Thanks all!

@zippykona @nairnster thanks for the offer, I think I’ll try these On-One Mary’s and see how I get on.

I obviously cycle through the wrong woods… 🤣

Just a quick note that not all Lake’s are created equal, as they use different lasts for the different ranges. Check the sizing chart, find the last that fits best, look at those shoes.

I’m sure that same applies to other brands too.

Thanks all, have bought the Alivio, a gear cable and a new eight speed chain. Hopefully will be up and running again tomorrow.

It all depends on just how wide your feet actually are. Shimano, Mavic and Sidi all do a wide fit option, but it isn’t that wide. I couldn’t get my feet into a wide fit Mavic, for example, but they went into Northwave shoes, just.

Bont do wide, but those aren’t necessarily imported, plus they’re still not that wide, although they do do custom shoes.

Lake do proper wide fit, they also do extra wide and custom, if you have really odd feet.

I have feet that are as wide as a normal fit size 10, but in a size 7. Lake wide fit fit, with lots of room to spare, including enough volume for custom footbeds.

YMMV, HTH, HAND, etc

That was some ride by Froome!

@chestercopperpot I didn’t know about the standing on the pedals with the rear brake on to set one, so don’t know about this one…? Assuming you wrap the cable round the quick link pins and tighten?
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Top work! 👍

@on and on I’d still have had to shorten the chain to run it single speed…

So this happened this morning, which was unexpected…

I don’t have the money to upgrade the drive train to SLX this month, so am looking for a replacement 8-speed rear mech. CRC have the same piece of cheese, but I was hoping that the ALIVIO M4000 9-Speed rear mech might be a better replacement. Does anyone know if that mech would work with an 8-speed chain and shifter…?

So this happened on this mornings ride…

Used the chain tool on my Topeak ratchet rocket to break the chain, then, gasp, I successfully used a quick link to join the shortened chain and limp home. Wonders will never cease…

You get used to seeing the big tyre out front, so it sort of becomes normal. Friend in the village was round this morning, so gave him a shot on it, round the garden. Only then, seeing someone else ride it, did it sink in that they’re really **** massive! 👌

The yellow art work isn’t for Le Tour, it’s to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the City of Carcassonne becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Put 4.8″ Jumbo Jims on at the weekend and got out for a quick spin this morning. Best upgrade so far, so much faster than the old Juggernaut Pros it’s not even funny…

Also, the bike looks like a proper monster truck now! 🤣

New tyres, 4.8 Jumbo Jim, arrived yesterday, along with a bottle of the OKO Off Road Sealant. As we were out last night round friends, I rushed to get them on the bike, so I could get out early doors this morning, but put the front on the wrong way round… 🤬

We have friends coming round today, so no chance of getting a ride in. Hopefully I’ll have enough time to switch the tyre around, fit my new slightly longer seat post and get the bike ready for a quick loop on Monday morning.

P.S. 4.8 Jumbo Jims are **** massive!

Same with Islabikes, as long as they’re in pretty good nick. Think we sold one for more than we paid for it, as the price of new had gone up so much…

ITV Hub is utter shite for this kind of stuff, woeful in comparison to the iplayer… I assume it’s due to having to stuff the correct adverts into it or something.

SUPER G!!! 💥

@djtom what’s the rational behind the latex and screen wash…‽

@vincienup I could never hear any sloshing with the Decathlon stuff, even with 4 caps (160ml) in a 4″ tyre. The front sealed 95% of the time, the rear was the opposite, but mainly cuts to the sidewall.

I can’t comment on the do-it-yourself mouldable ones, as I have a pair of insoles I had moulded and built up at ProFeet in London yonks ago.

If I don’t use them, then my knees grind themselves to bits, which gets a touch painful. Given that the DIY ones are pennies in comparison to having it done somewhere like ProFeet, I’d say go for it. You can also get half mouldable ones, as well as full length mouldable ones, so I guess it depends on what you require. Maybe just buy another pair of the Spesh BG insoles of the correct colour?

Flapjack. If you make it yourself, you can add whatever sugar you like; golden syrup for the win…

💥 It’s not dull now…

🤣

I was planning on getting out early doors on Sunday, but plans changed to an afternoon family ride. I’ve been struggling with a leaky rear tyre, so pumped it up to 20 PSI to try and find it. Long story short, bike was left in the sun for a bit with the tyre holding, then a rather large 💥 happened… 🤦‍♂️

I needed an excuse to ditch these Kenda juggernaut Pro tyres, just didn’t expect it to happen like this…

@Klunk would that would be(roughly) somewhere between Weston Colville and Brinkley? If so, that happened last weekend, lots of smoke seen from West Wratting in that general direction on both that Saturday and Sunday…

£14, so even if it’s crap, you’ve still got enough to buy a better one…

https://www.sportsdirect.com/karrimor-travellight-sleeping-bag-781056?colcode=78105690

I always forget about the Park Tools website, thanks for the reminder!

Have a look at intermittent fasting, where you have a non-eating window of various length. There are options (not eating : eating), for example 12:12, 16:8, 20:4 or 23:1. I do 16:8, so I stop eating at 20:00 and don’t eat again till 12:00 the next day. You eat normally within your window and can obviously set your fasting window to start and stop for when suits, as longs as it’s consistent. I’ve seen a noticeable improvement in weight just from doing that any nothing else, giving up booze made another massive difference, even just for a month.

You can cycle and do IF, it’s just a bit harder. Yesterday for example, I was out the door at 06:03 and cycled for 2h 13m and 46KM on bridleways, byways and roads to work. The cycle home was over 70KM again on bridleways, byways and roads, and took nearly four hours, powered by a couple of flapjacks. I ate when I got home, even though it was outside my window. I don’t normally go that long on the way in and the way back.

When I used to cycle commute full time, I used to bonk regularly on the way home until I had a word with myself. Cycle to work, then have breakfast at 10:00, have lunch at 14:00, but then nothing till I got home at 20:00, which was rubbish. If you’re going hard enough, you’re burning enough calories for a 17:00 muffin. I used to bake a few batches, pop them in the freezer and take one into work each day. I also used to cary a few emergency gels in my panniers.

Try a few things, see what works. My wife likes the 5:2, for example, but I couldn’t get on with it. She doesn’t like IF, etc, etc…

I thought it looked interesting, in the same way I find overly expensive cycle clothing interesting. Pointless me buying any, no matter how good it is, as the chances of a third party bringing out a fat bike hub with that new open standard are, I would have thought, minimal.

Was hoping to get our early door tomorrow for a ~60KM ride on the fat bike. However, the rear has yet another puncture, no idea where as there’s no obvious leaking sealant. So instead of the planned ride, I’ll be fixing that. Friends round on Sunday, so doubt I’ll be able to get more than an hours pootle in…

Thanks all, certainly give me something to think about. My first idea for a trip, was from near Cambridge to Thetford on the Icknield Way Trail, kip at the campsite near Thorpe Forest and then back again the next day. All within 50 minutes, or so, by car from the house, if I need rescuing. After that, it would likely be linking the Icknield Way Trail and the Peddars Way Trail up to Holme-next-the-Sea.

I have a bivvy bag, so was looking to get a tarp, light weight sleeping bag and some sort of stove, cooking kit. All my old mountaineering kit, is either too big (3 season Rab down bag), or too old (i.e. falling to bits). I feel a spreadsheet coming on…

I bought a pair of the road bib shorts the other year. The legs were very short, half way down the thighs, rather than to just above the knee. They weren’t that bad for easy rides up to an hour. Any sort of hard , or long distance effort on the other hand, they were terrible. The rubbed on the inside of the thigh and if I’d sweated heavily, they just got generally uncomfortable around the arse. They were pretty much as expected for a £20 outlay…

If I plump for Jumbo Jim’s, am I going to notice any difference between (the presumably older) PaceStar and Addix Speedgrip compounds…? As all the deals appear to be on the PaceStar ones. TIA.

@monkeysfeet Those are the LiteSkin ones though, so I’m assuming they don’t have the same sidewall protection as the SnakeSkin ones…? Having said that, it’s still a good deal to buy two single tyres for about £90 delivered.

So… After getting another three nicks in the sidewall of the Kenda Juggernaut on the back of my Calibre Dune, I think I need a tyre with a bit more sidewall protection.

Jumbo Jim 26×4.8 are still £104 a pair off Slam69 and Maxxis Mammoth 26×4 are £68 a pair off Planet X (shudder), although I sort of fancy some Minions or Bud & Lou.

Having said that, 99% of my riding is on bridleways and byways, linked with vast tracks of tarmac; I get to a trail centre about once a year. Given how dry it is, can anyone stop me dithering and tell me which tyre combo would be best…?

@dovebiker I 🤤 slightly whenever I see photos of your bike, flipping gorgeous… 💗

Taken near the start of this morning’s ride…

Depends if you want light weight roadie ones, or MTB specific ones…? For my money though, Endura, all day, every day.

Pretty much didn’t ride last year, so set a target of 2,000 km for the year. Didn’t get the new fat bike until May, so currently 263 km behind pace, according to Strava. Managed just over 500 km last month though, so should be easily doable, as long as the rear tyre holds up…

Managed to get out with the boy yesterday morning. Only 11KM as my rear tyre deflated, with no obvious signs of a puncture and no obvious leaking sealant. Got home the tyre fell off and I discovered that the Decathlon sealant I put in four weeks ago had all dried up! It might be cheap, but it doesn’t last…

Was hoping to get out this morning, as we’re sans kids, as we were at a disco in the woods last night. I was driving so figured that I’d be up early and out. Feel like I’d had eight pints thought, must have been all the passive weed smoking 🌿🚬. So it’s a trip into town to buy another cheap camping mat, so I can put the rear tyre up tubeless again, for a ride with the local Scouts tomorrow night.

Normal Man,  I’m a smidge under 5′ 8″ and have a medium. The seat post isn’t long enough for me, and doesn’t quite have enough set back, other than that it fits me pretty well. I was a bit too stretched out on the large. Make of that what you will…