Somerset singletrack, dropping off Lamyatt Beacon, last week.

Loving this thread – thanks, IHN! 😆

Yup, quite a few of us water industry (companies, regulators, supply chain) folk on here. Some of us have even been on all three sides of the fence 😉 and have seen it from different perspectives. Believe it or not, one of our parish (not me!) is actually probably one of the best people in the UK to really know where things are at with Thames Water’s supply/demand situation…

Not really a subject that can be fully discussed on an internet forum but it’s reassuring to see that the full spectrum of societal opinion is represented on here, albeit with the more rational views seeming to prevail over the Daily Wail-style rants 😀

In response to the OP – companies can and do use pressure management as one form of leakage control, while (as others have said) being subject to delivering a minimum standard of service (DG2) in the pressure at the customer’s tap.

Out of interest, which company is that?

Have a great time, will be following your progress with great interest! Hope the weather holds for you too 8)

Don’t know about best, but certainly memorable – Plaistrow Patricia by Ian Dury… can’t really type it here due to the naughty filter.. 😉

Plaistrow Patricia

I was at Yorkshire Water during the mid-90s drought, manic times. We did build a pipeline at YW, yes – the Tees-Wiske transfer.

The last few km weren’t connected though, as it’s a measure of last resort. The water chemistry is significantly different and plonking that water into the Wiske would have a rather big impact on the ecology. So YW would only be likely to be allowed to use it in extremis, as they’d need permission from the EA.

The cost-benefit trade-off would come down to societal needs vs the environmental damage. The industry has done a lot in the last 15 years or so on cost benefit analysis, so it’d be interesting to see how that panned out.

I imagine we’ll be seeing a fair bit of that in the future as the effects of climate change become apparent. The ELL should shift so I’d anticipate that leakage levels will be driven lower to some degree but that’s not a foregone conclusion.

Rob, I think you’re up against it trying to explain the nuances of the Economic Level of Leakage (that’s got a specific meaning, folks, and it’s not the same as ‘cheapest’) on a web forum 😉

And yes, the Victorians already did pretty much very transfer of water across catchments that was economically viable. From now on, it’ll cost you more than what you’d get back is worth.

Oh very ay. Re pedal strikes – I got a bit of that when in Wiltshire (Ridgeway ruts) but when I went to a 170mm crank not 175mm it seemed to completely stop.

Very good for British conditions with the mud clearance, very low maintenance on the bearings, and with a 120mm fork it tackles anything that my low skillz could possibly want to do.

Yup. I got a bag of disc brake shim washers in the same size box!

Er… right… Now where did I leave that free lunch…? 🙄

None more black…

The AyUp set I bought on offer at Twentyfour12 four years ago. And the upgrade/swop service they’ve just done which adds another 50% of output 😀

GW, my post doesn’t say that I don’t need to push my pistons back in with Maguras/Shimanos/Hayes.

Santa Cruz Superlight – great all round for UK conditions: loads of mud clearance, low maintenance.

Agreed, Juicy pads are a right PITA (except for when inserting in BB7s), with that hole needing to line up with the circular protrusion on the piston. A bit of forcing back of the pistons does seem to do the trick though. Magura a whole lot easier; Shimanos and Hayes also pretty straightforward.

Interesting little snippet in this week’s New Scientist on a study of in/out of group bias.

Researchers “…divided 24 volunteers into two teams and had them judge the speed of hand actions performed by two people, one from each team.
As expected, most of the volunteers were biased towards their own team, judging their players as faster, even when the two actions were performed at identical speeds.
Surprisingly, brain scans taken during the task showed that this bias arises from differences in brain activity during perception of the hand action and not during the decision-making process.”

So we don’t even decide to be biased, we actually perceive the event (e.g. spear tackle / not spear tackle) in different ways depending on our allegiance.

Apologies if you’re only after a Mountain Hardwear option – but from Big Agnes’ range, the Seedhouse SL2 https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Tent/SeedhouseSL22012 might hit the spot.

I’ve got the SL1 solo, which is great. No reason to think that the 2 man version is any less good.

Loved everything about that, including the soundtrack. Respect to the mutt too!.

This may be of use, particularly the bit about rolling resistance[/url] (one of the reasons I like 25c tyres, not just comfort).

13thFM – I rigged a sort of bungee/webbing arrangement between them to hold my drybags a bit higher, but as ebygomm says, the netting stuff also can be cinched up, plus “in the flesh” they don’t seem to hang so low or clatter things.

I think the main thing is to balance up the load either side as it can go a bit wonky otherwise.

Interesting idea about the plastic ‘runners’ – may have to give that a go regardless!

I’ve got the original model, the one that only had mesh sides / “saddle bag” slings either side.

So long as the load isn’t stoopid heavy (not a good idea anyway!) / doesn’t have any odd lumps/pointy bits sticking inwards, there’s not a problem with any rubbage on the wheel / spokes, even over rough ground.

I like the look of the current model of the trailer, the option to run panniers looks like a really good idea. At some point I may get round to ‘upgrading’, but I’m in no hurry!

I use an Extrawheel[/url].

Light, stable, manoeuvrable (great turning circle!); useful having effectively an emergency spare wheel if things go fubar in the back of beyond!

As you’ll see from their blurb they are very capable both off and on road.

Get some 25c tyres if you’ve not already got them (I’m assuming the stock tyres were 23c…). Way more comfy, and can be run lower pressure than 23c, and therefore grippier (I run 90 front / 100 rear @ a bit over, ahem, 12 stone). Win!

Braking from the drops is much more effective – appreciate it feels more committed (it is!) but it’s way better than trying to brake from being on the hoods. Hoods ok if you’re just trying to scrub some speed off rather than stop.

Why thank you, stilltortoise 🙂

@ton – 😆

Fair dos, ebg – I really wanted to like the book, I usually speed through the outdoor epics, Into Thin Air and the like, but just really couldn’t get on with the writing style on this one. May have to adopt DBW’s tactics and give it another go!

Local loops for local people in Lamyatt (Zummerzet) 😉 A fun couple of hours out from my front door. Nothing technical like Afan but just great to be out.

Even though it’s still gloopy it was feeling like spring was on its way yesterday, and a whole summer of dusty trails to come. Or not 8)

DBW, I’m with you on that – the book turns what should have been a totally compelling tale into one long self-justification for not letting anyone know where he was going, by endlessly telling us in flashback what a fantastically accomplished outdoorsman he is.

I’ve still not bothered to get past 2/3 of the way through even though I know the “juicy” bit is yet to come.

Ho hum. I gather the film is very good though – I guess Danny Boyle will have worked his magic on the screenplay and made it hang together well.

Walked in the front door from a 2 hour ride to a roast chicken dins with all the trimmings, then rice pud, courtesy of my fab wife. Now washing all that nosh down with a luuurvely bottle of Innes and Gunn rum cask ale. So much for the calorie neutral biking! 😀

Currently supping an Innes and Gunn rum cask bottled ale. Was introduced to the delights of this by a certain tazzymtb – cheers, Taz! 😉 It’s luuuurvely, just enough rum background in it. Spot on for a winter’s evening. Fortunately it only comes in 330ml bottles as it’s 7.4% 😯 very much a supping ale!

While I’m loving my FCR, I have to agree with MSC that it does take a bit of pampering! 😉

And a lot of the time I do just run it at 120mm, just drop it on super steep stuff. Great fork.

Earth’s Cry, Heaven’s Smile by Santana. Still makes my hair stand on end. And saw him play it live straight after my A levels 😀

@Stoner – time for a new STW niche – The Spoon/Rocket V/SDG Arses – and associated social ride 😀

(forgot to mention that I do occasionally resort (on short rides) to a SDG I-Beam, so yes, I fit that, er, pattern!)

I’m 5’7″, a 31″ inside leg, and the medium fits me spot on, so hopefully you’ll suit it too. I think small would be too cramped as they’re quite short in the top tube. I can cope pretty well with a large as long as the saddle’s down a fair bit.

Interesting thread. I’ve got Ti railed WTB Rocket Vs on all my bikes except for one, which is a recently-acquired cro mo Spoon. Guess we’ll see how it goes, but so far (about 500 miles), so good!

Halse Farm campsite, Winsford, for loads of Exmoor rides. Found it when our daughter was a bairn, then a couple of years later STW ran an Exmoor article and liked the campsite – lots of bikers there now! Some excellent beers / nosh in Winsford and nearby.

Honkety-honk 😀

Number 766, along with a mate, after less than 10 minutes. More than one a second. All gone by 10:50 – that’s insane 😯

Great to see it’s so popular: here’s hoping the weather isn’t as biblical on the day as it currently is down yer in Zummerzet!

Tsk, Rob, that’s only 3x the Reverb post you’ve just bought 😉

We had a team day out with a coffee importing / roasting / blending outfit just before Crimbo. They’re all baristas and total coffee geeks – I thought we were all technophiles on STW but these guys made us look normal 😉

Anyway, as well as showing us the ropes on the high end machines they also took us through the Aeropress as being their favourite gadget for when they’re in a hurry / away from home. The method they preferred was the inverted one. There are several clips of the method on YouTube.

I got one while I was there, and it’s getting a lot of use 😯

Mmmm…. these are the first lights I’ve seen that have come close to tempting me to try an alternative for my trusty AyUps. That power / weight / duration is fantastic. And they look great as well.

Thanks for showing the manufacturing process too, really interesting.