I get the argument that it preserves the value of the frame better, but I’ve never bothered with it either. After a few rock strikes no-ones going to be looking at the scratches anyway!

Probably correlates with people who always keep their bike clean as well – never seen the point in that either!

I’m Manc based too (Prestwich) and usually ride Thursday & Saturday in the Peak or Lakes, I’d be happy to join a group or go solo. I know the Peak fairly well, but beyond Grizedale I’m not that familiar with much of the Lakes.

FWIW my premiums never went up after I got rear-ended a couple of years back as the other driver admitted full responsibility and their insurer sorted everything. Can’t really see any way that they can assign any blame to you for the accident so hopefully it’ll be the same outcome.

I had an eagle mech develop play in the parallelogram after ~2 years of use which resulted in poor shifting, so I’d say yes they can. However, none of the other ones I’ve had ever lasted long enough to develop it before getting smashed off by a rock…

DUB has a collar type thing on the BB for adjusting tightness, there’s a little screw in it for locking it in position and then you can adjust by hand. If it’s getting too tight when tightening the crank I would guess that’s what needs adjustment.

Some of this has already been covered, but just to add some points:

Why does it cost so much? SMA is an ultra rare disease so the potential patient pool is very small, while the development costs will have been much the same as for any other drug. Rare diseases weren’t very attractive for pharma until the European and US regulatory agencies introduced incentives to develop drugs for them which allow 10 years market exclusivity, so they have longer to make bank before generics come in. Cynically, it costs so much because that’s what pharma have estimated the market will pay – they have teams dedicated to calculating what price they can charge. Ultimately, it’s the same as any business – your product is worth what people are willing to pay for it.

Is the price fair? The headline £1.79M isn’t what NHS will pay for it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the discount brings it below £1M – it’s pretty common for these discounts to be up to 50%. The issue is that other countries use the UK for benchmark pricing, so the companies want a high headline price for that. The NICE process for determining value does have its issues, but I would say it’s probably one of the best in the world when it comes to allocating limited resources fairly. The issue is that companies know the threshold for cost-effectiveness (£20-30k per QALY for a non-rare disease and £50-60k for a rare disease), so they of course pitch their drug price to reach the upper end of that threshold. NICE will have pushed back on the modelling assumptions they used to reach that price, and the process for that is pretty thorough – you often see the committee pushing back on very minor modelling points. Ultimately, I would say that if NICE have decided the price is fair, then it actually is fair.

Is Zolgensma worth it? The data are actually pretty impressive – over 2 years you’d expect 100% of untreated infants with SMA to die, and in the trial I think 100% survived at 2 years (might be ~90%). The issues are the small sample size (~20 I think) and the short duration – how do you know these benefits will last? The other issue is what level of function do these infants reach? I know some pts were basically the same as a healthy child in terms of motor milestones at 2 years, but some weren’t. How much value is there in extending an infants life if they will never walk or talk? However, I work with lots of different drugs daily and so many of them are just incremental improvements or ‘me-too’s’ that offer little value – I’d honestly say that Zolgensma is a true innovation, and that we should reward innovation.

Depends what kind of riding you like best, IMO you have to enjoy climbing to enjoy Gisburn – if you’re more about the downs then you’ll probably find it underwhelming.

Recently did the same research and Tiger sheds got mentioned a lot on here so I’ve ordered one from them. Can’t comment on how good it is as it isn’t due til May 25th (I ordered about 3 weeks ago)!

Any way you can get the BB off? If that’s what is holding the bearing the crank is seized to then removing the NDS BB shell might allow you to give the spindle a tap up or down (gently at first) to try and break the seizure. Getting the drive side BB off would probably be difficult, but if you can then it should be fairly easy to hammer the crank out holding the BB shell in a vice.

I use the OS maps app for navigation and have taken paper maps as a backup when I’m not familiar with the area, but I don’t think I’ve ever opened them outside of the house!

I usually go up Shit-Bastard climb (the “All the way to the top” one you linked above OP), I’ll need to give Elmin Pits a try next time I’m up there as I’ve never tried that one.

Also got a pair of Fairbanks based on feedback on here, they’ve been great so far – don’t think I’ve ever ended a winter ride without wet and numb feet before! Grip isn’t as good as 5-10s (obviously) but it’s still pretty good with a pair of old Vaults. Another plus is that the ankle cuff on my waterproof trousers just fits around the top of the boot so I can do without gaiters!

I’ve sunk a good chunk of time into Civ 5 over the years, haven’t tried Civ 6 but I know a lot of people weren’t massive fans of it. I’d definitely recommend Civ 5, with the caveat that it’s bloody addictive and can be a massive time sink! The mods also add a lot of replay-ability, and the Vox Populi community update basically makes it into a whole new game.

We got ours done at 9 months, can’t remember what advice that was based on but presumably vet / dog walker – he’s not had any issues as a result anyway. Triggering factor for us was the incessant humping of the crusty jizz-soaked bed that was his main victim! He has a really nice temperament now but is quite unassertive – not sure how much of that is his personality vs the loss of his knackers.

+1 for Airshot, has served me well in the 3 or 4 years I’ve had it. However, if I was choosing again and money was no object I’d maybe go with one of the track pumps that combines pump/canister like this.

I was a 1st time dog owner when we got ours 3 years ago (wife had them growing up) and they are SO much work for that 1st year – and ours is a fairly chilled out breed. We don’t have kids so can’t compare, but we know people who do who’ve said they’re more work than a baby for the first few months. TBH I probably wouldn’t want to get a puppy again unless one of us had a substantial amount of time off work – the reason they’re so cute is cos they’d never survive being that much of a dickhead if they looked like a toad!

I can only imagine the amount of work would be higher for 2 puppies, and Collies are probably the breed that need the highest workload. The advice we had was also not to get 2 from the same litter as it can cause issues training them. In terms of time left alone, 8-9 hours would be a no-no with any breed, let alone a Collie. The most we’d leave ours for would be ~6 hrs, and only on the occasional day.

I think this is a very bad plan. I know STW can sometimes be a negative, moany place, but I think everyone on this thread is just being realistic.

Same experience as everyone else, generally good but not always quick. Also experiencing Brexit-related delays on an item from a different EU store – apparently DPD took it from them, kept it in their warehouse for 2 weeks, and then returned it to them saying they weren’t delivering to the UK!

Just brushing, I don’t recall the dentist recommending flossing around it but tbh the last time I went to one was ~10 years ago (sorry Ceepers!). It was one of the front teeth though, so I can’t really see how I’d be able to floss around it. According to my wife my breath is fine, so it doesn’t seem to be causing any issues anyway (or she just doesn’t want to tell me). I have thought about whitening but currently laziness > vanity!

If she gets a bridge it will feel really weird to start with, because there’s a lump of cement where your mouth isn’t using to there being anything. However, you get used to it fairly quickly. If I were in your position I’d get her a bridge but plan to get an implant once she’s old enough as it seems like a better long-term solution.

I’ve got a bridge, had it since I was ~16 (I think?) after having a plate for ~7 years. Fitting was very simple (compared with the multiple extractions and injections I had!) but the glues must have been a bit crap when I was young as it came unstuck quite a few times, though that may have been more due to doing typical stupid teenager stuff and a lot of sports. However, it was simple to reinstall and it’s remained in place for ~10 years now since the last time it came out.

Downsides are minimal, the colour no longer matches very well as I’ve had it for ~24 years and the other teeth are no longer quite as white as it is. Also, if you really look for it the teeth it’s attached to look slightly grey-ish but it’s not hugely noticeable. I’ve been thinking about changing it for an implant for a while, but it would basically be for a small aesthetic upgrade so the cost and hassle don’t really seem worth it just now.

I’ve been investigating a Swiss move over the past year for work and my guess would be that 120k CHF would work out maybe a bit less than £45k in terms of free cash once everything is factored in. The forum Beanum linked to above was a really good resource, from reading that my expectation is that finding somewhere decent to live would be the biggest headache – limited rental stock, very expensive, and recommendations are needed.

With one of us not working I’d worked out a rough conversion factor of ~3X current salary to end up in a similar place financially, so you’re maybe 15k CHF worse off. However, the folk who have actually lived there would be better placed than me to advise.

To avoid any accusations of naysaying (😉) I will add that we’re still keen to do it if it works with my job (COVID put everything on hold). Neither of us is particularly sociable so the locals being frosty wouldn’t really bother us too much, and the QOL improvement seems quite significant vs the UK from speaking to other people who’ve made the move. We don’t have kids though so schooling isn’t something we need to worry about.

Thanks all, that’s really helpful!

Thanks, that’s useful to know. The other complicating factors are that you need to climb steps to get into the house and I have a dodgy shoulder, so I was hoping to avoid slabs but it may be best to just get fairly small ones – probably cheaper as well.

Turns out Canyon UK just forgot to send me an email, after chasing them they replied and confirmed the replacement would arrive early December. Turned up last week, so the bike is back in service and it gave me a good excuse to buy the winter hardtail I’d been eyeing for a while!

Tried the loctite 638 on the broken part but it didn’t work. Suspect the gap it needed to bridge was too large and not enough of the loctite could get through the small gap around the bearing housing to bridge it.

The ‘Jewish ****’ thing might be related to the area you were in – guessing you probably already know, but there’s a large Jewish community around there (might be the largest in Europe, not sure). All the more reason to make sure the police do something about him, angry anti-semites who can’t drive but regularly go through areas with lots of Jewish people is probably a bad combination.

Yep – wife has been a bit down with constant lockdown (Manchester based, so we never really got out of it over the summer) and we felt it would lift our mood to put them up. We’re normally pretty last minute and minimalistic about it, but it’s actually been really nice to get some more bits and bobs to make the place more cheerful!

Yeah, if anyone from Canyon ever contacts me I’ll certainly be making those points. Unfortunately I think a complete new frame might be just as long – nothing is showing as in stock on their site.

Thanks, I might give the loctite a try and I’ve spoke to a carbon repair place that can sort it for about 200. Pricey, but more peace of mind from that vs loctite! I still need to actually speak to someone from Canyon though, they requested the part back last time so I need to make sure I’m not invalidating the warranty first.

Would that work when there is a good few mm of lateral play and 1-2 mm of horizontal play (https://vimeo.com/478439625)? The housing can’t be removed to apply any loctite, so any application would have to be via the small gap that is currently there. If so what type of loctite should I be looking at? Zero experience with this kind of thing so I’ll just end up with the wrong thing otherwise!

I’d be giving a cf bike repair place a call

Good point, would at least be worth getting an opinion on if it could be repaired easily or not.

Replace the bearing, chuck some bearing locker compound in there and ride it until the replacement arrives.

Wouldn’t work unfortunately, the bearing is secure in it’s metal housing, the problem is the housing has come loose in the carbon frame.

It’s just over 2 years old and I’ve had it from new, warranty is 6 years. No experience in carbon repair so not sure if it’s repairable, but I’d guess that it isn’t – you’d probably have to cut the stay to get any meaningful amount of material in to secure the bearing (here if anyone wants to see).

I’ve been keeping an eye on the 2nd hand market but unfortunately I’m a bit fussy – want something that I’ll keep for a good few years and a lot of the stuff I’m seeing has budget forks that I’d end up wanting to upgrade.

Nope, I’ve been wanting the VRS as a winter hardtail but it’s been out of stock for a while now – looks like the VR is the same.

Had a Hatchbag for a few years now and it’s great, no issues with the velcro coming unstuck. Pretty much fit-and-forget for me, just chuck the bike in after riding and give the boot a sweep out with a broom once the muck has dried in. Worth getting the extra bits that go up over the top of the seats and the one that folds out to cover the bumper too IMO – the Hatchbag alone isn’t quite long enough to cover the seat backs with them down, and the bumper bit means you don’t have to worry about scratching up the car with gritty kneepads.

Thanks all, I think I’ll just leave it as her decision – I’ve said my reasons for thinking it’s not a great idea. It’s a pretty posh place with lots of space anyway, so I imagine risk will be pretty low. I have nitrile gloves for working on my bike too, so I’ll just stick them on in the taxi :D

Time-wise you’ll be fine, the bash is probably 3-4h depending on fitness and speed so if you’re out by 9 there should be plenty of time for Whinlatter.

Easiest way will be to wait til the new BB arrives and examine it – you’ll be able to see where you can tap against.

I used my headset removal tool and it worked fine, so I imagine a drift and a bit of care would do the job.

Sorry, got that wrong – we’ve got 2 walls (at the left and front of the car as it’s parked), with the long wall belonging to the neighbour. The other side is a set of stairs with nothing to fix a car port to. Reasonably good relationship with the neighbour, so she might be open to having it fixed to it – I guess it’s worth getting a few quotes to see how much it would be!

Good points, hadn’t really thought about that. The other issue with the car port is the space it would need to go into – it’s an awkward shape and is enclosed on 3 sides by ~8 ft walls and a set of steps going up to the house, so an off-the-shelf kit is probably not going to work. I wouldn’t want to make the time investment to build it myself – TBH, there are too many other things I’d rather do with my time off and the car being manky isn’t a big enough issue! I suspect taking it to the local car wash every 2 weeks over the summer will end up being the lazy solution…

Good point, the strap is quite stretchy and I’ve been fancying a NATO strap anyway. Given that a lot of people seem to end up replacing theirs after it breaks it would be good to have a backup too!