Going to try and avoid the temptation to pair my Garmin watch heart rate sensor and be nerdy about it

I am still waiting for my first emtb (orbea Rise) to arrive, but when I tested a few back in May my heart rate was just as high as it was on an analogue bike. That could have been because I was trying to get as many runs in as possible on the day.

I guess it depends why your bought an ebike, and what you like riding. I like riding uphill so maybe my hr will remain high, but my ultimate aim is to still do the climbs and keep going for longer.

I would t worry about it. If you were doing daily short journeys then maybe, but op isn’t

Call me old fashioned but why try and fit the marketing mold? I’ve been riding bikes 40 odd years. Road bikes off road, MTB’s on road.

For me a gravel bike (as described and sold in the marketing BS) is not something I will ever need.

All bikes have slight compromise when it comes to use, rather than spending £££ polishing a turd ie a road bike, CX bike, gravel bike, hardtail mtb, full sus mtb , I accept that at the boundaries you get some (a little) compromise.

Personally I’d be getting a hardtail mtb

vmgscot – I think that 2nd Cannondale pic of yours is the 2nd Cannondale I had , it was definitely a single seat stay thing. What’s the model , difficult to tell in that pic.

Are those patio doors legal ? I actually quite like the fact you can open the door and fall out but surprised it got signed off!

The stairs look great, but no banister? Right trendy but completely impractical for young kids or recovering from surgery / old age etc

There have been a few similar ish threads on here recently.

At some point in the next year (ordered in May) I will be getting an Orbea Rise to replace a 2012 Anthem X. I always thought the Anthem X rear suspension was completely sorted and could handle way more than it should, and I still think that. However the front end is old school chuck you over the bars geometry.

More modern hardtails are more capable overall than an older Anthem X.

Personally Ive gone down the ebike root as I am not as fit as I was, dont have the time to get as fit as I was, and boy they are fun !

As above what were the renovations? Was adequate ventilation put in?

Positive Pressure Systems would help, and actually I think are a good thing in any old has that has a dampness about it.

TBH I am not a fan of the dehumidifier, yes they take the moisture out, but they dont help air circulation

I had 2 Cannondale hardtails back in the day.

One was brilliant, the other just wasnt right (for me) geometry wise and put me off them forever.

They were like many bikes of that era, just felt a bit more special and handcrafted, well I guess at least finished

I had one of these, if I remember rightly this was the good one

Edit: was defo this one. From what I remember it was stolen. Possibly the next one I had was the first of ‘production line’ Cannondale bikes

Vintage MTB Cannondale M600 Hand Made bike (youtube.com)

One I forgot on my list is

Good Bloke Outdoors

Bloke from Bradford (my old home town) . Couple of years ago gave up drugs/city life and now goes walking / wild camping. He’s quite funny in an awkward kind of way.

Very well produced and edited

Regarding TFL, how old is jr?

14yrs old although he looks about 20 !

Mrs FD says we have some Oyster cards with loads of cash left on them from about 5 yrs ago so might use them for Jnr

currently thinking Premier Inn London Bank Tower

Next thing is to find a restaurant that does home made burgers/pizzas not chain processed shite :-)

Thanks for the advice so far, may look nearer the Tower.

So I wont be able to use my phone to get a ticket for myself and one for my son?

Is the issue that one bike  is described as a gravel bike, therefore straight away that will make it slower, as it’s filling a marketing niche . Then there is your obligatory beared and baggies whilst riding the gravel bike that make it slower. Flared handlebars too?

Already finding that it is very difficult to close accounts from shops I have used in the distant past ie you cant just click a button, you have to request via email !

As they have got older we have loosened things significantly, now only have screen time come on overnight to help them get better sleep (they are teenagers).

Completely agree with this. Education and understanding is the only answer.

Bit of a further update.

A tough couple of months at the end of last season. He stopped playing where he was (a local EFL development team) and their academy team offered him a trial. It all went very well and looked promising. However at the end of a 3 month trial ,out of the blue the answer was no. This left our son club less at the end of a season. Luckily we knew a couple of local none EFL clubs would take him straight in (thankfully) and this kept him going, although it was a big knock back.

Again in the off season he was selected to play for at national level, but this again was hard for him with team mates as he is the only ‘unsigned’ player, and pretty much the rest of the squad is made up of Cat 1 (premier league) players. However good news came from this selection camp, as I was approached by a Premier League football club who are interested in him. He also has another match coming up soon against a premier league club that we have been told are interested in him.

We now take everything with a pinch of salt, it would be great if he gets an offer from 1 or both, if both we wouldnt have a clue which to choose. Weirdly it would appear that having a connection with the lower league EFL club has hindered him progressing in the academy system.

If he does get in to a Cat 1 academy, this is could be a turning point from an Education perspective. So far he plays football 3 x evenings a week and a match or 2 at the weekend. Cat 1’s expect day release too, which I am uncomfortable with when he is just starting GCSEs. We know his education will suffer as a result. In the past we have already had conversations that if football takes over, and then he is ultimately unsuccessful in it, we will support him however we can to regain his education.

Would stick with a Mondeo or Focus estate.

IMO the Focus is not half the car the Mondeo is. I also thought the Octavia was much smaller inside than a Mondeo.

OP – I know you say budget of £10-£12k, but thats not far off Tesla money for a fairly new model 3

Just to confirm we are all apple devices, I assume you are too?

He has his own email (apple) account. Then we just followed this

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/105121

Finish watching it this morning.

I fast forwarded large chunks of it as it was the same old, but at least they were doing it more as a memorial to the past however many years.

It was the passing of a generation / era. I think the comments about EV were completely right. The last 100 years of ICE vehicles have created culture, ways of life etc. EVs have sucked away any of that. They are now just dull boxes to get from A-B.

So to me a saw it as a fitting tribute and end to probably one of the most successful ways of life in the last 50 years, end of ICE, end of TV production, end of their long established and brilliant careers, and for most of us, love them or hate them, they have been here through our childhoods in middle aged grumpiness.

Back from the holiday.

Unfortunately didnt manage to hire a bike. What bikes there were in Vela Luka were cheap nasty things. However people did leave there very nice mtbs just outside shops/cafes not even locked up! Obviously crime is very low on the island.

However there were many waymarked  MTB routes there, and clearly a lot of local mtb’rs. I understand from talking to them that the trails are not that technical, but there is a lot of choice and elevation gain in beautiful remote countryside.

Most routes are way marked and also have tool stations and pumps dotted about the island.

Storms are forecast for next week.

On the whole the weather was pretty good. A couple of days with very high wind and a bit of rain. One day was particularly bad, but Mrs FD still managed a 2.5k sea swim in the morning.

One of the less stormy evenings with 2 of Croatia’s national rowing team training in the sea

Our son is 14 and we manage to setup all the restrictions we want on iOS very easily.

To be fair even at 14 we feel that education is better than blocking. We pretty much now just monitor the sites hes accessing and the time he is on, and the hours use ie blocked late at night

If you change your mind and decide to go for an Orbea Rise, don’t expect it to arrive in the spring, even if you order it now!

Oh and just think how many pagers are used in the NHS still ….

Was on a aircraft yesterday and they announced that if your electronic device starts to get hot or smoke, let a member of staff know.

What are they going to do, open the door and chuck it out?

will it help longevity if I just ran it at 75-85% compared to other motors running at full power

Good question. I am not an expert, but high powered cars normally have beefed up components to take the extra power ie more exotic materials ie special alloys or titanium to cope with the higher stresses. Generally as you increase power, things wear out more quickly

You would hope they have used better materials, but who knows, certainly the weight is low

I’d be interested in the anticipated longevity of such a system,

Agreed – I’ve seen the vids with the exploded CGI of their gearboxes. All looks plastic gears to keep the weight down. Should be interesting. One of the vids does say that power isnt available below 80rpm, which will help save the motor.

I have also read (and this could be complete trollocks) that they are aware of all the previous shitness of other brands and already have stocked up on spares.

As to power – difficult one.I dont want an ebike for loads of power, but there was a lot of fun to be had riding a Rise with 85nm . However again with the power of this thing, there must be lots of times where you get to the speed  limiter, which becomes more frustrating

No biking for me, but a half hearted attempt at getting dunk in a storm off the coast of Croatia

They have gone hard on the promoter/influencer/’review’ content in the past week or so, lots of positive spin but one must remain cynical!

Yep the eMBN video is puke inducing BS.

@funkydunc Levo SLs sitting on shelves everywhere with big discounts…

Loved the bike, but the motor and battery just are so out dated compared to the competition

I’d be looking even with early adopter risk.

Yep Ive seen loads of vids of DJI customer services being really good (of course this may not be)

Currently waiting on an Orbea Rise. Ordered in May, keeps getting pushed back and back with now November being the earliest delivery.

The Amflow bikes appear to be available in October with deliveries in November too. The shop where I was buying the Orbea from are really apologetic, and are struggling to get any updates from Orbea.

So would you swap to Amflow, or stick with Orbea?

Cars

Mat Armstrong Mk1 & Mk2 – Although the novelty is starting to wear off.

JayEmm on Cars

The Late Brake Show

Special Stage

Skiing

Laurie Taylor Ski – GP Slalom Ski Team racer (what I used to do)

Cody Townsend

Random

Harry Dwyer – sailing around the UK in a small powerboat (very very good series)

Joe Marlers Things People Do – funny

Biking

Greg McCahon – Brilliant series cycling the length of the Americas

Jono Jones

Matt Jones

Does anyone else think this latest attempt might be fabricated?

I’m in the camp of the mtb industry has decided its direction which is bike parks and uplift, and big travel / capable bikes

The industry is now geared up to people who don’t do the sport for fitness reasons. Plus riding round a trail centre on YouTube looks boring compared to someone going down a manicured burned bike park jump line.

Llandegla IMO has stolen most of CyB footfall. It’s close to Manc and Liverpool, why would you keep going another 1hr +

What I don’t understand is why bike parks don’t have more XC/Trail riding integrated in to them. Revolutions Bike Park said they were going to but no sign of it yet, Dyfi could do and create a massive area combined with the other stuff near by.

The fact is many people don’t want it, or are prepared to pay for it

Re reversing budget cuts, I’m not sure. What other services would be cut instead?

For those saying Machynlleth where is all this XC/Trail riding ?

Does appear that North Wales is not blessed with much XC/Trail riding

OP why Wales just out of interest?

The Tube as in from the olden days or The Tube in the interweb ?

Thanks for the responses so far.

I do have OS Maps on my phone, and was wondering if the maps were good enough to stop me constantly getting the phone out, which tends to happen after you have gone the wrong way!

I am not too bothered about training functions, just want to enjoy riding my bike these days !

Would be good if anyone has any views on Talkytoaster ?

Thanks

I’ve tried the things you plug into the electrical sockets to boost it and they work to an extent, but the signal completely drops out quite often.

in my experience they are a complete waist of money.

As soon as I bought a mesh system problems solved.

Make sure you get one that can add more meshes (whatever they are called) and one that can handle the speeds you expect to download.

I’ve got Deco M5 x 3 and they have been great. Come with good software too for controlling users

When you look at the price of Bidons they are ~ £12

Cycling water bottles are ~ £4

I wonder what the difference can be ?

High 5 water bottles have always worked fine for me. Never bought a water bottle mind you always get them ‘free’ in events.

Maybe your bottles are insulted because you speak to them in French ?

 I think you’d have to spend quite a lot more to get something objectively better.

Completely agree our Oracle which is roughly 4 x the cost doesn’t make particularly any better coffee. It is however a lot less faff, very straight forward , consistent and quick to use.

I seem to remember numerous psas

Just wait until they are on sale again, happens every so often at all the usual places

Thanks it looks like we are staying at the other end of the island to where you lot have been :-)

Never, but I do t carry half the shite people appear to either.

Keep your bike maintained and mechanical sympathy

Guess I’ve now jinxed my next ride