Having driven a Tesla 3 Long Range AWD, I can’t see why anyone would actually need to spend the extra on the Performance model – the LR does 0-60 in 4.4 seconds, which is 996 911 quick…

Same reason you might buy a 996 Turbo over a 996 Carrera. Because you can! It’s more about “want” than “need”. But yeah, the AWD LR is a quick car in its own right, while the P model is full-on supercar quick up to 70 mph and then merely very quick after that. There is a video of Nico Rosberg racing his mate in a Model 3P in a 911 GT2 RS in Monaco and he lost! It was only a quick drag race, but shows how quick this thing actually is off the line i.e. f****** quick!

I actually find that pretty off-putting to be honest.
It’s all well and good when they add a feature you like, and it works; but software updates can and do break or remove features you already had. Entire cars have been soft-bricked from failed OTA updates.

I’m on the Tesla subreddit and other examples I’ve seen are one update that caused somebody to nearly crash as their autopilot suddenly didn’t behave the same after a major version change (think it tried to change lanes into someone having never done so on the previous version), and another update had slowed some people’s cars down too.

Having experienced first hand every single Tesla software update over the last 2 years, I can say that it’s got a LOT better overall over that timescale. But it is true what you say about updates potentially causing new bugs and features changing. When they first went to V9 for example, Spotify was a nightmare (kept freezing or dropping signal for no reason) for a good few months until they eventually got around to fixing it. Autopilot has also had a few serious bugs come and go, but it’s now pretty solid and night and day better than it was in early 2018.

The upside to all these software updates is a very slick and refined modern UI. The satnav for example is now super slick with Google sat maps and Autopilot integration (it can automatically exit motorways) and makes any other OEM satnav look like a complete joke.

Still surprising that the difference for nose weight vs bike rack weight is so big for the Tesla.

Exactly, that’s why I mentioned it. I think it’s the same story for most other cars too, it’s just that they often don’t specify maximum overhung rack weights quite so clearly and people just make the assumption it would be similar to the nose weight figure. I’m sure the Tesla figure is very conservative as I’ve seen loads of fully loaded bike racks on them and nobody has reported any failures. But I’m okay as I can stay just within the specified limit with 2 adult mtbs and 2 kid’s bikes (just).

Interesting the nose weight is so high on the Model X. Is that because it self-levels, means it can take more before the front wheels lift 🤔 My big 4×4 has self-levelling too, is about the same weight as a Model X and can take 150kg on the nose.

It does self-level on air suspension. Kerb weight is around 2300 kg (75 kWh battery) with pretty much 50/50 weight distribution. CofG is also extremely low due to the battery. So that could be a factor.

How is the Whispbar rack?

It’s faultless for this type of rack. Super easy to fit/remove in seconds. Tilts right out of the way of any hatch. Quality is top notch. Bike spacing is fine for big full suss trail bikes with wide bars, but can be close. It does require a bit of thought when attaching the quick release arms to the bike frame, but that’s the same story for all these tray type racks. For this reason I do prefer the front & rear tyre holders (no frame fixing) on my INNO roof carrier, but I couldn’t find anything like that on a UK towbar rack – although I have seen towbar racks with those in the US.

I much prefer 29ers, but I always thought 26″ was way too small for me (at 6’1″). Obviously the small wheel choice is now 27.5″, but I don’t see any reason to not choose 29″ for trail riding unless you are a midget.

Full suss vs HT. Still the same basic pros and cons as there ever was. You could say modern full sussers pedal better than they did in 2004, so probably less cons than back then. Although costs are getting ever higher if you want the latest and greatest spec.

Whatever you were riding DH in 2004 will be easily matched or beaten by a modern 120-140 mm travel 29er XC/trail bike, which will pedal everywhere else much faster. Or you could go full enduro spec 150-170 travel if you really want to be pushing your limits on the steep and gnarly. But be honest with yourself otherwise you will probably end up hauling a lot of expensive bike around and be slower as a result.

You will likely notice that modern bikes are much longer, lower and slacker than you remember. Bar widths are also massively wider! They are mostly a lot better, but it’s very easy to pointlessly over-spec a modern trail bike for average uk riding. For me personally, the sweet spot is now around 130 mm travel full suss, sub 30 lb 29er with modern, but not extreme, geometry. Bikes in that category are equally good up and down hills and can handle pretty much anything the average rider could throw at them. For reference, in 2004 I was riding a 150 mm travel 26″ bike on the same trails and finding it much harder work.

Found the reference, in the manual that came with the car – it’s 75kg for the hatchback and 90kg for the Estate.

But is that the limit for bike racks too or just the trailer nose weight? They are not the same thing.

Not a model 3 but my neighbour has a Tesla Model X. He’s happy enough with it and the children love the folding gull wing doors but…… the heater broke and it took about 6 weeks to fix during which the dealer supplied a non-electric vehicle, which put me right off them. Judging by the amount of time that he has one of the dealers cars on his drive rather than the Tesla, it also spends alot of time back at the dealers. Now maybe he has a ‘Friday’ car, but it does not seem to be very reliable…………

Model X reliability is a bit hit or miss. Early examples in particular (up to around mid 2017) had all sorts of issues, including heater failures. But then they sorted pretty much everything out and it is now a great car. We’ve got 30k miles on our early 2018 Model X with zero faults. I wouldn’t worry about Model 3 reliability as they have been pretty well sorted by now too.

They’re either not competing with the Model 3 (range/performance/interior quality) or are similar pricing/more expensive. You didn’t fall for the sub £30k ID 3 pricing did you? That’s for the crippled version, the usable version (close to the standard Model 3 range/performance) will more likely be £40k

What you did there was an actual realistic comparison rather than just spout some general rubbish about cheaper EVs taking Tesla’s market away. I’ve been following the ID 3 forums a little and loads of people with reservations are now jumping ship to the base Model 3 because a) it’s available right now b) it doesn’t look any more expensive and c) it has more performance, range and interior space. Not to mention the all-important Supercharger network. So unless you really want a VW, there isn’t a lot of incentive to buy an ID 3 over a Tesla 3. Being a hatchback is about the only thing going for it besides the badge (and a VW badge does nothing for me these days).

https://www.speakev.com/threads/canceling-id-3-reservation.142141/page-7

A saloon car with a 5000kg towing weight???

EDIT if that’s a Model X then it’s 5000 POUNDS not kg. Guessing you’ve made the same mistake with the nose weight too, 120kg nose weight and 2300kg towing is is about right for an SUV.

Double check you haven’t also made the same mistake with bike racks as you’ve exceeded 55lbs there.

Sorry, yes towing weight is 5000 lbs (I was in a hurry posting), but the other limits I quoted were correct. Just to clarify with the precise figures:-

Towing limit: 5000 lbs (2268 kg)
Nose/Tongue weight limit: 500 lbs (227 kg)
Accessory/bike rack limit: 120 lbs (54 kg)

The point is that you do have to check your specific accessory rack limit, which will likely be signficantly lower than the trailer nose weight limit. I would imagine a lot of car towbars are very marginal for carrying 4x large mountain bikes.

At least you don’t have a heavy number plate to add to the weight …😂

Well spotted, lol. I did fit a number plate before using it. That pic was taken when I first tried it on the car with a couple of bikes.

You might find that is a 250kg towing limit. A 250kg nose weight limit is MASSIVE.

LOL no. Towing limit is 5000 kg. Nose/tongue limit 250 kg, accessory/bike rack load 55 kg. As others have said, it’s all about the torque these racks put on the frame mounting.

Sat in a couple of directors cars at work, one a Tesla S the other an S-class Merc. Both cost late £90k They were poles apart. The Merc was solid and reassuring, the Tesla had a big tv.

But did you drive them both or just sit in them? Tesla is all about minimalist design, sublime electric drivetrain and slick functional UI. Merc is more about bling and status. I actually find current Merc interior design hideous, but it’s all very subjective.

We have a Model X. It’s brilliant overall, but yes the auto wipers are flaky – although slightly better in the last software update. But then they are no better or worse than auto wipers I’ve had in several other cars. Pretty much everything else on the Tesla is better/faster.

My wife has a Model 3 on order, but putting it off until April for the zero BIK to kick in.

Also bear in mind that the limit on the tow bar for bikes will be lower than the limit for trailer nose weight, because the weight on the rack is maybe 0.6m behind the towball so puts more leverage on the towbar. Focus Estate, for example, is rated 90kg on the towball but max 3 bikes.

Spot on observation there. My car has a 250 kg trailer nose weight limit, but only 55 kg for a bike rack. Quite some difference!

As for bike racks, I have a Whispbar 3+1 from Roofbox which I’m pretty happy with on the whole. Ideally I would prefer wheel only fixings, but I couldn’t find any of that type in the uk

Moral is carry a tube, unless you know you’ll definitely be able to borrow one, because the time will eventually come!

If you take that approach, there are a load of other things you would also feel compelled to carry on every ride. I draw the line at things that I’ve never had to use for years and wouldn’t cause any serious consequences anyway. Tubes have long been in that category for me. Basically since tubeless repair kits became a thing.

The thing is the only really valuable elements for anyone in the EV market in the next few years are going to be new battery and charging technologies

Possibly, but there is the “Apple” effect too i.e. bringing it all together into a user friendly, desirable, one-stop product. Something Tesla achieved with their cars and Supercharger infrastructure (which I can say as a user is invaluable), while the mainstream manufacturers were really struggling. Tesla basically made EVs cool and convenient, rather than something you would have to tolerate. They didn’t just strap a battery and motor onto a conventional car, they looked at the whole motoring concept in a fresh way. Driving a Tesla is like stepping a full decade into the future in so many different ways beyond the fact that it’s an EV. OTA software updates, a user interface that isn’t like something out of the 90s, plus loads of other little details that you wouldn’t necessarily think about, but then wonder why nobody else thought of them before. Their rivals are still not there yet. Driving an iPace long distance is nowhere near as convenient and the user interface is just too fiddly, slow and cluttered and obviously pandering to legacy owners. Our 10 year old daughter could navigate the Tesla user interface seamlessly in just a few seconds, just like an iPad. Comparing current Tesla satnav and media player to my “modern” Porsche 911 system is a complete joke, so I do hope the Taycan is a lot better.

and the most important test, if i like the look of it once its on the bike

It wouldn’t pass this test for me. Also looks like it’s going to get completely shitted up on a winter ride. I don’t actually bother to carry a tube or tyre levers. I just rely on my Dynaplug kit, which goes easily in a pocket.

I will go ‘full enduro’ and mainly just ride with a multitool, some tyre plugs and some co2 strapped to my bike.

Unless you are racing, I would take a micro-pump instead of CO2. Gives you more options to get the pressure right etc.

I havent had a flat that the latex or a tyre plug wouldnt seal. So do I still need to carry an inner tube around?

You’ve kind of answered your own question there. I haven’t had any situation in the last decade where carrying a tube would have been helpful, so I don’t bother. Obviously it depends where you are riding and the consequences of potentially having to walk out. Our local trails are not rocky, so sidewall tears are extremely unlikely. I just carry a Dynaplug Racer kit and micro-pump and don’t bother with a tube or tyre levers. I’m usually close enough to the car that even if I did rip a sidewall out I would prefer to simply walk out and fit a new tyre at home rather than mess around with tubes and sealant mess on the trail.

I quit a very well paid, glamorous, but highly stressful, life consuming job at 41 when our first daughter was born. I’m not going to say it was easy. Financially it was tough for a couple of years, living off a LOT less money. I tried to run my own business from home (totally unrelated to my previous job and a LOT less glamorous) but my heart was never really in it and I gave that up after 5 years and became a full time parent (then with 2 daughters).

Mentally it was very tough too as I felt like I had lost some of my identity and independence. It also put a lot of stress on our marriage, right to the brink of divorce. Financially we are actually doing very well now (as my wife has a successful and stable business), but I still feel very vulnerable and she feels stressed with the responsibility of being the only earner. She also mistakenly thinks I have an easy time of it, which causes a lot of tension.

In hindsight I was too quick to throw away literally everything I had worked for up to that point in life, but there are always some positives. My physical health is good and I have been around to see my kids grow. But maybe I shouldn’t have gone from one extreme to the other overnight. I still think it was the right move to get out of a stressful, all-consuming job that I wasn’t enjoying. But perhaps I didn’t really need to completely start all over again in my early 40s. Maybe I could have taken a slightly less stressful job in the same or closely related industry and found a better balance.

Just something to think about before chucking it all in. Does it really have to be an all or nothing break? Turning your life upside down is pretty stressful in itself, especially if you have a lot to lose.

Slight variation, as this relates to several stupid mistakes my (ex)LBS made on a single “Gold Level” service (the one and only time I let them near it):-

1. Re-fitted rear shock upside down so that the air valve was actually touching the underside of the top tube. Luckily I noticed when I came to check the air pressure and couldn’t get the pump on. Had I ridden the bike it would have punched a hole through the frame.

2. Cranks left loose after BB service. Discovered during first ride when it started creaking and then fell apart.

3. New dropper cable cut too short – seat wouldn’t lock in place and there was no adjustment range left. Had to fit another new cable.

That was my one and only experience of “professional” maintenance thinking it would save me a bit of time and hassle!

I’ve never been able to test this with Numatic as my 25 year old ‘Henry’ just keeps on going.

Made in Somerset too.

Dyson are purely style over substance, not surprised they’re so popular on here

What vacuum cleaner for e-gravel bike camping?

Henrys may be reliable, but I’ve never been very impressed with their actual cleaning ability or filtering. Best one I’ve ever had for sheer cleaning power is a Miele upright and that is totally reliable too. I don’t particularly like Dyson corded vacs, but their current handheld cordless vacs are hard to beat for spot cleaning. We have a Dyson V8 and I can’t really fault it and it’s much improved over their earlier models.

Copaslip on spoke threads when I build them and I wipe the nipple washers with a light bit of grease as well as only use brass nipples. I also drill the sidewall of the rim so they can drain properly.

After every ride, the wheels get a spin to check the rotors are straight and not rubbing as well as there being enough pad material. And dry, rough or squeaky bearings are usually picked up at this point. This also allows me to use a finger gauge to check for any rim run out.

Cleaned every couple if rides so the process of cleaning checks rims for obvious cracks or dings as well as checking spokes for any rock strikes/damage or obviously loose spokes.

Cassette is cleaned with degreaser on a cloth rather than letting it run down the back of the cassette to the hub seal.

When changing tyres, I’ll check spoke tension with the tensiometer and correct if required.

Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to bother with!

A lot of people said that before he went from pretty much nothing to one of the biggest domestic appliance manufacturers. Certainly worth a shot imo and even it didn’t pan out they (and we) will probably get quite a bit from it

But he had a genuine USP with his bagless vacs. There was nothing like them on the market when he started.

This is really sad news. Roam was an all-time favourite film for me and I remember this guy having fun on those backyard jumps with his mates. Amazing stuff. Sends a shiver down my spine watching it tonight. Life is too short and so unfair.

The only way you can possibly get into mainstream automotive manufacturing is if you have a genuine USP like Tesla did. That and seriously deep pockets. Dyson would have faced direct competition from both Tesla and the established players trying to catch up. He was 10 years too late to get it off the ground and didn’t have an obvious USP. Tesla struggled in the early days without any competition to speak of and is still only just keeping its head above water both financially and in production capacity. The chances of another start-up making it today are pretty remote – especially in the UK!

I would say its all about intensity than actual time.

I agree. I’m a big fan of HIIT. 20 mins 3x a week of HIIT is better for cardio than plodding along for hours at an easy pace. So maybe you could turn your return commute into sprint intervals? 8x 30 sec flat out sprints wih 90 sec active recovery between each sprint. That should fit nicely into your 15 min commute.

The Taycan might cost more than an S, and it might have a slightly shorter range, but they seem to have cracked a few things that Tesla couldn’t – namely cooler running batteries which are more efficient and far faster charging times about 22mins v 40mins. Of course, the infrastructure isn’t really there for either at the moment.

When you compare them a bit more objectively, there are actually a lot of plus points for the Tesla:-

https://insideevs.com/reviews/369359/porsche-taycan-vs-tesla-model-s/

Anyway I’m both a Tesla and Porsche fanboy, so I’m happy there are more EV choices. But the Taycan price has gone well beyond the original hype. It’s a non-starter for me until there are sub-£100k variants and those are likely to be lacking Tesla performance.

Well Tesla is $1bn in the hole and is only propped up by the army of investors who keep on pumping in the cash and keeping the company afloat as if Tesla was some form of religious cult they’re all obsessed with. It won’t survive for long now the big established car manufacturers are getting in on the act. Teslas are good cars but they’ve had the market to themselves long enough now and the big established companies are coming and know how to make good cars too and, unlike Tesla, by the numbers and at a sensible cost – which is the real key to success. The EV market is going to get big very quickly and the competition will be brutal and most of Tesla’s competitors are backed by governments and not fickle investors who could pull the plug on the cash lifeline at any time. But maybe the real genius of Tesla is that they were never in it for the cars, but the battery development and will ditch the cars and just sell the batteries to the other car companies.

Investors are pumping the cash into Tesla because they can see their future potential. The “established” manufacturers are still way too invested in ICE tech to seriously flood the market with EVs over the next decade. It would be suicide as they currently depend on ICE sales for about 99% of their income. So for them EV is still more a PR/compliance exercise. Tesla don’t have any of this legacy baggage and that’s why they are so successful in the BEV market. They are still very much in the production ramp up stage with heavy capex on infrastructure, but unit profit margin is actually one of the highest in the industry. Driving a Model X for the last 2 years has been enough to convince me that ICE cars are now dead in the water and that Tesla has a bright future – they simply backed the right horse and fully committed to it. I reckon JLR is far more likely to go under than Tesla in the next decade.

Have the wheels got alloy nipples instead of brass perhaps? If so that’s not brilliant unless they were assembled well with loads of grease / line etc.

Yes I think they are alloy nipples and spokes. They look like the ones I had on my old Mavic Crossmax wheels (and those wouldn’t budge either using the plastic spoke tool). But in fairness those wheels actually held up very well for many years and were still going strong when I sold the bike. Never needed any maintenance, but I reckon the nipples were all seized up so would have been a nightmare had they needed any attention.

I have fitted 3 invisiframe kits on my carbon frames (2 gloss and 1 matte) and they have all been top notch and perfectly cut. I have a kit that’s been on my Enduro now for 5 years and not a single piece of it has peeled off and the edges still look clean. No yellowing of the film, no stone chips, no cable rubs, no scratches, no scuffs. Frame basically looks brand new, so it’s a no-brainer choice for me. I do prefer the gloss finish as it’s easier to clean marks off and polish any scuffs or scratches out. But I would always match the frame/fork paint finish.

Fitting it is not to be under-estimated though! As others have said, your frame needs to be surgically clean and you need to follow the instructions to the letter. Don’t take any short cuts or you will be disappointed. Better to take your time and start with the smaller sections first to get your hand in. I spread the job out over a few days as my patience threshold is quite low. This is not a job to do in a hurry. But the end result is great and gives peace of mind when stones are bouncing off your pride and joy!

That video made me laugh! Love the product endorsement, lol.

I’ve never really checked my wheels (maybe given them a quick spin once in a blue moon to check they are running true) and certainly never lubed spokes on any bike! Nothing bad has ever happened. Looks like you were just very unlucky.

10k pay rise would mean 0 child benefit

Is that really supposed to be a minus? For me dropping the 250 mile commute would be a no-brainer! That is just insane.

Oatly all day long in coffee.

+1000 to that! Makes an awesome cappuccino. Nice on cereals too.

+2 for the muc-off valves. Great choice of colours, nicely made and they come with various rubber seats to suit all rims. I like the O-ring sitting under the rim fastener too. They come in 2 lengths, I have the shorter ones.

I don’t understand why they don’t cap these stupid winning amounts. Nobody needs to win £170M and the inherent responsibility that goes with it. Would be better to have say a £10M cap so the rest of the pot could be guaranteed to go somewhere useful. But we now live in such a f****** up world where people expect to win such ridiculous amounts. Meanwhile the NHS and state schools are left underfunded. But anyway, good luck to the winner of this “little” pot and hope they spend it wisely or at least donate most of it to charity.

I have a 175 Wh e-bike battery on my desk that weighs 950 g fully sealed in a strong alloy casing. It’s good for hauling my 10 year daughter around for a good few hours at a decent pace (I can’t live with her on steep climbs) with a 2 kg hub motor. There is a larger 250 Wh battery, weighing 1.3 kg. So I don’t see why this battery needs to be 3.35 kg for that kind of casual use? So it’s either not very good tech or there is more to the story.

Luckily I never liked the Smiths.

Michael Jackson is a tricky one as it’s very hard to work out fact from fiction. I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt, although there is no shortage of smoke!

Pete Townshend is another difficult one for me. I certainly wouldn’t let my kids anywhere near him, but again a lot of fact/fiction confusion.

But what I do find very interesting is how certain people turn out to be polar opposites from how they are portrayed by the media. John Lydon immediately springs to mind. I’d love to have a beer with him. Ozzy Osbourne seems like a great bloke too.