Content. And unfit.

No, once or twice a week usually. It used to be more frequent when I rode to work, but an office move stopped me commuting by bike.

I’m also interested to hear how you get on with this.

Thanks for the PSA, I ordered a light off the back of this at 7:05 this morning for £12.68, and there were 8 available then. Sorry if I ruined it for everyone.

I’ve been wanting a light with a suitable beam pattern for road use for a while but could never justify the cost. Hopefully I can use this for road rides or road sections to the trails, then switch to something more trail focussed for the off road sections.

Juin Tech R1/Acor are another option for cable actuated hydraulic calipers. I’ve a set on my Charge Plug and they’re much better than the Promax Render Rs that came as stock. I believe the Promax Render Rs are essentially Avid BB5s anyway.

To be honest though Avid BB7 or any of the spyre offerings should be better than the BB5s as the BB5 pad surface area is tiny compared to other brakes.

RIP Troutie

Sad news. My condolences to his family and friends.

RIP Mark

Are these decent enough to use as a bar light?

I’ve got a Moon Meteor Vortex Pro already which is nice and bright, but only a single lamp and has quite a narrow beam pattern. I’m tempted to get one of these for the bars and use the Vortex Pro as a helmet light.

Also, what’s the beam pattern like for road use? My local trails are a few miles away by unlit country roads and it would be nice to have lights good enough to see by that also won’t dazzle oncoming traffic. Does the adjustability this unit has cope with that? Or am I expecting too much?

I’ve used it on a narrow wheelset and it’s been fine. I did mount the tyre and tube and inflated to 50psi for a couple of days to help the tape stick and the tyre to take shape.

I’ve a wider roll that I intend to use on my plus wheelset. The Jobsworth valves are ok too.

The blue one in a bottle. I think mine is made by Granville, I got it from Amazon and it’s been good for pedal pins and caliper bolts.

I’ve a seperates system in the front room with a cd player, turntable and chromecast audio as sources.

The kitchen has a small set of speakers and a chip amp linked to a chromecast audio.

The bedroom has an old seperates amp and a raspberry pi.

I bought a JBL bluetooth speaker about 5 years ago and whilst it’s great for improving the sound on the laptop or as a travel speaker it didn’t impress us enough to consider replacing any other devices. If I am honest I only tried it as everyone was raving about how good they were, but it left me feeling underwhelmed.

I’ve no interest in getting a smart speaker, but can see why others want them over a traditional stereo setup.

I’ve just gone from 35c Vittoria Voyager Hypers to 35c Gravel king Sk on my steel Charge Plug, which I presume is the model prior to yours.

The Vittorias were tubed, gravel kings are tubeless, which was the main reason I changed. I’ve only had one short ride so far, running lower pressures and I suspect the Vittorias were a little faster on tarmac. Honestly I don’t think there’s much in it, and I expect the gravel kings are better in hard packed dirt. The vittorias came up larger than the gravel kings too.

Have you considered the normal Gravel king slick?

That’s a shame. I loved my Duster that I retired last year, and love my Plug 3 that I’ve had for 4 years. It’s a bit porky, but I’ve no plans to change it anytime soon.

The preview Cookers and Plugs they showcased a few years back looked really nice, it was a shame they never made it into production.

Does anyone know whether the end caps are interchangeable on the rear hub? I have a boost 141mm qr frame.

A quick Google suggests that these rims are built onto a formula hub for Trek, but I couldn’t see anything using these hubs.

I grew up a few miles from Cottesmore when the Tornadoes were stationed there, and remember how loud they were.

I took a late lunch today so I could watch them fly over BAE Samlesbury this afternoon. My wife and I got a final look at them before they retire. It bought back memories.seeing the trio flying past, and hearing them for a good while after.

Sorry, I didn’t describe that very well. As you’ve discovered they’re fully serviceable, but they’re designed with a self lubricating bushing that’s intended to give a bit of friction to keep dirt out. It does seem stiffer than other pedals I’ve used but it’s had no impact when riding.

I really like my pair, I’d buy them again if I needed pedals.

I’ve a set of these pedals and they are very stiff, but Superstar say that they’re designed that way. It’s the bushes they use rather than the bearings, so I’ve left mine alone.

That said, if you still want to adjust them I’m not sure what size you’d need, but when I serviced another set of pedals the only socket I could get to fit inside the pedal body was a really slim one on a hex bit, the type that you’d use in an impact driver if that makes sense.

This type of thing

I didn’t use those exact ones, mine came in a drill bit set. I’m not sure off the top of my head which size you’d need.

That’s sounding a bit more encouraging. The OKO high fibre sealant is currently £5 for 500ml or £8 for a litre. I don’t mind a longer period to seal initially, so long as it works.

They claim it works at high and low pressures, which interested me as I’ve got some gravel king sk tyres to fit too.

I may try it as I am getting the tape and valves from there too. If it is rubbish I’ll buy something else.

Interesting, I never knew that about the original OKO sealant.

I’ll take a look at the Barbieri sealant too.

Cheers

Ah, ok. It doesn’t sound too promising, I’ll probably pay a bit more for something proven to work.

Cheers.

Good work.

I have to admit I don’t enjoy changing ball joints. Most that I’ve done have been on VWs well into their teens, and even when the pinch bolts are removed they require a lot of persuasion from Plus Gas, hammers and heat.

The previous MOT remains valid, as it just states that the car was road worthy on the day it was tested. The certificate that’s issued is valid for a year, regardless of whether the car fails another MOT before the current one is up.

As has been said though, you’ll be driving the car knowing it is in an unroadworthy state, which is a seperate issue. Your current MOT is still valid and the car will still show as MOT’d on the database, but if you’re involved in an accident it could count against you.

Love these as a front tyre, amazing grip for such a minimal tread, just got a pair for £16.78 each, they seem to get cheaper every day !

That’s a bit of a bargain, I thought I was doing well at £22 each! Just out of interest, what did you run as a rear tyre with one of these up front? I was thinking of running these front and rear, or using these a rear with a Nobby Nic up front.

I managed to get a pair, which I picked up today. They look fast rolling, but I’ve not fitted them yet. I suspect the Nobby Nics are a better bet for the rest of winter but am keen to hear of peoples experiences with them.

I managed to get out for a few hours around lunchtime. I’ve not ridden much this winter but really enjoyed today’s ride. It was only a local loop, but was good riding with awesome views.

You can stream from Amazon Music to Chromecast Audio, you couldn’t when I first bought my one, but it’s been supported for a while now.

That’s a shame. I’ve a couple, one in the kitchen and another linked up to the main stereo, and they’re good at what they do. I mostly use them for streaming from Tidal or internet radio.

I suppose there’s always the Raspberry Pi Zero and a DAC hat for alternative small solutions, but it’s a bit more involved than the Chromecast was.

They look bargainous, thanks OP.

Has anyone used these tyres? I’ve currently got some 27.5×3.0 Nobby Nic Performance tyres, which aren’t rated tubeless. Would these be worth taking a punt on? I’ve had a quick look on Google but most reviews seem to cover the 29er version.

Back to shower. I think this started to prevent the discomfort of shampoo run off in the eyes. It’s an ingrained habit now.

Thanks

I bought the cordless Dremel style tool a couple of years back and can recommend it. It’s not got the torque of my mains powered Black & Decker Wizard, but it’s perfectly usable and has been great for small cutting jobs. The cutting discs are pretty good too, but wear eye protection as they shatter easily.

I got the waterproof socks and winter gloves last year, and am happy enough with them for the price. I’ve not tried the base layers but they felt ok through the cut out in the box. I would have bought some if I needed some, but my Ice Breaker stuff is still serving me well.

I did get some merino fingerless gloves and a neck tube, they both feel cheap, but they were cheap. I’ll use the gloves for dog walking, the fingers are a bit long, and the little finger is no shorter than the others, but again for the price they’re good enough. I thought the Muc Off cleaners were £3.99 per item?

Thanks all. I ordered the Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HV in the end, as the build quality seems good and it’s rebuildable. I managed to get one from Evans eBay shop in their 20% off sale, it should be delivered today.

It did feel a bit wrong spending more than I did on my track pump, but hopefully it’s worth it.

Thanks whitestone, I found that review yesterday evening and the reviewer deciding to retire his Mountain Morph in favour of the Micro Floor Drive helped me decide between the two.

Thanks Pinkwafer, it’s good to hear people are getting on well with them. I watched a few youtube reviews last night and a few people said the pressure gauge was a bit sticky, so I’ll take your advice and order the version without the gauge.

Thanks all. I was looking at a Mountain Morph on sale but it appears to have sold. I’m really liking the look of the Lezyne micro floor drive HV, so think I’ll go for that. It looks like it should last a lifetime if looked after.

I’ve got a Lifeline track pump that I bought from Wiggle for around £15 about 7 years ago, that’s still going. Evans ebay shop has 20% off, there are own brand, Lezyne and Topeak Joe Blow models available.

I hadn’t considered CO2, that’s not a bad idea so I’ll look into it. I prefer the idea of just using a pump as I’m not keen on buying, carrying and disposing of the cartridges, but I’ll look into it before discounting it completely.

Thanks for the responses. Sorry, I meant high volume, not high pressure. The Lezyne Floor Drive HV was one of the pumps I was looking at, it looks comparable to the Mountain Morph. I was also considering the Mini Morph, but I suspect the Mountain Morph moves more air.

Although the pressure is less it still takes more pumps with my track pump to inflate the 27.5 x 3.0 over my previous 26 x 2.3.

Up until a month ago I was riding a 26er 100mm hardtail with a 71 degree head angle and short reach. 27.2 rigid seatpost and it was 3×9 XT until just before Christmas.

I rode my brothers 27.5 plus Kona Unit while we were out for a ride together and it felt more capable than mine, then last month I bought a Marin Pine Mountain 1.

The Marin is still unfashionable, but it’s a bit more modern, has tapered forks, boost spacing and 1×11. It also has a fixed 27.2 post yet I don’t feel the need to lower the saddle as much.

I feel it’s fair to say that modern bikes are more capable than the older ones, but as always the rider is more important than the bike, and your unfashionable bike is as fun as it always has been. I prefer my new bike, but still loved the old one.

I was considering whether to go 10 or 11 speed earlier this year on my old bike. In the end I opted for 10 speed with a used XT shifter, barely used Deore M6000 rear mech, Sunrace 11-42 cassette and a KMC chain. This was using an existing but fairly new 32 narrow wide ring on an XT triple chainset.

I installed all the parts and indexed the gears on the workstand, but never actually rode the bike as a 2017 model year bike came up at a good price, so I bought that instead. The new bike has an 11 speed SLX shifter and rear mech, Sunrace 11-42 cassette and a KMC chain! So fairly similar to the 10 speed setup.

The 10 speed feels more positive, with a definitive clunk when changing gear, the SLX feels lighter but also more vague. They both work, and although I refer the 10 speed XT shifter on the workstand I’m happy with the SLX 11 speed when out riding.

It’s perhaps worth noting that the Deore M6000 10 speed rear mech works with wide range cassettes without using hanger extenders.