I’ve got 4 plus an additional wheel set and wouldn’t add any more (though if space / funds allowed, I’m sure I could find a use for a nice lightweight carbon road bike)

150/130 FS – Bird Aether 9

Road/Gravel depending on wheels – Fairlight Secan

29+ rigid Surly Krampus (though this isn’t getting much use)

commuter/town/pub – old boardman cx team, panniers, mudguards, flat pedals

I was there 04-07 at Hild Bede. Loved the space and being on the river, wasn’t far from town but bit more of a walk to the science site than other colleges. As above, liked the college set-up, especially for sports.

To get to Seville you’ll almost certainly have to pass through Madrid, and the best way to do that is to get the Ave high speed train from Barcelona to Madrid, then get another Ave Madrid-Seville. (Although Aves are a fair bit more expensive than the slower trains). It’s worth spending a night in Madrid as summer nights in Madrid are hard to beat.

Did Cadiz – Seville – Madrid last year by train and it was great. The Ave train was excellent – quick and comfy. Loved both Seville and Madrid, so much to see and do there.

Having had a look through MoneySavingExpert, I recently opened a Santander Edge account. They’ve recently updated it so you can get £200 if you switch accounts, you then get up to 1% cashback up to £10 on bills and 1% up to £10 on household spending, but you can also then open an Edge Saver account on which you get 4% interest on balances up to £4k.

As above, I also use Revolut and have set up a Vault with spare change round up, you can save fairly easily with that if you’re disciplined.

Amsterdam or Seville, love both cities, loads to see and great food

Kind of depends what you’re after. If it’s just a browse of kit, then there aren’t loads full of new shiny things. Gamma is great for coffee as mentioned, but there isn’t necessarily loads of stuff to browse. In Edinburgh itself, your best bet is probably Alpine Bikes up in Marchmont, that’s also near Pedals which may have a few nice bikes and frames.

Beyond Edinburgh (and appreciate it’s not Stirling) but Pedal Power in West Calder has some really nice stuff. Haven’t been to those ones Matt mentions but know they’ve got a good rep.

2 of my bikes are 26″, but then I’ve never tried a 29’er

I think Airdrop Edits are still 27.5 aren’t they?

Anyone got any suggestions for some microspikes for icy trail runs? Been meaning to get some for a while now but as with all this stuff there’s a pretty broad range to choose from

Ingrid CRS – G2

Just don’t go to their website, looks like they’ve been hacked, so NSFW.

Am assuming you didn’t know this, otherwise kinda goes against rule #1

Edit
After Bruneeps post – hmm, interesting, am on Android and get a rather dodgy pop-up.

Is there any way to access the desktop version of Strava from an Android mobile? To manage your subscription it says to go to Strava.com, but in doing so on a mobile, even with desktop site toggled, you don’t actually get the desktop version and therefore can’t manage your account. Infuriating

Have just entered that Great Wilderness Challenge too, 25 mile run.

Need some motivation to up my running this year and to actually push myself. Had a look on Strava and last year I managed a grand total of 285km over 21hrs. Did manage 17th in the 7 Reservoirs trail half marathon in the Pentlands with a time of 1:39 so was pretty pleased with that, but not run anything over 21km before.

Gin Trap Inn in Ringstead for Sunday lunch, delicious.

@13thfloormonk,

I’m reluctant to fly with the bike if I can help it but would love to do the 3 day Flanders Gravel event. Fly to Brussels then train?

I’d feel the same, could you get the train from Edinburgh to Newcastle and then take the overnight DFDS ferry to Amsterdam, then train onward to Oudenaarde?

I’m one of the party who went with OP to Oudenaarde before and travelled from Edinburgh. I had a credit with DFDS for the Newcastle to Ijmuiden trip as had previously booked it for a trip in 2020 as I wanted to do a no-fly holiday but that got cancelled. I’d definitely do the train and ferry again from Edinburgh but only for a longer trip – say 2 weeks or so. For a long weekend you spend a fair amount of time just travelling if going by train and ferry. You need to check in by about 4ish so that means leaving Edinburgh at about 1 on the day you’re travelling. You then get in about half 9 or so the following day so realistically you’re not going to be in much before mid afternoon. Repeat in reverse for return leg.

I’ll be looking at train down to London then Eurostar for this next trip but that can be so expensive and I don’t think Eurostar takes bikes again yet either.

Which unfortunately leaves flying, but for a short break gives you the most time over there.

no waterproof montane jackets?

There were a couple but looks like they’ve sold out. I’ve just ordered one of the Minimus Stretch Ultra jackets as wanted a decent one for running and already have a ME Rupal for other use.

I’d consider anything ever made by the denzions of hifi foo Synergistic Research to be an insanely stupid product

They sell fuses for $200.

I thought that was the peak but it’s nothing.

That Telos Audio lot, sell them for £2400. Two Thousand Four Hundred Pounds.

https://www.futureshop.co.uk/quantum-science-audio-red-black-high-end-uk-mains-fuse

Pah! That’s the plebs fuse, what sir wants is the Silver Extreme edition for a cool £4,200 – https://www.futureshop.co.uk/quantum-science-audio-silver-extreme-level-uk-mains-fuse

anything by Balenciaga

Reverence. What an opening track to an incredible album. RIP. I hope it’s quiet.

The Joe Wicks peanut butter trail bars are bloomin tasty https://www.thebodycoach.com/blog/peanut-butter-bars/

https://fullfact.org/online/house-prices-1990-2020/

Average house prices 1990 – 2020 have increased 4-fold

Average wages over the same period have increased 3 fold, on a like for like basis.

So the disparity between house prices and multiples of salary are not as high as some would lead you to believe. However – I suspect that he devil’s in the detail and while i have no data to support, I hypothesize that the breadth of salaries is wider now, and in particular the ‘lower paid but vital jobs’ like teachers and nurses are now further below the average than they were comparatively in 1990. Secondly, the huge disparity in house pricing across the country, so in some areas there genuinely is a ratio of average salaries to average house pricing that is multiple times higher than 1990.

This also highlights the trouble with using the mean for the average UK household income, it skews it. If you use the median it’s £31,400, compared to a mean household income of £37,100 for 2021, (2020 data below).

Whilst on Leave of Absence she doesn’t have to declare her financial interests – how convenient….

According to this article https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/dec/06/tory-peer-michelle-mone-to-take-leave-of-absence-from-house-of-lords

However, a leave of absence request can be blocked by the Lords’ standards commissioners. The watchdog is already investigating Mone over multiple “potential breaches” of the Lords’ code of conduct.

The code states that if a peer takes a formal break “in order to avoid an impending investigation (or while an investigation is under way), the request may be refused”. If a peer is already on leave of absence when placed under investigation, then that can also be ended immediately.

Though I won’t hold my breath.

Crane E-Ne bell

Ah, missed the steerer part, think Crane do steerer mounted ones though

Without knowing which one, it’s a bit of a tough one to answer, as stingmered says it’ll depend on which one, what sort of projects they’re working on, who their main clients/type of business are, what they have in the pipeline, where they see their areas of growth etc. They can vary so much. Some look great initially but you then realise that particular regions or business areas are overexposed to specific types of projects/clients so if that dries up it can be squeaky bum time for those teams. On the other hand, one of the benefits of a large company is that you may have more opportunities to diversify, move around on roles/regions etc.

Happy to have a chat off this thread if that helps. Been working for a fair sized global engineering/solutions consultancy for about 8 years now and stingmered’s comments largely reflect my experience with my company.

I’ve got an Alpkit Gourdon 20l bag and for £30 it’s brilliant – https://alpkit.com/products/gourdon-20-waterproof-backpack

Granted it doesn’t have loads of pockets, but it’s pretty comfortable.

https://www.bikeparts.co.uk/products/shimano-deore-bl-mt501-bled-brake-lever-and-br-mt520-4-pot-post-mount-calliper-rear-left?currency=GBP&variant=31333699387488&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiA99ybBhD9ARIsALvZavWvYVTnSuBCj6RtfnN5rt8ZpILMaGzEAnMFZHL97D6oOZNSC3E8hrkaAvaOEALw_wcB

The 520 is usually available as a full brake with the 501 lever as per the link above. I’ve got a set of these and a set of the 6120s and both have been great.

5Live played a clip more than once yesterday from a reporter who says there is NONE of the normal world cup buzz – no fanfare, no huge marketing in evidence, and not really any noteworthy quantity of football fans

No paid fans either now by the sound of things https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/18/fans-paid-to-attend-world-cup-by-qatar-have-daily-allowance-cancelled?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Can anyone recommend someone to do some work with a couple of Seikos? Both need regulating and I swapped the bezel on the SKX007 but can’t refit it!

Ideally local to Edinburgh or someone I can post them to

I’d give Calibre a call and see if they can assist. Based in Dundee but they post you out a box for you to send the watch back in which includes all the necessary insurance. https://calibrewatchrepair.com/

They’ve been mentioned a few times in this thread I think, and I got my Tag serviced with them earlier this year and they were great.

Young Fathers in Glasgow in March, looking forward to it. Saw them in Leith Theatre as part of the Hidden Door festival back in 2018 which was ace, not sure if it’ll match up to that but should be worth a watch.

I recently got a Giro Agilis MIPS helmet for road/gravel. Most comfortable one I’ve owned so far, though doesn’t look to be available in anything particularly loud colour-wise. Usually wear it with a cap underneath which helps keep the rain/sun/bugs at bay.

Just back from a trip round Altea, Seville, Cadiz, Madrid and a few hours in Santander. I’ve previously been to Granada, Cordoba, Ronda and Cadiz (again), but that trip was about 18 yrs ago when I was about 17.

Definitely recommend Seville, it’s an amazing place, loads of great bars and restaurants, and really, you can’t go wrong with either Granada or Cordoba. Cadiz was nice, but the first time I was there me and my mate managed to find a hostel where you could sleep in the open on the roof which was pretty cool, none of that any more unfortunately. I think November could be pretty quiet there, the market had some cool food places but they shut early, so you may be best with Cordoba or Granada.
Santander was an unexpected treat, absolutely beautiful up there, definitely want to explore more of the northern coast.

I’ve got an Aether 9, love it and can vouch for Bird being simply fantastic to deal with. The Aeris 9 looks awesome and if the size is right for you, looks like with some playing about you can spec one with Lyrik Ultimates and a Formula MOD coil for just under £3,400.

Another vote for Robz’ route / AA’s reversed suggestion in the link above, the climb to Lluc from Caimari is really nice and the Batalla descent is great fun. Definitely recommend the Formentor ride out to the lighthouse if you haven’t done it before and get a chance. Not particularly long from Porto Pollensa but stunning views, however best check though as I know they were doing works to the road so the last few km were closed for a bit. Part way along from the Mirador de Es Colomer you can also add a little extra climb up to the Albercutx Watchtower which is worth it for the view.
Other than that La Bodeguita is a nice little tapas bar in PP set back a bit from the front.

I’m on my second (first got nicked whilst on a night out). They’re brilliant

Amsterdam is great, but definitely recommend heading further afield if you’re there for 5 days. Haarlem, Delft, The Hague, Rotterdam and Amersfoort are all within easy reach via train and are worth exploring. I’ve stayed at a few different places around Amsterdam, including across the water in Amsterdam noord at the Yotel which was pretty good. The ‘9 streets’ are nice for a wander around, Proeflokaal Arendsnest is excellent for a few beers. See what exhibitions are on when you’re over, I saw a Van Gogh Hockney one at the Van Gogh museum which was pretty cool. For tulips make sure you get the season right(!) and check out the Keukenhof for displays

Stayed here recently whilst cycling round the north Norfolk coast, just east of Hunstanton and it was great – https://www.thegintrapinn.co.uk/

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/maple-glazed-hot-wings

Made these at the weekend, exceptional and really easy. Can make the glaze as hot as you like.

Is there a search function in the forum?

Think it was picked up earlier in this thread but you only seem to get the Forum search function in either the Chat or Bike sections, not on the Overview one, would be good to have there too.

Recently got a Tempo Argo R3 saddle for the road/gravel bike and find that really comfortable. It replaced a Specialized Romin Evo that I’d had for quite a few years. On the flip side, I had a Gobi on the MTB and never found that comfortable, no idea why I put up with it for so long.

Took our 10kg Cockapoo for a spin round some of the gravel routes in Aberfoyle using an Alpkit Gourdon 20l backpack. That worked really well as it’s fairly slimline so held her steady.

I’ve got a Restrap saddlebag and it doesn’t sway at all, have been really impressed by it. You just need to make sure it’s properly tightened and as ScotRoutes says, pack stuff in the right order.

Modelo Negra, not that I’ve tried adding beer to a chili, but reckon that could be a good option (make sure you get at least couple of bottles as it’s pretty tasty to drink too)

Made this the other week with the exception of the tin of tomatoes, turned out pretty well. Went for a mix of minced beef and beef cheek: https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-chili-recipe