https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/summaries/datasets

Not a recommendation, cos i’ve not tried it, but the Fat Albert rear is probably the closest thing Schwalbe do to a HR2

I went with HD/Razor – happy enough with the results so far, but maybe actually overkill depending on trails you ride.
For a lot of trail centre type trails XC tyres with tougher carcass options do very nicely.

As in wooden boards, or motor racing track?
No to the former, possibly the latter.

So its a cheap nasty Airshot that costs nearly as much as an Airshot.
Not really seeing why anyone would risk crowdfunding something that already has a successful product available to buy.

fifeandy – how is that Cooker SS’d? I have a 1×10 version, and thinking of converting it for winter .. but I hate tensioners for aesthetic reasons (i.e. I’m a ponce) – does it have an eccentric bb, as I suspect the frames aren’t different?

It’s a 2016 Cooker 0 – yes its an EBB.
Different frame I think, its Cro-Mo vs 6061 Aluminium on the geared versions.

10% is about my limit on my Plug on 42:16 – rather not find out my exact limit as walk of shame with road shoes on is even worse than walk of shame in MTB shoes.
Have done 15% off road on my Cooker(b+) on 32:18, but did my back in in the process

help please.

Last time I had similar, i came to the conclusion i’d just made a balls up of it, undid the cable from the mech, started again, and confirmed I had indeed just made a balls up of it.

I’d go with changing the mech and 11/32 out back.
Not because of the 52 (although it has its uses), but because the 36 is a bit more versatile than a 34 which, whilst great for grinding up 20km mountain passes, can be a bit frustrating for typical UK riding.

Possibly still not knobby enough, but:

£18 at CRC in 20″x 1.4″ flavour

No fixed balance point for me.
Basically most months current account balance grows a little. If i want to buy something i buy it, but sometimes i don’t, and in that case i make an extra months mortgage payment.
Basically, I don’t think overpaying should hinder my standard of living, but i’d rather get it paid than either hoard the cash or blow it on a needless extravagant purchase.
Over 4yrs i’ve overpaid 5-10% of the initial value.

I’ve got one of the first Spectrals, basically all good except two minor niggles.
First the top tube is a touch short on pedally bits, but seems to make much more sense when standing on downs.
Second the Float CTD shock is a little prone to blowing through travel in descend mode and not firm enough in climb mode. More pressure fixes the former, but not the latter. Don’t know if thats a feature of the shock or the bike design.

I believe the top tube is a touch longer on the newer models so thats one problem crossed off, and the other may be as much about me being used to efficient power transfer on XC hardtails and road bikes.

Overall, great value bike, happy with my purchase, and no problems with Canyon

Currently due to finish late 40’s, but chipping away at it with overpayments so hope to have it completed sooner.

Highland park is milder, but still wouldn’t recommend for someone looking to avoid peaty/smokey flavours.

Winters Gold is definitely a good call, very mild, and a bit different, mine lives in the freezer, take a sip and then as it warms in the mouth the flavours come out.
Already have a spare bottle though, so probably won’t pick up another this time around.

Maybe science can make us some genetically modified trees that don’t produce evil particulates when burnt?

Just a quick point to note that i didn’t see anyone else mention.
If you’re new role will involve responsibility for others, it’ll also probably involve a certain amount of BS (PRD’s, return to work, etc etc).
Just be sure you are ok with that, because its not for everyone.

But mostly i guess, if you can afford it, and your heart says go for it, then go for it.

stupid question, but what do you then do with said tyres?
Do you have a tame garage/mechanic to swap tyres and rebalance wheel for you?

Kinda depends for me.
Not exercising much at the moment, so not that hungry, tends to make me eat more slowly.
Other times when i’ve been riding a lot, I may as well be a food hoover.

Thing is with online reviews, you always seem to get a tonne of people who rate it 5* for no reason other than they own it or that it was delivered quickly, and that drowns out the 1* reviews with critical info … “This tyre exploded and killed a bus full of nuns” etc

I find they are generally cancelled out by the halfwits that order a 32c only to find it doesn’t fit in their frame and is hence obviously only a 1* tyre as a better tyre would have given them a call to tell them it wouldn’t fit before delivery.

On the Gators, I found them great as a dry weather commuting tyre, really tough, but they were lethal shizzle in the wet. I switched to GP 4 seasons, the puncture resistance seems about the same, slightly worse but the wet grip is night and day better.

Well yes, the 4Seasons is undoubtedly a better tyre, but it’s no longer a mid-range mid-price item, its a top of the range – high-price item so hardly a fair comparison.

20 mile run (Saturday, at or just over marathon pace)

That’s ringing alarm bells for me.
20mi at/over marathon pace should be leaving you pretty screwed and certainly not in a position to be doing midweek intervals the next week.

No, not soft at all.
I use 22/36 lowest gear and I weigh around half as much so getting up hills is a somewhat easier task.
I’m strongly of the opinion that the vast majority of riders are vastly over-geared. A lot of people seem to run gears the same size as an XC pro uses, except they have half the P/W ratio.

Meh, I think Gatorskins get a needlessly hard time on here.
Just take a look at Wiggle:
Wire Bead version – 4.6/5 from 1600 reviews
Folding version – 4.7/5 from 1700 reviews

They are mid price, mid range training tyre and perform as such. There’s much worse tyres out there.

How can one slick be slower than another unless the compound is really soft and therefore grippier?

Speed is not in how soft or not the rubber compound is, its in how much energy it loses as it deforms.
And more importantly, the quality of the tyre carcass and how easily that deforms.
A Gatorskin is ~0.5-1mph slower than a GP4000, and yet also less grippy.

Removed post – idiot content

Indeed. That climb up salmon hill was only 1.5k. With the bunch tearing up there full throttle you’re going to need a huge attack *and* for there to be a lull in the chase to get away.

Which is why the strong punchy riders with no sprint needed to take a huge risk and go with a full gas glory or nothing attack with 5 or 6 laps to go. On such a short climb there was never any likelihood of making something stick in the last 3 laps when the pace was really on. There were only 4-5 teams with a realistic interest in a sprint.

Take Belgium as an example. Squad packed full of strong punchy riders, but never going to win a sprint. Stuyven wiped out in a crash with 2 to go, but why was he even still in the bunch? Perfect rider to have been sent out early. Vermote, spent 200km pulling on the front? For what? They had no sprinter. If he was going to be pulling, he could have been pulling the breakaway and making the sprinters teams chase.

Whitestone has it.

He appears to be combining Castelli kit with flat pedals. I surely hope my eyes are mistaken, as such a horror shouldn’t be allowed in the world.

This picture taken late afternoon on the NC500 more or less sums up this ‘summer’ perfectly.

A bit of a mess, but less than it was (kind of).

Started the year as a blanket of moss and dead grass, two batches of feed and weed, scarified 3 times, and was left with sort of patchy at both ends, and 10 ft of something resembling a lawn in the middle.

Fast forward a few months, and with NC500 and a month of light rain on a daily basis, the nice bit got too long, and when i finally cut it, it all went yellow.

So a yellow patchy mess, but at least made of grass not moss.

Big mistake from some squads (thinking the likes of Gilbert, Dumoulin etc) I thought, not going absolutely eyeballs out to create a gap from 5 laps out. Risky maybe, but taking Sagan, Kristoff and Matthews to the line in a bunch resulted in a rather predictable finish.

Bergen looks stunning, must go visit at some point.

And lets hope at some point we get a Rochelle/Brian double act, then we can all leave them to it and switch to the other channel :)

Pick yourself up a joint angle measurer and check you are in a similar pedalling position to other bikes

Got 2 jerseys, 2 jackets and a Gabba equivalent.
Excellent quality kit that can nearly always be had cut price because its not a trendy brand in the UK.
Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

Not for a while it’s not.

It’s completely shut for the foreseeable future. Tree disease. Substantial felling needs to take place.

Plus it’s absolutely shitAh, that’s a shame.
I actually quite enjoyed it – rode 4 laps on my XC HT.
Yes, its basically a very long blue trail with the odd red/black feature, and yes I can totally understand why some (especially more experienced/skilled/over-biked riders) may feel that it’s very bland, but for someone new I think the surface is nice, you can carry speed and its generally nice flowing fun.

Good light that was.

Given that it parted company with the mount all on its own, one may beg to differ :lol:

Another vote for the Red at GT as the next logical progression.

Mabie Red wouldn’t be a terrible choice.
Dalbeattie Red, like Comrie is rather dark red in places, so best avoided for the time being (but definitely do it when you are more confident!).

Bit outside your specified travelling distance, but:
Glenlivet is also a sensible next step.

Stock ultegra and dura ace pads are great.
Swissstop marginally better, but probably not worth the extra cost.

1200 miles seems about right for a chain.

I can’t get close to that on a MTB chain.
~500mi on a chain, big ring (on a 2x) and cassette at ~2000mi. Small ring weirdly still seems fine.

I use the run everything till it dies technique if I get sloppy and forget to check/change a chain early enough

Bit on the hefty side at 10.9kg surely?
My Alu hardtail weighs less and obviously has the increased weight of a suspension fork and bigger tyres.

It is pretty though

Binners…not seen those but I will make it my life’s mission to hunt them down..they sound fantastic..

+1

Oh we have a crisp snob among us.

Guilty as charged.
Rapidly heading towards being a biscuit snob too :oops:

Packet of these last week lasted no time at all: