I’m sure the hardtail party review on YouTube talks about about small vs medium? Might be worth a watch. Could be his initial first look video and not the ride review.

Thanks for the advice so far, I’m going to try a few things over the next few training runs to see what works best. I’m quite happy to go for a few hours without fuel whilst on my bike or in the surf but I think I’d be silly not to have something for the half.

Thanks @lunge , perhaps that’s the way to go as the thought of chewing my way through some food whilst trying to breath doesn’t sound good!

So, I’ve got my first half marathon coming up at the end of June and was wondering if any of the good runny folk on here can offer any good advice on nutrition / snacks to carry round with me? If at all?

I’ve not really run for long enough to bother yet, but I didn’t want to get caught out on the day. My longest training run will only be about 17k so thought I’d take some snacks with me to see if they help / make a difference.

I’ve never been a fan of things like Gels or anything too artificial when I’m on the bike but figured some dried fruit or a Nakd bar wouldn’t be too much of a faff to stuff in a pocket?
Any tips or pointers gratefully received :-)

I have a tiny little petzl bindi which is supposed to be 200L, it’s fine for early morning pre dawn runs (which aren’t that early at the moment) on fairly easy trails. I think I’d want something brighter if I was running on anything more technical though. I like the fact it weighs hardly anything and doesn’t bounce around on my head then I can stash it away in a pocket when it’s light enough to see.

Next weeks house is currently on right move for ten million

My biggest tip would be for her to save her tax as she goes along, this helps me out massively as I don’t have to scrabble around twice a year to find the money to pay it. It also means I get to give myself a nice little bonus each year if I’ve saved too much. So many of my SE friends don’t do this and then have a panic in January when they realise they have a big tax bill to pay. Apart from that a simple spreadsheet is all I use to keep track of money in and costs out which makes filing a tax return pretty simple.

Did a route once at the far end of Ullswater… Pooly Bridge, up over to Askham, then looped back over to a nice long descent to Howtown and back up the lakeside road to Pooly Bridge. Can’t remember where I found the route but it shouldn’t be too hard to piece together beforehand. Some of the descent to Howtown might be a little much for a hybrid but apart from that it’s all on double track, easy trails and quiet roads.

Mouse scarves

Daily staple for me…

Banana
Blueberries
Sultanas
Some grated root ginger mixed in whilst cooking.

Maybe a dab of honey on top, or a blob of peanut butter mixed in if I’ve got an active day (but then don’t bother with the ginger in that instance)

I wake up genuinely excited for breakfast most days.

I’ve done exactly what you’re thinking OP and ditched the 160mm full suss for a hardtail (bFeMax) and have absolutely zero regrets. It’s a much more versatile bike for what I want it for (Local laps of the woods, bigger rides on the moors and in the Lakes and then easy laps with my daughter with the shotgun). Not found anything that I wouldn’t ride on it that I would have on the full suss even if the riding is a bit more ‘involved’ but then that’s no bad thing.

I had a pretty strict budget to stick to on my last build and ended up getting a pair of Nukeproof Neutron v2 wheels vs hunt/hope etc (plus they were available). Not quite as light but not that heavy either and a fair bit cheaper. They have held up to plenty of abuse so far.

Yep, spot on. The main thing to remember is to turn right straight away out of the carpark (Onto the small road that goes up a small climb by a house) and not right onto the main road (B3223). But you have this correctly marked on your map so should be good.

This is also on this weekend… https://www.channelevents.co.uk/exmoor-explorer/ and starts / finishes not too far from there as well.

Arlingtons good fun if a little short, the other loop is a great way to do a decent Exmoor ride without it being too difficult. Both good fun.

Couldn’t find it online, so I’ve marked it on here for you…

@rossburton There’s some easy riding at Arlington Court not far from the top of the valley at Combe Martin, mostly bridleways around the estate (You’ll have to piece together a route from an OS), plus a fair few cheeky bits here and there if you keep your eyes peeled.

There’s there’s a good Exmoor loop starting / ending at Hillsford Bridge carpark at the top of the Watersmeet road which goes up onto Brendon Common, down to Doone Valley to Malmsmead, quick bit of road to Rockford then back on bridleways to loop you back round to the start. Nothing too difficult but a great local loop and not as far for you to travel as Porlock.

I’ll see if I can find the route online for you…

I went from a 160mm 26” full suss to a BFe Max earlier this year, apart from fatigue after a long descent (the longest I’ve done so far was the top of helvellyn back to glenridding) there’s nothing I now wouldn’t ride on my hardtail that I would have on the old bike. The efficiency on easier trails and lack of faffing with shocks, bearings, bushings etc makes life so much easier. I have no regrets ditching the full suss for the bfe max.

Finished off a dusty week in the Lakes this morning with a ride up the far side of Ullswater to Pooly Bridge and back to Glenridding (sorry, no pics).

Helvellyn earlier in the week.

A lap of Whinlatter with the nipper.

Descent to Howtown.

Bikes are ace!

Can you export a slide as a jpg from PowerPoint?

We’ve got a shotgun and it’s by far the best bit of kiddy paraphernalia I’ve ever bought. My daughter loves it and we head out most weeks.

I did worry about it applying pressure to the top tube but it kind of grips the sides of both the top and down tubes so I think that takes some of the load to some degree and I couldn’t find any snapped frame horror stories so figured it would be fine.

We make sure she’s wrapped up warm and generally pick routes that are fairly mellow without too much technical climbing or really rocky / steppy descents. If it does get bumpy my daughter now knows to take some of the weight off her bum and stand a bit on the foot pegs, she leans round the corners, tucks for speed and shouts to go faster if I’m pottering up a climb!

Local lap up on the moors for me yesterday. Sunny, dry, windy, wet, boggy and dusty all in one ride.

Alto’s Adventure had me hooked. Snowboarding, lamas and very nice visuals.

Thanks @pdw the train idea sounds ace as well!

Thanks for your suggestions, plenty there for me to look into. MiniWhippy will love the ferry idea :-)

I’m doing the exact same thing as you and have been squirrelling away parts for a while now. So far I have…

– Cheap 140mm 34’s from Wiggle (Said they were non boost but they are boost)

– Nukeproof Neutron Wheelset from Chainreaction, perhaps not my first choice but they were in stock which seems to count for a lot these days plus I can always return them if something better turns up

– A mixture of SLX and Deore 12spd. Mostly from Bikediscount, cassette from Merlin plus a crankset from the Classifieds

I figured that covered off most of the things where stock seems to be an issue, I didn’t want to get to December and not be able to get hold of anything! I’m on a pretty tight budget and want it to be built fairly tough but not too weighty so my spec choices have been based on that plus availability. I just need to find some decent brakes and some bars and I’m pretty much there (Plus I’ll be swapping some bits across from my FS).

Planet X have some wtb rimmed ones that may fit the bill?

Thanks @joebristol I’ll add that one to the list

Thanks for the suggestions and advice. I’ll check out the Chilli & Bikehut ones.

I was thinking I may just be able to get some new batteries for the Fenix so I’ll have a look at cleaning the connections whilst I’m at it.

And yes, if all else fails I’ll get an Exposure!

Has anyone got any budget helmet light recommendations / is there a cheaper alternative to something like a Joystick?

I’ve previously been using an old Fenix LD20 torch but it has become increasingly unreliable, overheats and cuts out, and it isn’t that bright compared to newer stuff so it’s time to replace it. I’ve also had a cheap Cree torch (Single 18650) but that didn’t last long at all.

I’d like it to be self contained with no external battery, as light as possible, as bright as possible and not cost too much (Less that £50?). Quite happy with another Fenix or similar but thought I’d ask to see if there are some better options that fit the bill?

I trod on a Bee, my big toe is now way bigger than normal.

I used to have a Doblo and the pull out bed frame I made for the back was high enough that I could fit two bikes (with wheels off) and all our kit underneath, it did compromise the head height a bit though (I’m 6’1″ and could just sit up on the bed without my head on the ceiling) If it was just me sleeping in the van I would keep the bed as a single and just have the bike down one side.

I think it looks ace and a lot of fun (partly due to the launch video) plus I’m a sucker for understated graphics. It’ll be interesting to see how the ride reviews compare to other similar frames. I guess it would be easy enough to shed some weight with a custom build.

There’s some nice local stuff at Arlington which is only a couple of miles from Barnstaple and tonnes of riding on Exmoor just a few miles further down the road. Sometimes quite tricky to work out decent loops though and nothing specifically way marked for mountain bikers. A combination of an OS map / back issues of MBR / Strava Explore should point you in the right direction.

We did it last summer (Ilfracombe to Plymouth). Apart from the initial climb out of Ilfracombe and the one up to the top of Dartmoor it was all pretty flat and mellow (Strava somehow said that the route was slightly downhill despite being sea level to sea level??). Apart from a few bits of road it’s all on old railway tracks so didn’t have to worry about traffic too much.

Dropped a car off in Plymouth the day before and set off nice and early so had no time pressure and plenty of daylight. All of us were pretty un bike fit at the time so made sure we stopped for coffee / cake / snacks at every opportunity.

It’s a great route and day out, I can highly recommend it.

This thread is doing nothing to suppress the need for a Cotic in my life, keep em coming…

Sounds good

Ah, not to worry. Thanks for the suggestion though. I’ll keep a beady eye on the site to see if any get listed again if not it’ll be a Christmas pressie.

How are people getting on with their BFeMax’s?

I hovered over the order button for too long and will now have to wait until December but as they sold out so quickly I figured there must be a few folk on here who got their hands on one.

(Also hello from a long term lurker first time poster)

That sucks KateD, fingers crossed they are found and returned!