 6 years so great value compared to the old FSA ISIS ones that used to last about 6 months on my old Stumpy.

Hi,

I used Total Sheds (they are in Willenhall) a couple of years ago. I only got a fairly straightforward, basic shed – but they do cabins and summerhouses etc. It came treated – but they still recommend that you treat it too for longevity.

Main thing for me was they were cheaper than the local DIY places for a better quality shed – and they made a slightly bespoke one for me because of a space constraint without charging anything extra over the shed it was based on.

Anyway, might be worth a look.

I wonder if 12 speed XTR will be any more reliable? I see Bird are offering XTR shifter, chain and mech but with the Sunrace 11-50 cassette on the Zero29. I guess that keeps the cost down – quite an attractive alternative to Eagle 12 speed based on these threads (for me anyway).

Stunt scooter?
Kindle Fire?

(Boys are definitely easier)!

I think it was the dire signpost warnings of ‘New trail feature ahead’ and ‘DROPS’ hanging from the trees that freaked me out – must try harder next time! Although….  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZEP1xcQCXY

Yes – ‘large’ was tongue in cheek – more a reflection of my inability to deal with anything I can’t roll comfortably on my 120 Reba’s!

I rode the green on Monday (I have no pride)! Actually, having not been there for so long I wanted to explore everything they had done and also see what would be suitable for my kids if I do take them there.  The Green is OK actually – very short, but enough variation to keep it interesting for a kid just starting out.  I think my 9 year old would clear it with derision, the 7 year old – probably – given enough time, the five year old – well he’d have a go – but probably not be able to do the little climb.

As for the blue – I’m not sure any of them would be able to do the whole thing – but the 9 year old probably would if we didn’t take it too seriously.  It’s all relative – I know there people on here whose kids compete at these ages – but for mine the most off roading they normally get to do is across the park or along the river from Windsor to Maidenhead.  Hills are an abstract concept to them!

Couple of foot? Those drops are at least a couple of meters! In fact – the longer I looked at them – the bigger they got – might have been 5 meters by the time I carried on down the trail ;-)

On a plus note – I found I can still roll all of babymaker without fear of leaving the ground (and there were no teenagers sniggering at me this time – I guess they all grew up and had to get jobs by now.

Tank traps confused me – I’m sure there used to be a forest there – looks like the surface of the moon now!

Interesting! I rode there for the first time in 6 years yesterday and had a great time!

I used to ride there every week (10 years ago). I fell out of regular riding when the first two kids came along, then they terraformed it and I found it had lost its magic – then the third kid came along and it was game over!  I stuck to only night rides in the Surrey Hills for the last few years – I like the open spaces and generally more natural trails.

However, with a day off yesterday and a morning free to ride I thought I’d give Swinley a go for old times sake. It makes me realise how important it is to have some variety in your riding. I can ride up and down Box and Leith hills all day – but actually felt more tired than I have for ages at Swinley (probably for the reasons you outlined above). It showed me how unused to constant pedalling I am – and I had to think a bit to clear some of the features, (made a right meal of the Labrynth too).

So, I think there is definitely a place for it – maybe not at the weekend though – I suspect I would spend more time letting people past me than riding!

P.S. those ‘new’ drops (the only really big ones) were too much for me! I was glad to take the ‘diversion’.

P.P.S. It sounded like my rear suspension was bottoming out by the end of the ride – which would be fine – if I had rear suspension…