Overnight you’ll find every single component of your bike will no longer work. Going to have to be new bike time unfortunately

Thanks all for the insights and thoughts this is all really helpful.

To clarify a couple of questions above – it’ll be for a 100×12 thru axle fork, and I’ll be using it pretty strictly on road.
Rear lights I hadn’t really thought about, would depend on which hub and front light I got so thought I’d sort those first.

I really like the look of the SP hubs although having to delace and relace the hub to service it sounds like a pain. For the Shimano one it looks to be easy to service the NDS and possible but high risk of junking the hub by servicing the DS. Some further googling found a common suggestion the Shimano ones come too right from factory, sounds like it could be a faff having to sort out preload from new with a risk of breaking the wires before it’s even set up with a light! Think I’ll end up plumping for an SP…

I think with the Sinewave I got a bit startled by shiny-shiny factor, and I really like the idea of charging devices off my own power. I used a power bank on a 400k audax at the end of May which worked well for allowing me to use the Garmin overnight whilst running the backlight, and after one night it has barely made a dent in power left in the power bank after charging both my Garmin and my girlfriend’s.

The b&m lights do look good and a heck of a lot cheaper too, so you guys are right, maybe being able to charge devices off it is a bit unnecessary.

Will keep researching, and chat to some local wheelbuilders to see if they’d be happy to help with the dynamo if it ended up needing warrantying.

BB52’s for £9 is almost worthy of a post on its own! I’m stocking up…

Shimano SLX SL-M7100 Right Hand Base Cover Unit – Y0GV98040

Or this if you run SLX or deore but I can’t find that in stock in the UK in 5 mins of checking the usuals of SJS, bikeparts, JE James, eBay or Amazon.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/gear-spares/shimano-deore-xt-slm8100-cover-unit-right-y0gt98020/?geoc=AT

Is this what you need?

Audaxes? Loads of them up and down the country at various distances, ranging from 50k up to over 1000k. I did my first 400k one in May which I would definitely have called a challenge! Far cheaper than Sportives in my experience and the people seem really friendly.

http://www.audax.uk

We camped in our van for the second year running this year, staying in Nyon car park both years.

Last year was fine as the weather was beautiful all year, had no issues. Able to jump in the river or plunge pool in Nyon after a sweaty days riding, whilst lots of people in the car park everyone was quiet in the evenings.

This year a sign had gone up saying that parking was not permitted after 8pm which we didn’t actually notice until our 3rd night there. It was pointed out to us by the municipal police when they were moving us on. They were very polite about it and gave us a flyer saying camping cars were permitted up near the serrassaix lift (all of which is on a slope), or up at the Prodains parking which is miles out of town. Camped here for 1 night and it was fine but has to drive in the next day to ride. Before we were moved on a massive group turned up at around 8pm one night and started blasting music til the small hours when it’s pretty obvious that car park is overlooked by a load of chalets. Idiots.

I’ve heard of people being moved on a bit from the Carrefour car park in town now as well but there were loads of vans there this year again. Nowhere to jump in the river there and it’s really busy there all the time so doesn’t look like a nice place to camp anyway even if it is really central for the lifts.

The car parking up at Lac Montriond has 2m height barriers which I think are new to stop loads of vans turning up there. Few big parking spaces just outside the barriers.

TLDR my experience is they’re starting to clamp down on “vanlife” in Morzine as so many people are doing it and creating a mess whilst doing so/treating it like a massive party. If I thought Morzine was worth it I’d probably pay for a campsite or a chalet if I went back but this year I enjoyed the peacefulness of other places like Samoëns, Alpe d’Huez, La Grave etc so much more and given how pricey Morzine is I’ll be skipping it out next trip I think.

@tractionman that’s been there for years. Must have been up that road hundreds, if not thousands of times during my deliveroo days and not once used it. Almost insulting the council put that in given the road is 2 lanes in both directions there – as if to say motorists can’t give up any of that space for cyclists!

It’s also the exact spot I met my girlfriend about 4 years ago, both on bikes…

Thanks all for the advice.

I agree with above that it depends on riding. These seem to come apart on me in the Alps but for UK riding seem to hold up ok.

As the bolt heads aren’t countersunk in I could get just enough purchase with some molgrips and they stayed all tight today. I literally did a full run of the megavalanche course today so was testing them enough id imagine. No way of warrantying it now though as I’ve quite obviously tampered with the tamperproof bolts lol.

2 days in La Grave now and then we pass through Briançon. Hopefully bricorama come through with a security torx…

I haven’t seen it mentioned here or anywhere else – Shimano rt66 rotors are going cheap here too. 6.99 for 180mm, 9.99 for 203mm, 12.99 for 220mm. Bought a few for spares.

I would second uberbike racematrix not standing up to the alps. Exactly the same thing happened to me and my partner last year, we ended up having to replace rotors too. Changed our for swissstop endurance pads and they were faultless for the rest of the trip until I blew my shock in Pila.

See if you can get hold of some other pads if possible.

Thanks Steve – they look like they get round the problem of going between the seat stays and reducing tyre clearance but the rear looks a bit short for group riding. Found a review that confirms that too. Looks like a good possibility though!

Does anyone else know of any other guards to consider?

@scruffythefirst what size have you got?

@Daffy how much did you pay? I guess what you paid 3 years ago is pretty meaningless now though…

I had something similar with a front wheel on a bike I’ve now sold. Wouldnt seal after retaping, but would seal after properly cleaning the rim of tape residue (mucoff tape, replaced with more muc off tape). Have you tried cleaning and degreasing the rim? These were alloy hope MTB rims mind but the theorys the same.

Them and Travelodge have been used by Audaxers for years!

Cycling over to Manchester on Sunday for a 2 day course than back Tuesday evening. Really appreciate how easy they make it travelling places by bike

Bumper Bar

Is this what your after?

Alternatively you could get a handlebar extender from Amazon/eBay/AliExpress, mount it the the bars vertically down so the bag rests against these.

E.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ainiv-Handlebar-Universal-Extension-Speedometer/dp/B0B17YTM5D/ref=asc_df_B0B17YTM5D/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=570435295150&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10967005652818810851&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046363&hvtargid=pla-1663085439734&psc=1

A Bfe is for 27.5, a BfeMAX is for 29. I think theyre talking about putting a 29 front end on a 27.5 bike as opposed to a 27.5 rear wheel in a 29 frame.

I’m tempted to try this too, would need a new fork (or just new fork lowers?) and a front wheel. Maybe an angleset to steepen the head angle back to what it should be like they recommend doing with the rocketMAX. It might raise the BB a bit – I know the previous generation to the current ones was known for having a high BB but I think they lowered it a bit in the current version based on this feedback.

Have you asked cotic themselves? A phone call to Paul/Sam to see if they know of anyone doing it might be the way to go, their both incredibly helpful when I’ve called about these random ponderings before.

If it’s for Crank brothers pedals, this guy on eBay does 2 for £5.60 and postage is normally very quick. If it’s not, are the bushings in crank brothers pedals the same size?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pair-of-Igus-bearings-for-Crank-Brothers-pedals-Eggbeater-Candy-Mallet-New-/304155517809?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p4429486.m46890.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

Bump for the Sunday crowd!

Oh size wise, 30, 32 or 34 would work given the inbuilt belt on them

Can you make your cassette tool longer? Put something on the end of the adjustable spanner or breaker bar to create a bigger lever to try and crack it loose?

Alternatively get someone to counterbalance you on the chainwhip and stand on the cassette tool lever. This can be tricky keeping the tool in place and not stripping the lockring splines…

Thanks both – I’ll make a route through connect and add some checkpoints to see if it’ll flash up. I don’t see why not so should work.

Ransos – aware of the awful battery life, thanks for pointing out. My workaround is to plug it in to a battery pack that’s living in a restrap stem bag. Will do this overnight so I can have the backlight on without the battery dying within a few minutes!

Thanks Scotroutes

It’s an edge explore – do you know if this is a compatible one?

I’d suggest pannier racks too – have had these break on me before which is less than ideal

I’ve tried out front and top cap mounts – with out front the garmin sits in front of the light and blocks it, and the body of the garmin gets in the way of the light when it sits on the top cap (80mm stem).

https://m.lightinthebox.com/p/stands-tool-holder-road-cycling-cycling-bike-bike-cycling-engineering-plastics-aluminium-alloy-black-black-red-bule-black-1-pcs_p6829164.html?currency=GBP&sku=1_45&country_code=gb&utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20125403446&adword_mt=&adword_ct=&adword_kw=&adword_pos=&adword_pl=&adword_net=x&adword_tar=&adw_src_id=3516490533_20125403446__&gclid=CjwKCAjwjYKjBhB5EiwAiFdSfplRUH4d8T_p21zm1h7P6geZMGD4FNlywPpIE1avaVz3kiFB7NS6IRoCcmcQAvD_BwE

Let’s try this link…

TF tuned are the UK approved service centre. I sent mine to them and they phoned back saying the internals were ruined and needed replacing – a quick email of my receipt for the shock meant all that happened on warranty…

IPA did eventually work but it took a lot of it and a lot of scrubbing. Could work in a pinch but I’d try the muc off sealant remover if that’s worked better for people.

Think you need to stick it in the bath to see where it’s coming from like you’ve mentioned. Could be a slow puncture from a thorn that’s still embedded in the tyre also but assume you’ve checked all around the tyre and if you’ve ridden it since it would have been likely to have fallen out by now. A seating issue seems less likely given it was fine and is now not. I had something similar and fixed it by retaping, but I did just ride on it for a few months as like you pressure loss during riding was minimal.

I did exactly that with an air cap spanner so bought a Unior flat socket for my 36 for not very much – I can see them from various places for £10-15 but a lot of them say available from supplier so might take a while to arrive. No marks on the top cap after use.

18 bikes in Hope list the 28mm as available from stock for 10 and the 32mm as available from supplier for 13

https://www.18bikes.co.uk/unior-unior-flat-socket.html

https://www.18bikes.co.uk/unior-flat-socket-larger-sizes.html

We did the Lon Las Cymru from Holyhead to Cardiff a couple of years ago. It was easy enough to find somewhere to leave the car for a few days in Holyhead then get the train back up on our last day. We did 5 days which I think was 3 100km days and then an 80k day with 30k on the last day. Wild camped 2 night, campsite 1 night, then the Premier Inn in Merthyr for our last night. The 2nd day was pretty hilly going from Porthmadog to just beyond Mach, but the rest was fine on fully laden bikes, so would recommend maybe splitting the 2nd day if you can afford an extra day. You pass through loads of towns with shops, cafes, supermarkets, and plenty of bus shelters about if an Audax hotel is quickly needed! Really beautiful route, would highly recommend!

https://cycle.travel/route/lon_las_cymru

Edit: Its very well signposted as it’s NCN 8!

I ordered one of the 11speed grx double chainsets. They’ve sent a 10 speed. Will these chainrings work with an otherwise 11 speed drivetrain or will my bike burst in to flames as soon as I fit them?

RSF suspension down near Plymouth have been doing stanchion replacements for years now and can accommodate most forks. They’ve replaced a steerer on my forks that was too short and their turnaround was really quick but theyre often quite booked up in advance. Worth a call but you might be getting close to how much you paid for the fork for it to be replaced.

I did this on my lyrik. If you’re using those cup and cone washers on your brake mount, I managed to get it to thread in to the remaining thread in the fork and stay tight after removing these washers, and it didn’t upset the brake alignment at all. Did it up and did 3 weeks in the Alps and finale and Golfie trips it didn’t come loose.

You might get lucky and it works like it did for me but these washers are needed on my girlfriend’s lyrik as otherwise the brake doesn’t sit flush to the rotor and rubs. Worth a go though 🤷

They are very boring. They just work.

Sums up my experience of mine. Rear on my 20five set started feeling ropey, replaced all the bearings and freehub seal on it in about half an hour and they work as new again. I try not to be careful with wheels, these still run nice and true after 3 years of abuse.

I think I’d last got it out about a year ago, maybe a bit more. Might not have put any grease on the last time which would have cause the problem…

So if the seatpost is in the right place, is seizing such a bad thing?

It is when you get longer cranks and therefore need to lower the seat…

Thanks all, thanks especially for the kind comments. Checked all the other steel bikes in the house and only one of them is seized – an unfashionable 15 year old xc frame destined to live out it’s days as a commuter, which saddle heights already set at the perfect height. At least I don’t need to take any more bikes down there with my tail between my legs! Reminder set on phone for 6 months time to check them all again

Use the live chat function and they’ll likely sort you out.

Sorry if this isn’t much help but looking at the below video it doesnt look like there should be anything else holding the lowers on than the bottom of the air spring and damper being pressed in to the lowers that you’ve already shown you’ve seperated. Looks like it just needs another pull or a firmer tap!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v6VTvh1IJg at about 50 seconds illustrates they should just pull off like virtually any other modern suspension fork once youve tapped in the air spring and damper.

Good luck

Just for the grommet question – you can buy the ones Cotic use on their frames from them. Internally routed dropper cables come out of Cotic MTB frames from around where you want to drill the hole so would work well.

https://www.cotic.co.uk/order/spares – about halfway down the page.