I had the same with msm

I use basefresh instead of base wash, use it on my MTB and gym kit and it works a treat.

Agreed with above.
Give skyline a miss.
Options are ride W2 which is whites level and y Wal. Y Wal has a superb descent (one of the very best) but is a long old slog of a climb.
Ride whites level twice (it’s that good, don’t miss out the black section like some do)
Ride whites level then do up and ride skyline descent.
There’s also the bike park if you fancy messing about in some jumps

Hi Mandog. I got a kinetico 2020 and am delighted with it.
These are the new self powered softeners.
They use water pressure to regenerate themselves, so don’t require a mains supply.
They cost more but it’s well worth it as they work very well.

My previous softener was an East Midlands one and it completely destroyed the cupboard it was in as it leaked salt everywhere.
I’d be weary of Harvey Softeners. When I bought this softener in November I tried them and got the double glazing hard sell approach that I really didn’t appreciate.
Went with http://www.jmsofteners.co.uk in the end and could not fault them.

It’s going to cost between £1000 and £1500 with plumbing but it’s money well spent
It should fit under the sink cupboard but depending on the depth of your sink you may need to put it length ways so will lose the use of that cupboard.

http://www.qdosconsulting.com/

A silver money box is a nice one that’ll be kept for years

A ghetto version of that Bob Heath stuff is to smear one drop of washing up liquid on the inner lens surface and then wipe off. Leaves a thin film that stops fogging

Simmy. Sometimes pills are the right answer. Have another chat with your GP. Please don’t listen to workmates. They may mean well but may not know what they are talking about.
I don’t know what I’m talking about either but a trained GP will know how to proceed.

My friend killed himself just before Christmas. His funeral was filled with very close and very good friends. I just wish he could have seen the amount of love there was for him before he did it.
We’ll never get over it. Such a waste of an amazing man.
Leaves terrible what ifs.

If you are getting low. Please please seek help. You only get one shot.
There are so many people who love you.
You just might not be able to see it.

I’ve not had any issues. Pressure was around 28-30 psi.
Tyres performed well too, no punctures or burping.

Finally got my first ride in with the new forks.
Rode Holmbury and Pitch hills and Winterfold in the north downs.
Conditions were pretty bad, deep thick sticky sloppy mud everywhere.
It was great fun but extremely knackering.
Not a great test of the new fork.
There were two sections where the fork had a workout and it felt excellent, smooth as silk and it tracked accurately.
Strangely the best thing about the new fork (in today’s conditions) was the Talas.
Being able to drop the front end on the climbs transformed the bike.
Before it was simply rubbish at climbing, today it was transformed, even in the gloop it helped a lot.

So I’m extremely happy with the upgrade and would recommend it.

This thread reminded me I’ve run out of basefresh,
so just bought 5 litres for £26 from waterproofingworld.com.
That works out at 26p per wash which is much more like it.
10% discount code “xmasgift”

Nikwax basefresh (not basewash) has recently become available.
It has worked a treat for me but is expensive.
It’s around £8 per 8 washes.
Cheaper than a new jersey though.

I’ve been riding with contacts and for nearly 20 years.
Last 10 years with riding glasses too.
Had a few dust grit issues over the years but nothing major.
Last summer’s holiday in Italy was really dusty.
My eyes got pretty badly scratched and it took about three weeks to recover.

I went to the opticians to see if they could do photochromic prescription riding glasses but because of my prescription +4 the choice was very limited and getting the wrap around next to impossible
I’m currently exploring laser treatment or implantable contact lenses
Kind of had enough of specs and contacts now.
It’s not suitable for all but I hope it works for me.

Hi Iain,
The good news is I’ve fitted the fork and it feels like a baby downhill bike…..whilst sat on it in the kitchen.
As Chakaping mentioned, I think it’ll suit the bikes personality perfectly.
Took 3-4 hours to fit it. It was my first steerer cut and star nut fit, so I measured everything 10 times and proceeded slowly. I used a plumbers pipe cutter to do the cut and it worked perfectly.

The bad news is it’s been heaving it down and I’m a big Jessie, so haven’t been out riding yet.
I’m desperate to get out but I just know it will be miserable in this weather, will post a post ride report as soon as I can.

Thanks very much

Hi Iain
My Fox 36 talas 160 should be arriving tomorrow. I’ll hopefully have it fitted to my 143 for Saturday’s ride. I’ll let you know how I get on. I chose to go for the Talas as I was finding steep climbs a bit if a pig with my current 32 float. My old bike had a talas and it helped a lot

Thanks everyone for the wide ranging responses. I’m going to try to see if I can get a helmet that fits both my daughter and the trailer. I have had some good examples on here and have seen some promising ones online, so will see how that goes.

Thanks for the quick feedback. The instructions with the trailer state that a helmet should be worn at all times, so I’d hope there’s a comfortable way of wearing one.
I wouldn’t ride my bike without a helmet these days (too many crashes), so I’d not take her out without one.
I’ll take her to the LBS tomorrow to see if we can get a better fitting one.

The method that never fails for me is to add a tube and then inflate to 35 psi. This seats both beads. Now remove the tube by unseating one bead only. Then inflate with the valve core removed from the stans valve. Because one side of the tyre is fully sealed it goes up straight away. Seat it all round then unseat just enough to add some sealant. Have done this about eight times very quickly and very easily. No soap/vas or messing about