Yes, you can use the external bottom bracket, just not the press fit BB30 type, and any 8,9 or 10 speed groupset (or 1 speed)

terrahawk is a shit name.

Wonder if he’s a shit rider as well…….?

How much do you want to spend, and how much weight to lose?
Go for 2nd hand stuff , forks, wheels, drivetrain can be picked up half price if you are prepared to accept stuff that may not look new….

Check the valve

They’re all waterproof. Otherwise they would let all the water out.

I think the people slagging off him, his website or questioning the validity of his attempt are doing it because they cannot comprehend what an undertaking this is. I am disappointed that people can’t see past the lack of good PR and see what an amazing challenge, and how much mental toughness this guy will have.

The odd trail centre ride, or riding your bike every day for a few hours, or even a 24 hour race don’t even come close to the level of effort and commitment required.

My house is open to him for his attempt.

You could try a few granules of silica gel.

Bikes should be tax free, but if they were, do you think their cost would reduce?

It happened to helmets a few years ago – they became VAT free. But any reduction in cost lasted about a year then the “next years model” was back where it was a year ago.

Bikes would be the same, just someone in the middle makes 20% more out of them….

C2W is a good scheme if you recognise it for being an interest free credit scheme. Less good if you think it’s a cheap way to buy a bike.

According to government statistics, in 2011, 2012 and 2013, accidents involving death or serious injury where alcohol was involved amounted to only 5%, meaning that sober drivers cause 95% of accidents.

Maybe the priorities are wrong?

Drink driving is quite rightly now socially unpopular, but why are the causes of the 95% of accidents (whatever they are) equally unpopular?

Stats are interesting as they can be used in many ways…..

If it’s leaking there must be a design or build issue. Most wooden buildings, if designed and built with overlaps anywhere there is moisture, will be waterproof by design. Sealant just helps it stay dry if water ever does get in (driving rain etc).

You need to have a look at the area above those leaky bits to see how water can be diverted away.

Might not be about strava, just that some peoples natural speed is quicker/slower than others.
If I am with a group I take my time, if I am onmy own I tend to go as fast as I can. It’s just people out riding bikes enjoying themselves, try not to pigeonhole everyone…..

Strikes me that you need to try a few chainringsf and use the one that suits your riding best. Lots of people on here seem to think that 30/32/34/36 are unsuitable for mtb use but it all depends what sort of riding you do and how big your legs are.

Changed mine to say “sent from my telephone”. Sounds much less like “did I tell you I have an iPhone”

Canals are ok, they won’t be too muddy but will be wet. Not that exciting though…..
If you want to drive down to Bredon hill near Evesham (45 mins) that’s got some good riding.

Old trick to make sure your bike is still there when they come back under cover of darkness…….

Hey John, not much off road down here of any quality. It’ll be a boggy mess in most parts. If you do decide to venture out you could head north from Warwick on a track towards Beausale, and head left towards Hatton or right towards Kenilworth, then make a loop up.

You’re best off on the road – lots to be had riding out towards Beausale, Claverdon, Lowsonford or south towards Offchurch, napton, Birdingbury.

Good. Luck – I would offer to show you around but I am banned from my bike until the decorating is done. Got another 2 weeks yet!

Locks and alarms as mentioned above, but I am planning to have about 4 alarm sirens/sounders inside the garage. If scumbags aren’t deaf before they go in, they will be deaf afterwards! Hopefully the aural pain would make then want to spend even less time in my garage!

Golden retrievers are the best. At least my lion maned one is. Then black labs, cos that’s the OH’s dog who loves cuddles, the my lads Jack Russell is tiny, but with big attitude as she keeps the boys in check. And she sleeps on top of the retriever….brilliant members of the family.

TheMarin followed by a natural trail from Betwys over to the lake north of Betwys (it starts on a steep road climb up, then ends up climbing via a footpath through the woods then down to the lake, where there is a small tea shop. Then turn left up the valley and a natural trail to capel Curig. Then work out a way back to Betwys. The Penmachno in the afternoon.

Had a squirrel leap into my front wheel, it got flicked up, past my foot and landed back on the verge about 10 feet down the road. It ran off but it must have crapped itself!

When I first started riding I lapped up all the gear reviews and bike reviews, but after 12 years I have all the gear and bikes I could ever need. I would like more bikes, but I will go into a bike shop if I ever get one. Is MBR aimed at newcomers and fairly newcomers?

On a garmin 800 you can edit the startup menu – mine now shows name and phone number when the unit is switched on

Yes, I am not a fan of the waffle pages where a writer pontificates about his life. And the constant 750mm bars are narrow, 150mm travel is a minimum for a trail centre, enduros are fantastic blurb. Not sure what I do want from a mag except maybe a bit of news from the big pro races and list of races / events over the next few months.

I keep all the routes but have never actually done any. Bit of a waste of a fiver I guess……

My rock n roll bed in my T5 has 3 point seat belts (not fitted by me!!). They are bolted to 20mm thin wall square section tube that is not triangulated or reinforced. They would not hold anything except a teddy in position in a serious crash. But I treat them as better than nothing, as I very very rarely put anyone in the back of the van whilst driving.i certainly would remove them prior to selling and get the new owner to fit them himself so he could see how weak they would be.

So, OP, how accurate is your speedo with new tyres and with worn tyres, as your rolling radius could be different by up to 6mm. And you are assuming that your speedo fits the +10% rule which is an allowable tolerance not a programmed in error.

Suck it up.

I would blame the remap. Usual remapping is all about a very simple frig to the turbo boost calibration with no thought at all to emissions.

(I work in engine calibration and know how difficult it can be to create a calibration that hits all the sweet spots)

I would never have my T5 remapped by some bloke with a laptop and dongle….

Drinking?

I’ve borrowed one a couple of times from a neighbour. Big boys toys!

But it took me a long time to do the job. The family laughed while I tried to fill a wheelbarrow with earth. Took about 5 buckets and then knocked the wheelbarrow over. Saved a lot of backbreaking digging though!

As others have said, it’s a polite letter – don’t whatever happens allow an impolite reply.

You could, however, as a user of the roads in their village ask that local car drivers respect people on bikes (although as no one ever reads the Parish Council mtg minutes this will not have any effect).

I am on our local Parish Council, and they are tiresome meetings and raise nitty little things like this, as well as objecting to planning applications where inappropriate – they have a purpose, but unfortunately no real power. But they are meant to be the voice of the community in council matters.

In the meantime the dodgy electrics in your garage may just touch the bike frame…….that would be shocking

I saw a bloke on a bike about a year ago with one of those, when I caught up with him it turned out he was a bike copper and he had 2 – helmet and bike. Had to ask what they were as they were really good bright but not dazzling rear lights. Been trying to remember the name ever since!

Lots of varied responses, but no killer polite put down. I’ll keep thinking – maybe an air horn through the window would wake a few up?

I commute every day by bike, and rarely have a problem with being passed too close or cut up etc (maybe 2 or 3 times a year), but my route is a good one. Todays event was pure impatience from the driver – if he drove that route regularly he would know that at the next junction he will join a queue of traffic sitting at 15mph (which is where I caught him).

aracer – I think I would like to be seen as a person, not on object called a cyclist. For me that’s the key – get people to see cyclists as people (maybe even like themselves or their friends/family). Might be a long shot but whenever I see the lazy journalistic “all cyclists jump red lights” crap it is clear that “cyclists” are not regarded as people by some. And showing that bad drivers actions are not “considerate” or “polite” or whatever might help to appeal to their human side rather than their tribal side.

Why bother about getting wet? Skins waterproof and few people have ever dissolved! Getting cold is the problem, so layers and not using cotton are 2 very good ways of staying warm when wet.

A study has shown (and my own experience of commuting every day) that in an average year in a part of the UK, if you commute every day you will get wet 7 times. Hardly worth spending £150 on a decent light, breathable waterproof (that isn’t cheap).

I use a cheap running hi viz top. Windproof, not waterproof, but very visible. Cost me about £15 and has lasted 3 years commuting, and gets chucked in the washing machine to remove any of its waterproofing capabilities.

For hilly mtb rides I use a cheap (free with What Cycling weekly or something) Altura thing, or a Berghaus paclite if it’s going to be bad. But I hardly ever wear either, just carry them as ballast or in case…

I’ve just ordered one but having read this I am quite worried that I will notice the drag when I start riding. Have I made a big mistake?

Ok, so was looking for a biggish ride as final training for a couple of events in October, and heard about this route early last week, so I thought that it can’t be that hard can it?

So, got the clearance from home on Friday night, having printed off the maps at work, prepped the bike on Saturday (actually I oiled the chain and blew the tyres up), then drove down and kipped in the van at Overton Hill. Set the alarm for 3.30 hoping for a 4am start. The alarm didn’t do the trick, but a bunch of roadies going over the hill talking woke me up (wtf were they doing at 4.05am on a Sunday morning?). Got riding by 4.30. First puncture at 4.47 (Flint in the new tyre that the sealant wouldn’t seal). Back to the van for more air canisters, spare tube and to switch the lights off in the van. Got going again (having restarted the clock) at 5.20am.

Lots of miles later it got light enough to turn off my headtorch, and I was struck by the wide open views, trails and cracking scenery. I was surprised how few houses were down this way – I thought it would be quite well populated.the riding is easy, nothing technical, except keeping the front wheel either in a rut or out of it, and trying not to hit those sharp flinty rocks. Another puncture at 30km, and a bit of faffing trying to get the spare 26 inch tube into the 29 inch tyre, so then fixed the 29er tube instead. Eventually got to some vaguely familiar trails near Wendover from a few trailquests a few years back, then a monument / pub / visitor centre just before Ivinghoe that was heaving. 100 metres either side of this was heaving as well, then no one until Ivinghoe ice cream van and Beacon. 143km in 7 hours 35 mins, about 1 hour behind my target time, but not bad considering almost all the route was new to me. Quick rearranging of food and start the return leg. This felt quicker, and once I filled with water by a canal, it felt like I was flying. Then it started to seem like a long ride. 160km came and went, then 170, 200, until it got to 230km and it felt like I was nearly home. But I would be home after dark, which wasn’t the intention when I started. The riding is really not tricky, there’s a few fun bits through the woods around Wendover and Grims ditch was fun but too short. It got dark with about 25km to go, then pitch black half an hour later, and I couldn’t remember where the car park was – I was convinced I had about 5km more to go when I almost rode past the van.
Finished! 285 km in 15 hours 18 minutes, riding time 14.31, with an average of 19.6km/hr. Quite pleased, very relieved, but the time to beat was Mark’s time of a week ago but I didn’t have the legs for that.

Plus 7.7km from the aborted 1st bit, so a big day out in all.

The route is a great introduction to ITT’s. It’s a tough route in one hit, but easier than the South Downs double or Pennine Bridleway double etc, it would be a great overnighter as that would give the opportunity to play about in some of the woods, and there’s plenty of tracks that disappear off into the distance. It is never too far from civilisation if that’s a concern as well, so thanks to Mark for setting it up.

Might do some of this on Sunday. Not being from round those parts, what’re the ground conditions like ( was there lots of rain today?)
Thanks

Would be quicker to take a file to the black one. Looks like it is close to fitting!

Why buy one when for 10p and 10 minutes work you can make one. And when the one y ou’ve made breaks you can fix it for about 0p