@Dovebiker – That’s one heck of sweet bike !!

I cured my long term asthma tendencies with breathing exercises – technique can play a huge factor – often the suffer is hyper oxiginating their lungs – Effectively inhaling more than exhaling – hence the old brown paper bag trick – One is expending the oxygen – Try to think of your Asthma as a behavioral condition .. Posture and diet hugely important also .. Try for starters inhaling for say 3 seconds and exhaling for 5 ..

If it’s wet water will get in regardless – decent thick wool socks will keep you warm when wet – that works best for me ..

I saved up for a Hutch Pro Racer out of my paper round – took about 13 months – one of best days of my life building it up ..

Thanks for the responses folks – I guess that’s what you get for spending £50 off eBay – it’s an On One and it’s too far down to cut out ..

March or October to be midge safe (ish)

I’ve been a few times within five miles of my house and I live in a relatively build up neck of the woods – Get on Google Maps and head for the nearest sizeable patch of green on the map – It’s been mainly for kit testing – Better to go with a friend as you’ll probably find it less relaxing than being miles away from populated locations – I’ve enjoyed it but to reiterate – The impending threat of being ‘busted’ has taken a slight edge off the fun factor – I’ve always felt as though I’m in stealth mode so to speak .. I’ve been caught by a farmer once and he was initially a bit cheesed off but a bit of sweet talking calmed things down – Go for it I say but don’t expect it to be the ‘at one with nature’ experience that your perhaps seeking .. Double down on the pitch late / leave early rule ..

Its as easy to not cook and eat healthy as it is to cook and eat unhealthily ..

Size up on some merino and then shrink them – the elastic waistband won’t shrink ..

Some of the trials pedals work well I found – I had a nice pair of Rockman from Tarty Bikes – I think I’ve also seen a nice pair of road specific KCNC ..

I definitely prefer a groundsheet as I don’t use a Bivy – I’ve not enjoyed putting inflatable mat directly on ground – I’ve got an integral designs eVent bivy but I never use it I prefer a tarp – been looking at the Gram Counter ground sheets as listed on Ultralight.Com – I always get hung up on gear – it’s part of the fun! – As I generally use a two person Tarp other person carries stove ..Also when one goes lightweight I feel it negates the need for strapping bike packing specific bags to frame and bars – I’m happy with just a pack .. Roll on long hot Summer days and dusty trails !!

@whitestone how do you get on with your Klymit? – those ‘loft pockets’ I’ve always wondered how well a down bag would cope under damp conditions – do you have any issues with wetting out? Also what ground sheet are folk using ? PhD 1000 fill looks ace there’s a YouTube video on the PHD channel showing how much a handful of the stuff expands – it’s pretty amazing ..

My buddy and I prefer not to plan too far in advance – My best trips last Summer involved taking the GPS out and just riding out from the house for 2 or 3 days and getting the train home .. So it’s mainly been stringing footpaths together .. It’s nice not having to set off after a long car journey ..

I don’t use a bivy if I tarp – last summer I used alot of my hiking kit such as my exped down mat which is a whopping 900g! – Yep > 5kg is pretty manageable – I’m looking at the PHD k series Minim which is is under 400g – with today’s ultralight kit I think one can manage to live ridiculously comfortable on the trails with hardly any pack weight .. During summer I won’t bother with a waterproof – but I’m looking for a 300g(ish) softshell – for those who like to bivy I guess you can do away with a ground sheet ..

There’s a decent selection of 1 season down bags sub 500g to choose from so luck isn’t an issue – Thermarest Neo air xlite 350g already purchased too ..

CEX usually have used one’s for around 220 – I wouldn’t waste money on a deal with loads of games because a bunch of the games are rubbish – just pick that one game you really like the look of ..

It might be worth shimming the caliper mounts – get the alignments absolutely perfect .. Grease/loctite all the mount bolts too ..

Okay – thanks for responses – didn’t want to source wheels for mate only to have issues .. I’ll tell him to go for a decent qr just to be safe ..

Build up second hand – it’s a buyer’s market these days ..

I’ve found a thin merino baselayer coupled with a synthetic one over the top and then a softshell hoody a great combo .. Thick long woollen socks good also – And plenty of carbs before you set out ..

For all the social justice fanatics here on Single Track I’ll quote quote Richard Dawkins “Soft bigotry of low expectations.” Holding other races to a lower standard (e.g. excusing misogyny & homophobia) is itself a form of racism ..

There seems to be a worrying consensus developing in this thread that executive action is legitimate governance – if your happy with dictatorship please say so – I’m genuinely interested in who believes that it’s ok to bypass congress? As for those who harp about ‘Americans’ – your just further discrediting yourselves ..

I really like sitting mats – hardly a necessity but a great bit of kit which cost next to nothing – a few hiking buddies of mine poo pooed them initially but after trying out mine they’ve all bought one – A nice little luxury when one stops for a brew – you have to stop for brew ..

Meanwhile Paris was a ghost town owing to the ‘state of emergency’ and NYC had 6000 police patrolling – I’d say all things considered NYE Manchester looks relatively civilized ..

TK MAXX always pretty good for walking shoes – pertaining to the fact I’m guessing that too often walking shoes are aesthetic monstrosities and thus bargain bin stock – I picked up some Vibram sole Keen for £20 last Autumn – Personally I wouldn’t get too hung up on waterproof/GTX shoes owing to the fact that a shoe in practical terms generally lets water in over it’s (low)top anyhow – Get boots if you need waterproofing – A good woolen sock that stays cosy once wet is IMO a more pragmatic route ..

More of a ulysses nadine djengis khan type of a guy if I’m honest ..

I went with Sony because Google lead me to AV forums – and there was a consensus amongst the telly nerds that they’re the best (not all models – but they do models in every size that outperformed other brands respectively) ..

Dulux trade paint is cheaper than some brands and the coverage is good – so if your working on price it makes sense .. I’ve never heard of commission pertaining to brand usage .. It definitely sucks using generic cheapo paint when there’s a lot do be done .

Not wishing to resurrect an old thread but actually I find flip flops great for alleviating ‘drivers ankle’ – Use your big toe to hook on the pedal when one starts to experience the fatigue / repetitive strain ..

Wouldn’t mind trying some of those spokes – does anyone know a good UK supplier?

In the spirit of continuity may I assume Japan’s Immigration policy is lunacy also? Do we need another petition ?

Useful Idiot Track World ..

Faux Liberal Track World ..

One is your own private practitioner – using the holistic approach is key..

For me diet – and by that I mean quality of food not calorie restriction – is the key .. One can’t motivate themselves to do more exercise on will power alone .. Eat clean and the rest falls into place ..

The only issue I’ve had is climbing narrow single track and one needs to pass geared folk in order get up the hill – I think some think your trying to race them – when the reality is its just a pain trying to climb at the same slow pace as those who’ve shifted to a spinny gear ..

I’m considering cutting the steer tube right down and getting some riser bars to offset the difference – I’m really struggling to get used aesthetics wise to such a massive load of steerer sticking out – Anyone else done the same?

The goodnewz is that people are waking up to just how insidiously contrived the left/right paradigm actually is ..

Put a bleed funnel onto the cylinder and burp before you try a full bleed – it often sorts things out ..

I’d definitely make the effort to run a bolt through rear axle with the track ends – I’ve found that I didn’t need chain tugs with this set up – if going qr defo use the tugs ..