+1 for Endura Deluge.

Very warm and wind proof.

To test how waterproof they are I washed my bike in them last weekend. It was about 2° outside. Bucket full of water, sponge, muc-off, cold water hose… The process lasted about 30 minutes. My hands stayed warm and dry all the time! :-)

It happened twice to me. Both times CRC accepted the cassettes back under warranty.

SLX or Deore for me now.

Mine is quite hefty beast. 28.6lbs with these heavy, winter tyres (Purg and Butcher).

You do know Di2 does not enhance performance.?

So what are they for? :wink:

Joking aside, on the start bit to Bovey Tracey I had quite a few “pro’s” looking at me and asking “you’re not riding it on this one, are you?” :lol:

The cassette and chain were replaced very recently (about 300 km ago). Thanks for the replies! :mrgreen:

Might see if there is any way i can modify my shackleton high chair…

How about making a stand for your bike saddle, so you can sit on it during office hours, while eating dinner, watching TV, etc… :lol:

There is always different option…

I found the Endura Xtract bib shorts very comfy, plus they are wallet friendly too! On top I wear Hummvee shorts – I love the map pockets on them.

Mate cotton caps have been used by pros in races in the pouring rain for years, they’re not as bad as you might think.

But pro’s have totally different threshold level of comfort! 8)

I took a little beach hut (the one you can buy for £10 in the beach shops) with me on the last Bonty 12hr night solo. got all my stuff in there.

The mistake I made – I took no blanket/sleeping bag… Nedded to go for an hour nap and I can tell you – it’s freakin’ cold at 5am when you sleep laying on wet grass, uncovered, with your torso and legs sticking out from the tiny beach tent… :oops:

Can you commute on the bike?

Buff Merino or Sealskinz Belgian Cap for when it’s properly chilly.

40-30-22 triple front and 11-36 cassette for me!

Some time ago I treated myself with Showers Pass eVent cap. “A bit” over the suggested budget, but it does look awesome and it works great.

But for proper cold and wet winter riding I swear by this cap…

Great stuff!

I had that yesterday: booked a “cheeky day off” and enjoyed some nice daylight riding…

Nothing wrong with walking up the hills. Even though it’s not really my problem.

But give me 20% gradient downhill singletrack and you’ll see me walking for sure! :oops:

I’ve got one more…

Spillage of the green Finish Line in your rucksack/hydration pack is not a catastrophe. It just means that your jam sandwiches will have a nice, classic scent on top. :roll:

Your washing machine has its own page at change.org

Your partner knows where the filter is on the washing machine, and routinely empties it of all the accumulated mud, leaves and small twigs without mentioning it.

These two are so true! :lol:

I’d add: when choosing family holidays you look on the local OS map first to see how many “pink dashed lines” is around the location – then you think about how to make the rest of the family to really want to go there!

Just in case: good set of inners & outers dead cheap 8)

Would duct tape work then? I have no metal plates available… :lol:

That light looks like a real bargain!

Let us know how it performs. I bought Niterider Lumina 750 in December and it’s bloody lovely! Much better than my Million Lumens eBay Chinese special with rattling interiors… :lol:

It’s for attaching a chunky bulk of keys, so the scar shape is more dramatic and more 3D! :lol:

I’ve had my Topeak Alien for about 5 years now. Despite the fact the tyre leavers on it are missing/snapped the whole thing is still in pretty good condition. Well, not the cleanest maybe, but definitely rust free!

Took a lot of abuse, but I used to spray a bit of GT85 on it after getting it wet. Now I upgraded to zipped plastic bag to carry the tools… 8)

11 years ago I went to the UK for 3-months to earn some extra cash to help me pay for my Uni.

It’s been quite long “three months”… I got happily married, bought a house, have a daughter, got addicted from riding bikes, played bass with some bands around the country, got good job…

… still haven’t come back… :lol:

+1 for Merida! BigNine 900 That’s my bike… Absolute bargain now!

As tone46 said – I’d focus on getting some comfortable clothing and rucksack for all day adventures.

I don’t think there is any urgent upgrade to do on your bike. 14.3 kg is a bit hefty, but it’s absolutely acceptable – from what you described you are not planning to do some excessive racing :wink:

But with right clothing you will notice the difference straight away and love riding even more! 8)

Maybe a good set of lights as well?

Download Strava and start hunting the KOMs, haha! There is nothing more motivational than the”Uh! Oh! You’ve lost your KOM!” notification… :lol:

This morning, on the way to work.

My Everywhere bike. Singletrack commutes rule! 8)

I used to suffer similar thing on long-ish rides (winter and summer time). One of these “adivices” from “more experienced friend” – “wear your shooes tight!”…

It took me painful ages to realize that from the three velcro straps on my shoes only the top one needs to be tight – the other two (middle one and near the toes one) must be quite loose…. :roll:

I’ve got Marvel Comp’s too. Very nice forks indeed! Mine came stock on my Merida BigNine 900 – I don’t know if it’s a “fault” on all of them, but the sticker with air pressures guide on them is for ISO Spring forks (which are Expert and Pro), but Comp’s are TS Air!

By looking at your brakes model – what rotors have you got? Have they got “resin (or “organic”) pads only” sticker on them?

I used CoPilot Taxi. Some quite long rides included. The best recommendation is that my daughter used to fall asleep during the rides and enjoyed her naps for hours – which means it has to be comfortable! 8)

Actually I still have the seat on the loft, quite good nick (Devon, Torbay area).

I’ve got a pair of these: AKG K450 . I think they are pretty awesome. Biiiig sound! I remember listening to Massive Attack’s “Heligoland” album and I could feel my brain was shaking with the low-end these shells produced :lol: But the sound isn’t to “bassy” – it’s just very punchy and live. Just read the review ;)

When you wear them, they isolate most of the sound – tested in extreme scenario: wife fast asleep and me enjoying the latest Decapitated, quite loud :mrgreen:

Very comfortable too.

There are these guys who take the whole month off work just to get to the top of the leader boards! They travel to suitable locations (like 0m elevation massively long streches of roads in US and A for distance, or mountains for climbing challenges), rent some accommodation and ride every single day, without worry about work, family, walking a dog, etc…

They they rant against each other on Youtube, that someone cheated by driving some distance, or that someone did not climb even 1m by choosing some flat motorway… Like this bloke ;)

So you know what you need to do! Your pathetic 280km a week is nothing :lol: :wink:

ciderinsport Respect for that, man! You guys looked awesome! :lol:

I did it last year, 12 hour solo night. On a hard tail. And it was great!

I didn’t do any extra training, but I do ride a lot anyway.

My only mistake was not having any sleep during the day before the midnight start, which made me get off the bike for about 2 hours nap around 4 am… :roll:

Merida.

My BigNine 900 has lightweight alu frame, rack & mudguards bosses plus a mount for Hebie kickstand.

What Liftman suggested is a great combo! These tyres roll surprisingly good on tarmac too, I’ve done few pretty long rides on them.

Gators from an inner tube? Does is not cut blood circulation off? :lol:

Front Crud Catcher fitted as low as possible dramatically reduces the amount of water being thrown on your legs. Tested and trusted.

Mine is fitted just above the bottle cage.