I asked Ortlieb about their new rack and axle mount system…they confirmed an early 2025 release date. If you can hold off, I suspect it will bw much cheaper than Tailfin’s offering.

5’10” here and tried medium and large. Medium felt better to me and I have no regrets.

@rOcKeTdOg what issues have you found with the bombers? Im looking for a bit more bar height and the Corralitos may be a potential upgrade and not too spendy

I was late to start my pension, so am now paying in as much as I can and hoping for the best.

I appreciate the answer will be “it depends” but in general terms, how much do you need in your pension pot for a reasonable standard of living? Ive no idea?! Are there any easy ways to guesstimate?

Tout Terrain?

I got a refurbished Steelcase Leap from Corporate Spec which has been very good. The first one developed a leak on the lifting mechanism and was replaced without any issue. Would recommend (chair and company).

Q6 has me stumped. I’ve got the answer by working backwards from the final question, but not knowing how it is solved is driving me nuts! (No spoilers please).

@escrs I completely agree. I was baffled by their response. Felt like a “computer says no” moment.

Extract from their email back to me “Unfortunately the one repair we don’t carry out is a replacement waterproof zip”

Like others have said, Alpkit seem to do a better job of sorting repairs.

The zip failed on my MT500 jacket. Contacted Endura who said that’s the only zip they won’t fix due (apparently due to concerns over waterproofing). I’ve had a couple of pairs of Endura liner shorts fail recently too. Will certainly not be paying premium prices for their kit in the future.

You may want to pick up the current (and last ever) Cranked mag. There is an article on the Laugarvevegur trail; looks great.

It’s as brilliant as it is unbearable, but, please can we have Foakes in for the next one?

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I’ve got a WM Megalite. It was a lot of money but I’d buy another in a heartbeat. I seem to remember favouring this one because it was much wider than other models (incl. the Summerlite). It’s been excellent. High quality. Very warm but with the zip down it was fine on Hadrians Wall last summer. 800g from memory? Most importantly (for me) not constricting at all. I’m 5,10″ but broad around the beam so the extra width makes for a comfy sleep.</p>

Thanks all. Replacement rims it is!

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I’ve had inserts on the rear (old huck norris ones) but maybe need to upgrade!</p>
Tyre wise, it’s a mix through the year but generally dhf and dhr2. Sometimes an assegai. Sometimes something distinctly light weight and xc orientated. TBF, I think the dings were isolated rock/rim impacts, one being at Antur a few weeks ago.

30% off on Vittoria tryes in the members zone. Not sure how that stacks up against other offers but may be worth a look.

Yes, 20% off which is what prompted me to look at them.

Did your Storia come with 2 springs? Speak to GeoMetron as they will often swap one spring for another for the price of postage.

I’m currently really enjoying 22,000 miles: A A Father and Son’s Cycling Adventure by Richard Seipp (of this parish I believe?!). Lovely stories and adventures. Well worth a read imo (ymmv obvs!)

Torture

Thanks all! Much appreciated, as always.

Thanks all.

He’s specifically mentioned he’d like one, and going to double digits seems worthy of getting something half decent.

On the G-Shock, we’ve had a look online but can’t figure out if it needs a phone to see the steps….think we need to head to an actual shop.

Wondering if a Garmin Instinct may fit the bill, with features to unlock when he inevitable gets a phone in a few years time?

We use an old cable reel drum, which gives good storage below.

Western Mountaineering do very nice bags. Very very happy with my Megalite.

Are people buying direct from Rapha, or are there any local stores with a supply?

Bought a Mezcal TNT. Got 10km on it before slicing the side wall. Possibly user error/unlucky with a rock, but for me, I’ll be looking for more protection in the future.

I’ve got some Rekons (exo+ casing) which have been bomb proof so far.

Kontextcoffee.comKontext Coffee

Is next door to Geometron and we’ll worth some of your cash. They used to do a Robusta which I really liked.

Thanks all

Ineptitude on my part I suspect. Just wondering if there are any other hacks or tools to help, or if it is a case of persistence.

I’m sure it is all fine, but just seems like a bit of a bodge for a Hope product.

See if you can track down Alan’s Christmas by The Speed Dinosaurs. Our families favourite Christmas song.

I tried some Kestrel Boa’s having had decent fit with precious 5.10 flats. The Kestrels look lovely but way way too narrow. Got some Shimano ME5’s instead; still not ideal but at least rideable. As said above, come on Altra, get some bike shoes going, please!

I’m a similar weight to you and started life with recommended pressures of 75psi + and 115psi ++ with 6-6-10 (high-low-rebound). More recently I have dropped the + a touch and upped the ++. It seems really really supple off the top and holds up in the travel well. TBH with such dry and grippy trails, I could probably do with upping the + a touch, but overall, the front end grip/tracking is ace.

I’ve got the 75’s and the ANC is none existent from what I can tell. The passive noise cancelling is pretty good though (i.e. i can discern no difference from when ANC is on or off). Battery life wasn’t long enough for work, so ended up with the fancy pants Sony over the head ones, and the ANC (and battery life) on them is superb.

@kelvin….thanks for the heads-up….should be coming with the headset. Looking forward to the process but no doubt I will be back on here with daft questions in due course.

Appreciate all the recent comments on this. Frame ordered, so looking forward to getting that at some point later in the year.

Foe anyone who has gone with the frame only option, does it come with downtube bolts/cable clips, or do I need to be sourcing them myself. Never done a frame build before, so really quite excited!

Cracking bike and I’m sure you will love it. Be interested to hear thoughts on comparison with G13 in due course.
Enjoy!

Thanks @Northwind.

This has been a useful thread for me.

Anyone got tips for which inners and other bits to go for? Or is it as easy to buy a kit? (Albeit much more expensive?)

Thanks all. Good to hear some real world experiences.

Bump for an old thread.

Anyone got any more thoughts on the SolarisMAX?

Heart has always lusted after a Cotic but head is worried it may be too downhill orientated. How is it for all day 50 mile epics?

@ donslow I’m in a very similar position to you and have been round the houses in my thinking (definitely too much!). I think the 830 and 530 are very similar bar the touch screen vs buttons. I’m leaning towards the 530 simply because buttons are likely to be less of a PITA when the screen is wet(?). The battery life is also a draw.

Thanks both. Just soooo much info/reviews/yt vids out there. Good to have some real world perspective.