Its worth mentioning that while the lightbicycle rims have the good latest brake tracks, the narrow Farsports ‘classic’ have the older ‘basalt’ tracks which some found a tad dubious (though no worse than most mass market) – whereas the later modern dimensioned Farsports rims have an improved braketrack very similar to the grooved ‘diamante’ tracks on the Bora….

…. or if you can forgo carbon, loads of Alu options are still relatively narrow. The Campag Shamal Ultra is a stunning wheelset, arguably one of the finest alu rim braked wheels ever made – and is 17C Internal 22 External so shouldn’t pose too many problems clearance wise.

Those Primes you mention are very wide for an oldskool build, and lots of older callipers won’t open wide enough for 27/28 external unless you pre-shave the pads…

Had this same issue when buying new wheels. The last but one generation of Campag/ Fulcrum are worth a look as they are relatively narrow, Bora35’s/50’s if you can find any left pre-WTO spec – I snapped up a pair of Fulcrum Speed 40c’s nearly half price which are essentially the same as Bora’s, they may be discontinued now but still some about, they are the same dimensions as the shallower racing zero carbons at 17C Internal, 24.5 External and with a 25c Gp5000 they were the max the decade old frame could take on width. All of these wheels are amazing performance with great brake tracks too.

The other way to do it is Lightbicycle (China direct) still sell narrow rims rim only – the Falcon is 18C internal/ 25external. Farsports still sell a complete ‘classic’ narrow wheel too on their http://www.wheelsfar.com site – I wouldn’t hesitate on the quality of either of those these days if you don’t mind the shipping wait.

Keep rim brakes alive…

Came here to post something about Ellsworth, glad someone beat me to it with some particularly gopping examples above. However… The Ellsworth Epiphany didn’t look quite so awkward and remains one of the nicest to ride xc orientated full suspension bikes that this rider has encountered, just for its handling balance and pedal feel. I have not ridden a similar bike made since that matches its technical climbing ability, though tbh it’s not like I’ve tried them all…

Disc brakes on road bikes.

Internally routed everything on anything.

An electronic-only top tier road groupset future (incoming).

650b wheels were pointless, worse than 26″, not as good as 29″.

A remarkable overview of the history of philosophy if you don’t mind a modern format is the Youtube series of recorded lectures by John Vervaeke titled “Awakening From the Meaning Crisis”, it consists of 50 episodes each an hour long. It is well regarded (being proper academic level philosophy not the modern-media-mickey-mouse type) and the amazing thing if you manage to sit through all of it is that you have close to the equivalent of terms worth (maybe more) of philosophy degree lectures of a very high quality, that you can watch at home for free. It was quite a hit during lockdown while people were sat at home questioning what’s the point. It works well in this format because his presentation style is good… and its easy to rewind the bits that sail far over the cranium.

No ones mentioned the Rab Kinetic range, 2.0/ or Alpine yet – so I’m going to. It’s as close to your moon on stick as available at moment, its a very waterproof softshell or alternatively a very softshelly waterproof. being a new generation of spun type fibres its not technically as high a hydrostatic head as Goretex, but it’s good enough – the plus side is it has as high a MVTR as any waterproof garment is going to have currently. Plus it feels really soft to wear, is quiet, stretchy, lightweight, and has nice feeling inner face. I’d happily carry one as the only waterproof for short day usage in UK conditions outside of winter, while accepting that its not intended as an absolute big mountain storm fortress type garment, which can end up a bit OTT for our relatively dinky hills and mild climate.  A week walking in Scottish rain however would likely see one straight back in the Gtex. These are really similar to the North Face’s Futurelight fabric, which if it ever manages to live up to its initial marketing hype, could be a bit of a revolution… it’s early days for these fabrics and there seem to be some question marks over durability, and also the fact that for proper high mountain usage the high MVTR and tiny percentage of air permeability seem to not be protective enough as it allows body heat to be stripped too quickly in extreme conditions.

Or just get a simple non-membrane soft shell like the Rab Borealis and keep a minimalist Paclite shell buried in the pack for the rare occasions you need it.

Looking forward to the future Question Time where they go to a more broadminded city location and speak to an audience or remainers/ rejoiners who in contrast may be made up of predominately under 50’s about their opinions on Brexit, that is going to happen isn’t it? Isn’t it? Baring the odd one or two the leaver audience fulfilled the brief from the opening shot to the last. Not many youthful faces there…

I’d rather go for a run than ever stick mudguards on a nice road bike… have never done it, and wont ever do it – there are strict aesthetic protocols that should be adhered to. That being said, if I need to ride in the rain I’d rather be on the mtb or gravel bike (equally sans mudguards). This can leave the rim braked roady to its minimalist purist essentials, and mercifully free of the telltale ping and squeal of the nervous descender – with its useful attendant kilo plus weight saving.

I’m like a conscientious objector to disc brakes on a road bike. I’m holding out as long as I can. With a tour level bike from ten years ago I have no desire to go and spend 2-3 times what I paid for mine for the non-benefit of disc brakes… a lot of very experienced riders who’ve ridden hundreds of thousands of miles on some of the most demanding roads in Europe and had no issues with rim braked builds, feel exactly the same. With the one caveat that I suspect body weight and descending skills play a huge part in that. None of my riding buddies run disc brake builds and generally they can afford to ride what they like. For a noob or anyone with a need to buy complete, go ahead and get a disc bike… spend 10k to get a competitive one. I spend so little time on the brakes on normal local ride, hilly terrain even, that for me it’s a no-brainer… no issue with braking power on a well setup and equipped rim setup.. even the latest carbon brake tracks are fine, wet included. If I broke my frame tomorrow I’d probably be scouring ebay for a good replacement rim frame going cheap from a sucker to marketing- rather than walking into a store to be reamed on current pricing.

You might get some clarity on these numbers in a few days as the rumour is that there will be an announcement of the net migration figures which aren’t far off the numbers that GBeebies is quoting, and the department is nervous to release them as it has near doubled in the year. But, the slack so called journalists on the (not really a…or is it a?) news programme have taken the numbers and skewed it to suit there agenda. In reality those net migration figures include those coming to work, to study, and in the case of postgraduates also includes large numbers of family members attached while studying. It also includes the large numbers we have helped from places like Ukraine, Hong Kong and numerous other places such as Afghanistan. Many of these numbers will be assumed to return once conflicts reside, and in the case of students and attached are only ever here temporarily to study, our international draw in academia still being a world level asset and financial benefit. The workers, well I don’t know if anyone else has noticed but it turns out we need them after all. The actual number arriving on boats is only a small part of that number, but of course as the thinly veiled fascists have pledged to stop the boats they’ll achieve that by suppressing publication of those particular numbers. I heard this on the radio so it must be true.

You are right to be concerned. I’ve worked with small amounts of VOC’s in small unsuitable spaces for 30 years, and have learned to be constantly mindful of risk assessing the air quality, it’s all about concentration within air volume. In ‘containing’ VOC’s though – there is a huge difference between the off-gassing of a dried fabric which is a minimal concern, and exposure to VOC’s from solvents evaporating during a manufacturing process. When working with solvents air exchange is key, fresh air in- push air out, you want to be able to feel a breeze in your immediate workspace, if you can’t then you should probably wear a mask (especially if particulate from cutting fabrics is a concern) – always prioritise this over being warm. I work with solvents that are as low VOC as possible, but in a way this makes assessing solvent content in the air harder as it is odourless. Generally if it smells pungent you don’t want to be breathing it in, which is a good general rule. You really need to see the MSDS data sheets for the fabrics used and risk assess the exact components you’re being exposed to as there’s a huge range even in solvents.

How it occasionally ends up when it goes wrong in a particularly trademark dramatic style – and not born of a desire to finish a certain influential early 90’s mtb legend.

Is now a good time to start the REJOIN campaign in earnest…

Why not? what have we got to lose?

Are you sure your high density foam won’t melt when the engine bay gets hot? I came up with a ‘solution’ in an engine bay once that did, with a similar material … on the plus side it just melted rather than burst into flames. Just saying.

I wrote off a ford engine in a puddle, wasn’t even a particularly impressive one, the ford or the puddle.

You sure it was the cat ?

Keep the cheek, cheeky.

I can’t explain why in 2023, when the talk of climate change has shifted to the coming catastrophe, why a brand like BMW has just released the XM – 650Bhp+ , 2.7tonnes !, looks only a mother could love – and all the reviews confirm it doesn’t even drive well. I guess for a certain type of punter it will provide ‘a nice place to sit’ to watch approaching disaster come lapping up to its door handles.

Dissonance seems to be the answer. And profits for shareholders.

Its almost as if there may be reason why it’s a footpath, and not a bridleway. You reap what you sow and all that.

I run Sram XX1 11spd chains, gone through a lot of them- always purchased way under rrp. Go to .75 before swap, and consistently get between 1300-1500 miles using (across last 9 chains). Using current fave Banaslip Tungsten All weather lube, this stuff is good.

The one time I used an X1 level chain it didn’t last as long and shifted poorly from new, they look similar but they are not.

Even some of the best car enthusiast websites publish articles in recognition that the car industry as a whole is heading in the wrong direction. Heres an interesting one on Evo on research done by Green Ncap on mileage data from 27 Eu countries and UK, which shows that the ever increasing weight of ‘everyday’ vehicles is nullifying any of the advances in emission reductions with tech, including the switch to EV if the EV is over the 2 tonne mark:

https://www.evo.co.uk/suvs/205782/average-car-weight-climbs-100kg-in-10-years-with-huge-impact-on-emissions

. ignore. crosspost. Weird as the SL6 didn’t usually have that plate, must just be that the chain’s taken an uncannily symmetrical chunk off…

Unless I’m mistaken, this is an SL5 – there would have been a bonded-on small square metal plate there that the chain has caught and pinged off… so most of what you’re seeing their is the bonding ripping the paint off down to the primer and carbon. I spot some tiny fragment of torn carbon filament at the base, I reckon if you inspect them closely it’ll just be a tiny layer thick of the outermost layer…. its unlikely there will be any gouges of any concern there. Its a relatively small tube cross section and in this area the carbon thickness will be fairly chunky, a scratch of a few tenths of a mm will make no difference. If it were me I’d a sand the shards a bit, and epoxy on a new plate… a specialized dealer could probably source one for you, though its nowt special…

… though do have a really close look at the fractured shard area and ensure it’s not fractured because the tube is nerfed…

Cows are useless for the school run anyway.

Even the FT says we should ban SUV’s, planes, then cows. In that order. Am up for it.

https://www.ft.com/content/7612e3c0-0e10-4cfb-895d-40b2e5d083b9

The thing is, with rim braked wheels now being apparently just for heritage restomod builds (tongue in cheek, as a disc denier) – it is possible to get some amazing deals on great wheels in the sales if you shop around… I got some Fulcrums at near half rrp this winter purposefully so that I can keep my rim braked bike going as long as possible. At that time I saw Shamal’s/ Zonda’s massively reduced, so if you shop wisely you might just net some of the last generation of top rim wheels, which also just happen to be some of the best ever made… so should keep you going for a long while. At the time I was looking CRC had some Mavic’s at near 40%+ off, but its probably a question of timing… In a few years time it may get hard to find stock of good road rim braked wheels so get them while they’re hot.

The lower jockey wheel thing could have been solved with a far simpler solution of just making the thin plastic thing have no holes for sticks to go through… which has never happened to me in 35 years of constant riding anyway. Maybe I’m not ‘serious’ enough for this level of aspirational guff.

I predict many broken carbon swingarms as the impact forces make their merry way to the next weakest link.

edited: was going to say E10 hasn’t affected diesel but I see there’s B10 diesel now too. No idea what that stuff does but have worked out my car likes 99ron Vpower and the few tanks of E10 its had has noticeably nerfed engine power and returned around 10% less fuel economy, whereas the old jump from 99 vs E5 was barely noticeable (small capacity moderately highly strung turbo R56 MCS)… will be sticking to the good stuff from now on.

Exactly. Also, your battery will naturally be at a lower charge state in cold conditions, even if it weren’t being used to power all of those additional things but just from temp effect alone. So when driving as normal isn’t there more drag on the system as the alternator has to do more work to bring the battery back up to charge?… or am I making this up? (don’t actually know the answer to that one, but assuming it to be the case).

If you want maximum aero performance (not a concern for everyone) tyre width should ideally closely track rim width, ie: a gp5000 25 sits perfectly on a 25-26mm external rim, giving a smooth transition. You can fit a 28c tyre on a 25mm external rim, but you’ll effectively nullify some of the aero gains of a deeper rim section, as well as risking a bit of sidewall flop at low pressure. Matching a 28c tyre to a rim with 28mm external dimensions would be right at the limit of what some brands were toying with on rim width before the switch to disc allowed them to go even wider still….

26mm external rim width was perfectly normal for a while but a few brands were doing 28/29mm external but it really starts to push it. But if you can squeeze that in the frame then a 28c tyre on a 28 external rim width would give most of the benefits that the disc revolution has brought to ride comfort.

Yes, normal. Welcome to getting old. Pretty much given up drinking because of it. Don’t miss it at all.

Excuse my ignorance but how much attention should I pay to rim width?

Go as wide as you can within reason to get all the modern advantages of increased air volume, lower pressure- so comfort and more tyre wall cornering support – and be aware that modern tyres are shaped in the assumption of a modern wide rim, ie: gp4000 to 5000 changes. Working out the maximum without physically trying it in the frame is not so easy but can be done by measuring the frames limiting aperture (usually chainstay) against known rim specs and trying to guess how that will affect your normal tyre shape. I did it on a very tight frame and going from 15c-18c internal made a big difference to tyre shape, and can run almost 10psi lower… but she can nae take anymore captain.

Being aware that a wider rim plumps up a tyre, what you absolutely don’t want to happen is for the tyre to rub against the frame, Alu or carbon, a tyre will make surprisingly short work of wearing a hole right through a tube -seen it so often that a lot of people must be unaware that this can happen, and for a time pre-disc everyone was squeezing in the biggest tyres they could find….

For this reason you should have at least 3mm clearance either side to accommodate wheel flex under cornering and also as backup incase you get a buckle mid ride. Tight clearance can also occur at the calliper height as mounting hole height and crown designs vary enormously – also for older brake callipers you may find they don’t open wide enough for a wide modern rim without putting the block at a funny angle where over 25mm external rim width could be a problem. 2019 generation component spec should be fine though in that regard… as should your tyre clearance as most manufacturers had worked out by then that wider was much better – pre- 2016/17 can be very limited depending on bike.

Not read the thread then or all of the OP?

Not really, I was concentrating on taking the wee.

Now I have, for politeness sake… moving from a very good Conti Sport Contact to an Avon will make a difference… and temperature… for all the above reasons but including that summer tyres give worse rolling resistance in the cold as the rubber stiffens.

It’s ten degrees warmer this week up my end, probably same all over so test again next trip to iron out.

Mine last week (not similar) went from normal easy 40mpg to 33mpg in temps around zero, no idea why but there’s so much complicated gubbins going on in a modern engine. I rest assured that spring is around the corner.

Pump all tyres up to 60psi?

No, wait. Don’t do this.

Impromptu fashioned carbon effect aero wheel covers?
Strip out all interior, carpets, sound deadening, audio, air con, unused seats for lightweighting gains…
Sorry, not much help.

Doesn’t sound far off for a big capacity V6, in fact have seen much much worse.

Enjoy it for the few remaining years while we’re still allowed…

Re: Mavic, Rim width should be sensibly maxed out around 19c internal for rim braked bikes, so isn’t much of a differentiator – as many older frame designs would be pushing the limit of tyre clearance with a 25c tyre… my 2014 design is pushing right to the limit with 18c internal with Gp5000 25, though obviously varies enormously with frame design – go for the maximum width you can squeeze in.

Hub design and ease of bearing service to prolong lifespan is at the tiptop of my list when choosing wheels. Mavic have gone through some dodgy hub design patches, no idea what the current iteration is like. The Campy/ Fulcrum ones with cup and cone are excellent, minimal servicing keeps them like new… on the spangly ones with ceramics it’s even possible to replace the hub shell bearing race if they wear, great design for longevity.

I used to run Ksyriums, they were the best well over a decade ago. I wouldn’t get the same now. The new ones are generally ok until you need to remove a tyre roadside, and then they’re not. Proprietary essential replacement parts from a company with an unknown future should also sensibly be a concern, sadly (for a huge Mavic fan). If you want an Alu wheelset then in my experience the Zonda/Shamal from Campy or the Fulcrum equivalent are now better. IMO the Shamal Ultra is the finest Alu wheelset ever made…. It’s possible to sometimes find them at a reasonable sale price.

There was an article doing the rounds a few weeks back that was fairly indicative of the times… a walker on his regular track crossing farmland curiously asks a farmer why he was chopping down and clearing a large area of trees and ancient tangled undergrowth – an already perfect nesting ground for wildlife and birds. It turns out that the farmer admitted that he was clearing the ground so that he could gain access to the re-wilding subsidies for planting new trees … make of that what you will. We’re a fairly daft country so I’m sure anything goes.

See also the BMC Alpenchallenge, sounds like a hearty breakfast but is in fact another really good flat bar option. A bike snob friend bought one for commuting and said he was surprised how good and quick it is, which is as good an endorsement as any… his other tarmac bike is some full pro level Dogma Fwhatever.