Current car is a MK4 13 plate Mondeo estate 2ltr 163ps

Previous was MK3 54 plate Mondeo estate 2ltr 130ps

Both absolutely great workhorses but current one is noticeably more refined in handling and comfort. I would certainly buy another MK4.

With DSG box it does everything

This is what impresses me most with the Mrs’s golf. Maintains time separation from car in front, then braking to a halt with no input. When traffic sets off again, it requests a quick dab of accelerator to confirm it should follow, then accelerates through the gears within the set time separation and max speed constraints. It’s great.

When we got first car for daughter, two years ago now, the C1 models from mid 2012 onwards came out cheapest to insure. The point in time (age of car) where the vehicle tax on that model was re-rated to zero correlated with cheaper car insurance for some reason, so it was worth buying a newer model for what was saved in insurance.

Same as what the others have said, especially Lowey’s bit.

Just so long as you’re turning pedals and enjoying the fresh air, it really doesn’t matter where and what you’re riding.

Arrived yesterday.
Worn for last night’s ride.

First impressions…. They are very short! Leaves a massive gap above the kneepads.

It’s down to the relative replacement costs of the components.

eg. If you’ve got a £150 cassette, then you’d probably want to replace your £15 chain quite frequently as it’d be false economy to get more miles out but compromise the longevity of the cassette.

For this reason alone, I try to change chains at about 0.5

Had the driver side front spring done on our 64 plate golf last month. Less than £100 all in at local garage.

I didn’t know that about the new hope hoses…

neither did I, until I placed an order last month for braided hose and replacement (wider) shrouds, only to find that the shrouds were no longer necessary because the new hose is 5mm o/d, same as the non-braided.

braided are a pig to work with

Depends… braided is much less rigid. I find it works better than non-braided if you’ve got tight radius bends around the rear caliper, for example. Also, it was admittedly a pain having to strip the outer coating off the old 6mm, to get the olive on. You don’t need to do that anymore as the olive goes over the outer now.

The only difference is the shroud nut

This used to be the difference between the two hope hoses, because the braided was a wider O/D.

It is no longer the case though. New Hope braided hose is now the same OD as non-braided, which means that all fittings are fully interchangeable, including the shroud nut.

You only now need the wider shroud nut if you’re using the old braided hose.

Short answer = buy the new Hope braided hose and all your old fittings will be reusable from your existing non-braided set-up.

Hope alloy freehubs never lasted well for me. I think I cracked at least 2 of the 3 that I’ve had. To their credit, Hope replaced them without quibbling. I opted for steel ones for the replacements and these didn’t crack.

Regardless of freehub strength, the main gripe I’ve had with Hope hubs has been the poor sealing. The ratchet seamed to fill with crappy water and muck within a couple of months’ use, at which point the pawl springs would usually fail. And Yes, the seal was fitted correctly.

Been using Syntace hubs for a few years now and they have proved to be much better sealed.

I used “Sicily by Car” from Milan over Easter (Part of Auto Europe).

They were fine.

To be honest, I wouldn’t trust any of them not to spot some piece of minor damage that you’d missed, so I always buy a separate excess insurance policy. About £40 for the year.

https://www.athleteshop.co.uk/sports/cycling/parts/cassettes/0/sunrace/11_speed

I used them for first time last month.

Yes, they charge a lot for postage (about £10 if I remember correctly) but if buying a few tyres that’s not a major issue as their Schwalbe prices were very keen.

My order came split between two deliveries, both tracked via NL Post but the first one completed by Hermes or Yodel, the other completed by Parcelforce.

Top tip: If you create your account, stick what you want in the basket and then “abandon” the basket, they’ll quite possibly send you an additional discount through overnight to encourage you to complete the order.

best bit of Mary Townley loop

That’s a bit like “French Military Victories” isn’t it?

Cheers Lowey, I feel a route coming together….

From Crummock; up Whiteside/Gasgale crags; Hopegill Head; Down Hope Gill; Up Ladyside Pike; Coledale Hause; Grasmore; down Lad Hows (1600m/17.5km at this point).

Then if still time left, up Rannerdale/Squat Beck; down Low Bank/Rannerdale Knotts (extra 300m/5km)

and whilst we’re in the best bit of the Lakes…. Has anybody done Hope Gill from Hope Gill Head ?

I wasn’t that impressed with the further descent North of Scales Tarn. It’s a few years since I’ve done it mind you. Memory is poor though. It’s an age thing.

@Lowey

Often looked at some of the Southerly ridges off Blencathra but always taken the Scales Tarn descent.

Have walked down Halls Fell ridge in Winter and wasn’t inspired to come back on a bike. Is Doddick a better option for the bike then?

Rannerdale until the Bluebells have all gone

Cheers for that word of caution Lowey.

Ullock Pike via Carl Side … doable on an evening?

Easily so, just be aware that the hike up Carlside is truly soul destroying. Goes on forever with loads of false summits. Prefer the main track up Skiddaw personally, then down the scree slope to Ullock ridge

Whiteless Pike and finish down Rannerdale Knotts

Thanks for that tip Sanny, We’ve always gone straight off Whiteless to Buttermere. Will try the Rannerdale Knotts add-on next time.

Gasgale Gill was once a reasonable descent too but got pretty much destroyed in the floods a couple of years ago.

Delayed response to:

is Hindscarth, Scope end mainly rideable, a little scramble at the end?

Yes, a couple of very short sections that you won’t ride (at least one that’s a scramble) but otherwise a very nice descent. A bit of everything in it.

Robinson to Buttermere is OK but not fantastic. (HIndcarth and Scope End is way better)

If you were thinking of climbing to Robinson from Littledale/Scope Beck….Don’t. It’s a horrible bog-fest.

Just another consideration/angle.

Personally, I wouldn’t want to add any more weight to the bike itself (eg in a frameback) if I was planning on any hike-a-bike. I’d much rather have the weight in a comfy backpack than sat on the frame pushing the downtube into the back of my neck.

And in those sort of circumstances, you’ll probably have extra clothing and 3 litres of water, so a backpack is going to be the default option.

Horses for courses

Rhydd Ddu is a great descent, arguably the best one off Snowdon… but the top quarter of Rhydd Ddu in Winter conditions is treacherous on a bike (speaking from experience here).

It’s the closest I’ve come thus far to dying on a bike-ride! Front wheel slipped off the snow covered track on the exposed “death to the left” section that I think JonEdwards is describing. Managed to self-arrest on a 45 deg snow-slope, then managed to catch my bike as it slid past me. Another 10 feet and I’d have been off the edge and going home in a bag. Consequently, I wouldn’t recommend it as a Winter descent.

Wait until last minute before the ban, then give it a go. Our usual route for a big day out is: From Rangers Station; up Rangers; down Rhydd Ddu; up Rangers to Telegraph turn off; over Telegraph; cut across to join Llanberis track near middle station; up Llanberis; down Rangers.

About 6000′ of descending all in.

Hull/Rotterdam or Hull Zeebrugge works well from NW.

It means you can get away from work on a Friday afternoon and catch the ferry that evening, then wake up Saturday morning, have breakfast then hit the road. Stop over Munich/Ulm if you like.

Jivehoney, what route did you take to get to the top of the descent off Stob Coire a Chairn?

Out and back or a circular from WHW and around the North side of Am Bodach?

sorry, I’ve not ridden those.

South zigzags off Sgurr elide beag looks a bit steep!!!

I’ve done part of that, specifically the descent from Coire an Lochain, a few years ago. I thought it was a pretty good descent but not easy to get to. Our route was an anticlockwise loop around the back of Sgurr Eilde Mor. That bit was rubbish but from the lochain down was pretty good.

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=222352&Y=765140&A=Y&Z=115&ax=222245&ay=765110

TINAS, It’s £65 for full service at Bounce on the original reverbs

Clicky: The old ones are sometimes the best

As Milky suggested, I’d go with 180mm on the basis that at least you’ll be able to find something that’ll fit when you need it most.

One personal observation from having used Shimano rotors with E4… The depth of the E4 pad is greater than the depth of the braking surface on the Shimano rotor, so…. 1. you’re not getting the full braking benefit of the pad area… and …. 2. the point where the rotors arms meet the braking surface gets worn more quickly. Not a big deal maybe but it was sufficient  to get my OCD twitching and I swapped to Hope rotors.

Used Autoaid for many years and they were great but I thought it was getting a bit pricey at £43 per year and then having to pay for extra cover on top of that for driving in mainland Europe.

Finding that it’s a better deal overall now to open a Nationwide (joint) Flexplus account and pay £15 a month to get European Breakdown cover for both of us, Phone Insurance for all family, Worlwide Travel Insurance for all family, etc.

Dave, you’ll love Golfie. There are no bad trails there.

Didn’t manage to get up there in the last year, so don’t know what the current favourites are but “No social” and “Boner/Waterworld” would have been my recommendations.

The trails just down the road at Thorneylee are also worth a look if you’ve got time. There’s some mental steep stuff there (might have been”slabs and tarts”?)

Our youngest is going to South Africa this year, volunteering at a rhino sanctuary in Kruger NP.
Slightly different scenario to yours in that this counts as a placement for her but there was an approved list of operators/companies available through the vet school. Worth asking if your daughter is able to tap into a similar approved operator list via her uni?

Kaiserschmarrn

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/15945/kaiserschmarrn–austrian-pancakes-with-raisins-.aspx

I’ve had the Ring +130 H7 (dipped) in both my Mundane-o and the Mrs’s Golf for about 6 months now. In both, it’s a significant improvement over the stock bulb.

NB twice as much light doesn’t mean you can see twice as far, unfortunately.
They are noticeably better. I’ll settle for that.

“I went for Procore in the end ”

I’d recommend the same.
Have Procore and Supergravity on the back of my bikes, inc P7 for “XC” duties.
Yes, I could probably get away with a thinner carcase but reluctant to sacrifice the durability. Had very few failures with this config, almost exclusively down to sidewall damage alone now.

thanks dove1, just researched same re dog/beach. Looks like another good option.

Thanks ads, that looks like it’s worth investigating.

Perchy, yep will keep an eye on that.

Oh come on guys!
We’ve done this one to death. There is a definitive answer to this question.
It’s well documented and clearly defined within Stuart Maconie’s seminal work on the subject, “Pies and Prejudice: In search of the North”.
The North undeniably begins in… Crewe