What about sidelight use in fog, rain and other low visibility situations? Useless, but still they put them on. Why? Dipped headlights should be minimum. Why do sidelights even still exist?

I’d put elbow pads on the outside of the jacket. Otherwise the first fall requiring said elbow pads will rip a massive hole in the sleeves…

Last night I was horrified to have to cycle behind some bloke whose shorts were a bit low at the back. As I looked at flyby to check who the crowds of people on the hill actually were, I noticed he’d put his ride as a run… So I flagged it!

I find it fascinating to see people’s routes and the sheer numbers of Strava users on the hill at any one time. It works all the way back as far as you can go. I did a flyby check of a ride last June at Cannock. I think I almost crashed their server!

Has anyone tried the new (to me) Strava feature: ‘flybys’? It allows you to see almost everyone who was on the same section of trail within a certain timeframe and distance who also was using Strava (on any activity, running, riding etc). Fascinating stuff. It’ll get banned though, I can see potential misuse…

I swear by my Sony HDR-AS20. The main advantage over the GoPro and it’s clones is the image stabilisation. I notice most of the clips above are all avoiding on-bike footage!
I got the camera for £120 and the wrist remote for £80. Shop around, the bargains are out there. The wrist remote has a better wifi signal, is waterproof and when I upgrade the firmware it will enable loop recording!
Other good points:
Fast exposure reaction when moving from dark to light and vice versa.
Good battery life
Will adapt easily to use Gopro mounts
Can be set to record inverted.

I use a galaxy 4 mini. Never had any problems with GPS signal. GPS is nothing to do with phone network. It’s best to carry the phone where it has a good view of the sky. Outside pocket of bumbag/rucksac etc. with the back of the phone facing outwards. If it’s in a front pocket and you’re leaning forwards you will block the signal with your body. Shorts pocket and mounted on handlebars can shake the device too much, I have had signal problems with it there. Trees and cliffs can affect the signal. It’s called ‘canyon’ effect!
When starting a Strava ride, I wait until I get a full set of green GPS bars before I press start. I usually leave the phone on the car dashboard to acquire a decent signal while I faff with my bike and gear and then it’s the last thing to be packed in my bag before setting off.

jejames stock control

Have you checked the postcodes of JEJ and Planet X despatch locations? Their warehouse staff are within the same catchment area! I wouldn’t be surprised if ex members of one company now worked for the other company…

I use a Joe Blow, had it for years, now on my 3rd pump head…

Thread hijack…

calling ‘esher shore’! I have been having issues with tyres not seating properly on Notubes rims. Still got a section of bead on my Minion DHF not seating. How high a pressure can I go to get it to seat? I have had more than one tyre blow off the rim and it scares the Sh1t out of me!

I use 21mm tape so that the bead seat area is clear and the tape can adhere to the rim-well properly.

Depends on the terrain.
Spin fast if it’s rough, bumpy or loose, helps stop you coming to a halt on a square edge. Lots of ‘body english’ though to maintain traction.
Spin slow if it’s relatively smooth or very good traction.
I seem to spin slower now I’m older. I also spin slower at the end of a ride when I’m tired.

I’m still not sure of the best way through the first plantation bit to the jeep track but I’ll work out the least heathery way! I’m doing an ascent of Cairn William from Keig tomorrow, trying to link the biggest single climb possible in one ride.

Easton Haven in 2014 version are at CRC for £60. 170g claimed for 711mm x 20mm. Look like stealth graphics in the pics.

Aberdeenshire looks nice and sunny, I’m about to get in my gear and head to Pitfichie for a couple of laps.

Thanks, I got it to work, printed out in Google Earth and off I went! I ended up getting delayed at work so didn’t get to Pitfichie until about 4.30pm.

I took a wrong turning, ended up in gorse-infested hell but back-tracked and found the proper route. I think starting from the Keig end would have meant better route finding except for the top bit.

Nice adventure though, the weather was great!

Hi roverpig, that link just comes out as a massive text file…

I’m considering doing the ride this afternoon. I’m going to go from the top of Rorandle and down to Keig and back up the way I descended just to imprint it on my memory. Is there any way to download the GPX? Some rides are available to download, some aren’t. It doesn’t seem to depend on Premium or following status either. Any ideas? The only option would seem to be to print it out on A3 and take it with me!

Nothing and no-one has come close to Mark and Lard…

But Absolute Radio isn’t bad.

Crossing via Keig/Forbes? Interesting… I can link that up nicely, thanks.

Search ebay for ‘oakley radar path walleva’. These are a 3rd party lens made to fit the frames. I have some in my Fast Jackets. They are a bit thinner than the oakley lenses but just as optically perfect. £46 including shipping for polarised transitions.

You don’t need to pair it.

1. Start Bluetooth on smartphone
2. Put on the HRM (moisten the contacts first)
3. Start Strava app
4. Go to Strava settings and select ‘Bluetooth Sensors’ – select tick box for ‘Heart Rate’
5. Go to ‘Record Activity’ on Strava app
6. Wait for the ‘HRM sensor detected’ message from Strava
7. See Heartrate displayed on Record Activity screen
8. GO!

That’s what I did to get mine working on a S4 mini with Android 4.4.2

At first I did thrash around uselessly for a few minutes trying to pair the device!

Buy one of these:
Ebay item 360909997041

To adapt the casing to use GoPro mounts. It screws in nice and solid, better than any other adapter.

I have the HDR AS20 and it allows me to use all the GoPro adhesive mounts.

It may be possible to stick a flat adhesive mount on the side of the Sony case, to allow use of the GoPro head strap. I’m currently looking in to this.

How many of you are there ?!

There’s only one. But he time travels a LOT so it seems the universe is full of them… A bit like electrons: Mind blowing theory

First HRM ride last night, just got a 5 miler in. Everything seemed to work as it should. Got a suffer score of 10!

I think the premium is required for HRM ‘analysis’ of time spent in zones etc.

My 1995 LTS bought s/h from Stif Cycles in 1996 (ex-Dave Hemming race bike). I fitted Lawwill Leader 3 forks on it and it became my dream bike until decent disc brakes came along in about 2002…

Last night’s was a bit serious…. Still plenty of dark humour tho. I think the Lt Col is one of the best characters and it’s good to see him coming to the front.

I couldn’t get my Bluetooth to ‘see’ it and I tried to get mapymyride to autodetect but nothing seemed to be happening. I was getting worried!

Then I turned Strava on, selected the HRM setup and it suddenly appeared with my current heart rate.

Testing it on a ride tonight. I expect to see a LOT of new HRM users on Strava from now on…

Humour is personal. I love this show!

What’s the first rule? You can’t please everybody.

Never seen it before. Won’t be watching it again lol. Garbage

What’s your problem? It made you laugh ffs! :lol:

My phone display is on the Strava ‘record a ride’ screen and the HRM bit is showing…

EDIT: as I was!

I picked one up this morning (thread hijack) to see if it works with a S4 mini and Strava – cheap enough to experiment! I may have to go via a different app but i’m determined!

Bum bag…

The new M530s have less metal in touch with the sole of the shoe compared with the old Red/black DX pedals. It has enough metal to be able to flip the pedal for easy cleat engagement and provide enough support if you can’t quite get clipped in quick enough.

Remember to press down and twist to release. Resist the temptation to pull up and out.

I’d echo the ‘stay clipped in on technical sections’ bit.

I was in Sheffield 3 years ago in a job I hated. I’m now in Aberdeen in a job I like. I can ride Kirkhill from work, I’m off to Pitfichie this afternoon and probably a social ride Aboyne to Ballater tomorrow then skiing at The Lecht on Sunday.
I moved here for the work, the fact that I have the proper mountains starting about 10 miles away was a happy coincidence. Scotland has the added bonus that it’s so empty, hilly and rugged. It’s like the Peak District except it’s 10 times the size, has only 1% of the visitors and there’s no access restrictions…

I spent a day at The Lecht skiing on Sunday and wore the Bullet Ants continuously for about 5 hours. Yes, a bit of steaming up but it cleared quite quickly when I was moving. I find them as comfortable and ‘unnoticeable’ as Oakley M frames. Everyone’s face is different… I have a big nose that usually gets crushed by normal goggles.

They attach over helmets very well. They’re rubber so don’t absorb sweat. They sit close to the eye so any external debris is less likely to be in focus.

I did have steaming problems at a day skiing at Glenshee on Saturday but then so did everyone else. It was raining. One of my skiing buddies had the Adidas Tycane with the wind gasket attachment. They had RX inserts as well. The moisture got in and they are the fiddliest glasses I’ve ever seen to fit together. She was sick of them steaming up as she had to totally disassemble them to clean the fog off.

I have been using Revision Bullet Ant goggles – £20 plus £4 postage on Ebay. Genuine UKMOD surplus, comes with grey, yellow and clear. Brand new and from OEM supplier, not a Chinese knock-off. Lens quality is as good as Oakley. I’ve use them for skiing and biking. A little bit of fogging when the conditions are damp. The lenses sit close to your eyes so wider field of vision and rain/dirt doesn’t affect as much due to the particles being a bit more out of focus.

She’s going to South and North America. The GPS tagged pics will help her populate her blog. Inca trail etc.

I wouldn’t get a bridge camera without a proper viewfinder. Imagine holding a 1000mm lens at arms length…
I’ve just popped for a Nikon P520, I’ve had two of it’s predecessors. I always take 2 spare batteries and a car charger in my camera bag just in case.

There are some good ‘factory refurbished’ deals on Ebay. Basically, they are Nikon warranty returns that have had the fault fixed and Nikon have passed them back out to the dealer with a new warranty. They come in a black outer box rather than gold. Indistinguishable from new.

TZ40 looks good. She had a TZ camera before.

A used Nikon P500 or slightly lower would be under £100 on Ebay. Make sure you get one with a proper viewfinder rather than just a rear screen. teaches better technique.

It is possible using some shim steel to ‘seal’ the BB shell holes. problem is though that if the shim steel doesn’t work properly grease can leak into the frame tubes when adding 50ml to your hub is bad enough.

I did the BB grease nipple mod on a Cannondale frame circa 1992. I was fed up of rebuilding my cup and cone BB every week. I forgot about the tiny holes venting the BB shell to the chainstays… My lovely 3.5 lb frame was a little heavier with grease filling the BB shell and both chainstays. :oops:

Saddle: Titec Berserkr DH Ti. Comfy, light, grippy, long enough to move about on. Mine’s looking a bit scruffy now, need to find some NOS that isn’t in USA with £50 postage…

Brakes: I can bleed Sram/Avid so got some Guide RS to replace my old set of hybrid Juicy Ultimate levers with Code calipers.

Some nice ones there.

Pedals: Shimano M530. Got 3 sets, one on each bike plus one set spare. They just work. Commuting-wise they allow rapid clip in and spin without any fluffing.

Tyres: Maxxis Minion as my go-anywhere training/general use tyre. Specialized Renegade S-Works if I’m being ‘competitive’. They’re surprisingly grippy and ‘kin light! Both tyres go up with just a trackpump on Notubes rims.

Bialetti stove-top coffee maker – I take mine camping! It won’t fit on a Trangia so it has it’s own special stove!

Footwear: Shimano MT91 Boots. The pinnacle of SPD back-country footwear. Bomb-proof, grippy when off the bike, comfy, warm, dry (when water doesn’t drip down into them!). Tough (for when I hit my feet on rocks and stuff when careering down lumpy trails)

Jacket: Paramo Velez Smock. Keeps me warm, cool and dry (as long as the DWR is refreshed often). £4.50 from a charity shop!

Eyewear: Oakley Fast Jacket XL. Like M-Frame without the dorky looks.