52:17 on my London commuter, but not many serious hills to contend with

Ok, ok, I confess. I do watch and worry what people wear whilst riding their bikes. And I love it. Lynch me.

There are a couple of singular swifts in the classifieds at the moment. Lovely 29er SS – just got one myself

Yeah, you’re right – should have checked. And double checked

Just a warning though since not everyone is as thorough as you chaps obviously are. Apparently 44% of their income came from these £150 fines so it seemed worth letting folk know.

I’d say it worth about a grand but as jam bo says do new for old on your insurance…in which case you’re probably closer to £2000

Got avid ultimates. Love them for their weight but as said above find the gap a tad tight meaning a slight buckle in your rotor and you’ve got rub. Have just got new XTs on my SS though and have to say I love them. Always wanted Hope but think these are just as good…

Two weeks of cycling down the coast in Peru. As a result I still feel slightly anxious whenever I hear Peru mentioned. Scarred for life.

But possibly worse was a few weeks later when we finally descended from the altiplano in Bolivia. We had planned a 200km day of basically coasting downhill into Argentina. The wind was so strong we barely moved even when going down 10% descents. Had to pedal every km. Proud to say we still made the 200km but perhaps not as enjoyably as planned!

Frogleek, I am sorry to break it to you but Crouch End Two wheels good is the very lbs that has now closed down :( still in stokey though. But not great for mtb bits of memory serves

Buy a garmin with Europe maps, put destination Istanbul and pedal hard? Maybe stick a few sarnies and a flapjack in your back pockets too :)

Can’t do this year but if it happens again next year I’m in for sure. After party starts 2 weeks after you leave so just under 200 miles a day. Punchy

Thanks annebr – interesting idea. Paving could work, not sure the lady of the house wold favour the gazebo though. but maybe a board which lifts up to offer extra protection from the rain perhaps…

So, we’ve now only got three more posts to go chaps. Go on, give us another few objections.

Alternatively, if you have the time and inclination you can simply describe your wonderfully small shed and detail how you store your bike related toys?

I did think that…but then remember seeing pictures of people’s massive sheds (essentially second homes for their bikes)

I live in London and as a result find it really difficult to get out for a quick ride so it always has to be planned in advance. As a result, I always ride if I’ve said I’m going – otherwise I’d never ride!

So if you need motivation and have access to great riding; just think how lucky you are not to be a Londoner. And not just because of you’re ability to hit the trails whenever you want :)

the gore ones are not great. No grippy silicon stuff. Unless I just got a dud batch

Thanks Mcboo. Sounds like a pretty good endorsement. I emailed him and he came straight back too…

Out of interest what sort of weight is yours? Looks similar spec to what I’d want. I’m going I have it built round a 120mm fork though with a view to getting a rigid fork to interchange…

Try Repack clothing’s Berino. It’s somewhere in between a base layer and mid layer. Works pretty well for this kind of weather with a waterproof. Not massively cheap at £70 but good value. Google them

Zippykona that was harsh. My first mtb love was a pine mountain. But frustratingly you’re a little bit right as the lava done then stole my heart

Repack Berino (merino and bamboo jersey) and a montane feather lite. Job done

The tyres fit nicely and I’ll just be doing bridle ways etc, maybe a bit of the SDW…it’s really for stuff that my ibis is overkill for. Just wanted to check I wouldn’t kill the bike really…

Got 165 on my commuter and really notice it. In a bad way. Shame, as they’re nice middleburns…so if anyone wants to do a swap for some 175 let me know

Try rising your bars a bit if you can. I got the same when I started riding on road. My bars were lower than I was used to so it took a while for my neck to get used to the change in position. I bought an adjustable height stem. Looked horrible but only used it for a few months. Just kept slowly dropping g the position and now I ride with the stem it was designed to have and no more issues

another brand bites the dust…

Pearson carbon audax for road winter and summer
Ibis mojo for long days in the hills
Looking for the 29er HT to have as my race bike and do it all for the south. Hoping a salsa el mariachi will fit that bill. Maybe ti if I can afford it…

Ha, was just about to post something similar OP.

Except I commute by bike with lights but don’t feel the need for 1000 lumens on a canal path in central London. To me it just seems like willy waving…grrr, look at my bright lights…

Mostly you can turn them down a notch or two and you can certainly point them more at the ground.

But perhaps then you wouldn’t look so manly. Or something…

is there a chance your zones on the HRM could be wrong? If you did the old 220 minus your age it might not be correct. Just a thought…

I know…I do recognise I was also being a bit rude. But in all honesty it’s because the alpha male in me was riding too hard to turn foun and say anything…I like the tips of the elbow and sitting up thing though. Will try that next time. And might also chill out a bit!

I’ve just bought a Lezyne micro drive (£40). It’s only got 200 lumen but I used it last night on a long wet ride through the country lanes and it was fine. Reckon a couple of these on the bars would work well. And they are tiny and super light. And they just plug into your computer. No leads etc.

Which station do you go to for the peaks? It’s a bit of a mission to get right in isn’t it?

Thanks all. Woburn does sound like it could work, and a map would be ace. Yes please

Sorry, should have said. Done a fair bit in the Surrey hills and looking for something new…Cannock chase sounds like its worth a punt…

actually, don’t worry – google maps tells me it’s almost as far as Afan…..

tell me more about Forest of Dean…

So what are the main disadvantages of the cross bike? Because something like a dirty disco will be the same weight as my old colnago so could be the best bet. Any other nice light carbon cyclocross bikes around £1000?

People have said stuff about higher bottom bracket making it sluggish etc. that true? I do road ride a fair bit (more of an all day 100miler kind of guy than a 2 hour 50miler if that makes sense) but am mtb at heart…

You could try the Repack Berino that was on fresh goods here a while back. Google repack clothing. More of a jersey than a base layer but does the job

Nothing from the police yet. But to be honest it’s London and bike theft is pretty low on their priorities in my experience

Yu never know though. In the meantime if anyone offers you a Colnago Arte with a taped up rear triangle just say no!

Top tip if you’re going to head out… Join the mountain bothy association and base your route around bothies. Less crap to carry…

I’m in and racing pairs with a mate who’s never raced off-road before. He’s horribly fit though so apart from stacking it on the rocks I think he should be fine…

just save up and get the 800. It’s the way ahead…

hello mate,

THink I replied to your other post and that I got a Merlin one which does the job. In fact if you’re London based I’d be happy to lend you mine. I (well my GF) also have a Neil Pryde one which is a bit meatier which you can borrow