It’s another good link but nothing new unfortunately. The challenge is still hiding the Blip box or at least its components including the battery somewhere in reach of the button because of the wires needed.

@tomhoward thanks for that. I did think that I read before that the Dangerholm builds had the Blip box in the stem and it is an almost perfect fit with the Intend one- it all rings a bell. Not enough room in the bars or a 35mm stem though.

Steerer could be an option for the Blip box using a Shimano style Di2 stem… hmmm….

@ayjaydoubleyou like that but more nerdy :) I am guessing he took apart the Blip box and shoved it inside the bars but I can’t find any good details of what exactly was done. I also can’t see that lasting too long on the off chance water gets in the bars (not helped by extra holes where the Zirbel cables have to enter the bars.

@tomhoward I am open to other wireless droppers but the Magura Vyron Remote, whilst not dangly, isn’t exactly subtle.

What I envisage is a discreetly hidden button for a wireless dropper like many have done for shifting AXS/ Di2

On an otherwise clean rigid singlespeed this really offends my eyes :)

Is it possible to get the blip box in the down tube on the frame? Maybe down near the bottom bracket (or maybe inside top tube at headset? (I don’t know how large the Blip box is, hence me asking the possibly daft questions).

@DickBarton I am thinking out loud and don’t know this inside out either but my understanding is the dropper button needs to be wired to the Blip box which then takes the signal to the dropper post. So the problem with that idea is how do you get a wire to your locations. Inside the stem is the common place for a Blip box but there isn’t room when the stem gets under 60mm(???) long

No, it seems there are a lot of incompatibility issues at the moment. Mostly the need for a long press and sending a constant signal which the wireless ones don’t support.
https://www.mtbr.com/threads/anyone-using-or-found-a-clean-way-to-mount-etap-axs-wireless-blips-on-their-mtb-bars.1202489/

Seems to be a few places having them in stock on ebay. Depending where you are you could potentially even collect if a seller is local to save some shipping time?

The Zefal Magnum Pro is the best ~1l bottle that I have tried.

The various Elite ones are a bit too floppy and fall out.

The Zefal Magnum (non-Pro) is a bit too hard to drink from and the “Pro” version is so much better.

Nothing beats the Magura ones for me.

Others work well in the dry but get shredded in the wet and generally don’t hold up as well as the Magura pads

The Trickstuff thicker rotors or Maguras heavier rotor are recommended too. The Storm SL add to the pad shredding in the wet IME

Wiggle also do 365 day returns so it could be something someone had lying around for a while then decided they didn’t need it

Raised BB and slacker STA would be the downsides (well usually downsides rather than positives)

I went for a Whisky non-Boost on my steel frame and love it.

Brother Cycles have a great option if you don’t need too big a tyre and are ok with non-Boost
https://www.brothercycles.com/shop/forks/carbon-mtb-fork/

Travers Prong would be the best value (and probably up there with the best full stop) Boost fork. Slight raise compared to what you have
https://www.traversbikes.com/store.html#!/Travers-EVO-Prong-Boost-Carbon/p/420328101/category=15761046

eXotic make a great fork if a little less refined ride feel compared to the others. This one felt very similar to my Salsa steel fork in being a bit unsubtle when unloaded. Lots of fit and axle variations available for minimal extra raise
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194506192078?hash=item2d4978f4ce:g:3VEAAOSwWcZiShCa

Is Andy still involved on the MTB side? I never met him as my moving to Bath coincided with the bad crash :(

No idea how so many “groups” snuck in to the title :)

If anyone knows if the group still rides from Widcombe or elsewhere around central Bath that would be amazing

^ Beat me to it. Onyx seems to be the one recommended most on the SS forums for serial kit breakers

are there any oval narrow/narrow rings out there?

Very few I think.

I would also love a “normal” tooth profile for a SRAM direct mount chainring but such a things havn’t existing for years :(

No advantage of NW on singlespeed even if using a 3/32 cog and chain. If anything the NW ring is noisier and meshes badly with that width chain, especially in gritty mud IMO.

I can recommend Velo Solo rings as I am sure many other here will too :)

Another idea is if anyone can identify the other bikes as stolen more easily than mine (eg more visible frame numbers) then that would help the police at least confiscate the lot. No suggestion all are stolen but you never know.

https://www.olx.pl/oferty/uzytkownik/1et4Nv/

The bike has been located and the Polish Police have taken a look at it in person but lack the know how to identify the frame (inside the BB).

If anyone is local to Gorzow Wielkopolski and has a HTII bottom bracket tool and fancies a ton of good karma then please feel free to get in touch :)

You talk about 4 hour rides “chugging around” and needing to pump in sugar…

A few things already mentioned are that it is doubtful your body can actually use that much carbs per hour, especially for that length of time, and also you don’t say why you believe to have that need. Anecdotal?

It will sound harsh but more likely a combination of being overweight(?) and “unfit” relative to what you are trying to do is having you dig really deep and feel sh..t and the sugar is giving a short lived boosted feeling but not really doing that much.

Just to give you another opinion you won’t want to hear, ride more, drink more fluids and eat proper food.

I didn’t believe it either but it is easy to have a watered down energy drink and a bit of pre- portioned sausage roll or ham sandwich in your back pockets and get them in every half an hour on the move. Ride more, get fitter, lose weight without knowing and things get exponentially easier. World of difference.

At a similar weight I am 18psi front 22.5 rear on rigid SS.

I also run XR4 front/ XR3 rear on my rigid SS. Rear swaps to an XR4 when there is more mud around.

XR3 is a great fast, tough, smooth rolling tyre but it can get sketchy in loose gravel over hardpack. On the rear it is fine even when gurning up loose, steep hills but it does require body position and weighting of the bike to be more spot on. I can’t always guarantee that level of attention descending so stick to the security of the XR4 up front :)

The XR4 is also a bigger volume tyre despite the listed size being the same as an XR3, so more comfortable on the front.

I can tell the difference between and XR4 and XR3 on the rear for speed and smoothness but this is much less noticeable on the front. The extra grip of an XR4 on the front is well worth it for virtually no downsides.

TLDR: XR4 front/ XR3 rear for current conditions riding XC/ Trail pretty much anywhere

I phoned the local police station to where the advert says the bike is located. This seemed to be the better route than a generic national contact number and they seemed positive about helping. Having a Polish speaker this end was the key part.

^ You also have to remember that the asking price on this Polish site is a decent month’s wages in Poland

The fact is reappeared and is near impossible to get back is definitely a kick in the nads all over again.

Plan is to give the Polish police everything I have and see what they come up with. British police said their attack helo is being serviced today so they can’t help

British Police- thank you for the information we’ll add it to the original crime report.

Polish Police- don’t worry, we’ll track that down and if the person can’t produce receipts for everything they are going to have a night in the cells at the very least and really shit him up*

Both responses probably amount to sweet FA but interesting differences in approach :D

*no joke

^ Reply to my old post on stolen-bikes.co.uk

I had a few replies over the past 3 years but it was never my bike until the one spotted today by someone. I haven’t contacted that person yet

^ The way that plan works out nicely is
a) Meeting up with them and if shady I am sure they would prefer distance selling, possibly even scamming the money and never delivering
b) Handing over money for the privilege of buggering off with my own bike (£1250 asking price for a 2019 rigid SS which isn’t worth it on top of time/ travel/ etc)

An organised buy with the police on hand would be nice and I think people have had some success with that over here but you would need a load of evidence of something bigger to make it worth anyone’s time

It sounds stupid but the theft really messed with my wife and little one in particular who spotted the garage completely smashed in when heading off to school. I have moved on from the bike (I mean what 2019 standards would useful on a bike today! ;) ) but it would be lovely to contribute something to stop this happening to others

Realistically I think reporting this advert to the British Police is all I can do but if anyone has any other ideas on what to do if stolen property pops up in another country then I am all ears

Was it insured and did you get an insurance pay out to allow you to replace it?

No insurance or payout as I was (more) skint at the time and never has any cause for concern so no insurance. I learnt that one the hard way.

The style of the Stooge post is really similar, on the same site with the same kind of angles of pics. Different area of Poland but I would imagine a dodgy seller wouldn’t give a real address.

I’m not sure I would be knocking on the door of what sounds like a fairly organised network of international bike thieves, even if it was local, let alone on the other side of Europe.

Yes indeed!

Ask Hunt direct- their support is fantastic

It is almost impossible to say from that information

What does poor base mean? What are your longest rides ever and recently? I.e. how much of a shock to the system will long days be and how much do you have to learn about the non-fitness parts about surviving longer days out like keeping the body niggle free/ nutrition/ etc?

There was lots of good advice on the other thread about practicalities of longer rides which are probably more important than pure fitness to a degree.

The “careful” diet thing is a bit of an alarm bell for me and I’d maybe rather just try to eat well consistently in sensible portions and not overindulge in sh1t too often. Weight loss is a simple equation and consistency is key much like fitness. If you start to restrict yourself or chase arbitrary targets that will probably affect the other aspects of building up well.

I am certainly not a coach or qualified to comment in any way but I suspect most people just benefit from trying to ride more and enjoy time out on the bike as often as possible rather than worry about certain zones or training plans. I wouldn’t overthink the “intensity” thing and just have the general goal that longer and more consistent riding is better than 2 one hour blasts a week (common sense).

What do you think the kettle bell stuff adds? If you enjoy it and it makes you feel good/ is a different motivator for weight loss and feeling healthier go for it. Does it add anything to the bike directly? I’m less sure and I wouldn’t cut out ride time but if it has other indirect benefits like I say then those are still benefits :)

I guess my view is keep your eye on what you want out by the end and don’t over think things :)

Mudhugger FRX with the extension for a tidyish looking but full coverage mudguard. Some things are worth the fashion faux-pas :)

The important thing is that to remember is you can rarely find another ounce of grunt, but you can usually find a few more rpm when necessary.

Beautifully sums up more thoughts on SS gearing.

32:20 here.

Most rides are ~5-10 minute hills, usually pretty steep, ~1500ft climbing per hour and I prefer 6+ hour rides to short hour blasts.

I want a gear where I can climb everything and I can always go faster (climbing included) with spinning faster/ more effort. The difference on the flat of losing a tooth or two off the sprocket is quite minimal but having to walk loads because you can’t turn over the cranks sucks IMO.

You just have to go with something and tinker from there. 32 with 18-20t seems to do most people as others have already said.

It will physically work and plenty have no issues, but like Kerley I can’t stand the loosest points, admittedly mostly from an OCD point of view.

Tension correctly at the tightest spot and live with the floppiest bit :)

I also prefer a round ring anyway as I find oval too choppy especially on SS- way more control and smoothness with a round ring for me… but that is a whole other discussion :)

I used to feel the same but 2.4 XR4’s are just as good in gloopy mud but a million times better on wet roots and rocks where the Muds were pretty useless.

The Trek Factory Racing Team were testing some new mud tyres so there may be a slight possibility of something on the horizon who knows.

I must admit, I thought that motorists had to give way to peds. crossing already?

Only if already on the road. This rule change implies you should give way if you see someone waiting to cross at a junction

If that is all real, then the rule 72 seems a bit odd

“1. Ride in the centre of your lane, to make yourself as clearly visible as possible, in the following situations:

on quiet roads or streets – if a faster vehicle comes up behind you, move to the left to enable them to overtake, if you can do so safely”

Was there advice previous that a cyclist should move to the road edge out of the primary road position to allow a vehicle to pass? I can see that being interpreted by some drivers that a cyclist should just get out of their way?

Did the 1-1.5m pass of a cyclist not make it in to the Highway code yet?

I realise there is a lot of common sense required for anyone to use the road but that rule in particular sends a weird message IMO

.

Excellent effort and great thread. Mine were mostly 6 hour bimbles getting to know a new area and trying to link up various bits that looked good in theory on a map.

How did you sort that busted crank???

Fair play to Mason about being honest with where they are made (Swarf and Cotic were also mentioned as builders).

I guess they see it as a selling point in being associated with well respected UK and EU builders, but some of those companies will do you a fully custom hardtail frame with your own geo, improved cable routing, all the extra little details you want, whatever paint you want, etc for less money!

I am in the I don’t get it camp. Even for £1000 it would still be overpriced IMO but then I am most likely not the target market ;) :)

Even the people that SS these longer races successfully seem to show up with some sprocket options, ride a lap and then search last minute for something else :) It is so person and course dependent it is hard to say.

Some people try to pick a ratio to stay on the bike on all climbs (@andrewh has mentioned in the past avoiding cramp by constantly being on and off) and others figure they are happy to get to a point and run the rest.

Most people on the internet will probably suggest a gear too hard for most people’s needs as either a) they genuinely prefer it or b) the normal SS posturing comes out to play :D

For me personally, I would start at 32/19 or 32/20 and go from there.

There are a couple of really speedy and successful SS endurance peeps here on STW so they will be far better placed to advise :)

Great thread topic and watching with interest

I agree that a combination of availability, our new import procedures and old favourites being a shadow of their former self (singlespeed.nl used to be good as a left field example not mentioned) make life tricky…

Spacers and small parts has always been Bikemonger or Velosolo
Chain Wiggle
Chain ring is a tough one as I have always hunted out non-narrow wide rings for better mud shedding and quiet running. The last few direct mount rings have been quite out of round which really bugs me on an SS.
Works Components rings are excellent value and have been doing me well for the past few months.

As AndrewH has found, I also have had races ruined by AB rings and the only ring I have ever had that lasted less well was an Extralite ring which never claimed durability as a selling point!