I’ve always had the wing/aero style bars and the box we have has a set of 4 jaws that just tighten around the bars with torque limited dials inside the box. The T tracks in them for bike racks are MUCH more faff.

I have a set of posh Thule Wingbar edge bars for fixed point fitment for sale if you’re interested. They’re from a 3 series but may fit other vehicles.

Thank you for all of the information, tips and advice everyone. Tons of good stuff for me to think about and work with here!

I’m a smidge under 6ft (182cm) and inside leg is ~85cm. Good point about avoiding any through the stem cable routing and ensuring a decent stack height, I hadn’t even considered that. Definitely sounds like I need to be looking for an endurance over a race machine. Other than the longer head tube/shorter top tube are there any other tell tale signs/principles I should be looking out for?

I’m up in Newcastle so can’t take you up on that offer @molgrips, thank you though. My work scheme says I can use Halfords, Tredz or an independent bike shop. I think I will end up going for a bricks and mortar LBS for access to better aftersales service should I need it.. Any recommendations for good bike shops in the North East would be most welcome. Looks like there are a quite a few on the list/map. Hopefully they can help with sizing/fit too rather than just ordering a bike online that will arrive in a box..

Thinking about and looking at my CX/gravel turbo bike after the comments above, it probably is a tad too big.. I bought it off a mate when he was getting shot of it so was never sized/bought specifically for me. I’ll try moving the seat around a bit to try and get weight more over the pedals and take pressure off hands.

Thanks again everyone!

Thank you @scotroutes, really useful advice. Interesting and good to hear you have a slightly different turbo to real bike setup, makes me feel better about my own setup. Core strength is definitely something I need to improve though!

@matt_outandabout if you’re interested in my Thule edge bars/feet let me know and I can measure them. Obviously less useable space than thru bars so depends what you’re needing to carry and of course the car! Cheers

Aye, tried the 3 series bars on the 5 series roof but it’s wider and they terminate in the foot pack with little room for manoeuvre, annoyingly one bar would work but the other won’t FFS (the 3 has identical length bars and the 5 are slightly different) and it’s flush rails compared to fixed mounting points.

Thule aren’t great at publishing info on older products once they stop making/selling them and therefore also don’t appear on roofbox anymore. Trying to understand cross compatibility is a nightmare in my experience.

Any top tips on getting discount/cash back on a new set of Thule bars from anywhere before I shell out another £300 on bars when I’ve a pile in the garage 🤦‍♂️

Cheers

Ha, same issue here.. got some posh Thule Wingbar edge bars for a 3/4 series and some Yakima Tesla M3 bars that I can’t shift for love nor money.. stealth ad for anyone with those cars ^^^!

Think I had the Tesla bars up for £80 on various classifieds in the end (retail at £330!) and no one bit. I’ve spent a small fortune on bars over the years.. 🤦‍♂️

Anyone got any for a G31 5 series?

Absolute carnage oot there! Can’t believe still no SC

When I wear my polarised sunglasses when driving I can’t see the heads up display in my car. It’s a nightmare..

Thanks for the continued advice and laughs all. I can report back that the good pit cleaning method is very effective, great tip! And I purchased a city gel saddle for my turbo which I think I may leave on even when the cast is off.

The “temporary” (been on nearly 3 weeks!) cast is coming off today.. really hoping for some sort of removable splint as the current cast stinks to high heaven! I’ve been lacing it with aftershave daily but it smells like really old keeper gloves.

Lol at ambiwankstrous and wankidextrous! Had a good giggle at that 🤣

And aye boxers fracture is the bone between little finger knuckle up towards wrist. I don’t even have a cool story about a bar fight.. just the fact that I punched the earth and predictably it was me that came off worse.

Thanks all!

Another red flag.. Gonna be a 1 lap shoot out at this rate! Seems like being 1st at the restart is a curse around here 😬

Aye, shame AM didn’t wing the inters on 1st time around. Would have been nip and tuck with Verstappen.

Currently watching the Indy 500. More overtakes in 1 lap than the entire Monaco GP! 🤣. About to be a restart following a nasty red flag incident so could get spicy. Wheel came off a car completely and went in between two grandstands 😳. Very surprising and scary, wheel tether failed almost instantly.

Thinking about the X-ray and doing some research it seems I have a “boxers fracture” so I think I’ve managed to punch the ground as I’ve come down. Looking at some gloves with a bit more protection for when I’m back on the bike. Something like this:

Resistance Pro DH Glove

Does anyone have any experience of these or gloves like them with a bit of hand/knuckle protection? They look a bit warm to be wearing in the summer mind but there’s always a comfort downside to additional protection!

Cheers

Some great suggestions and funny stories! Thank you for cheering me up everyone. Had a particular giggle at the half chewed artisan loaf 🤣

Good shout on the vitamins and the knitting needle, I’ll ask my MiL for one of those. I’ve been using a metal spatula handle that is a good shape but not ideal!

Joe Rogan does a great bit about vegan cats (edit: NSFW)

Sorry to hear that happened OP, I’d be pretty pissed if that happened to us. Once a bird flew in to my daughters room (nee cat mind) and the mess was biblical.. I was working from home at the time and had to clear my diary for the afternoon to a) get the **** oot and b) clear up the mass of feathers and birdshite.

Fortunately it’s my non bum wipe hand.. because I’m really not sure what to make of that bidet bowl! How can that possibly make less mess and be easier than just wiping when already a hand doon?!

And yes got a turbo already, back to the pain cave for me just as the weather improves! 🤦‍♂️

Thank you for the suggestions all and specialist films.. will be sure to enable private browsing before perusing 😳

They said not to do owt at all with broken hand when I mentioned typing etc but it doesn’t hurt too bad and have plenty mobility in thumb/index finger.. managed to get my a bike out the car with some interesting techniques. So will deffo wiggle me fingers from time to time.

Good point about smelly pit.. trying to wash the pit of the good arm was very tricky indeed!

The courtesy car provision when dealers are sorting the car out is shit but I’m not at all surprised. In 2015 my then new M135i was in for warranty work and I twice got the bus to work after dropping it off.. couldn’t get moved for motors in and around the dealers but it was a case of wait months for a courtesy car and risk the astronomical insurance excess or just get the bus. Tesla were much better, got a Model S loaner the couple of times my Model 3 was in for warranty work.. they had disabled ludicrous mode mind!

I’m back on a used car out of warranty now mind so the risks and rewards of ownership are mine and mine alone! I’d be absolutely bouncing BTW if I was in the situation your sister is in OP, paying thru the nose for a top end Porsche EV and not being able to drive the **** thing for weeks on end!

Mine arrived today and they’re absolutely spot on! Great quality, nice cut as per the comments above and they fit. Going to order another colour now. Thank you again for the PSA @Tracey. Bargain for 30 sheets 👌

That Soar cap looks great but it’s “one size fits all” unfortunately. Disappointing that at that price point you still can’t get different sizes.. clearly all down to cost but it grates when you can get some caps in 10 colours but only 1 size.

Fellow baldy sweaty runner (well trying..) here watching with interest. Some good looking kit in the links above but all seem to be one size.. and with a 63cm dome it just doesn’t work! anyone know of any good caps that come in different sizes?

Aye the sizing threw me off a bit.. I’m normally a large in just about everything but opted for a medium based on the size chart.. will see how that pans out when they arrive!

Just ordered some as the tape on my current waterproof shorts has seen better days. These look just the ticket. Thanks!

Aye went stale about half distance.. only thing keeping me awake was shouting at Perez to stop kissing the walls! Had me on tenterhooks.

Really happy for Perez. Would’ve been interesting to see what would’ve happened if he didn’t get lucky under the SC.

Not sure WTF happened with Alpine pitting on last lap and there being a load of press at the pit speed limit line?! Really dangerous situation.

I completely agree it would have been more boring if he’d backed out. However, if he’d boxed clever and thought more than 1 apex ahead maybe he would have been further up the order without a banged up motor.

DRS definitely needs looking at more generally though. Far far too powerful. I think they said they’d reduced the size of the zone at Baku? But they’re just playing round the edges at the moment.

I’m hoping LeClerc can keep his cool today/not bottle it and his team makes the right strategy calls.

Looking forward to the race!

Nowt gets me shouting at the stupid box like Verstappen! He’s had a right pop at George post race, and TBF to George he was much more polite and apologetic than he needed to be – a swift “jog on pal” would have been more than adequate!

George was very mature on his post race interview. Basically, I’ve got nowt to lose and I’m up the inside on cold tyres, why risk it. Just wait a few laps and get the place back on DRS. Which is exactly what happened.

Not sure if it’s been mentioned as only skimmed the thread but what about a G30/saloon 540i? I have the G31/tourer 540i and it’s plenty pokey and can fit a removable tow bar. It’s also incredibly refined in the cabin with plenty of high quality materials. Given mine is a hatch I was expecting a bit more road noise but it’s really rather quiet, the saloon will be even better and a very good partner on a long trip. Plus as per your requirements it doesn’t scream mountain bikes/utilitarian. Debadged naturally because then you can’t tell the difference between it and a 520d, so some good sleeper creds.

I mean it’s shocking round the doors (20mpg) but will do 40mpg on a trip. Mine doesn’t come off the drive very much outside big trips as we have a little ID3.

I started this ^^^ thread recently. Lots of helpful info in there on this subject

Another knackered Karcher.. Long hose to blame? Anyone got a Kranzle?

This reminds me of the Jim Jefferies bit on guns.. 1m40s in.. just replace “guns” with “SUVs”. **** off I like SUVs 🤣

Nice one, thank you for that Binners and the tip on blade oil. I’ve been using GT85 which is probably not ideal.. but I do like the smell 🙂

Thank you for all of the information and recommendations fellow baldies!

Couple of quick questions if I may.. @binners and @joshvegas The babyliss one above – are the blades flat and it’s the bit in between the two cutting blades that’s curved? Hard to tell on the photos.

@shadowrider is there any variation in the length of cut with the pit bull shaver and if not how close is it?

Thanks again all!

Curved blade looks just the ticket! Thank you

The speed of that RB with the rear wing open was astonishing on the big DRS drags. Not a thing any other race car on the grid could do about it. Think someone said it further up thread, but wouldn’t be surprised if a RB wins every race this season!

Edit. My Tesla M3P had a WLTP of 329 miles and in the depths of winter with my roof rack on I couldn’t do the round trip to Leeds from Newcastle of 200 if it was also raining.. similar story with my now petrol estate car.. round the doors it’s way below the “urban” quoted figure.

I had this recently on a Dec-17 registered car I bought in Jan-23. It will drop from £520/year to £165/year in Dec-23 on its 6th birthday so when I taxed it at purchase at the start of Jan the vehicle tax period was 12 months but the amount was a little bit less than £520 I assume to take account of the ~2 weeks or so between Dec reg date -Jan purchase date.

Oh and on the quality point. The soft close on our new Siemens combination oven packed in at about the 9-10 month mark.

This is going to sound silly but stay with me.. have you set the clock on the oven?

We had a Siemens oven/grill and the grill part would not work unless you set the **** clock! All the lights and what not came on so I just assumed it was goosed. Nope, I had to pay the repair man’s call out charge to set the clock on my oven 😂

Interesting fact @flannol re the 5 series being Bentley levels of quiet. I was a bit worried about my 5 wagon being a hatchback, M sport trim on 19s with RFTs but it is nice and quiet in the cabin sat at 70 on the motorway so I imagine an SE saloon will be just lovely on a cruise. It’s also barely ticking over at that speed, almost exactly 1500rpm.

Mine does have the adaptive drive option though (adaptive dampers + active anti roll bars) which I think is helping a lot with the refinement/quiet when in comfort mode. It’s a LOT quieter than the Tesla M3P saloon I’ve just given back even with the hatch which I was not expecting.