I ride a 29er set up for bridleways cycleways 3 ply tarmac country lanes  and single track. Going to a gravel bike for me would limit where I could ride, the 29er will go anywhere so next bike for me will be a carbon 29er with a better fork and some lighter bits and bobs. A good light wheelset is a given for this type of bike.

We’ve all had a lucky escape, it could have been Vanessa Feltz. I would have preferred Sara Cox or Dermot.

A rescue greyhound make great pets. They are often left for hrs on end in cages waiting to race. They would jump at the chance to lounge all day on your bed ready to go bonkers when you come home. If you have a neighbour or local dog walker all the better. My opinion is some dogs especially rescues have had such a shit life that a few hours on their own in a comfy warm house looking forward to you coming home for walks and treats is a small price to pay.

Used to travel to Lincolnshire Wainfleet St Mary in between Boston and Skegness. The road riding around the Wolds is excellent. You are lucky to meet any traffic some days. The road accidents tend to be cars going off the road into the large drains either side of the road.

Don’t get ill in Lincs though it has the most dire regional health authority I’ve ever experienced.

If I wanted a cheap 4×4 that was reliable and capable off road I would be looking for a late Nissan Terrano II 2.7 diesel. Failing that an old Disco series 2  with the Td5. Plenty of well loved older examples about.

Alnwick and Rothbury are a good shout. I like Hexham and the Tyne valley. If you go North of Newcastle make sure you go at least as far as Morpeth.

He test rode a large circa 19” but it had 29” wheels. It felt fine.  You pay 50 quid they ship the bike to the store build it up then he can have a proper test ride. If it is fine he can take it. If not it goes back and money is refunded.

Took him to Evans in Durham to get him sized up as it were. XL definitely felt too big at the moment. He tried a Norco Range A3 Yari fork 1×11 Slx wtb rims novatec hubs. With a crappy old bike trade in down to £1.8k. Anybody ridden the range?

Think we might stretch to the Sommet VR. Another 200 pounds 1×11 slx, Yari fork better rims etc.

Some great advice thanks. I was thinking about him growing in height rather than his weight. He is on my old 20” inbred and seems to manage fine size wise. If he goes for a large say 19” frame and puts a growth spurt on I’m worried he’ll grow out of it.

I’ve had a Yeti now have a Seat Leon ST FR 184. The Yeti was Ok 140 bhp quick enough but small inside. The Leon is better in every way. Cockpit is bigger boot slightly bigger. More economic much faster handles better. Tyres are cheaper as well. The good thing about the Leon is it can fit a 6ft 2” teenager in the back with legroom. The golf boot is slightly larger but not enough to warrant the extra cost.  Octavia is bigger again but in my view it’s expensive for what you get compared to the Seat. Trim in my view is slightly better in Seat than Octavia and it has a lot more sound proofing than the Skoda.

There is an old saying “an estate can do everything a SUV can do only cheaper, faster and more economically.”

There is a place listed by Honest John that can refurb the electronic part of your ABS unit especially Bosch units.  Much cheaper than replacement. The mechanics of the unit are probably fine.

http://www.ecutesting.com/

About £150 to rebuild it with new brake pressure sensor.

Do yourself a favour and look for a nice 900 T16 Aero. Brilliant car. Only going up in value. 9000’s never had the following of the 900 so it’s really hard to find a well looked after one. They are big heavy cars that drink fuel so you’ll need to have your wallet handy.

Good read that.  Spent most of my childhood riding a bike because it was more convenient and cheaper than the bus. Stopped around the age of 17 when cars came onto the scene. Started again shortly after teaching my Son to ride as it was getting harder to keep up. Never stopped. Never rode a full sus always hardtails. Some nice builds with some fancy bits. Now I mainly ride a basic 29er XC HT  with fast rolling tyres. Mileage and time on the bike is more important than how Gnar the trail is. Bridleways cycleways and three ply tarmac with the odd naughty footpath here and there to link every thing up. It’s all good.

If you think it’s bad on a weekday try going to Asda after midnight and it’s like night of the living dead with the disadvantage of isles full of cages of unopened stock.

One of the nicest cars I’ve driven recently was an old 540i BMW touring. Lovely ride very fast and surprisingly not that bad on fuel for a big engine.

Get a Landrover defender 110 you’ll be so uncomfortable and constantly wondering if you’ll get to work without breaking down or something packing up you won’t have time for boredom. Fabulous cars though! Spend your money on a cheap commuter and then buy an old sports car that you can love and cherish on a weekend.

My son is now riding my old 20” dark blue 456 with 130mm forks and old XT kit on it. It gets ridden and abused non stop. He loves it cos it’s retro innit. He had a 16” inbred before that. It’s taught him how to ride pick lines read the trail etc so if he passes his GCSE’s this summer with his expected grades I’ve promised him a full sus. I suspect he’ll ride the 456 most. He just likes 26” wheeled bikes.

Working in an engineering toolroom.

“If you’ve never scrapped owt you’ve never done owt”

“Measure twice cut once”

The supermarket fuel adheres to the minimum standard that is legal. I went to a Shell seminar on fuel in conjunction with my job. I would never put supermarket fuel near my car again. I use Shell V power when I can or BP Ultimate if I can’t find that.

I’m on a role. Sam Smith and his whiney delivery.

Taylor Swift and all her hangers on or whatever they’re called.

It’s unlikely to be the sump. More likely to be if your lucky the cam cover gasket, the oil filter housing or if your unlucky the crank shaft oil seal. Sumps very rarely just start leaking unless they have had a knock on a sleeping policeman.

AutoAid are cheaper and faster than both RAC or AA. Use them whenever I’m not covered by main stealer warranty.

Followed this thread from afar. Didn’t really have any words to say at the time that I felt appropriate. Bit dusty in here has never been more apt. This forum can be an amazing place at times with some wonderful people. I don’t think many of us have an idea just what you’ve been through. I guess try and think what your wife would have done or expect you to do. Take each day at a time and don’t focus ahead to much. I’m sure you are more than living up to her expectations of you and how you would cope.

<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem; line-height: 1.3;”>Best wishes from the Inbred Clan.</span>

Our golden retriever bitch is a rescue and will roughly play with any male dog no problem. If another slightly dominant bitch comes along she will go silent then full on attack mode. So whenever there is another dog we always without fail put our dog on a lead until we know what the other dog is like and if they will get on. No excuse for a dog biting yours. 100% owners fault. Firmly tell them if Hugo bites your dog again you will have no recourse but to hoof the barsteward in the slats.

Go for another Mondeo. At your price point its the best option by far. 6k will only get you the emissions fix VW diesel and I wouldn’t touch that engine with a barge pole. I know cos I’ve had one.

A friut and seed dropper is essential.

Between these 2 for me. I wish I still had the Corolla Coupe AE86 although the T16 Saab had 238k on it when I sold it. (Same models and colour as above but not the actual cars.) Both great cars in their own way. That Lancia is very nice.

I looked at these legacy’s before I bought my Leon. Fantastic cars especially if you can find a manual. They have the bullet proof 2.0. Getting a bit long in the tooth now though and the tax can be pricey. If you can live with the economy after the Mondy 20-28 mpg on a good day worse with the auto.

I follow most of these threads with mild amusement. I have lived in the NE all my life. My first memory was the fire brigade coming to my house to put out a fire in our  chimney. My mum put a tyre on the fire to keep warm. She had run out of coal and had ran out of furniture to chop up. The miners were on strike and the power station workers were on strike. People were freezing to death literally. If you think for one minute that there is any difference between labour Lib Dem or Tory you’re deluded. We are taken for granted by Labour as a safe seat and forgotten by the Tory’s as a lost cause. We are ran by a privately educated political elite which ever side of the house they are on.

You will need some support from friends and family. Keep them in the loop so they can help with the kids etc. Good luck mate.

Mazda 6 2.0 petrol estate. Good to drive, reliable and in your budget. The VW group petrols not that reliable in your price range. Timing chain issues and poor oil consumption due to poor piston ring design. As said above sorted post 63 plate but above your budget.

This mileage malarkey for Diesels ie 20k + is only really if your buying new. If you only drive 5 k a year but each journey is 50+ miles it’s still cheaper to buy a used diesel especially now the prices have dropped through the floor. It’s the type of journey you do not just the distance. I’ve just bought a Seat Leon 2.0 FR diesel. It’s brilliant for driving to work visiting friends and family and trips away. For all other shorter journeys I ride, take the train, park and ride or walk. It also has an eco setting but that is offset by the sport mode button!

A work colleagues  Son works for a Landrover main dealer. The biggest problem apart from the woeful reliability seems to be DPF problems. At the back of the workshop there are always several cars doing a cycled DPF clean. Apparently the most reliable are the face lift freelander2’s up to 2010 when they fitted DPF’s. They are very nice to drive though with superb refinement for a car that is still very capable off road.

Great cars but I’ve had the emissions fix on my Yeti with the 140bhp engine and even with them extending the warranty on the EGR valve etc I wouldn’t touch one. If it hasn’t had the update go for one. Car went from not even noticing the DPF to it constantly regenerating. I do plenty of miles on motorway as well and use my wife’s Fabia Tsi for anything local.

Dual mass flywheels were designed to stop vibration from the diesel engine going through the drivetrain and damaging the gearbox and diff and shaking your fillings out. Can anybody remember those early diesels they were awful. There may be nothing wrong with the flywheel, you may get away with a clutch plate and bearing. No point in replacing the whole lot if it doesn’t need it.

I’ll see your aubergine and raise you a courgette. The most foul and heinous of vegetables. They are a waste of photosynthesis in my opinion.

It’s hard physical work. Wool carpets are damaged by water if you get it wrong. Get insurance which won’t be cheap.  Water extraction is far superior to dry chemical cleaning in my view, but more risky. Synthetic carpets are a doddle to clean. You will need a van with a side door, don’t waste money on an estate. The machines are too heavy to lift into a car. My dad services the equipment and repairs machines so we always have a few about. The prochem steampro is the best if you can run to that. If heats the water up so the cleaning is better and the carpets dry faster. You will also need some pads to lift furniture off the carpet and a blower to help dry the carpet when the outside temp drops.

Toyota verso 1.8 is probably the most reliable car in your size bracket. Bomb proof 1.8 petrol post 2004/5. Not to big. Avensis tourer is much bigger. Just bear in mind the new tougher MOT test. A lot of perfectly good diesels like the 1.9tdi PD will fail on visible smoke due to slight wear on the injectors. They aren’t cheap either. I would stick with petrol.