If you have any chew returning, I have an actual 31.6 one which is pretty new.

Assuming yours actually 30.9 I’d be happy to do a swap. PM if interested.

Also, you can get shims to make a 30.9 fit in a 31.6 seat tube for a few quid.

Using a mortgage broker is something to consider, especially if the unsecured debts will impact the affordability calculations.

They should know the lenders eligibility criteria, and can advise you accordingly, and they can position the application to exclude debts that will be repaid from equity. They should know what rates you’ll be likely to offered also.

I don’t usually like involving brokers, but they’re great for people with ‘non-standard’ circumstances.

I’m 6″2 and have ridden my mates L frame, which was fine, but I’d prefer the XL if getting one myself, just for the extra reach when descending.

I’d agree it’s not a ‘poppy’ bike, but they can be hustled about, and are quite stable to jump.

I used to run a Bafang mid drive kit single speed for a brief period. I was running a 36/18 ratio which was probably just about right for the hills near me, which gave a good balance between climbing cadence and top speed.

I presume the kit isn’t limited to 15.5mph if you’re thinking about a 46t chainring. I ran a 46t chainring previously (but geared), but found the top speed to be a bit too ‘anti social’ unrestricted for where I was riding, hence swapping for a 36t.

Second hand Garmin forerunner or a TomTom runner 3

Some duties can be done remotely but you’ll likely need to make at least one trip to the property to get paperwork and get keys, and if there are and specific heirlooms that have been left to someone.

The legal and money stuff can all be done remotely.

There are companies that do house clearances. Some charge, some don’t charge, and some even pay you. This usually depends on the value of the furniture and what is agreed with the firm.

You can pay to have the house cleaned, and then instruct an estate agent to deal with the sale.

The executor can be as hands on or hands off as they want. The executors time and reasonable expenses can be claimed from the estate also. This would be separate from any ‘fee’ or inheritance specifically left to them.

Lenders don’t always send a settlement quote in writing, but they have an obligation under Section 97 of the Consumer Credit Act to send one if you specifically ask them to. The written quote should include:

-The total repayable under the agreement (over the full term including future interest and any option to purchase fees)
-Amount of any interest rebate (this is calculated using a prescribed formula)
-The settlement quote (top minus middle)

The settlement quote will typically consist of capital balance + up to 58 days worth interest + any option to purchase fee.

Bank accounts can be very different in terms of what type of payments can be made from them. Some don’t allow faster payments, some don’t allow BACS payments, some don’t allow any payments to be made to a third party bank at all (eg some savings accounts).

Similar restrictions can apply to receiving bank accounts, but if the account can receive one type of bank transfer it will be able to accept them all (Faster Payments, BACS, CHAPS).

Thanks all. I’m going to stick with DT comps and lace up to a FR560 rim.

I’ve got the sure flap one too.

Works great with our two cats.

Gravel bike + mountain bike covers pretty much all types of riding. Why limit yourself to one. I’d keep the MTB for days when you can get out.

I’ve got too many bikes, but they all fill a different role. If I downsized, there would always be at least 2 bikes; one to cover rough stuff, and one to cover more mellow/ long distance stuff.

Land access rights in England and Wales are proper daft. The Scots have the right idea, and this wouldn’t be an issue if the same system applied to the rest of the UK.

I am a heavy rider (120kg kitted up), and I do suspect the rim is the main problem, but any added stiffness is welcome.

It’s a bit of an odd wheel build I got from a mate – the rim is an Alexrim EX30 which is supposedly fairly strong, albeit a bit flexy. The spokes are of unknown provenance, so I want to replace them regardless, and the hub is a DT350.

I’m not sure what your budget is, but this Halfords tool chest is pretty good value. I’m really happy with mine.

https://www.halfords.com/tools/storage/tool-chests-and-cabinets/halfords-8-drawer-tool-centre-313577.html

It’s not cheap, but far cheaper than a lot of the other tool units out there.

B

Overpaying will reduce the amount of interest you’ll pay over the full term.

The overpayments will either reduce the number of regular instalments left to pay, or reduce the amount of each instalment. This depends on the lender and their T&C’s though. The former is ‘standard’, with some lenders offering the latter.

You won’t be able to reduce the final balloon payment by making overpayments, not via the agreement anyway. If you want to lessen the final bill you’d need to save and offset that yourself.

If you are intending to buy the car at the end, consider looking at the interest rate of the PCP agreement, and see if you could take out a personal loan at a cheaper rate. Nothing preventing you settling the PCP early, and using a personal loan instead. That would save you interest.

Agree with the others about keeping volume.

I’ve got some schwalbe big ben tyres on one wheelset and they’re great for urban stuff.

Comfy, puncture resistant, faster rolling than knobbly tyres, and don’t have to worry about kerbs or pot holes. I’ve ran marathon tyres as well and I prefer the big Ben’s.

I’m biased as I have a switchback but sounds like it would be perfect.

I’ve used mine for everything, local woods blasts, pump track, practicing jumps, xc rides, trail centres, big days out.

I’ve run a few big estates/SUVs over the years and with a not too dissimilar usage as the OP and I’d go petrol over diesel any day.

The petrols have averaged between 25-35mpg with more modern stuff like Octavia and Mondeo’s being towards the top of that range.

Diesels are dirty, shit for local air pollution, sound like tractors, only really get efficient once up to temperature, and don’t like short journeys.

Engines themselves are generally pretty reliable, it’s all the stuff that’s bolted on like turbos, DPFs, EGR valves and the like that tends to break. And diesel engines tend to have more of these extras than petrol engines. And a lot of those extra bits don’t like short journeys.

I drove through Ukraine, but more than 10 years ago now.

We couldn’t find a UK policy that covered driving abroad in Ukraine.

The only way we could have gotten cover would have been via a Ukrainian broker or insurer, but we didn’t bother due to the cost and paperwork.

We just accepted the risk and bought the tick box ‘insurance’ at the border. We also had our insurance certificate and ‘green card’ as back up, and also our international driving permits, and most importantly, plenty of USD in cash to pay the inevitable bribes.

Ukraine border guards and police were by far the worst when it came to bribes, of all the countries I’ve driven through. The people were great though.

I’ve got one. I got it second hand a few months ago and its a custom geo frame with a shorter seat tube from the small but with the reach of the XL.

I’d probably describe it as an aggressive trail bike rather than a full on enduro machine. I tend to ride Swaledale, NY Moors, Stainburn, and Hamsterly.

Its heavy, there’s no denying this fact. Mine is built up quite burly with coil shock, 160 forks, and some heavier bits. Not measured it on the accurate scales yet but I reckon its at least 17kg or so. I don’t really notice the weight though, and the weight hasn’t negatively impacted any rides so far, and have done big days out on it.

It goes downhill very well indeed, extremely well in fact. It’s fast, stable, tracks the ground very well, very confidence inspiring in the corners. It’s got a higher BB than other similar bikes but you don’t feel like you’re ‘high up’ at all, and an advantage of this is no problems with pedal strikes.

It pedals very well and the suspension has very little bob so its a nice firm platform to grind up fireroads on. It’s not going to win any efficiency tests given its weight, but it pedals surprisingly well. It’s not got an insanely steep seat tube angle either, so it pedals fine on flatter terrain too.

Its got plenty of grip and traction on technical climbs, and stays planted with no front end lift given its length, but it is heavy so it’s a bit more work muscling about on really techy stuff as to be expected. I don’t do much of this so it’s not a deal breaker for me.

It like that it has two sets of bottle bosses meaning for some rides I can go backpack-less or just use a hip pack. Although one is under the downtube in sheep shit range, so you need a bottle with a lid.

Overall I love it and it suits my needs perfectly. I’m not an enduro/big mountain hero so don’t need tonnes of travel, and I’m not an XC/ultra whippet either. It gets used as my ‘big bike’ for bigger natural or trail centre rides.

I’ve got some gravity to me.

The windproof MTB jacket from decathlon is my new favourite winter jacket. Good fit, stretchy, windproof in the right places, breathable in the right places. It’s been perfect for all my winter rides so far. Cheap as chips too.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/men-s-windproof-mountain-biking-jacket/_/R-p-305587?mc=8555359

I’ve also got a Endura Hummvee Windproof Shell Jacket, which is very good also, but a bit less breathable, and not as stretchy.

For proper heavy rain, sub zero rides, and commuting, I wear a mountain warehouse hard shell high vis jacket which is very baggy.

It depends on the ride, but usually try and take the full face wherever possible when trail riding. I usually end up taking the helmet off for fireroad climbs on hotter days, but I run hot and sweat a lot.

I’ll still use the normal helmet for less gnarly rides and XC stuff, or when it’s very warm.

Oh, and I’ve got the MET parachute and it’s very light and well ventilated for a full face, not as cool as a normal helmet, but quite manageable.

I’ve got the lifeline adventure waterproof pannier bag and also the lifeline rack. Both have been absolutely fine commuting for me.

The rack fits on all my bikes and has adjustable width so can be run on a MTB with wider tyres also.

The bag has a rigid back so is good for keeping the laptop getting battered, and has kept stuff dry in some proper downpours.

They’re both pretty cheap too.

No, it won’t make a difference. You’ll probably wander more than half a mm fitting the tape.

Make sure the rim is very clean and is at room temperature before fitting if using stans – I’ve had problems fitting in cold garages due to condensation. Now I just use gorilla tape.

I used to work in financial crime/fraud prevention and nine times out of ten these things are usually just scams and its unlikely that any data or machine has actually been compromised, however the advice regarding passwords, emails, and cleaning up the computer are all very sensible and should be taken irrespective.

The police really won’t give a shit as this stuff is very common but you can report it via https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ and you’ll get a crime reference number.

The next step will be to speak to the bank and let them know that he’s fallen victim to a scam and give them that action fraud reference number. He will need to grant you authority for dealing with the bank on his behalf. When contacting them make it clear that he is elderly, is recovering from an operation, and is a victim of a confidence scam. These factors will make it more likely that he’ll get a refund.

How he’s actually made the payments will impact whether its possible, or how easy it is, to recover the money. Card payments will be easiest if its fairly recent, however if he’s made a bank transfer then he may not get the money back.

If they don’t refund then you can log a complaint, and if they reject the complaint then you can escalate the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. They may overturn the complaint and force the bank to refund.

I’ve got a 30t round on one bike and a 32t oval on another.

The 30t is better for climbing and grinding up fire roads if that’s what you’re after.

Teeth count makes a bigger difference than round/oval in my experience.

I’ve got three mountain bikes which I’ve tried to make different enough in setup and spec so they all have a specific purpose, but there’s still quite a bit of overlap so it can be hard deciding which to take for a given ride.

The big bike is a full suss 140/160 29er trail/all mountain bike. This usually gets used all year round but mainly on ‘proper’ rides that aren’t local where I drive somewhere to ride.

The ‘fun’ bike is a 27.5 aggro steel hardtail with 150 travel which is used for messing about in the local woods, and going to the local bike park/pump track. I sometimes take this for ‘proper’ rides too when the big bike needs fixing or I just fancy it.

The final bike is an old 120mm 29er hard tail that I sometimes run rigid also. This gets used for pedally local loops, commuting, Dad duties, and canal path stuff. This one has got cheaper components but is still fairly capable on ‘proper’ rides too.

In N+1 style I also have a gravel bike for commuting and longer gravel/road rides but this doesn’t get a lot of use at the moment.

I’d go gas in that situation for sure.

Ceramic hobs are shit, induction hobs are better, but not as nice to cook on as gas in my opinion. It’s a right faff having to get induction pots and pans also.

There’s no official definition.

Long generally means longer reach (distance between BB and top of head tube horizontally). This keeps your weight more central when stood up in the attack position, which is great for steep stuff, and is less tiring on longer descents.

Low mainly means shorter seat tubes and lower standover heights. Now you’ve got dropper posts you can slam the frame down so it’s easier to move around the bike, and keeps the sprung mass of the bike lower down aiding cornering.

Slack refers to head angle, with slack usually being 65 degrees or under. This makes the bike more stable at speed and during descents. It also increases wheelbase which relates to the ‘long’ part.

LLS doesn’t directly refer to seat angles, but these have also changed for a couple of reasons, first being it counters the increase in reach so keeps the effective top tube (distance between saddle and handlebar) similar when in the seated position. This means you aren’t stretched out when sat down pedalling. Second, it brings your body weight further forward which is good when climbing up fireroads and for technical punchy climbs.

Consider getting a coil shock. They’re generally smoother and have better small bump sensitivity than air shocks. That’ll probably make more of a difference than frame.

As for frame, modern LLS trail or enduro bikes generally have quite comfortable upright seating positions.

Something like the Bird Aether might fit the bill. High leverage ratio so coil compatible, short travel, 2.5 tyre clearance, and pedals very well.

@kormoran 😂

I’ve used paisley freight a couple of times and no complaints here, although they were members group sales rather than via eBay. And funds were cleared and in my account before I posted it.

You can take out optional insurance too for peace of mind, although I’ve never had to claim so cannot comment on that aspect.

Where I work it’s 45ppm if you don’t have a car benefit, but if you do have a company car or cash allowance then it drops to it 12ppm.

I do bugger all miles these days as still WFH.

Absolutely stupid tactic if you ask me.

All that’s going to to do is piss those owners off and make them more defensive of there choices.

Also, I bet some people on this forum would have a different opinion on the matter if instead of SUVs, they targeted T5s and Octavia estates.

Typical. I bought that at full price a couple of months ago.

Well worth it at full RRP, absolute steal at that price!

Solicitors and legal professionals are subject to money laundering regulations, which basically means that they need to obtain information on the ‘source of funds’ for any transactions they make.

If the money is from equity it’s fairly obvious where that came from, and they’ll usually ask for evidence of where any other funds come from.

If it’s your own savings then they’ll usually ask for proof such as bank statements, if the money was a gift then they need to get evidence of who the gift was from.

They need to make sure funds are not from anyone on a sanction list, and do checks to see if the funds are from anyone who could be considered a ‘Politically exposed person’, which is basically someone who has a higher risk of being a corrupt **** involved with dodgy things.

I’ve got the Screwfix one linked above also.

I’m happy with it and it’s been absolutely fine for general DIY duties.

I’ve got the Ryobi impact driver and pretty happy with it.

Done me well through various fairly heavy DIY projects, decking, flooring, stud walls etc. and has been great. I’ve used it for a bit of car stiff too.

I don’t use it as an ‘everyday’ tool though, and only get it out if I’m driving a lot of screws, or larger ones.

I don’t ride any differently between my 27.5 and 29er bikes. You just end up carrying a touch more speed.

Still weight/unweight, brace for hits, lift the wheel etc, just the same.

I never think “Oh I won’t bother bracing for that rock as I’m on a 29”.

Got a lifeline rack and waterproof pannier on my commuter, which was a bit cheaper than the topeak stuff and I’m happy with it.

A rack is a rack, but the lifeline bag is good for the money. Seals up watertight and has kept my clothes and laptop dry through some proper wet rides.