Depends mostly on teh sealant, partly on where you keep the bike, partly on the tyres I think, and then largely on the phases of hte moon or something.

I’ve switched to Oko’s Hi Fibre (same as Halo Fibretech) sealant mostly because it’s water based- washes out easily and can be rediluted- if you think it’s drying up, just add a little water. Doesn’t work for any that’s compeltely dried out but it keeps wet sealant going indefinitely. (and it’s cheaper than Stans and IME equivalently as good). Only downside is, you can buy Stans in pretty much every bike shop if you ever need some in a hurry ie on holiday or something while Oko/Halo, not so much.)

Grouptest of visodry vs nikwax visorproof please! (not much reason to test anything else, all the other traditional options are miles less good than visorproof)

Also a proper study of how deadly visodry is if you get overspray on your kitchen lino, visorproof is a hazard

I got the 100% Strata 2s, the cheapest ones, and tbf they do everything I want. Every bit as good as my old Oakleys, only downer is there’s not quite as many lens options (but even then, 100% were smart enough to make the same lens fit multiple goggles so there’s still pretty good selections). They may not last quite as well as teh Oakleys did- those were really pretty impressive that way- but they were about half the price so I do not care.

Double glazed lenses are a thing worth paying more for IMO, it started out as a skiing thing and it can cause a wee bit of odd reflections but it’s amazing for reducing steaming up, nothing else comes close on a cold wet day, they’re like voodoo for manky scottish downhill. TBF I’d personally rather have 2 sets of cheap goggles than one set of fancy ones, they do get damaged/roughed up and having different lenses ready to go (and a dry set of goggles in the car) is way better than swapping them out.

I had some sort of pathological exemption to the themes for mysterious cities of gold and uylysses 31, put me off the whole things a bit.

Some cartoon music was just incredible though, that’s almost a lost art now for tv. Raccoons still famous for it but this one is just phenomenal. Slightly rubbish series but still.

Still a problem that only Thomson really had, even compared to lighter stems. Even if it’s solely user error, if your product has more problems with user error than competitors (most of which are cheaper to boot) then it’s a failing.

Much like their seatposts “they bend instead of snapping”, no they bend when other things don’t get damaged at all.

Ulyesses 31 was from the absolute peak of “this children’s TV show was created by sleep deprived people on drugs”

Transformers for me. Nothing more exciting than the doodoodoodoodoo music and the flipping autobots/decepticons logo.

I think the topeak hexus is about as small as it really gets while still having a good breaker. It does have tools which are probably redundant for a lot of people, especially as the tyre levers are terrible, but it’s just really difficult to get physically smaller and still have a good breaker, it’s already very clever about how it packages it. Their Mini P20 is lighter and a little smaller but it’s a massively less useful tool, you lose way too much for it to be worth it imo.

Maybe the best way is to go with a multitool without a breaker? There are very compact standalone breakers, or stowable ones like barends etc.

igm
Full Member

need a bit of impromptu trail side maintenance

Ah this is a definite thing. I’d definitely on balance rather have contacts for all the riding, in return for any repairs being more awkward- basically I’ll take the thing that makes the good stuff better since that’s the entire reason I’m out there, and I don’t mind if the bad stuff is a little worse because it already sucks. But it’s definitely a consideration.

It’s not exactly the same but in my last job I was involved in a complaint of sexual impropriety by a staffmember against a student. We reacted pretty much exactly as you’d hope, contacted the authorities, etc etc, he ended up getting done for it.

But during the trial it turned out that he’d been reported for the exact same thing at the previous 2 institutions he’d worked at and they’d circled the wagons “to protect the institution” and he’d been allowed to quietly resign and move on elsewhere. It was eventually reported he’d been kicked out of catholic seminary for sexual impropriety, which I’m surprised is even mathematically possible. And he’d floated around a couple of other jobs in the sector which look suspiciously like it was the exact same thing.

I wasn’t shocked that it can happen once or that a few people can handle something like that wrongly but this was over and over for literally his entire career. And honestly I think it could still have happened with us if things had been just a little different, except that the dude was universally disliked.

Anyway thing is, in the end we got 100% of all the shit for it. “City university embroiled in sex abuse scandal”. So it turns out they were in a horrible way right. There was next to no backlash against the other places because that was all boring and historic and what little there was, got painted over with “that was a different time, things were different” (the 2010s ffs), and just astonishingly little of “this place discovered the problem and made sure the guy got nailed for it”. I can absolutely promise you that some people involved in the process were left thinking “well that was all a terrible mistake” and a whole bunch of people involved in the coverup at other places feel completely vindicated.

+1 for contacts, they’re a slight hassle but it’s overall a much better solution and means you can use whatever eyewear you like. Plus you can’t really lose ’em ;)

I do have an astigmatism but I just wear plain lenses, it wouldn’t be good for normal life but it’s proved a nonissue for riding. I don’t wear them for screen use or other stuff, literally just for riding (and for moshpits ;) )

But, it’s still handy to have riding glasses, especially for short rides or just when you can’t be arsed with contacts, so for that I went a slightly different route and got some Bolle safety glasses with prescription lenses. Much cheaper than the cheapest prescription cycling glasses I could find. They’re quite ugly but tbf most cycling glasses are hideous anyway so no great loss.

I don’t like the inserts personally, I don’t think it’s really a different that should matter having the relatively small lens but it bugged me.

Yep, Pidcock’d be fast on anything.

But, still, I’m so intrigued by these spokes, I really want to give it a go. Stupidly expensive of course.

20mm is still the one that pisses me off and also the one that made it clear that customers have no meaningful buying power whatsoever, because we buy a handful of forks in our lifetime while Trek and Specialized buy them by the container. Boost is almost as bad but I reckon if we could travel back in time and kill 15mm Hitler, whoever that was, we could probably avert Boost into the bargain because winning that first battle would have stopped them doing it again, and again, and again.

But actually i’ll go the way of tiny changes, and say 31.8 stems. Because not only is 35mm pretty pointless anyway, and inferior in that it can’t be as short, it’s made buying stems and bars super annoying because the thing you want is ALWAYS available and ALWAYS on discount in whatever size you don’t want. But most of all because combined with modern “show you something slightly different from what you asked for” search algorithms it’s made buying short stems an absolute nightmare.

The big thing I found with squirt is just that it’s really variable, I could be very happy with it for ages then suddenly run into some conditions or the ideal mud that’d just wreck it in minutes. Which I think explains a lot about how varying people’s reviews are, I could definitely have put it on for 10 rides and said “this is amazing”, or put it on for one ride and gone “this is disastrously terrible” and never used it again.

But even at best it doesn’t last as well as hot wax.

In the first trailer it was pretty clear it was a sequel, there were referernces to the first film. But it also looked like a total retread, all I took away from it was “this does not look a film that needed to be made or has asked itself what it can add”. But maybe I’m just old and grumpy.

Might be worth shopping around, Pragmasis themselves are running out of stock but it looks like you can still find their products at other retailers? Unless they’re all dropshipping? Squire make some good stuff (and a lot of utter crap) but they only do 10mm and 14mm, nothing between- it’s worth shopping around for them as you’re relatively likely to find discounts.

I have an Onguard Beast 12mm personally for a light duty job where a big chain would be pointless, Onguard stuff definitely is never the <best> but it’s usually really good value especially as it’s always available with discounts. Just had a wee look and it looks like you can get the 180cm 12mm for £49 off Amazon inc padlock, that’s going to be hard to beat. The padlock is almost definitely the weak spot there but, well, you can’t really get a good padlock for £49 with or without a chain so it’s all relative!

(I also looked at Milenco, their 12mm scores surprisingly well at grinder tests and it’s cheap, but the inbuilt lock is apparently crap and shortlived. TBH Milenco also just look cheap and nasty which I reckon is a real downside, a crap thief’s definitely more likely to be deterred by a good looking lock (and a good or determined thief will break any 12mm lock pretty quick regardless so a big part of this is going to be deterring crap thieves and opportunists not good thieves)

TBF 12mm is always a bit of a weird place, they’re fundamentally a weak security option so there’s a good argument for going with something that’s decent but cheap and looks the part, rather than going for a gucci option which will still ultimately be easy to break. Sizing up to 14mm is maybe going to be worth it if you can deal with the heavier chain, it can still be cheap (because you’re still not looking at real max protection, more bulk) and it can be usefully more protective just because it’s up one size on boltcutter jaws basically and like for like it’s about 30% slower to grind. Mr Big Boltcropper is still going to bust it faster than you can find the keys in your pocket and undo the lock, but you’re basically just hoping that’s not who comes to nick it.

Not sure what’s going on with Almax these days, their store is down and I saw some pretty unhappy reviews about super slow delivery/nondelivery.

Looked like a grand day, lots of smiling faces right to the end

TBH I just use clark stainless inners (in shimano outers). I’ve tried fancy ones, they can feel a bit nicer especially when brand new but I’m not convinced it’s a difference that actually matters unless your bike has really tight cable routing.

I doubt clutch mechs have much to do with it tbh (if nothing else because of those early shimano clutch mechs where the clutch mechanism always broke and we barely even noticed). Clutches don’t really do a huge amount, they’re just a little bit of icing on the cake.

I reckon it’s mostly just that 1x chainrings are fairly simple and symetrical, no shifting ramps, no real variations, and they wear more equally.

Frank

That chain’ll still cut with boltcutters faster than you can find the keys in your pocket and undo the padlock. Sorry to be a downer but it’s better than trusting ineffectual security… (Onguard can be really good value though, I have the same chain for light duty and their big chonky d-locks are amazing value as long as you don’t get em wet)

Doctor said no :( And they’ve got enough marshalls, so I’ll be spectating/throwing poo. Good luck all!

First thing I always do with a new car is get rid of em. who steals alloys any more? But even back when that was a thing I guarantee these things have caused more hassle for owners than they ever did for thieves.

Though what this mostly means is it remains untested in court so someone else is going to come back and do the same thing but with something that gathers less publicity, and so the precedents will get established quietly and if it’s The Bad Timeline version the next time it comes to a high profile one will be all “yeah but this isn’t shocking, it’s happened before for other stuff”.

I had a massive clearout to get rid of the “stuff that I cannot throw out but I will never use”, took away 5 boxes of stuff to the cycle recycle place then went back and helped them put a bunch of it onto bikes.

But I’ve still got a hoard big enough for a bike dragon to sleep on. I built an entire bike out of spares and sold it, that was a pretty shameful moment. And yesterday me and a mate were building up his new bike and I kept finding parts and going “where did this come from”. “This is brand new, why is it even here?”. While i was looking out wheels for that I found an entire wheelset I’d forgotten about.

nickjb
Free Member

Katsu seems ok, the routers are supposed to be nice but I’ve not tried one. I’ve had a couple of drillpro saws that have been good for little money.

Likewise I have a couple of Katsus and some no-names. katsu actually seem to have some products you can’t get elsewhere, or not easily, which is pretty interesting in a knockoff brand.

I stick with genuine for the hardworking tools, but sometimes more tools is just better, I’ve ended up with 4 cheapo angle grinders and that’s way more useful than one high quality one frinstance just cos I can leave discs in them.

That battery box is just awful. And obviously taller than a minimal collar as on the best conventional posts, not a good sign to be sacrificing the one thing dropper posts are actually for. It might be more understandable if Fox made the best droppers in the world but they never have. Or if they were interested in improving the basic product and fixing its (admittedly pretty minor) known issues rather than selling a new product by making it shiny but again, this is Fox we’re talking about, weaknesses are a selling point not a problem.

tomhoward
Full Member

cheaper than when AXS reverbs launched though (£700 iirc)

Sure, but reverbs are mostly marketed and sold to big bike companies not to actual end users, the AXS reverb’s pricing is mostly about making gucci complete builds look more expensive. Some people bought them as a standalone purchase but not many, because in the end it’s still a Reverb.

Yep, just straight up past the foot of janet’s brae, up the side of soonhope burn.

Equally, the blue climb up (ie old climb) is about as nice a climb as exists anywhere, interesting enough to make it fly by. And the fireroad climb up to the new trails is very efficient. And they all give you slightly different entry options but can basically take you anywhere on the hill They’re all good options imo and all good in slightly different ways which is great.

IME the big question is how appropriate/well set up the old shock was. Even a really basic shock can do good work if it’s been spec’d right, even a really nice shock can be bad if it’s not. You can easily spend money to “upgrade” and end up worse off.

Cane Creek gives you a ton of easy adjustment ability which is a big advantage as long as you’re happy to put in the time (or it has a good baseline setup). Otherwise it’s a box full of wrong answers. I’ve loved mine in every bike I’ve had them in but I’m a knob twiddler.

it’ll be pretty disrupted next weekend for the GT7 btw.

And yep agree about riding up from Peebles, the Fort and Dave’s Trail are excellent ways to end and Janet’s Brae takes you right to the buzzard’s nest building site, middle of the trails. You can ride up Soonhope as well and that takes you right into the bottom of the western offpistes. If you end your ride at the visitor’s centre there’s an excellent flat bike path that leads back into town and also some pretty nice flat woodsy singletrack

They’re pretty hard to find now but Crank Bros did a demented 780mm xc bar called the Cobalt, it bends like it’s made of rubber but it literally took me on one rigid bike from “having problems with control after 30 seconds of descending” to “doing a 7 hour race without a twinge”. It’s hilarious and terrifying to watch but it really works, way more so than more modern soft bars ime.

But not easy to find.

Muc Off sell an aerosol of “glue and sealant remover”, it’s not terrible but it’s quite variable, you never really know if it’ll work or not.

You can put the old freehub onto an EXP (though it doesn’t look like it seals right) but I don’t think you can put an EXP freehub onto an old without machining.

I’ve got a relatively cheap one off aliexpress, I’ve never used it for rocks though, I use it for derusting nuts and bolts. It’s pretty irritatingly noisy, especially in reversing mode which makes it pretty hard to “background” but I do like putting orrible things in and getting shiny things out, so I can see the appeal for rocks.

Not a recommendation for this seller but this is the one I have.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006291798130.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.42f16a7fBbakNv&algo_pvid=c5bd8d06-d798-4eb7-bb2a-6aa6bff56aba&aem_p4p_detail=202408161224371252407597371040000857612&algo_exp_id=c5bd8d06-d798-4eb7-bb2a-6aa6bff56aba-0&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21GBP%2188.46%2159.27%21%21%21793.36%21531.55%21%40211b6d3517238362769748307e23e7%2112000036641828355%21sea%21UK%21726428969%21X&curPageLogUid=tn5M6ebzp41v&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A&search_p4p_id=202408161224371252407597371040000857612_1

Really big bikes can be a bit tricky to adapt to, there’s a lot to be said for the bike you’re completely familiar with even if on paper it’s less capable, as long as it’s basically up to the job- which pretty much all modern bikes are.

So as long as already have a suitable bike, I’d say stickier tyres and if possible a better fork. First speaks for itself, the latter will keep you less tired and more able to handle stuff.

Off to the fracture clinic on monday so I guess I’ll know then if i’m allowed to ride! But something tells me we’re not going to get a podium this year :)

Course was always going to be a big challenge this year with the cabins closure, it looks less interesting/charming to me but I think it’s good overall and very different, will be fast if it’s dry. And no heart attack hill! I will miss the carnage of the tunnel of love though and that whole endless final descent from the road.

The crank ought to have a printed model number on the inside of the arms, behind the pedals, you can google that and find the bcd.

For road, 32 is pretty small- can’t recall what I have on mine, 46 maybe. You definitely want a nonshifting ring and once you’re doing that you might as well get a narrow/wide… They can be really cheap, too, plus chinese branding is awesome, I have a Snail one held on with Cansucc bolts.

Thanks folks, thinking I will jump on a £40 one and just see how it goes, it’s good to have a spare and at that price it’s not much risk! (tragically the best colours are more expensive, I want the flouro yellow or the mandarin but I do quite like the cheesy gold)

davosaurusrex
Full Member

I’ve had a £40 Flowline and sent it back, fit was fine but the front profile is massive. Might not matter to you but I hated the way it looked.

I am very skinny and yep it did seem bulky, and I don’t think it’s just a visual trick. Though I can’t see it when it’s on, I’m definitely a believer that small is better in an impact, less leverage etc.

Rubber_Buccaneer
Full Member

I took a look at the Virginia Tech ratings and all score well though I was surprised to see the Flowline SE scores worse than the plain old Flowline

Yeah, apparently this is the dual density foam at play, the SE and A3 both have it… apparently it doesn’t play too well with VT’s test. But I think the overall result is still basically “all 3 are very good”.

Rubber_Buccaneer
Full Member

and more gory details of the crash that did for the Fox please, seem to remember you spannered yourself at Dirtfarm on last year’s holiday

LOL yep good memory, though tht was 2 years ago, last year was relatively painless! Not going to make friday fails this time though :(

Don’t actually remember how it started but I’m pretty sure I just washed out the front real fast, in a pretty innocuous but fast corner on sheepskull at the forest of dean. Went straight in, punched the ground with both hands, then probably clattered the head straight after. That switched me off for a little bit, apparently I did a sort of Grand Theft Auto physics engine fail ragdoll down the trail for a bit, then I woke up again just before I stopped moving with the other side of my head scraping along the ground! Weirdly not a scratch or bruise from the shoulders down, the arms and noggin took the whole thing. A wee scrape on the head but apart from 5 minutes of being really spun out, no ill effects, not even a headache or sore neck, just a couple of seconds of memory loss and a couple of seconds max of being completely out.

Very lucky I think, epsecially since that old Fox was really made as a trail helmet, and my mates were just behind. (tbh the Fox was also pretty old, arguably too old, but it did good work- I stocked up on these when they were discontinued, the last one lasted years, this one about 4 months!) Even the breaks are fairly minor.

Day 1, run 2, of a 6 day holiday but hey, all the uplift venues were cool about refunds and credits and it was nice to actually explore the forest of dean for once! Now to see if I can heal up enough for the gt7 in a couple of weeks. But first it’d be good to be able to open a jar or do up my trousers :)