I’ve got a liteville 301 mk12, which I’d like to shift. It has marz 44 ti forks and saint/xt everything. I reckon that it’s worth a big bag of peanuts

We have a group WhatsApp chat, where we build the shopping list. Makes the trip to the supermarket easier as we have a common list and can split up.

We also bought a lascalle ridealong board for the pram. Allows one of us to push/carry 3 kids. Much easier than chasing after them all, saves about 10mins/day on the slow walk to school/crèche.

Years ago, I spent two weeks camping with my 4yr old swiss shepherd. We visited the peaks, lakes and fife coast. She was knackered afterwards. Lots of walks. I don’t think she could have managed a month.

What about renting a canal boat? Can mix lazy days with big walks and moor up by a pub on the eve

I have a colibri ti, with 105. I use it year round in Belgium and France. it’s fine for gravel paths and roads. It has all the attachment points for racks and guards, making it a good commuter too.

My alternative daily ride is a spa cycles elan fixie or an omnium cxc with flat bars. Compared to either of those, it’s super stable and relaxed geometry :)

I wouldn’t take it on DH tracks or off drops, but I’m also no Tomac.

our dog now has to wear goggles when outside. People cross the road to ask about them, rather than to avoid the scary dog, which is a definite bonus.

Ordered a set of rexspecs. thanks for the recommendation and advice all

I’ve got a 512gb oled model.

I bought for gaming whilst travelling, as I’ve travelled a lot this year. Battery life is good for a couple of hours when playing valheim.

Online gaming with friends works well, but I do still prefer my desktop for that (bigger screen). Synchronization with cloud is great, no issues switching between devices.  10/10

That’s a strong look, Montgomery.

@batfink, are there any other calibrated tampers that you can recommend?

They’re quite popular in France. Good for soups and compotes. It’s a fancy slow cooker and blender combinee. We’ve got one as a gift from the french half of the family.

If you make a risotto with it, it not as good as preparing it properly. But, the effort is very low. Handy when you have small kids or a busy job.

I’ve got a Thule force xt (large). Big enough to fit a chariot bike trailer in. We use them at my work for vehicle testing and they seem durable.

I think mine has done 20-25k km. What I really like about it are the flat-ish sidewalls, opens from both sides and  it takes 2-3 minutes to install. I can also squeeze a 598 bike rack next to it. I’m glad I didn’t get a bigger roof box.

It hasn’t added any significant noise when driving, although I do have a noisy car.

My industrial PhD supervisor was largely absent and used the PhD to fund his own research. Building a robust storyline was so difficult. I wrote the thesis and burnt out. I took a year to get better and couldn’t return to submit it. He even threatened to sue me, which did no good for my mental health.

My university supervisors were fantastic. Looking back, I should have moved from the industrial site back to the university site. If I did that, I don’t think I would have burnt out.

Pick the supervisor very carefully. And do not be afraid to change the supervisor.

Are the cabins similarly sized to PandO ferry basic cabins?

Has anybody taken kids on the sleeper train? I’m considering it for a family holiday. Scotland or Berlin/Prague/Vienna.

I’d argue that a Ti frame is greener than a steel frame due to the lack of paint. Looking at automotive sector, paint shop processes are responsible for a large amount of the factory CO2 emissions (https://www.toyota-europe.com/news/2023/our-journey-to-a-zero-co2-paint-shop). Mazda have published heavily on this topic too.

I’ve got a sonder colibri ti. It’s a nice ride and much better than my alu kinesis before it. I do think the improvement is in the fit and the wheel/tyre combination, not the frame material.

If I can avoid a coating (e.g. paint) then it’s a big plus for me. Having coatings fail is irritating. From my time as a tribologist, I tend to think that the ideal material for a  system shouldn’t need any coating or surface treatment. It’s not always possible to avoid a coating in real-life. But with bike frames, you can. Ti frames don’t need painting.

Valheim.

I’ve played too much of it since November. Can’t see myself playing anything else in 2024 or 2025

I work with teams across Europe, Japan and USA.

I’ve blocked 0700-0830 and 1630-2100 in my calendar and refuse all invitations in those times unless critical. The meeting purpose should be clear and timing justified in the invitation.

Any overtime is recorded and taken as holiday later on, or paid at 200%. I’ve also blocked an hour for lunch, but I’m flexible and will skip it if it means that I finish on time. It’s a good system.

Despite all that, it doesn’t seem to affect my career too much. I’ve just been promoted!

Thanks all for the recommendations! Stw is great.

I’ve Sony xm4. I find them very comfortable, and they come with a cable and an airplane specific dual pronged adaptor. Its worth trying a few different models on your head if you have time.

I’m 35 and seemingly going through a cycle of injury-sick kid/dog-work overload-broken bike. If there are any based in Brussels with young kids who fancy a rise&meet, get in touch!

Surprisingly, I am not the real Hans Rey. But I did win a signed poster of his from stw.

That’s all you’re getting from me.

Borrow a friend’s dog first. Let them have a holiday :)

Failing that, try to avoid taking on a dog from a bleeding heart, rehoming charity where you don’t meet the dog. If it’s easy to adopt the dog, either the checks on you aren’t sufficient or that they don’t know the dog’s needs.

Meet Fen. From the mean streets of Moscow brought over by 2 Russians in a knackered Opel van with 15 other dogs 3 years ago. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the van full of dogs.

She’s very friendly and playful, but an utter coward (scared of ducks, the dishwasher, bichon frisé, creaky doors and old women). The charity advertised the playful side, but did not explain (or know about) her timid nature. We were lucky that she’s a gentle soul and easy to train, unbeknownst to the charity.

+1 for that tortec rack. I’m on my second, after the first was stolen. Handled lots of abuse on bike trips and the daily commute. I wouldn’t buy a tubus at first.

Ortlieb rollers too. Perhaps 15 years old and still excellent condition. Sometimes I’d like to have to internal organisation (e.g. laptop sleeve) but this can be managed with accessories. I would buy again, if I ever needed to.

Having a pair can be useful. Occasionally I need to take work boots, tools, helmet, etc.. the second bag carries this. If I had only one, I’d have to buy a second …

Cotton mix seems the be the common online.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Percival seem well recommended. Thanks for the (entertaining) responses.</p>

OP, if you send me a PM, i can share with you a komoot/gpx file with a route Brussels-Ghent-Ypres-Dunkerque.
Avoids major roads, passes by many cemeteries and breweries.

Lots of advice, thanks! One of my more popular threads :)
I’ll look at the models mentioned and see which come into budget new or are available 2nd hand locally.

thanks all. Will avoid the vaude one.
There’s not a lot available on fb and 2ememain locally.

The bodyshells are rather good on Dacia’s (except the spring). Less said about the suspension and chassis parts, the better.

I’ve got one. Used for big rides, multiday bike trips and commuting after my commuter was nicked. Full rack and mudguard mounts, although fitting a guard to the front fork is non-trivial as they don’t supply a bolt for th hole.

I considered a second to replace the stolen commuter.

I’ve got a colibri ti, as my road bike. I considered getting another as a winter bike, I like it that much.

Sonder have been good to deal with so far. My next bike will probably be from them.

Bump. Same issue

I bought the Arc ULTRA DISC V6 wheelset. For the price, great value. Spokes need some attention.
Based on the 75% off offer, I may get another wheelset

I get a new one every year through work. I’d say I know this model very well.

The underboot storage on the 1.8 is able to fit two wheels in. It’s wheel shaped. Quite handy when carrying a bike inside the car.

Most models come with flush roof rails as standard. Tow bars are rare, due to low towing limit. Suction racks and boot racks can be a problem due to the design of the back door. Consider this if you’re going to be carrying bikes.

Touchscreen has been upgraded to be Google/apple system compatible. Big improvement over the previous system, which was available until 2021 iirc. You’ll know if it’s the new system because it has only one button.

OP, if you’re seriously looking at going abroad, consider looking at the car manufacturers themselves. Plenty of OEMs on the mainland.

The two big differences I’ve noticed between living in UK and Belgium:
1) in Belgium, mortgages are typically 20-25years for 1st time buyers of my generation. Those over 30 years are uncommon.
2) My previous engineering manager in UK earnt £60000ish/year. My entry level engineer role in Belgium pays similar.

UK seems less affordable unless debt is for life.

Oh and to add, I’m often recruiting for interns, max 6 months duration. Wide range of topics including corrosion simulation, colour science, computer vision, process monitoring, material development, and vehicle assessment. The only catch is that the applicant needs an EU passport, or similar, to get past HR screening.

My employer (big Japanese car manuf) are often recruiting for design roles for their tech centre in Brussels.

If anyone is looking for a materials/coating/tribology engineer, AND a product safety/sustainability role for the Mrs, we wouldn’t mind moving back over to blighty

Mr waffle, did you do it in the end?

I have these but haven’t flown long haul in years. What is the double prong thing for?