one word: lasercock

You know how you can sit on your hands to make them numb, so it feels like someone else doing it? Well, if you sit on the wrong saddle, it makes it numb, and it feels like you’re doing it to someone else.

surely you mean “it feels like you’re doing it with someone else’s“?

rolling resistance makes a massive difference. I was running ridiculous tractor tyres last winter (2.5/2.3) and when I put on xc tyres for the summer I was 1 or 2 gears higher everywhere.

the other thing about non-tubeless tyres run tubeless is that they may need topping up with air and sealant at first as the sidewalls can be a bit porous. Riding the bike helps to make them seal quicker.

can you imagine the reaction of more feisty riders if spectators threw sticks at them? Someone like Hinault would have been torn between finishing the stage and getting off to teach some respect.

The size guide on the whyte website says I should be on a 56 (based on rider height) but the chap in the LBS says he often sees customers take a smaller size due to the TT length. I will report back after the weekend if I remember.

mboy – How did you find the whyte sizing?

I’m test riding a suffolk this weekend which has some of the upgrades you mention. I’d normally say a 56 is my size but they look to have a *very* long tube so I’m trying a 54. Unless I’ve got the figures all wrong (this is possible) it seems to have the same “effective” TT as my 56 Domane. FWIW I’m portly by race snake standards but not by sportive standards

is this about your sister?

I like driving a car and I like the convenience of leaving the office at 5.30pm and being home 15 minutes later to play with my children, help put them to bed etc.

all depends on your route home. Mine is centre of Sheffield to the city outskirts. If I want to leave at 5.30 and get home quickly I’m better off on the bike than sat in the car in traffic. I like driving, but not sitting in traffic jams.

has no one yet said MTFU? standards are slipping

it’s 50 miles and no gradients above 11 or 12% A regular cyclist on sensible gearing (eg compact chainset and 11-28) shouldn’t have any problems that a bit of determination can’t overcome. I had the same concerns before a wiggle sportive in the peak and I was fine (albeit my language was a bit fruity as I swore my way up Winnats). The advice on regular eating is good though, mtbers tend to take a break for snacks but roadies such as yourself eat as they ride.

darkslider – geometry yes, tyre clearance not so much difference (road bike needs room for guards), mounts for racks/guards aren’t needed on cx bikes, cx bike might get sissy levers, gearing could/should be different, tyres are certainly different (though lots of “cross” bikes now come with slicks)

EDIT: also what hatter said which I didn’t know (every day’s a school day)

the problem came up when I went in to book a test ride. I said “I’m looking for a winter road bike with discs” and they replied, “you need a cross bike”. It was like one of those STW threads when all the replies answer the wrong question and tell the OP that he’s wrong.

Depends on whether you want a ‘road bike with discs’ or a ‘cross bike.’

I had to explain the difference to my LBS… 🙄

this weekend I’m test riding a Whyte Suffolk. Also on my list of possibles and not already mentioned were Pinnacle Pyrolite, Saracen Hack. The Tripster looks lovely but it deserves good components and I wouldn’t subject a bike like that to regular commuting.

nickhart – you’re going to be limited for choice by insisting on bolt through – is an allen key skewer an acceptable compromise?

I had slightly fewer CDs than the OP. Ripcaster[/url], NAP server, cardboard box did the job. I realize it’s not the question he asked but this is STW.

Harry Thompson – This Thing of Darkness (naval adventure – Robert Fitzroy who sailed with Darwin)
Bruce Chatwin – In Patagonia (travel writing)

Agreed that the radler stuff isn’t unpleasant but the low alcohol version (as opposed to the no alcohol one) is better. I should try the erdinger…

My experience is that there’s a wide range of opinion on audio quality – everything from “there’s absolutely no difference” to “the difference is like night and day”. It’s quite astonishing, and potentially confusing and frustrating. I think you really have to listen and judge for yourself.

that “no difference” line always feels like someone claiming a £99 apollo is as good a bike as anyone needs. Not that there’s not a huge amount of BS amongst hi-fi types but a good system really does make the records come alive 😉

EDIT: I currently have only a portable DAB radio and it’s driving me nuts

xherbivorex – is your assessment of alcohol free beers based on a comparison against “real” beer? I actually enjoy the taste of beer and if it’s not the same I’ll stick to the genuine soft drinks. Not trying to be argumentative but I wouldn’t take advice on sausages from a vegan…

But don’t you want to learn an incredible trick for white teeth, discovered by a mom?

that depends, does it make dentists angry?

11-28 with compact chainset has got me up everything I’ve tried in the Peak (up to 20%). I put on a 12-30 for the Ventoux last weekend and was very glad of it. A better solution would be to lose my gut but a new cassette was quicker and easier. Even if my rear mech would handle a 32 sprocket I think I’d notice the gaps between gears.

last time this happened for me it was an ADSL filter that had given up the ghost. New filter fixed the crackly phone line and made the broadband quicker too.

MrNice reporting back:
I did the Ventoux on Sunday and I didn’t die 😀 Not as fast as howarthp but I was happy with under 2hrs. The descent was awesome, swooping through the switchbacks felt like carving turns on a ski run. I’m sure it’s damn cold on top at other times but it was 30C as I ground up the last steep bit and I was glad I’d fitted the bigger cassette (12-30 instead of 11-28) for this trip.
Gorge de la Nesque is highly recommended too – I did the climb in the next valley south then rode it as a long cruise downhill. Next time if I’m fitter I want to do the Gorge as a climb then turn left at Sault to take that route up the Ventoux.
I think this trip has reset my expectations of what counts as a climb. It appears a cat 3 (according to Strava) which was the biggest climb I’d done before is now the hors d’ouevres before the big climb 8)

how fast rolling do you want? I’m running maxxis larssen TT’s on crests. They were useless with tubes (multiple pinchflats every ride) but no problems tubeless and I’m riding one or two gears higher in every situation. However, they are useless in mud and will be coming off once the trails get soggy.

EDIT: before the TT’s I had some bloody huge tractor tyres on so almost anything would have felt quick

Last winter I put mudguards on my Domane. They were an absolute ball ache to fit over 25mm tyres and the slightest tiny bit of sandy gravel stuck to the tyre would go scraping round until it dislodged.

I’m now looking for a dedicated winter bike with clearance for larger road tyres and guards and with the option for a rack. I also like the idea of disks having got thoroughly used to mtb brakes that don’t need to clear the rim of water before they start to work. Any suggestions on how to choose between kaffenback, London road, charge plug, cotic escapade? Or anything else I should consider (I don’t want to spend a fortune)?

you can always run around carrying it – isn’t that the point of cx bikes?

martinhutch – a couple of questions if I may…

Do you think that a public statement “regretting” something means an admission of responsibility for that situation?

Can you tell me where the hospital have briefed against the family? (genuine question)

Can we not find a better benchmark of objective truth than the bible? Even a lot of practicing Christians would prefer something more scientific to judge their medicine against.

The medico’s have been twisting things from the beginning

so far as i’ve seen they’ve not so much twisted things as not said much. I’m assuming they’re protecting patient confidentiality. It’s up to the patient/family how much private information they choose to reveal but the doctor can hardly go out and discuss it with everyone.

Totally agree with the others who think there’s a lot more to it than we’ve heard (not necessarily anything scandalous, likely just stressed and misguided people not being very rational)

it was brilliant animation but that music was starting to give me the fear

in my experience:
50% of walkers tell me off for not having a bell if I politely ask to overtake
50% of walkers look at me as if I’ve just wee’d in their shoes if I do use a bell

I suspect strongly it’s mostly the same people being dickheads and the rest are happy so long as I slow down and give plenty of warning.

philtricklebank – thanks, will be much easier without needing to plan in advance

with luck dry weather and a day off will coincide in the next few weeks

That sounds perfect. do you need to book a place on it? I realize I’m asking dumb questions, just hoping not to fall foul of inane rules and jobsworths…

I’ve been half planning a “train out and ride home” expedition for ages. How much hassle is it to get my bike on a train out of Dore heading west?

if the issue is data entry then a printout is easier to check – I always print to proof-read or I miss totally obvious mistakes

I did small claims years ago. No lawyer involved and I got my money. I can’t advise on what you do if they don’t pay up but there are options (luckily for me the thick-as-shit ex-employer turned out to have sufficient brain cells to recognize when he’d lost)

Cut gate is excellent in good conditions (dry or properly frozen). It should be avoided after rain (it will be no fun at all and you’ll just destroy the trail) but this summer has been dry enough it might hold out a bit longer. Just realizing i’ve not been up there this year…

I understand the old fashioned advice was to get off your bike and grasp your frame pump by each end. As Fido lunges at you, baring its teeth, you push the sideways pump into its mouth. Then, when the dog sinks its teeth into the pump, you lift the pump upwards and kick the hound forcefully between the rear legs. I’m not sure it works so well with CO2 cannisters.

same here. On a long ride I’m at the back the first hour, then get going, and by 3-4 hrs I’m the one at the front. I suspect this has got more extreme with age (40). It’s not that I’m unfit but I’ve lost my turn of speed and become more of an endurance rider. Mind you, @theonlywayisup off here is older than me and he’s one of the people who make me suffer at the start of a ride.

I did it myself in the early 90s. I was looking for an excuse to change schools and I liked the idea that I could do science and maths as main subjects but not have to drop other subjects, i.e. foreign language and having to produce longer essays (do they still mandate a longer dissertation and theory of knowledge classes?). I’m not sure about being a polymath but “jack of all trades…” is a fair description of me. I’m glad I did it and I think it’s served me well as an education.

In terms of being an easy option, the grade comparisons available at the time were that top scores in IB main subjects were harder to get than A’s at A-level (that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it). However, I did have issues with *some* uni’s not knowing what it is (e.g. “what is this one bee thing?” at interview). Interesting to hear this is still a problem 20 years later, I guess the IB never got taken up as widely as it looked like it might.

Where are you thinking of? When I was doing it there weren’t many options outside of the international schools.

Email in profile (replace the DOT and AT bits) if you want to know more or have specific questions.

speaking of Michael Hutchinson, I saw him on the cycle show and realized we should have had him on the lookalikes thread