Thanks for all the feedback on the bars, that’s definitely something to think about then.

Anyone running Vibrocore™ rims (of any sort)…?

Can’t help that much, but what did she pay? About to sell well that really is in great condition so wondered what the going rate is 😉

Normally just shy of the asking price for a new one. I can remember selling one of ours for more than we paid for it, just cause the cost of a new one had gone up. Brilliant bikes, bonkers resale value…

You’re missing the <img bit from in front of the src= bit… You want:
<img src="http://i63.tinypic.com/161keux.jpg&#8221" alt="" />

If you’re doing shoes now @brant, then I’d buy a truck load of some minimalist ones like Merrell Vapour Glove 4 3D, but with soles that last longer than a couple of months…

Check out the Marin Gestalt X11…

Just read some of the conspiracy theory tweets. Not quite sure how these people function as humans, total 🤬 nuggets…

Got an immunisation for tick borne encephalitis once, when mountaineering in the Russian Caucasus. Definitely something you don’t want to get…

Anyway, found this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-48606826

@johnjn2000 You stick the text in a blockquote element…

<blockquote>
The text you want to quote…
</blockquote>

Ends up as :

The text you want to quote…

@crimsondynamo I was hoping for a rather large rebate from the Tax Man, which would have easily have paid for it. Shame my tax code turned out to be correct… 😩

I’ve promised myself that if the start-up I work for makes it, the first purchase is a 3T Exploro, with all the carbon bells and whistles. Until then, I’ll just have to make do…

@honourablegeorge noted.

I was pondering last night and was wondering if running XC MTB wheels on gravel bikes is a thing? In a similar way to running 5″ tyres on 100mm rims on a fatbike giving better tyre shape (maybe?), would running a 650b 40mm XC rim with ~50mm tyres, work on a gravel bike?

@hardtailonly @fudge9202 turns out those are the tyres that are on my build spreadsheet, a lucky guess when I created it…

@medlow @scotroutes ideally I’d have two sets of wheels, but I can only afford the one set initially. Hopefully Santa will be generous and I’ll be able to buy a second set in the new year.

@normal-man-2-2 looks like the CGR AL is also available as a frameset. Not sure how I missed those, I can see another thread coming on…

@funkmasterp tempting, but I’ve decided to build a bike to my spec, hence getting a frameset.

@hardtailonly Yes I know, but the Space Chicken frameset is slightly more expensive and has slightly less tyre clearance. Plus, after a spectacularly bad customer service experience a few years back, everything I’ve bought since then hasn’t fitted either me, or my bikes. So it’s me, not them…

@scruff I’ll bare that in mind, haven’t thought about crank length yet either…

@normal-man-2-2 I have briefly looked at those, but discounted it as they don’t do a frameset only…?

@rOcKeTdOg ’tis a shame really, even those heavily discounted ’18 models for £2,500 are just out of reach. Unless I save until the end of the year, by which time they’ll be gone… 😕

@kelron @mattbee @scotroutes @thisisnotaspoon thanks for the insight. Looks like this might end up being a try it and see job. Then sell/buy another set if it’s not right… *sighs*

@hardtailonly I was trying to avoid the Space Chicken (which I’ve always liked the look of), for reasons…

@honourablegeorge this is where I show my complete lack of knowledge. Am I going to notice a difference in ride quality between a 25mm wide rim, versus a 29mm wide rim…?

@rOcKeTdOg Realistically, I can’t afford anything carbon, and thus remotely aero. The RAG+ was on my list before I bought the fatbike, so it’s always hung around in my mind as a bike I could get on with.

@AlexSimon I’ve gone from 18mm on 650c, to 23mm on 700c, to 2.1″ on 26″, to 4.8″ on 26″. I’m not really sure what difference road plus on either 700c or 650b will be like…

@hardtailonly it looks fantastic for the money, shame I’d have to wait the best part of three months for them…

That purple one looks lovely. Shame they don’t appear to do just a frameset…

I used to leave a pair of shoes and a jumper at work, then everything else came with me in a pannier. I would occasionally forget something, worst was forgetting my trousers, had to get someone to drive me home and pick them up. 🤣

These days, as I only do it occasionally, I just take everything I need the day before, which means I don’t need to carry a backpack or panniers, which is nice.

Wouldn’t buy cycling shoes with anything else on them now.

👍 for @Blackfoot’s recommendation of a rugby physio. Best physio I ever had was a wee lassie with thumbs of steel, who happened to be a physio at Cambridge Rugby Club. Would leave the session with tears streaming down my face it was so painful and feeling like someone had been at my shoulders / back / legs with a baseball bat. She was flipping awesome, totally sorted me out. Someone who’s used to manipulating 95 – 127KG, makes short work of 73KG lightweight like me.

I had wondered about swimming actually…. Whilst lagging there awake last night with my shoulder aching.lol

I’ll look into the maceball too!👍

@Poopscoop just be careful with the swimming, I FUBAR’d both my shoulders doing it. After decades of on/off rotor cuff issues in both shoulders, I broke and went to see a physio. Six weeks out of the pool, a couple of years years doing band work, then bodyweight fitness to strengthen the back, haven’t had a recurrence since. Which reminds me, must start my morning stretching again, cause that helped massively too, as did getting a standing desk at work.

@baddddad Christ, wish I hadn’t clicked on that link… 🤤 Could easily stick it on a 0% credit card and pay it off over ~24 months…

@karnali Based near Cambridge. And to be fair, I’ve yet to trawl though the local bike shops, apart from Light Blue (ISON’s local shop), which I passed on the way back from the pub…

@joemmo there’s not much I haven’t looked at… Decided to cull it all down to the RAG+ and RUUT AL, otherwise I’d just spend all day being indecisive and not getting anywhere. 🤦‍♂️

Like this you mean:

Cycling Tips has all the goss…

@joemmo still not a hundred percent sure what I’m going to do, or what my actual budget is. Shame Rondo don’t sell the RUUT AL as a frameset…

@wind-bag aye, it’ll be a tough choice between the RAG+ and the RUUT AL. If I had the extra cash, I probably just buy the RUUT CF2…

@joemmo I was browsing the internet this morning, and to be honest, I was looking at trying to find a Force 1 set-up. Couldn’t quite figure out which bits went with what, most online retailers appear to have a weird mishmash in stock… Plus, for once, I’d quite like to actually get what I’d actually like, the last few bikes have been compromises.

@karnali nice looking bike, shame it’s a touch over budget…

Decided to try and price up building a RAG+ myself. I’m sure I’ve missed stuff, and didn’t do a particularly thorough job of finding suitable options. I’m also not sure if those Hunt wheels can take a 15mm thruaxle…

Component	What	                        Where	Price
Frameset	NS Bikes RAG+	                CRC	£600.00
Aheadset	Brand-X Tapered	                CRC	£13.49
Spacers	        Brand-X 5mm	                CRC	£5.99
Stem	        Brand-X Road	                CRC	£9.99
Handlebars	Brand-X Road Racing 44cm	CRC	£9.99
Bar tape	???	                        CRC	£10.00
Seatpost	Brand-X Inline 6061	        CRC	£14.99
Saddle   	Ergon SR Road Pro	        CRC	£89.99
Shifters	Shimano ST-RX810	        Rose	£507.00
Brakes	        Shimano BR-RX810	        Rose	
Rotors	        Shimano SM-RT800	        Rose	£62.00
Bottom bracket	Shimano SM-BBR60 BSA	        Rose	£13.00
Chainset	Shimano FC-RX810-1	        Rose	£182.00
Derailleur	Shimano RD-RX812	        Rose	£91.00
Cassette	Shimano CS-M8000	        Rose	£55.00
Wheels	        HUNT 4 Season Gravel X-Wide	HUNT	£329.00
Tyres	        WTB Resolute TCS Light 42c	CRC	£67.98
                                                        ---------
		Total	                                £2,061.42
			                                =========
                        Price           Difference
	NS Bikes RAG+	£1,599.99	£461.43
	Rondo RUUT AL	£1,699.99	£361.43

I should really stop looking at the internet, it’s just confusing… Just when you think you might have decided, you look at something else and change you mind. I think I need someone to slap me around the face with a fish and tell me to get a grip.

Anyway, never having run any SRAM stuff, I don’t know how they different levels compare to to Shimano. Is Apex the equivalent of 105, or is that Rival…?

Is the Rondo RUUT AL just a better NS RAG+…?

If I stuck 28mm tyres on 700c wheels, and all other things being equal, went out for a long road ride on the Marin Gestalt X11 or Nukeproof Digger, would I really get pissed off that they’re maybe not as racy on-road as the NS RAG+ or Rondo RUUT AL. Or would, as a mere plodding mortal, I not notice any difference whatsoever…?

@cynic-al I can get myself into a full pike, with my forehead on my legs, getting in to an aero tuck is not hard. Staying in it for a long time on the other hand…

There’s not a lot you can really add to that formula beyond nicer groupsets and a sprinkling of carbon pixiedust.

@thisisnotaspoon this is the current focus of today’s searching, as all the stuff suggested and mentioned so far has such a wide variety of components attached, it’s hard to make direct comparisons. Having never had a bike with any carbon pixiedust, I’d quite like some… 🤷‍♂️

You want the Icknield Way Riders Route, the signage (what there is of it anyway) is different. Instead of the small circular tokens screwed to wooden posts, you’re after stubby green pointy aluminium signs on metal poles for the riders route. Lots of the signs have faded, or are now behind bushes etc, so you do need to pay attention occasionally.

@thisisnotaspoon Not come across the Plug before, seems quite cheap…?

@mashr @bikebouy I did think the Revolt might be better suited, but open to ideas…

@thisisnotaspoon that would be the only worry; could stick that new Shimano gravel groupset on it though…

@squealer nice looking ride, shame Start Ftiness only have it in Red and in sizes too big for me…

For some reason I started browsing on AliExpress and turned up this, which looks suspiciously like a 3T Exploro:

Has anyone heard of this Carbomania bunch before…? I hadn’t thought about going build your own, but that’s tempting.

@remoterob you find me a Rondo HVRT CF for under two grand and I’ll buy it… 🤣 The RUUT is already on my dream on dreamer list.

@rOcKeTdOg Bergamont Grandurance 6…? Quite the price difference between that and the Elite…

@eddiebaby I saw that thread and have always liked the look of that bike. I’d just rather not give them my money…

@cynic-al Looks fast sitting still…

A sandwich bag which contains 100g of salted peanuts, 100g sultanas, and 50g dark chocolate drops. Plus the odd Trek bar.

I ran those as they came with the Calibre Dune. It got to the point where I was patching the inside after ever ride, so ditched them for Jumbo Jims. I wouldn’t touch them with someone elses barge pole…