Proper reet good

Lots of zee love here. I’m running a shadow + XT and have had no probs.
What does the zee do that slx, xt etc don’t do?

What? No dropper post?

Not the Alps, but heading to California. Lake Tahoe, Mammoth mountain etc….

I’ll be in for this. I’m going for the hardtail category.

Just looks wrong.

Well I’ve done those 10, but to be honest that’s not a particularly difficult or amazing list of things to do.

Anyone know of a place for some civilised bevvying past 11 round those parts?

Depends what your ‘scene’ is, but I like the shipping forecast, Brooklyn mixer, Alma de Cuba and saltdog slims all within a few hundred yards of each other around bold/wood/fleet/seel street(s). A few minutes walk down the hill towards town from HOST. All nice, in a way where there’s still atmosphere and good music but without being full of kids and chavs.

I’d avoid Matthew St area, it might have the recognisable Liverpool name because of the Beatles, cavern club etc… But IMO it’s pretty rough and to be avoided.

The carriage works at Hope St Hotel is nice, a bit fancy for a stag do IMH.

HOST (oriental cuisine) is opposite the Hope St Hotel and is nice, social atmosphere, they have big sharing tables that might suit a bigger group.

Round the corner is the quarter that I really like, low key and good food, it has lots of small tables so might not suit a big group though.

The clove hitch is the other end of Hope St and again is good.

A few minutes away on Berry Street is TriBeCa which is a good social place for Pizza.

Any Q’s about any of these in any more detail or anywhere else in Liverpool, just let me know.

I think the attitude is the same as those who leave rubbish after a film in the cinema, because you need to pay (via parking) to ride at Degla then it’s somehow someone else’s responsibility to clean up.

W@anker.

It’s bound be tough and there isn’t going to be a quick fix.
Enjoy your life for what you’ve got now. Get out on your bike a lot, enjoy riding every day. I doubt you’ll worry or feel upset if you’re pushing the pedals.
Try to get out and meet new people, join a gym, socialise.

MTB or cross bike?

Yes, but no.
In for the 100, rather than the full 2.

If you tighten the little nut up nice and tight it shouldn’t be a problem, I’ve done this the odd time in the past.

Ditch the tubes and go tubeless though.

Pretty much flat (but often windy), ave around 18-19 mph and never leave zone 2 when commuting. Use it as base miles.

You’re right it is pricey. I have both the hardshell and softshell jackets and they’re both superb and look like new even though they’ve both had tough daily (alternative days give or take) use.
I’ve bought cheap stuff before and watched it fall apart quickly but Rapha’s stuff (in my experience) holds up well and for me this goes some way to justifying the price (I’ve never bought at full price though).

If you haven’t done big miles on the road before you’ll find it tough being in the saddle for the length of time needed, but take plenty of food and you’ll be fine.

I have the rapha hard shell and it’s been excellent so far, put up with rough treatment on the MTB with no probs at all.
It’s not foldable / packable as the OP was looking for, but this post is to share a general bit of confidence in their waterproof stuff.

I think that’s a function of how you ride

Exactly and that lowers my centre of gravity. As it does with the vast majority of people who ride droppers.

BTW I don’t think droppers are necessary for xc racing.

Nope, it just lowers your saddle a bit. Sorry, but it’s true.
Your CofG is exactly the same, the saddle is just a bit lower.
Your arms and legs stay exactly the same.

Don’t agree, the position your body is quite different with a dropper, body position is lower thus centre of gravity is different.
Without a dropper my rear end is much higher, lower with a dropper.

From your statement it sounds like you keep your body in exactly the same position with a dropper or without, which for me me completely defeats the point of having one. The point for me is that you can move around, whether that be up, down, left or right. All of those movements have an impact on your centre of gravity.

I’m a sucker for photos where the photographer has made best use of depth of field, give it a try.

Some clubs aren’t fussy and some are militant about full guards.
If you don’t want to get mucky, ride at the front all day.

Today i averaged 154bpm and a max heart rate of 191, i use the HRM as a way of ensuring i stay in the correct ‘zone’ when on the turbo, for me it takes a bit of effort to stay above 155+bpm without having the reminder

Use HR as a guide, but it is only a basic guide, there are a lot of things that can impact on your HR on a day to day basis and even throughout a session (e.g. cardiac drift).
Ignore the calorie counter.

24.5 miles/1432 calories according to my HRM

I would believe the stats from your HRM, I’d be very surprised if you were really burning c.1000 calories per hour. That’s very high intensity and you’d be unlikely to manage that on the road.

You will theoretically use less calories on the turbo (for the same perceived effort) as you aren’t engaging as many muscle groups as you dont need to engage your core and upper body for balance as you would need to on a ‘proper’ ride. Having said that there isn’t any freeweeling time on the turbo unlike riding in the real world, so turbo can feel tougher, there aren’t many scenarios on the road or MTB where you can pedal completely uninterrupted for the 50mins that you did.

I wouldn’t dwell on the supposed calories from the HRM, I find that I’m far more tired overall from a proper MTB ride compared to a road ride. My average HR on the road might be higher and thus the HRM thinks I burned more calories, but I’m sure the extra whole body workout that MTB gives means that I’ve actually done more work.

I’d say FRA too.

Yeah, the difference is, people don’t drive lifts, and are guided by tacho rules. It’s the same at Cwmcarn & various other places

Really? Even on private property?

It is a decent challenge on a road bike, but feels a touch pointless once you’re up there, ‘cos the only choice on a road bike is just to come straight back down again. Can you compare it to Alpe D’Huez? well no. At Alpe D’Huez there’s a nice(ish) village with bars to stop at and funny looking church too.

This sportive seems like a box ticking exercise so they can use the tag line of “highest paved road”.
Also the road is very thin with no margin for error and I wouldn’t fancy trusting some sportive riders barreling down at 40mph as I was going up. I know it technically finishes at the top, but everyone still has to ride back down.

I run Reba’s on my 29er xc/race bike and they’re great. No hesitation in recommending.

Like.

Could watch her all day!

Yes perfectly rideable, not often anyone on it so not usually a problem…… Apart from it being a footpath.

Crossing line line in a sprint bunch finish of a road race my HR was 195, which is about theoretically my max. Never been close to that outside of that scenario, 180 means I’m giving it the beans uphill.

On the turbo you won’t get max HR, you aren’t engaging all of your muscules in a way that you would be if you were stood up sprinting on the bike or running.

Been impressed with some of Al Jazeera’s world business features, I’m sure as with all/most broadcasters there is bound to be bias shown. IMO bbc is more overt with its bias of late which was turned me off it wholesale.

Running my Solarstorm with torchy’s 6 cell battery. So far so good.
Beam pattern is not a sophisticated as my vision 4, one definately spot and one flood.
I’m using it with my vision 4 for night time technical singletrack riding and it’s working very well so far.

Only minor niggle is the battery to head unit connector, the original battery has a screw connector and new 6 cell doesn’t. So it will rattle loose, a little bit of electrical tape holds it in place.

Don’t agree on the reliability front, I’ve had various visions that have all worked perfectly. I broke my vision 4 in a crash and hope fixed it free of charge, it’s still going strong and is used 5 days a week.

5 hour Rivington mudfest on Saturday and local 2 hour blast on sunday.
Cant complain.

My bike has none of those features is it still safe to ride?

Absolutely not, dispose of immediately.

Daytime forum nudge.

I am a weirdo but still not long enough. Not even long enough to have the battery right at the top of my bag.