Agree with scotabroad on availability. Where can you actually buy the Briskers in popular sizes?

@Oikeith I can’t quite work out why the seat would wear a hole in any frame protection as mine is only touching the steerer tube of the forks but interested to hear how your switch to a WeeRide goes.

@oikeith I think the best way is to remove a suitable amount of spacers from the steerer tube and then put the Thule bracket (with A/B washers) onto the steerer to act as spacers. The Thule instructions are poor as they only show a quill stem setup and I have been in contact with them. I may be getting somewhere now I have persuaded them that a threadless headset is not ‘bike specific’ as they first suggested.

Despite this I am still getting knee clearance issues. I suspect the best fix is to get a LLS 29er with longer reach/top tube but that is rather costly so for now I am wondering whether a stem raiser like this would help get the seat out of the knee zone:

Stem raiser

I would mount the stem below the raiser on the steerer and the child seat on the raiser section to get it higher but wondering if the weight of child on seat would be an issue. But I guess it is clamped onto the steerer and still a preload bolt holding it down. What do you think just a matter of checking bolt torque regularly and it will be OK?

I thought a new bike might come into it :-) I can try it on my Cotic Soul (Mk3 so not LongShot) rather than Rockhopper but thinking that a 29er might help quite a bit.

Thanks superfli – When the time is right I hope to get a Shotgun/MacRide but for now at 12 months the front options seem the best.

What I was really hoping is that someone had used both the Weeride and Thule and could compare. I bought the Thule thinking it would be OK clearance wise so a bit surprised that there is an issue and wondering if the Weeride would be better/same/worse or if my old Rockhopper has a very short top tube.

@simon_g where did you get the X230?

Thinking of getting something similar.

Ah… I was hoping it was only a case of spacer swapping – spring cutting sounds a bit heavy duty by comparison :-(

But thanks for the responses all.

I use Viewranger to search by location/distance and then you could export those as gpx.

I don’t have a garmin fenix 6x but I like the Viewranger interface and ability to see a good amount of map on the phone app and when walking taking it out of a pocket doesn’t feel like the hassle that it does when cycling.

I am fairly sure that NV200’s are only available as diesel or electric. Seems a good candidate for a petrol engine to me.

Thanks andybrad, I will have to work out why they could not be angled but then I will also have to work out why Tracey’s wheels are holding in that position rather than gravity and bike weight pulling them round to vertical :-)

I can see how hooks with side restraints like these would hold wheels at an angle though: https://www.planetx.co.uk/imgs/products/px/950x600_constWH/TOJOSWMBH_P2.jpg?v=rf

@andybrad – I think that picture is meant to work as a link but it doesn’t work for me. Any chance you could post the product name/seller? It looks good as I think unlike a hook I think you could angle the wheel and in doing so limit wide handlebar clash.

Kind of like these but without the extreme cost: https://www.velocirax.com/gallery

Anyone got a Prime V3 or can point me in the direction of a review? Interested in these.

Some good advice here. I have really got into walking over the last four years and done a lot locally and on trips. I think the advice to get good boots/shoes is the best. Other good quality kit helps but nothing is as critical as the footwear and what is right for each person will vary (fit and terrain you will be covering).

I have done a lot of walking since my son was born in February carrying him and something I do quite a lot is look at the weather forecast carefully and be flexible. Try and spot the dry windows and make the most of them even when they occur early/late. Makes it more enjoyable for all involved and the kit becomes less critical.

Hmm, that is an interesting thought thank you. The file format I downloaded was pretty simple (and readable) text files so may be worth a go but I think iCloud likes to hide stuff so not too hopeful.

@Squirrelking I’m heading in the giving up direction but as @zilog6128 says I wonder if one of the free or paid options from a third party might be worth a go, there seem to be a few.

@nbt yes I have done Android to Android a few times via Google Drive but iPhone only has iCloud back up and from what I have read there is no way of restoring between the two.

OK, I’m convinced :-)

I’ve got one of the <£40 ones and recently overtightened a Carbon handlebar trusting it would work – it didn’t. So I am also interested but planning to spend more this time so that it does what it is meant to.

Norbar seem regularly recommended. Are they generally better regarded than Wera alternatives like this:

That CPU’s pretty toilet though

Quote of the thread :-)

@mattyfez, I think you are right. I seem to have caused an unblocking and they are now installing. Some of them are fairly chunky it seems from install time.

Will check up on some of these other suggestions too.

OK, so the fact I got the OS wrong (distracted by a W7 sticker from when W7 was something to boast on a sticker) is going to make me appear rather inept but it seems I have upgraded the OS to W10 in the past. Here is the system spec

Only 4Gb RAM noted as a likely issue too.

Digging in a bit I can also see that there are some W10 updates that have not successfully installed so maybe repeat attempts to do that is slowing something down in the background.

+10 marks to frogstomp for W10 spotting :-)

Not planning to spend anything on it tbh just get it working better with its current facilities; I am not looking for miracles it really was very slow. So thanks for that pointer smokey_jo

I say was because removing Yahoo seems to have helped a lot (or at least it is working better since I did). Might investigate W7 to W10 if it can be done.

There are other computers in the house so this one is not meant to be amazing but would like to think even an old timer can handle email and web.

Thank you. I was thinking more delete stuff or improve settings rather than buy an SSD. I think it is way below the performance it should have.

Will start by uninstalling Yahoo as suggested as only Gmail is used on it (but Yahoo was in the past).

Ah by covered by holiday insurance I more meant covered for anything other than Covid. If you go to somewhere where FCO advice is not to travel I have spoken to my insurer and then your insurance is invalid whilst there. So break our leg whilst stopped in French layby you are not insured but once in Germany insured.

Thanks to you all for some really great advice and welcoming responses/invites! and also in giving us a bit of picture as to what to expect. I’ve been to Berlin about six times and Frankfurt once but not spent much time in the rest of Germany and particularly not in rural areas so your descriptions and enthusiasm are really useful.

The rental recommendations are also great, we will take a look.

Do you not need to quarantine if you go via the Chunnel? Does that not count as being in France? Even if you get our to give the wee guy some fresh air? Which countries do Germany need you quarantine from?

My understanding of this from reading so far (and I will be double checking!) is that so long as you do not mix with other people on crossing France (or other countries not on FCO list) you do not need to quarantine on return. So UK -> Chunnel -> drive -> stay in Germany is OK and once in Germany we would be covered by holiday insurance. And Elbows explanation of movement in/out of Germany is correct from what I have read. But of course the whole situation is subject to change so making decisions with our eyes open!

That sounds great – you have transported me away from my bedroom office! I don’t think we will enjoy a change of scene.

The email for the rackedup guy is: sparks_one(at)hotmail.com

Hopefully he won’t mind me posting that if it leads to some extra sales. I found him really easy to deal with and the racks are really solid.

A lot more basic but a lot cheaper. I have two and have been excellent:

https://www.facebook.com/bikeracked/

The Rockshox Trailhead App is quite good for letting you know what works with your fork. Worth a play (you will need the number off the back of the fork crown).

That was my starting point but unless I missed something there was not a definitive list of what would and would not work but I looked at Pg7 of this Debonair upgrade document that I think sets out that it is not compatible with the new Debonair but is with the older one.

I’m interested in upgrading my 27.5″ Pike with a Debonair air shaft (and changing travel at the same time), the model I have is the catchy: FS-PIKE-RCT3-A2

So I take it this is an ‘A2’ Pike.

From the TF Tuned Page the 20212 C1 Debonair (the newest one) does not look like it works for an A2 fork:
https://www.tftuned.com/2021-c1-debonair-air-spring-upgrade-kits-pike-yari-lyrik/p3851

So I guess I can only go so far as the original Debonair:
https://www.tftuned.com/debonair-air-spring-upgrade-kits-pike-yari-lyrik/p3412

And if I want 130 travel on a 27.5 fork I go for the RS00.4019.931.010

Have I got all of that right?!

I rode it last week and agree these are decent changes. Yes it is smoother but it is still not easy and getting it right feels like it will take some doing; momentum is very important as if you are going well it gets very fast but mess something up and you lose a lot of speed.

I’ve ridden at Cwmcarn since it first opened and great to see a new trail go in. I enjoy both of the previous trails but think that the addition of a blue and the not that new pumptrack are important to give it broader appeal.

I’ve never really paid much attention to the section names but the altered section looks to be called Angel’s posts. Not much has really changed on Dragon’s teeth apart from felling. I enjoy trying to stay off the brakes for the duration of the Castle Valley section – very gratifying when you manage it.

Some of the felling has exposed what seem to be a number of off-piste sections including routes that join/leave the Dragon’s tongue/teeth sections. Has anyone ridden these or if they achieve a link between sections?

Bit of a basic question but how do you power these? Can you use the lighting electrical supply or do you have to get the power socket supply there?

@Stigheed – thanks for taking the time to give such comprehensive suggestions and particuarly warnings of dullness.

And mrmo thanks for that link to the route, old school XC is fine with me and good to know that someone has ridden it before!

malverns at the weekend…

We are meeting on a Friday.

I’ve ridden at the FoD trail centre which is fine but looking for something a bit longer. Many years ago I rode there before the trail centre existed but wasn’t that impressed but if someone has a route that would change my opinion that would be great.

I’ve just got my copy of ‘The Good Mountain Bike Guide’ off the shelf. Other contenders seem to include the following (some of which are admittedly extending the triangle!

Alfrick
Kemerton
Birdlip
Wyre Forest
Ribbesford
Clent Hills

There is a route there in this book. I’ve not ridden that one but most of the routes in the book are decent.

I have bought from iFixit before, as you say they are good but the battery is already £17 and then there is the overseas postage.

Please could someone post a link for a decent source of a replacement battery for an iPhone SE. Thanks.

Looking through the bike catalogue with my Dad to choose my new bike. He recommended going for the bike with gears from West Germany rather than Japan…

Oh and punctures and mud. Lots of both.

Ah I can partially blame you for my first port of call having none then ;-) Seems like I will be searching for the dusty pack at the back of an LBS.

If you did want to rent one in the UK and no one on STW would lend you theirs ;-) where are the good places to look to rent them? Bigger hire companies or peer to peer sites?

Looking for something with toilet, shower and bed that we don’t have to disassemble in advance of being able to sit down.

Basically I am the opposite number to the OPs buying situation!

Announcement on any change in restrictions as a result of review due tomorrow I think.

Wales is not ‘closed’ you just cannot go beyond your local area. The restrictions are the same for those of us that live in Wales as those who live outside Wales.

Changes in movement restrictions may not be the same as being able to book holiday accommodation.