My cycling goes back before mountain bikes were invented so I suppose I was originally a roadie but I only did it to keep fit for motor bike enduros. I didn’t really get excited until I could combine riding two wheel vehicles off road and cycling!

Excellent as ever, not long until I retire and can duck out for a wednesday ride!

Stop whinging you youngsters. When you get to my age you will know what grief is when wife finds your choice of hobbies unacceptable!
Sample comment on revelation I was buying a FS, ‘won’t people laugh?’
Well yes but I will be enjoying it.

I almost always ride alone because I can get out in the week when my mates can’t.This also means i often can’t get out at weekends when they’re out. So I am aware I am a little more careful on my own. It’s better to bottle something potentially nasty than end up in Intensive Care, an institution I spent far much time in due to a Motorbike accident.

Srange to have this topic come up as I have just been out on my son’s Felt Virtue which weighs around 28-29lbs and have been moaning about how heavy it feels compared to my 24.5lb HT. It is set up for himand not at all how I would have grips bars etc so is it the weight or is it the unfamiliar set up that made me feel that my legs were windmiling but going nowhere?

Some racks have two top rails on each side with the lower one positionedfurther back than the upper so that you can mount the pannier further back. I used to have the ‘big foot problem’ with my old blackburn rack on the old steel mtb I use as a tourer. I replaced it with a topeak rack as described above and it is much better.