I have two road bikes both of which I run with tubeless tyres. On my commuter / audax bike (on which I rode PBP and all the qualifying rides) I have always used Bontrager R2s. I wore those out last year – I rode about 8,000 miles on them. I’ve just replaced them with Bontrager AW2s. My other bike, which I use most during the summer, currently has Bontrager R3s on. I can recommend the Bontrager tyres – never had a problem with them. The R3s wear faster, as they’re a softer compound. The R2s are better. I chose to put the AW2s on this time round to see if that would extend the life further. In all the miles that I did last year, I didn’t suffer a puncture. I clattered through a pothole on a descent at speed which ruined a rim, but the tyre sealed and I was able to get home.

I’ve run tubeless on Bontrager tubeless ready rims, Stans Alpha 430s and H Plus Son Archetypes. The Bontrager rims and H Plus were a doddle to fit the tyres too, the Stans much less so. In addition, even with the recommended two layers of rim tape in the Stans rim, it still doesn’t hold pressure as long as the H Plus which isn’t a specific tubeless rim.

I have used Hutchinson tyres before, Atoms if I recall correctly. They were painful to install, punctured twice and wore through very quickly. I won’t buy Hutchinson tyres over the Bontragers because of that experience. I have read and heard a lot of good stuff about the Schwalbe tyres. No personal experience mind you.

I won’t go back to using tubes on either of my road bikes.

I’ve been considering the same recently. Up until recently, the Sabbath September disc was the front runner. Since it was updated, I think the Kinesis GF_TI is my current favourite though.

I think JoB’s right – it does depend on who you’re riding with, and TiRed also makes good points – group riding can be difficult at first; in particular I struggled when others were freewheeling – my brain would suddenly start telling my legs that it wanted to freewheel too – watch out for that!

I tend to find that I can keep up with the moderately paced group along the flats, I am faster uphill than most in that group, more often than not because people with gears on their bike will reach the bottom of the hill and start changing gears and in so doing, slow down. This is not what I want to be doing so I tend to go round them and keep the cadence up for as long as possible.

TiRed is again right and my experience is similar – expect to get dropped on the downhill sections. Some of the people in my club laugh at me as they come past. It’s all good fun. That said, I did the Bryan Chapman last year, and followed somebody who was riding fixed down Snowdon. His legs were a blur and the bike was hopping all over the place. I was doing 40 / 45 MPH and at times he managed to pull away from me! He reckoned that he was doing >170rpm. I’ve never seen anything like it, and it’s what started me thinking that I’d like to have a go at riding fixed.

I’ve done a couple of 100km rides on mine, and commute 55km into and out of London a few times a week on it. I’m a real convert. I still can’t spin for toffee though, that’ll come, I’m sure.

Give it a go!

My commute is ~65km in each direction (Tring->London). I have done the there and back but as suggested above, it is a mental struggle to climb back on the bike at the end of a day knowing that you’ve got another 2, 2.25 hours on the bike ahead of you. I travel in and out of London and that does nothing to add to the allure either.

I did 5 days a week for a couple of weeks last year, but I found that I couldn’t enjoy my riding at the weekend. At the moment I’ll do 3 days in, with maybe 1 back. I’m fortunate enough to be able to start late and so I can get the off peak train which reduces cost of travel significantly. On the days that I ride in and get the train home I just wait for the off peak to start.

5 days a week can be done, of course. It’s not for me though. The thing that killed it for me was leaving the house at 05:30 every morning and not returning until gone 8. Give it a go for a while though and see what happens.

The thing that really helped me was sorting logistics out so that I wasn’t carrying kit in each direction on every day. On a Monday morning I’d take everything in for the week, and then ride with just my lunch for the rest of the week (stuffed in Jersey pockets). On a Friday I’d then give it the pack horse treatment home again.

All useful replies. Thanks all!

Thought that I would revive this thread instead of starting a new one – I have the same questions that MoreCashThanDash asks in the original post.

I’m considering one of these (amongst other options) for use on audax rides.

I’d like to hear opinions / reviews from those people that either have, or are currently using them.

Would you recommend?

Cheers, Dan.

The answer is yes, you can.

How you go about doing so though will depend on the way your site is configured on the server software (e.g. Apache2 on an xNix system, IIS on a Windows one.) you’re using.

I’m assuming because of the fact that you’ve asked the question that you haven’t configured it directly on either of the aforementioned pieces of software. (Apologies if that’s an incorrect assumption.)

If you’re using a hosting provider, somewhere in the setup process you will have been asked to specify the domain that you wished to establish the site for, in the example above mysite.co.uk. I suspect that if you were to change that to http://www.mysite.co.uk your problem would be resolved.

If you can provide a little more information in respect of who you’re hosting with I may be able to provide specifics for you, or at least pointers to articles which would walk you through it.

Dan.

Was out around Ashridge, Pittstone and Ivinghoe today so at one of the Ridgeway’s extremities. The entire ride consisted of either fighting the bike to get it to comply and turn, or attempting to tame some cronic oversteer when in a turn. It was ace!

The majority of the Ridgeway itself is well surfaced from what I know of it. You should be fine*

*Unless of course it rains solidly for the next 4 / 5 weeks. Then it will be an absolute mudbath. That said it will still be fun, I’m sure.

– It’s Strava’s fault
– I haven’t read the whole thread but, <insert previously given answer>

I’m assuming you want to load the file on as a route for you to follow. If so then when the Garmin is connected to your machine drop, the GPX into the New Files directory (the Garmin should show up as a drive on your computer while plugged in). Next time you start the Garmin the track will be there as a route.

Dan

Thanks everyone. Had read some dodgy reports of the 32s but thought that it might have been exaggeration. Interesting to hear the same concerns expressed again. I like the sound of the Marz 44, a cursory search would suggest that they’re as rare as dodo poo though. Wanted ad coming to a classifieds board near you soon ;)

Please?

Yep, stayed there a couple of years ago. Facilities were good, food reasonable and on-site bar a bonus. I’d recommend it.

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the Highline and the Highline II shorts – it’s not clear from the listings on CRC.

Ta

Thanks both – that’s helpful.

This is the post that I meant to link to that I’d found on here: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/first-fork-upgrade-i-know-nothing

Bump for the afternoon crowd.

7digital (full disclosure: I used to work there) is a good service, and will allow you to buy using Paypal. They also provide a download manager which if used rather than standard HTTP download will push your files directly in to iTunes for you as well.

EDIT: 7digital can be found here: http://www.7digital.com

@jota180 — thanks — hadn’t seen that thread. Looks as though it’s being worked on.

Interestingly now that I’ve signed in, and as a subscriber who is able to switch off some ads, the problem seems to have ceased for now.

Dan.

Rode Scotland Coast to Coast with a couple of mates back in August. An amazing 5 days.

All the times I’ve been over to Herts to see Jedi and co.

Short, local rides around the Tring/Ashridge are during which I’ve discovered some beautiful trails that I’m looking forward to seeing in Summer.

I used to do nights at a super market on Market Street in Manchester. The guy who worked the freezer aisle was known to lift the lid off tubs of ice cream from time to time and either draw a set of cock and balls, or write a four letter swear word before replacing the lid and putting back on the shelf.

Similarly, the guy who worked on the chiller section tended to empty some of the squirts cream from canisters directly in to his mouth and then replace them on the shelf.

Well done couldashouldawoulda both helping somebody out and then seeking to understand what you might have done differently is all good.

I did an avalanche awareness course when out in Canada a few years ago. Our intention was to do some back country hiking so we thought it was a good idea. The instructor had a saying, “If you’re not prepared to be out all night, you’re not prepared”. Used to poke fun at it, I have to say now though, it makes a lot of sense. One of the mates I did the course with has his own saying, “what’s the first rule of safety? Safety first”. He lives by these two rules as some sort of code.

Seems to have worked for him – ones to add to your list?

Looks lovely. Currently in the middle of building one of my own. These pictures are motivational in that respect! Thanks.

This one. Simply because I currently hold 3rd on the segment and I obtained that while riding a Boris bike. Working out how to get a proper bike in to London for a go.

Apologies for the thread hijack – could any of you with Beinns comment on how your respective little ones got on with the gears? We’ve just bought a Beinn for our eldest who’s been riding a Cnoc for 18 months or so and I was considering single-speeding it before he gets it for Christmas. Thoughts?

Is this diet plan readily available or has the means to get hold of it been retired too?

This is great – thanks all for contributing. Funny that not one in sand has turned up yet though – thinking that I’ll be going with black everything else – based on what’s been said too, that works well with my leaning towards the carbon rigid forks.

Thanks. The rigid forks look like the On One carbon ones (correct?), which suspension forks are they?

This is all great advice, thanks. Spoken to my LBS and they’re quoting in the region of £250 for a truing stand – without having even looked at them before I was a little surprised but on reflection, not so much.

I can see the plans for the truing stand in the Wheelpro book, it looks like I’ll be turning my hand to making that first.

Thanks for the advice all. I’ve just purchased the Wheelpro Book and am off to get a Spokey.

Dan.

I’ve a pair of the DHB Aeron Pro shorts and a pair of the equivalent tights. I also have a pair of the Rapha tights (bought in their sale) and a pair of Morvelo shorts.

The build quality of the DHBs are eclipsed by both the Rapha and Morvelo kit – the DHBs are falling apart at the seams with an equivalent amount of use.

The Rapha kit fits really well, is made with better material and includes some nice additional features.

For comfort, the Morvelo kit is head and shoulders above the rest. The materials used aren’t the same as the Rapha stuff, nor do they have the additional features.

I’m a sale shopper typically and so the prices I have paid are similar. On that basis I’d recommend either the Rapha or Morvelo kit, with the Rapha kit edging it on materials used and features, and the Morvelo kit winning when it comes to comfort.

Dan.

Yep – I’d say so.

I found to my detriment last year that it can be very slippery and with a largely chalk and flint base (with the odd set of wet roots thrown in for fun), particularly good at taking chunks out of knees/shins.

Nonetheless, there’s a lot of fun to be had out there – get out there and enjoy it.

Dan

Can I ask why you’re thinking of doing the Prince2 course/certification – is it required by your job (or potential jobs)? I ask as there are others I might recommend, including a course that I’m working on building at the moment.

Yep, I’m doing it – looking forward to it. Going to be stuffing pockets with energy bars and usual tools/spares in a saddle bag. Hoping that will be enough.

Yeah – another vote from Tony here. He got me doing this recently, only a few hours after I’d said to him that I have a fear of gap jumps. Best bit about, when you progress like this, he’s there buzzing his nuts off with you too!

I’ve put a link to the route that we’re taking in the OP

Somebody recommended the trails at Laggan to me earlier, any more?

Yep, as hilldodger says, it’s a wasn’t enough ride, and yes some work’s been carried out to it over the last couple of years to make it more pleasant.

Okay, thanks for all the information.

ha ha… a D321 is almost 700g and going tubeless won’t save any weight.

Yep, appreciate that it’s not a light wheelset but given the money I have available to address the weight overall I’m not going to be able to start doing anything more – I thought that at least it would lose a little of the revolving weight. I’ll also be going from thick downhill style inner tubes and 2.5″ Maxxis through to 2.2″ Rubber Kings – I’m hoping the difference will be noticeable.

Thanks. With the BMX tube route, I presume you mean slicing it in half before installing?