Minutes after being told “don’t discuss this with anyone” I get an email from the SMT saying “we should all strive to be as transparent as possible”

Made me chuckle

I’m lucky (in a weird way) that I get priority appointments at my GP due to having had serious illness in the past and being on their ‘watchlist’. The only time I’ve had an issue was with a new receptionist who didn’t know they had a priorities list and I asked if I should go to A&E and tell them my GP sent me – appointment was forthcoming :-)

replaced my old bosch (it died after 10 years) with a smeg – both did the job but the smeg is very very quiet

+1 Barfly mtb for me

I run a 32T oval with a 10-42 cassette and I’m finding I still spin out on tarmac and loner (smoother) off road descents, going to put a 34T oval (also with a 10-42 cassette) on my new HT build which I hope will sort it out, if it does I’ll post here, will be after 18th Dec as that’s when my new HT frame is due in :-)

I like my Hope hubs but the hubs on my SRAM ROAM40s are rebadged DTs I think and are very very good.

I do a night ride with 2 – 5 guys every week and 2 of us love the wet, slippery, muddy stuff almost as much as we love it when it’s bone dry and super fast. The other guys tolerate the above but with lots of moaning about it. I mainly ride a mountain bike because it makes me feel like a 10 year hooning around in the woods again and when it’s muddy and slippery that’s perfect for being a kid again!

I mostly ride at night, Monday’s solo and Wednesday’s with a group (2 – 6 depending on commitments). I’m 50 and mostly just ride my local, Winchester, trails and once or twice a year do a long weekend away in Wales. Once in a while, maybe 3 times a year, I do a day at Swinley with my 12 year old son and maybe once a year I do a night ride at Swinley with the other middle age ‘boys’.

I’m guessing I’m fairly typical of a middle aged mountain biker whose riding has changed from every spare minute to ‘allocated’ slots so I can get enough riding in.

Next year I’m doing BPW, Afan a trip to Derbyshire and a 2 day OM event with one of my riding buddies so next year is a busy year.

I was totally underwhelmed by my Guide RS’s that came on my Whyte T-130 Works, they were OK for the first few rides and then suffered really bad fading. I used them in mid-Wales in June and by the end of a 4 day weekend they were in dire need of a bleed. I swapped them out to my Hope Tech 3s with E4 calipers and the difference is night and day. Sold the RS’s to a riding buddy who had Elixirs (not sure which but basic model) and once the RSs had been rebleed during the fitting to his HT they’ve been totally reliable and he really likes them.

No idea why they didn’t bleed well the first 2 times but the 3rd time they’ve been faultless?

He still looked quick to me, saw him & Peaty many years ago and it made me realise how dog slow I was!

Slight thread hijack – does an Xbox One need a decent internet connection in normal play? I don’t mean to download games more just when actually playing?

Also have a Tado, also fitted it just over a year ago and it’s been also excellent. Yes it is single zone but compared to my old manual system it’s got some distinct benefits for us:

1) It’s saved money – my gas bill has gone down by approx. 30%
2) I’m not heating the house when I’m not there – old system worked on setting on/off times and was a faff to change so we just didn’t
3) I can change settings via the app which is helpful when I want to prewarm the house quicker than would happen with the (excellent) proximity system
4) The night mode maintains a steady temperature so the difference between night and day temperatures is consistent which I think makes the boiler/gas usage more efficient (I’m not a scientist so I may just be guessing here)

@essexbiker what did you order exactly as I need the same and can’t find the right one on CRC

My LBS converted my wheels to tubeless for no additional cost and as it’s a Whyte it came with a bleed kit for both the Pikes and the Reverb. By mistake the LBS included 2 extra tubeless valves which next time I popped in offered to return but they said keep them.

Was reasonably impressed because although I’ve bought a lot of smallish stuff from them over the last 5 years this was my first bike purchase from them. Have always chatted when they had time to and taken biscuits in when they’ve rushed a wheel or drivetrain fix through the workshop so have built a relationship with them.

Had a coffee and a chat when I picked the bike up and heard first hand a guy trying out some Exposure lights after which he asked for a 20% discount before finally saying he’d get them online!

I wasn’t sure I was able to detect much difference but when I rode my HT with standard rings I noticed how lumpy they felt.

I have a Diablo on my helmet but fancy the Equinox with remote so I can keep my hands on the bar, what’s the real life runtimes of the Equinox like?

Also it applies to the bearings only, you have to pay the dealer to remove the old ones and fit the new ones unless it’s part of warranty i.e. faulty.

Ah OK not had any Shimano since my XTs (6 years ago) fell apart.

E4s over XTR but agree if you’re going Shimano why pay more than Deore?

26″ +1 for when its really muddy Panaracer Trail Raker
27.5 Maxis Shorty

I’ve got the 2015 Works and can’t fault it. I ride between 18 (winter mud fest) and 40 (summer dust) miles twice a week around the Winchester end of the SDW and on bigger trips away. I’ve not found it wanting yet. I mainly night ride and the Whyte is very confidence inspiring which is great when chasing your mates down woody singletrack in the middle of the night.

I’d like the carbon one but I don’t think it weighs a lot less and it may be a bit stiffer but I wouldn’t be able to tell so despite it being very orange I’m sticking with my Works.

HTH

Élan valley for natural single track, route cards from Clive Powell in Rhyader.

T-130 Works here which rides well round my local trails but still handled a long weekend in midWales easily. Never been into proper long travel myself as 95%+ of my riding is just around the Winchester end of the SDW and places like the Purbecks.

Overall optimistic.

I’ve survived cancer twice, a broken back, broken neck and I’m still riding my bike and enjoying life most of the time.

I have a good stable job that pays enough plus a comfortable buffer, a wife who is a soul mate, a 12 year son (who is pre-teenage so driving me mad) and a year old kitten! Sure the world could end, the economy sink, I could break my neck properly next time or have a final bout with cancer BUT most of that I can’t affect so I focus on what I can affect. I’m 50 so maybe I have ~20 – 30 years left so why make them miserable?

Optimism is just making the best of everything which is easy to say but hard to achieve.

All IMHO of course.

I’ve run SRAM ROAM 40s and they are great, strong and reasonably light weight see ROAM 40 for the spec.

I have an unused brand new set of ROAM 40s which I was trying to sell a couple of months ago, they would cost £500+ to buy new so if you are interested drop me an email (see my profile) and make me a sensible offer if they float your boat. They are 650b, are dead easy to use tubeless and I have a brand new XD driver that I could include if you need it.

I have a 2015 T-130 Works which is fantastic so the 2016 T-130 S will be a good ride if a bit over budget. My riding buddy has a 2015 Bird Aeris which is similar spec to my Works but the frame is also excellent so a good base for a £2k budget.

Also have to say both Whyte and Bird are really good on customer service so if that matters, to me it does, then I’d avoid mail order.

HTH

+1 for Renthal bars and stems, running a 50mm Duo and a FatBar Lite Carbon which have both be flawless so far

If you reject the offer and reject the cheque by returning it you’ve not entered into any agreement and they’ll have to either re-negotiate or repeat. I’d also do this in writing and say you’ll be taking advice from a legal representative and will be writing to Watchdog and the insurance ombudsman, if you give an inch they’ll take your £1k!

I’d report it to your insurers and explain your concerns regarding it being a fraudulent claim, if you neighbour has a problem with that let him argue the toss with your insurers. Take photos of you bike when you park it, take pictures of his car, no reason but it’ll wind him up :-)

Oh and gone tubeless as well

I have a Park stand with soft jaws so I clamp the Reverb post but not over tight. I’m running a Maxxis Ardent 2.3 at the rear and a Maxxis Minion DHF 2.3 on the front. Clearance is fine most of the time but my local trails are a bit clay like so with the addition of fallen leaves I have had both the front and rear clag up. My solution is to avoid the trails I know are really claylike and covered in leaves, I’m lucky to leave near Winchester so I have other trails available that are muddy but not sticky so OK.

I’ve got Hope E4s with Tech 3 levers, a Renthal stem and carbon handlebar, Hope grips and an oval front ring. I love my T-130 Works and would buy another, my previous HT was a bit old school XC so the T-130 is much more ‘modern’ and gives loads of confidence both on my local trails, Swinley and when i did a 4 day weekend in Mid-Wales. HTH

I use a Mudhugger and a Crud catcher on the front as I wear contact lenses, I wear clear glasses but they are useless in the rain IMHO. On the back I have a Crud Race Guard which keeps the worst off, I don’t care about a wet arse but I do like my rear light to be visible and the rear mudguards helps with that, I have a rear light clipped to my pack as well.

+1 for Renthal Apex – no creaks and rock solid

My chicken and mango sandwich at lunchtime wasn’t very mangoy but it was free ;-)

I reckon they use a nylon bolt so it snaps BEFORE you damage the mount

That’s what I was told by my LBS

If I do the 220 – (your age) thing, my max is 170. My experienced max whilst riding my local trails (SDW near Winchester) is 187 and I often ride 90% of my rides at 90% of my max HR. My RHR is 45 and has always been very low even if I’m not fit.

I have a similar problem to whitestone and bikebuoy when I go to hospital as my low resting heart rate (which doesn’t rise much when I’m in the ward) combined with a genetic issue where I run a high temperature all the time cause near panic. Apparently normal body temperature ranges between 36.1C (97F) to 37.2C (99F) but I run around 37.5C as my normal. Sets off multiple alarms when I get hooked up to a monitor.

T-130 Works rider here and love it. The only issues I have with the 1×11 are the lowish top gear (solved with an oval 34t ring) and the high replacement cost of the transmission. I’ve done ~900 miles on one cassette and am on my 2nd chain.

Overall I’d not want to ride anything without 1×11 as it works superbly and is simple to maintain.

HTH

I ran over a (already) dead badger on Sunday. Minion on the front, Ardent on the rear. Felt like rolling over a soft log and hardly noticed due to 650b wheels and being on the full sus.

I’m fairly sure (maybe not) that if I’d been on my 26″ wheeled hardtail it would have ended badly (or not) :-)

If it’s not obvious it’s Friday afternoon and I’m a bit bored at work :-)

Er, why would they care if you are keeping it?

That’s my point I guess, it’s under the mileage limits and we’re keeping it so I’ll pay the final payment and accept the damage (my wife ran it along a hawthorn hedge!) as it doesn’t worry me too much. I’m assuming the garage/finance company don’t care if you pay the final payment as they’ve got their money.

+1 for using a slime tube. I’m about to start carrying one after getting a big enough hole that wouldn’t seal a few weeks ago. I did have a repair kit but having never used one before and finding it difficult to see the hole well (it was covered in crap and my contact lenses are crap for close vision) I stuck a standard tube in and then had a slow puncture!