I run Sony mirrorless and really like the system, but if you don’t need to worry about weight and compactness, then DSLRs are generally much more comfortable and ergonimic and have a greater back catalogue of new and used lenses. You can of course run legacy lenses on mirrorless bodies using adapters but it’s a compromise with AF performance and simply having bulky SLR lenses on your wee mirrorless body.

Video is almost universally better executed through mirrorless cameras though.

Animal noise sound clips – always the same.

Horses, turkeys and eagles always have the same exact sound clip on whichever media, including many videogames.

Also, why is an eagle call necessary on any sweeping landscape shot?

Cheers TiRed – great info!

All my has been 2nd hand and no problems yet. I figure that as long as it’s not damaged, having had someone else ride it a few miles will likely have revealed any structural issues already.

Cheers folks – will have a look into unconventional racking!

Mafia, did you miss the last 6k from the Bealach through the loose rocks, the forest and down to the road ?

We came up that way from the road as an out-and -back missing the loch section. It was nice, and really fast in places but I think with it (and us) being so wet it didn’t quite make up for the higher stretches.

It did remind me of some of the best bits of the Laraig Ghru though, you could get some serious speed on the lower wooded sections with some tasty flat corners.

Maybe I was just grumpy in retrospect!

Annat lollipop and Achnaschelach (sp) are great. I was unimpressed by Ben Damph; very damp, little tech and the best bits were similar to those at Annat but not so much fun.

Skye doesn’t have so much good riding really.

significantly better

Perhaps an incy bit hyperbolic when it comes to pedals. For double or triple the price you’re saving a modest amount of weight for slightly better bearings and bling. I’ve had a pair of Deores last me 4 years – great value!

Second Ibanez as very comfortable and easy to play. Might be worth looking at 3/4 scale bases too e.g. Squier Mustang

Ben Lomond is a corker, rideable except for the very bottom and very top. A reasonable detour away from the main road though. Not sure of anything special around Cruachan but there’s Kinlochleven/Devil’s Staircase if you’re heading up via Ballachulish area.

Lucius are pretty awesome, took my dad and sister to see them in Leeds before Christmas and they subsequently got the ferry to Belgium to see them the following weekend. Loved their cover of The Kinks’ “Strangers”.

Smashed my rear LB 35MM rim last year while running 30psi in a thick 1.5ply tyre (was riding in Torridon and was happy to loose some grip for peace of mind). I was around 70kg at the time.

Contacted LB all they offered was $10 of a new set of rims.

Front rim has been fine, but I’ll stick with cheap alloy rims for the rear I think.

Hi Gear Men’s Packlite Down Jacket, 280g, packs into own pocket

+1
Took mine to the Arctic this winter, didn’t die – much warmer than my Primaloft gold jacket, cheaper and fits well.

I think it would have to get pretty wet before it got any colder than a synthetic jacket of the same weight.

DPhil 2017 Oceanography – Estimates of carbon uptake by different-sized plankton using satellites.

Might do a post-doc but don’t see a family-friendly future in academia unless I get very lucky.

3-4 tubes of glue to do two wheels.

8O
I only used 1/2 a tube for two. Do they come in different sizes?

Overall, much less faff than I anticipated.

As grum says. I got mine via import for £50 cheaper than anywhere else in UK (Sony a6000).

£1000 for a d610 is way over the odds (depending on the value of bundles accessories/ extended warranties etc), £740-£780 would be what I’d expect to pay for the body.

As a Sony fan boy the a7 bodies are worth a look too – Sony make Nikon’s sensors so are generally better value and have the advantage of being mirrorless – much smaller, lighter and can use practically any other lens with an adapter.

It might be a bit low rent (Holst reportedly thought them some of his poorest work later in life) but The Planets are my jam and then some.

Sorry for a momentary hijack – is the Midwest still bon bikes in late Feb or is the decent stuff above the snowline?

A friend who I rode with a few times now has his own workshop making handmade wooden skis in a lovely part or rural Scotland. Got some kind of help from the Scottish government for start-ups after finishing a product design degree with a great product. Manages to straddle the line of being a small scale premium producer without all the hipster artisinal, turbo-social media bullpap. Definitely helps if you can attract investment and win prizes for your ideas though.
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Would love to do something similar but my practical skills and attention to detail mean it’s unlikely.

Glenfarclas 15

Might be able to get a 105 bottle of Cask strength for £40 if you’re lucky.

Tullibardine 500 would be similar and a little rarer for the same/less money

Caol Ila is good but the cheap stuff is a bit subtle, nicely balanced though – not as full-on as other light-but-peaty whiskies like Ardbeg.

Jura Superstition will be well within your budget and is great value – Talisker without the pepper.

Ben Riach 16 is an excellent speyside for little outlay if you fancy trying a lighter malt

I like Lee and Cragg, though I think Cragg should be ridden first as it’s best on fresh legs to carry speed and enjoy the flowy swoopiness.
Obviously, it can be bleak as flip but it packs a lot of variation on a rocky theme into a small area.

Anybody got any pointers on which tubeless rim strips to use in the 38mm wide 29″ rims?

I just used gorilla tape. Has lasted for a year with no leaks.

XC bike for sure, Climaxx/Dyfi would still be fun on an XC bike but the Capra will let you hoon the last bit of descent. Really liked Climaxx.

2013 Stump Evo 26

Patently your wheels are too small. Join the master race.

While I have no issue with people tuning their shocks I’m always amazed by how far some people are willing to go to try and polish a turd. I can’t see why the cost/benefit of turning a CTD shock into a new debonair through two sets of improvements is attractive. Surely a CCDB, discounted Kirk or just a monarch are better value once you sell the old shock to some unsuspecting mincer who can’t resist kashima?

Float X is probably worth a tune up though.

Superstar elite 30s were great if they still make them. Very cheap and Kysrium weight. I ditched mine for chinese carbon tubulars as I didn’t se much point spending more on alloy clinchers.

Replaced a stock rp23 ctd on my cube stereo as it blew through travel and offered no support. I went for a standard 2015 monarch rt3 as the lower volume than the plus would help with support. Just back from a week around Sospel and it was a noticeable improvement over the ctd shock. Got mine from Germany for cheaps.

Sony kicks bottom at every level now. I use an a6000 but that’s a bit bulky and does mind getting wet and muddy. Those tx30 photos are very impressive!

I fount my Berghaus Goretex Active to be pretty decent in terms of breathability. However it’s waterproofness is pretty poor after 18 months.

Cheers folks, seems like volume spacers might be worth a try for a start, then maybe a debonair or a ccdb if no luck.

If they refuse and you consequently decide to stick to your contract then I’d imagine they’d have to worry about constructive dismissal if they were to try and kick you out.

At the end of the day, if you have skills exceeding your peers, which are being used by your business then you’ve every right to ask for that to be recognised.

I have the above camera and wile it’s best-in-class (and better than an DSLR <£800), there’s still much to be said for high-end compacts for a beginner. Sony’s own line are very impressive but th best ones are even pricer than the A6000.

the A6000 is due to be replaced soon so there should be an improved version available by the time your friend graduates from a compact.Or simply the a6000 will be available for less.

Bigger riders being faster downhill makes sense to me. Slightly higher area but much greater mass. (That’s my small animals use a much higher proportion of their calories keeping warm)

I’d seen it to be particularly evident on the road where the higher speeds obviously have a bigger effect of wind resitance to momentum.

Having said that, it should only have a small effect on initial acceleration as wind resistance is tiny.

Does anyone know if the higher mass at the top of a slope overcomes the inertia of the bike and rider’s mass and the wheels?

Thanks for the suggestions!

chrishc777 – I found the tl28 a bit soft for a rear rim but is likely fine for xc duties

Had a pair on my old 26″ and the front was fine through trips to the Alps and Torridon but the rear gave in on my first rocky ride on Skye.

mattyfez – I got the improved ones but before the Enve style deep versions came in. Still, the crack was on the rim hook through the wall so I doubt it would make all that much difference.

It’s my understanding that when the new line of short-levered shimano brakes came out there were many -particularly XTs- that had issues with leaky master cylinders and pistons. My self and a few other early adopter friends all had issues.

Is this still the case or have recent batches all been fine? I’d imagine the new XT (M8000) would have had slightly redesigned gubbins as from what I heard from Madison it was a fairly common problem before?

Happy with my £50 deores here – might go m8000 as part of a groupset from Germany

Bontrager XR2

I really like Bontrager XR1s too. Find their limits in clay/ wettest mud (which can be fun) and climbing steep, wet grass. Still, a fast 2/3 season all-rounder . I’ve not tried the Ikon though…

Vinyl widely known to be better quality than CD, particularly appreciated by classic music lovers. Note classic music was (is?) pressed on higher quality vinyl and to higher standard than rock/pop music.

Don’t talk toot

Do the course and be entertained by other participants

This

I had one rage quit. Lots of confused old ladies, conforming-to-stereotype BMW driving rep.

I was surprised how terrible people were at estimating speeds of cars on video.

The hazard perception was a bit silly though – had a bit of a tounge-in-cheek go at the instructor who assured us there were something like 95 hazards in a 1 minute clip. Someone using stepladders on a shop front, overhead cables etc….

I got done for 78 on the M6 but was saddened that everyone else was SP30.

All for lots of brownfield building but saddened by the lack of sustainable housing/social housing. Lots of cheap technology and district-wide schemes that could be installed (Scotland seems to do well at this), but profit margins = stack em high, build em cheap.

It surely makes sense for those on lower incomes to have small heating / electric bills, not to mention climate targets – would be great to see it in law.

Good news, nice to see the balance tipping slightly away from the baby boomers for once.

However – surely setting up some nice deflation if people rush to drop houses now?