Well i’ve watched all that’s available so far and i’m quite enjoying it, but not getting the same engrossed feeling i perhaps should be. I’m not sure if it’s the way it’s being told, or the script, but it’s lacking a certain depth and tension. I quite liked the Regensberg/Schweinfurt raid portrayal, in that it showed how epic and exposed a mission it was. But I also agree the CGI battles don’t seem quite right at points, but they did try to show how the sky was littered with bits of plane and people in Ep.4, and that is something mentioned in witness testimony in the book. It’s crazy to think how much material would have rained down form above, all the bits of planes, parachutes, bodies, shrapnel from flak. A grim reality.

Aside from the historical accuracy with battles, there’s also the everyday reality to convey, and it has a reasonable stab at it with scenes in East Anglia and London, and Egan facing the sharp end of their day job by seeing the aftermath of Nazi bombing in London. I’m a bit sceptical of land girls stooking hay next to the hardstands, and locals running about. I’d have expected some sense of airfield security, and not sure if wheat was grown on an operational airfield, but I don’t honestly know, it just felt too much like a concocted compound of historical elements…

I’m going to keep watching and I can feel myself getting more invested in the series.

Yep, good result, can’t argue with that

After the recent weather it’ll be a mess on the natural stuff, so a good idea to just drive there.

I recently got a second hand Titus Ti frame (a newer one though), so this is all very confidence inspiring! Fair play, you used it and it doesn’t owe you anything by the looks of it.

I think you can ask just for fun, but expect a ‘no’. If you love it then you could get new seat and chain stays and dropout, and you’ll have an intriguing frame that’ll look like its going through a Terminator style regeneration, like it’s just stepped out of a burning car crash and is moulding itself back together…

For the uses you mention, some faster tyres and other hand positions would do the trick to be honest. What you describe is a drop bar mtb, and the only thing really in common with a gravel bike is the drop bar. Even the cheapest conversion will be a fair bit of money and poorer braking with cables discs. Even alt-drop bars aren’t as good for controlling a fat-tyred bike off road, as flat bars are. I had a drop bar 29er and it just didn’t work for me. I’m glad I tried as what I learned was valuable. For the easier off-road then a gravel bike or light XC bike was more comfortable and faster but still fun. For chunkier off-road the fun element quickly wears off. For road it makes no sense.

If you want to throw a bit of cash at it and give it a go, and you find you like it, then go for it!

I’d assume that OS as owners of the mapping, wouldn’t be allowing people to download the entire country offline, for the price of an annual sub or a handful of paper maps. Aside from the huge amount of data it would require, i’m guessing their commercial model (for good or bad) means that to get complete UK mapping has to cost £100s in either physical maps or downloads. Looks like a good addition to strava though.

Just finished building up today. Titus el Viajero frame with parts swapped from the outgoing Unit.

Finally built up the XL el Viajero frame I bought a few months ago. Really pleased with the final thing. Much lighter than the Unit it replaced, but it’s also no weight weenie. It’s meant as a do it all rigid 29er, but I will use a sus fork on it when necessary. It’ll get a short dropper at some point and some things might be swapped around. Looking forward to the first proper ride now!

To be fair to them I think it’s beyond clever marketing as they get across the board good reviews. I think there is very good attention to detail in the design, custom tubesets mean they can tweak shapes and tube widths with butting in the right areas. Very much a build up of marginal gains from a design point of view.

Only watched one episode so far, and did enjoy it, and will watch the whole series before coming to a final judgement. No, it’s not BoB. I think there is a decent amount to like, but some of the criticism so far is fair. The characters and dialogue are OK so far, but I think it’s missing real tension. Maybe this will build through the episodes and carnage.  Maybe the hardest bit for the series is that it’s focus is perhaps too broad, and the viewer is overwhelmed by a cacophony of action/horror/drama, and it blunts all the individual extraordinary stories…?

Just a point of order – the book was published in 2007, but it was re-published with the current changed title. The book is very worthwhile, and goes into great detail across many aspects, and there’s absolutely no shortage of potential drama and horror. Some of the missions attempted almost defy belief. The African scenes come from trialling shuttle bombing. Also tested in Russian territory later on.

I’ve got an exotic monocoque boost fork, and it’s decent. Not all that light for an all carbon fork, but it’s 490mm a/c and is really good at soaking up bumps, better than a steel fork in my experience. 1120 fork looks good too. Other options for £2-300 include banana industries carbon fork:

https://www.bananaindustries.co.uk/products/fugazzi-carbon-mtb-boost-fork-15mm-x-110mm-axle?_pos=4&_sid=0e220e1ca&_ss=r

Does look identical to the Selcof though, and is probably the same open mould

Olsen: https://olsenbikes.co.uk/products/olsen-mtn-hell-carbon-boost-adventure-mtb-fork-with-15mm-maxle?_pos=5&_sid=3e9b4285d&_ss=r

Exactly the same as above, even the photo!

Spa Cycles: https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m21b0s29p4989/SPA-CYCLES-Rove-Carbon-Fork

Oh, and another of the same!

Or you could try ebay, there are loads of no brand ones very similar to the above, or ones from known suppliers like Airwolf, direct from China. Otherwise also keep an eye out for 2nd hand Niner forks…

Michelle Mone is already sniffing out the potential contracts, to help cover her upcoming court costs for PPE fraud, and before her assets are frozen…

Man changes job. Don’t think it’s that seismic?

SC do a good job of maintaining desirability in the UK with limited stock availability.

Richard Overy’s The Bombing War is an excellent book that looks at bombing as a whole, whichever country used it in the WW2 period. It’s illuminating to understand more about the strategies of the USAAF and RAF and some takes on their respective effectiveness and moral questions that hang over them…

I think conscription is suggested because we might be at war in the future, nobody expects that to take the form of an invasion of the UK – who would want to? But yes, as part of a NATO alliance somewhere in Europe or hopefully not middle east. Europe has some centuries of historical president as the location for defending our sense of sovereignty.

Spoiler alert, the Germans lose.

over what time period are we talking?

Great point! A younger Stephen E. Ambrose gives a very good overview of ‘who won the war’ in The World at War series, I think ‘Reckoning’.

Don’t get invited to parties either!

Interesting question. I’ve been wondering at the pitiful size of our armed forces, and wondering if there is a policy shift towards what is basically rearmament, given the equipment and spending on Ukraine – strategic stockpiles must be very low, and that worries me. I think as a nation we’re fairly isolated from the prevailing feelings in countries in Eastern EU who are rightly rattled and pursuing new defence priorities. I see a benefit in some form of basic training and service. I spent some time in Finland about 15 years ago, and totally understand their pivot to NATO, and how they are actually in a good position regarding defence readiness and military size in comparison to population. That also includes actually having a civil defence infrastructure – imagine that!

Despite this country being a basket case, and despite my being 43 with no useful background, i’d do a duty if asked. I’d expect it to be in the dad’s army, but I guess that’s the point, to free up fighting personnel for where it’s needed, and not having fully trained 21 year old guarding a fence in the English countryside.

That was my concern a bit too (on flying sequences), I hate it when you get cartoon moves that make it seem like a video game. It takes away from the seriousness of the story, and it’s so unnecessary. The actual action is nail-biting enough, it doesn’t need the methods from a star wars or Marvel film. For me the benchmark for US daylight raids is Twelve o’clock high. A fantastic film that uses actual footage from raids, and they had the luxury of using a real B-17 to stage a real belly landing.

Fun fact: It’s a Wonderful Life was James Stewart’s first film after his service in a squadron based in England (with great distinction). I often wonder how much of his war experience filters through to the anguish of his character. It could have just been pure acting of course! Anyway, I wonder if he’ll make a cameo appearance in the series, either CGI as a younger man or as a brief acted appearance…?

Thanks for starting the thread. I’ve been keeping vague tabs on this for years, being a huge fan of BoB. I really really hope it lives up to most if not all of the production credentials of BoB. The Pacific was a gory melodrama and a let down. The way they filmed the action sounds good, I just hope the final edit doesn’t make it look ridiculous. One of the trailers wasn’t that reassuring, but I bought an apple tv sub as I want to watch the whole thing. It’s 9 episodes so hopefully it’ll be worth it. Never had apple tv before but there’s some other quality TV and films on there which is a good sign. I can absolutely do without the vast array of chaff that’s on netflix.

I’ve read the book this is based on and it’s an excellent and illuminating read. Bravery and grimness, and incredible fortitude abound. Being hanks and Spielberg I expect a dose of yank schlock, and some laughable UK characters (like BoB). But they’re capable of communicating a gripping sense of the historic reality, which I hope prevails.

I watched some historical realism commentary
on YouTube about the trailer, and it bodes well because their complaints are so petty/vexatious.

Long post, sorry!

hmm – i guess all those mounts and bolts (&EBB?) add up! No getting around it being a fairly hefty frame…looks nice though!

As mentioned a few times, think you can cure it with slighter tighter chain and tensioner pushing up to wrap the rear cog better. I had exactly this issue on my Inbred even with a half link chain, and doing this sorted it out for good. Rear tensioners are a bit hit and miss though, the BB tensioner above is another good idea…

Shame the lomo bag doesn’t have webbing loops to feed straps through, would help to keep it secure in the harness…

I’ve been running M615 and M6000 calipers with my old RS685 levers for I guess 5+ years now, and they’ve been faultless. It’s fine to use mtb calipers, but worth checking if there are some that aren’t compatible.

Good shout @welshfarmer

I’d go for Abergavenny or Crickhowell anytime, despite the influx of gentrification. The Black mountains and surrounds are one of my favourite places – great riding to be had and a stunning place.

Yep, I really like the look of that too. I suspect he’ll sell those pretty quick!

I feel your pain, though my young ones are now 3 and 5. A routine/order of doing things is good, going in the order of food, awake/play, then bed, looking out for those tell-tale clues of tiredness. I’d expect a 10 month old to be napping still, but when ours refused we still put them in a cot when tired for a time…and there’s also the dreaded developmental leaps that play havoc with sleep. As others have said, it’s no fun having to give in and get them sleeping on you, but sometimes it has to happen, but it’s not sustainable as a routine longer term. Good luck and I hope things improve, I always found that changes came about at times when we as parents were most tired and least able to deal with it – but you do end up finding a way and things do change quickly over the first 0-2 years.

Newbury/West Berkshire – might surprise some, but there is excellent riding here. No technical off road, but huge amounts of XC and gravel riding in all directions. There is a superb network of bridleways and byways. A huge amount of rolling downland. The Ridgeway is close by too. If you’re into road riding then it’s excellent for that too.

House prices are fairly high, but it’s a nice town, and although it’s busy, it is quiet in the rural areas and on trails just a few miles from town. Very good employment opportunities close, or in nearby Reading. Unemployment rate of just 2.6%.  Excellent rail and road links. Part of doing mostly riding from the door is to change your riding expectations and bikes to match what you have on your doorstep, which is something i’ve consciously done. But the option to travel by car or train with the bike is still there.

Looks interesting, and not dissimilar to the Cotic cascade or Solaris. I think these might be made in the same factory as the new Solaris, Fort bikes in Czechia? Might also be the maker of Fairlight bikes but not sure.  Looks interesting, and its probably worth their while selling those bikepacking forks separately, I can image a fair few takers. For the whole drop or flat bar thing, it’ll be similar to what the cascade does, not too long so it is manageable with both kind of bars (with different stem lengths). Personally, I wouldn’t be keen on controlling a 130mm fork with a drop bar!

Anyway, another good all-rounder XC option can’t be a bad thing.

I’ve never bought a complete bike, new or used. So generally just pay for parts and frames (mostly used) when i have the money. Then I sell bits to recoup money or if things are no longer needed. However I did recently see an expensive (for me) used Ti frame that I had to get, so I used the credit card for it, which I never normally use. There will be some man maths involved, but i’m selling the frame and some bits it is replacing, which will offset some, but not all of it. Paying back the remainder in a couple of months will be no hardship so i’m OK with it.

Did make first use of C2W last year for a large box of accessories. But in the end I felt it wasn’t good value, and I picked some things I didn’t really need, so won’t do it again.

A nice walk and a pub is a pretty good alternative!

Off road is often its best when cold and crunchy, turning slop hard overnight. But always watching out for ‘boiler-plate’ lumps of ice that might create a fall. If in the Lakes i’d consider routes that avoid potentially slippery rock, but otherwise make the most of it and ride cautiously to avoid becoming a MR callout statistic. It’s the best of winter riding bar proper snow. I also prefer being on Icy roads on an MTB (when it’s to get between trails), as you have a bit more grip and control.

On the road, not fun and pretty dangerous. No chance. Become an Ambulance statistic!

Tonnes of adapters for using Post mount brakes on Flat mount frames and forks. Just one example: https://www.merlincycles.com/trp-flat-mount-to-post-disc-brake-adaptor-89957.html?utm_source=PHG&source=PHG&utm_medium=Affiliates&utm_campaign=genieshopping

And again, ignore 1x specific just don’t cable up the LH brifter. That should all open up more options.

The Krampus QR fork will be 100mm ‘normal’ QR, and you can get the option with all the mounts if you look around. The ECR QR fork is very similar but looks to have even more mounts, but the a/c is 468mm on the ECR fork compared to 486mm on the Krampus. I have a pair of Krampus forks and they’re ace.

Maybe I shouldn’t have given a shoutout to @daffy @bobodaclown that might help..?

I think a rigid mtb with decent mudguards, tubeless tyres, and a rack would fulfil the utilitarian/land rover analogy of moving through the landscape. Any wheel size would do too.

Bit of a thread resurrection! I’ve just got hold of a bargain 2nd hand el Viajero frame. It’s replacing a very similar geometry Kona Unit frame. I loved the manners and versatility of the Unit but it always felt like a bit of a lump. So this came up and it’s an ideal replacement, dropping 1kg in frame weight. It’ll be pretty much a straight swap of all the Unit parts. How are current owners getting on with theirs, a year of two down the line? Keen to hear if the positive thoughts above still stand, and that hopefully no warranty issues have occured!

The old 15×100 wheels or hub can be used on a gravel bike (or anything with 12×100) with a sleeve axle adapter, as 100mm axles are the standard there. An alternative use for it if you get a new wheel or hub, otherwise a boost kit is cheap, but potentially fiddly.

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Halo-15-to-12mm-Adaptor-Sleeve_102581.htm?sku=372989&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Parts%20And%20Components%20%3E%20Wheels%20%3E%20Wheel%20accessories&utm_content=Halo&gclid=Cj0KCQiAo7KqBhDhARIsAKhZ4uj-hilZMJESl97uMqg8DEo2AfahHaPlqsyVVEY8ufkpNL_z1wuVE5caAg4eEALw_wcB

Oh man, I want an army green cascade to run as a flat bar now…

I think my feeling on the price hike is (almost) directly related to the fact my pay hasn’t increased by a similar percentage, and won’t be. It’s not Cotic’s fault, and I still think the frame looks excellent, and understand why they are doing it. So my mild disappointment at the price being more firmly out of my reach is understandable.

I was looking at the Pasta Party the other day, and it looks fantastic, though I don’t want an EBB. The geo of their Crumble is closer to the Solaris, though increased fork travel. Made in Saxony! There’s a Sour dealer in Hove doing Crumble’s for £950, they should get some Pasta Party’s in! Still can’t afford them though.

What about a Hutchinson Tundra in 50mm? I know you’ve tested them before on UKGravelco, I really rate my 40mm ones and they come up large. Not tried mine in deep mud though as i’m on 650b for winter and don’t enjoy mud plugging a whole lot.