We’ve got an Y Pewi ride on for our 17 month old.

She likes it, will ride it a bit and enjoys being pushed on it, but it also works as a push along/walker.

We are using that to bridge the gap to a balance bike. Cheaper than some of the other options, too.

We’ve got a 16 month old – first thought was that your description of a “normal” day of eating today at home isn’t that far off ours – how much more are you thinking she should be eating? New stuff, yeah it does seem to take a while. I probably only introduce something new maybe twice a week and a fair bit fails to impress her (unless it’s cake-based, but I can’t count that!)

My experience of nursery feedback of how much they’ve eaten can be variable too. Their view of “eaten loads today” might not be the same as yours?

We also leave her to it for a bit and expect some meals may take a while and lots will be played with or just flung! I tend to give it a good while with the thing she doesnt want to eat before I try anything else (if I’m worried she needs more, teething is putting her off, etc) and try not to just revert to the Soreen straight away, cos she loves that but I doubt it’s a good idea to raise a child on it… :)

I wouldn’t be particularly worried though – from what you’ve said it sounds like most of the 16 month olds I know. I suppose it’s just finding an approach that works for you and you are happy with, nutritionally.

I’ve got a similar tight clearance issue with my (non boost) kona hei hei.

Currently using a tnt saguaro on the back, before that an Ikon (fat carcass low tread), an X King (protection, but paper thin) and a bontrager 29-2 (sound but a bit small tread).

The saguaro is the best of that bunch for clearance, toughness and grip – on dry trails (it’s not that knobby).

I have noticed that the standard (non race) 2.25 ardent measures up smaller than the saguaro when inflated on the rim, if that comparison helps! EXO wasn’t tough enough on the local flints for me though :(

As above, next one for me to try will be the tough/fast wtb trail boss.

Think this one has come up before and this link got shared by someone…

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Debunking_Wheel_Stiffness_3449.html

Not a quick answer and it’s pretty road focussed, but nice and geeky… :)

Kona Honzo?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/road-running-shoes-1

Might be some useful stuff on other brands in that thread too? FWIW my Hoka Conquest 3 are over a year old now and holding up okay, some cosmetic damage around the outer covering where the shoe flexes.

Still comfy shoes to run in, I’ve been injury-free and they just feel like my “normal” running shoes now (although I only do 15 – 25km per week total which includes tarmac and bridleway stuff). They haven’t transformed my running or drastically improved my pace either though :)

Yeah I’m another one with an aluminium trail dl (120 / 100mm) and as above, it’s impressive as a short travel trail bike.

Sounds like the OP is eyeing up the 100/100 “race” version though which makes me think more about the potential of mine as a flat out xc bike – and I don’t know. It definitely seems to bias the trail aspect to me and even with a shorter fork I’m not sure it feels “xc race”, if you know what I mean? The carbon will lighten it a bit I guess – I’d be interested to hear how people are finding them as dedicated xc race bikes…

I’m guessing “at a reasonable weight”, otherwise yeah, lots of dh tyres to choose from.

At the lighter end, for me (riding over sharp flints at lowish pressures), I’ve had good results with Vittoria TNT casing tyres (old Geax), Bontrager and as above, Specialized. Bad experiences with Maxxis Exo and the worst have been Continental Protection tyres.

Hard to objective on it from my limited sampling, but I based my Vittoria choice on a similar thread off here and it was a good move!

Yeah it can happen and I definitely can relate to wanting to get back home and being around instead of going to the gym etc (13 month old here).

I’ve managed to stay around a constant weight over the last year and a bit, but I’m not as bike-fit as I was and that’s just the result of having more going on. As others have said, being pretty careful with the diet is important and yeah, you know about the booze, chocolates and bad habits, which is probably the big thing with the actual weight.

For exercise, I run to work and back (dead time otherwise) and run with the pushchair. I don’t really like running, but it fits in. I also bought a £70 rower off Gumtree for the garage, which has been a bit of a winner for half hour bursts (if a bit dull).

You seem to be clued up on what your bad habits are, you’ll sort it quickly – 82kgs ain’t that bad ;)

All of the practice time, and that was a challenge!

Started practice around 4.30 ish and ended stage 5 bang on 6.30 when the course closed. I actually think it worked pretty well in terms of not dragging out practice, but completing all the stages including regular stopping and checking out lines etc etc would be a big ask without being too knackered!

Kept it fun and a bit more blind for the race, though! No complaint from me.

Well, I really enjoyed that!

Great event and lots of good chats on the transition stages gave it a really friendly feel (even the heckling spectators). The mixed greasy/dry conditions and stages seemed to work well to me, for variety :)

Probably should have camped to have made the most of the beer van though. Maybe next year…

Thanks Scott and the organisers – nicely done.

Cheers Scott. On that Hargroves link it lists the rider briefing at both 16.30 and 17.30 – which time should i make sure i turn up for?

Looking forward to it :)

I’m riding Billy no mates too; if you are anywhere near me in the line up, I’m always keen to talk to strangers I meet in the woods at night :)

The flints seem particularly bad at the moment. I’ve torn a continental protection tyre and a maxxis exo sidewall over the last two weeks at QECP. Could be the dry weather is exposing them, or could be that I’m a bit crap. Got a Bontrager on now, but I’m not that hopeful!

Yes you’d have a valid point about the seat tube length on the Whyte OP – I test rode an XL and was surprised how much seatpost I had out of the frame and I’m only 6’2″ (mostly arms and legs though).

I bought an XL Kona hei hei in the end and I’m very happy with the fit.

EDIT – beaten to it!
Ah yeah, it’s on Google (local landmark!)

Roundabout junction of Bracknell Road and Foresters Way. It’s the next roundabout south on Foresters Way from the Golden Retriever pub, RG40 3DR. Car park is on the east side junction of the roundabout.

Ride up the obvious fire road and keep going straight-ish east over one fire road crossroads until you descend slightly and face a steep uphill bit of track at a fire road crossroads. Turn right and follow this fire road until it starts to descend and you see a steel bench on the right as you come into a clearing. On the left is a rooty track entrance between two large trees – looks like something you would want to ride!

Through there and follow the trail around a gentle right curve onto a small fire road. That’s part of the red trail about 20% along from its start – just follow the markers until you see blue markers, then follow them back to the lookout and trail start / finish.

You join the Red at the corner closest to “Wickham Bushes” on the linked (slightly out of date!) trail map…swinley trails

All sounds a bit vague I know – I’d recommend a quick scan of Google maps, trailforks or Strava first to check it out for a first time.

7am is the main Lookout car park opening – probably easiest to park at the Muzzy’s Kebab car park and ride from there, should be quiet at that time.

You have to ride a few minutes to join in the Red route part way round – it’s pretty easy though and there’s the option to find some of the Crowthorne Woods trails too.

Congratulations on the new baby!

Might it be worth sticking with what you have until things settle down and you have a clearer view of what riding you are doing (as time etc allows)? As you said, the most fun bike will probably depend on the trails you do the most.

My experience of a new baby has been not much opportunity to do uplift days etc, but more time for shorter rides on local trails. My vote is therefore for lights ;)

Entered!

Sounds good – I really should try to make it this year!

Might regret my cost-cutting approach to lights though :)

Both?

Manuals are easier on a slight downhill, wheelies are easier on a slight uphill and the balance point thing is complimentary for both.

So if you have time to go out for a practice, find a (quiet!) slope and manual down then wheelie back up. That’s easier if you have a dropper post :)

Don’t think either is easiest personally – they both need the right technique but then just practice practice.

Riva del Garda?

Fun town that’s great for beers and pizza, plenty of bike hire places including e-bikes. Plenty of published trail routes and probably more accessible to non-riders than some bike park style resorts.

Lots of non-bike stuff too. Could be a good option for a mixed ability group?

Badly injured mine in early 2014 – no pop sound and not torn, but badly damaged. I was overdoing it running without great form and ignored the warning signs :(

Took 6 months before I could push off strongly on that leg and nearly a year before I felt I could return to any gentle running type exercise.

I do hugely sympathise with the “how do I exercise now” feeling. The advice I had from the NHS minor injuries unit was basically to stop all exercise – which I also found very frustrating.

I found that after a month or so of rest, I was able to swim. I also found I could do select exercises at the gym. I hurt my achilles in March, started swimming in May and gym in probably June. Back to full strength for the following spring.

I actually enjoyed working on swimming, which I hadn’t done much of before. Caveats would be that your injury sounds worse than mine, and whatever you do start off really really gently. If it happened to me again, I would pay to see a sports injury specialist.

Good luck! It’ll pass quickly enough but I know that isn’t much help right now!

Anyone been out on the south downs trails in Hampshire this weekend? I’ve been sticking to the sandier parts of the County for the past few months, but things seem to be drying up a bit (for now!).

Thinking about getting out next Friday and would be keen to get back into the downs, if places like QECP aren’t at their slidey stickiest :)

Cheers!

Both of the new bike options look like they are based around the “modern mtb geometry” school of thought (longer lower slacker) than what you have. Looking at head angle alone probably isn’t the best indication of how the bikes will handle (chainstay length and reach are also likely to be in different proportions) compared to your Soul.

No real right or wrong answer there really, but whether the “new” approach appeals to you or not for what you enjoy.

Lots written about this type of geometry approach if you want to do some research on it (e.g Pinkbike – how long low slack can we go?), but a test ride is probably a good idea really.

Not an owner, but rode a 2017 T129 recently.

I’m 6’2″ with long arms and legs and rode the XL. Felt right on me – wouldn’t go any smaller.

Hmm tough choice then! I guess the risk is spending 75% of what you would have spent on a full sus bike but still taking the bit of a battering on your long lake days…

No question it would be more fun / confident on the downs, but may overlap with the xc bike a bit. Classic STW style, I vote for the not-an-option full sus option ;)

Replacing the xc bike, or as well as?

Mostly long rides on the new bike in places like the lakes, or mostly short outings round a trail centre?

I’d say you have a fair amount of choice with what you want from the bike (i.e. broadly a trail bike) and the budget you have, once 2016 sale bikes are factored in :)

You seem to have a really broad range of options under consideration, the Anthem and Jeffsy are very different. Neither would be wrong I guess, but it depends on what you want to do.

As you are keen to get a bike that you’ve tried for size (by no means a bad idea but it might limit the best value options) it might be worth doing a couple of proper demos – if the lbs can’t help much with that, various trail centres do pretty nice hire bikes which at least might let you get to grips with modern geometry and help with choices like a wheel size preference – might be worth considering?

Another Ergobaby carrier here – I’ve got the 360, which replaced a Manduca sling which was loaned from a friend.

The Manduca was good until she was 4/5 Months, but then the lack of a “face out” option ended it. The Ergobaby has been to Chamonix, Morzine and used several times a day in all weather since August – all good so far, so probably worth the cost.

As I understand it, proper structured carriers/slings have come a long way in the last few years, the old babybjorn type design has been fully superceded by more comfortable (for everyone) options – worth trying a few, as there seem to be a few good brands.

We have a “sling library” locally and friends in other areas have done likewise so could be quite widespread. Lets you try a few sling types before you commit to make sure it works for you.

I’ve just had a similar internal debate to the OP…

I had the option of a 2016 bike with 30% off, with a better spec (for me) than the 2017 version, BUT the 2017 version is now boost – same with all the other 2017 possible options. So my question was “is boost worth 1k?”

Sounds stupid now I write it down, but I understand the worry about buying something already “obsolete” – power of marketing I guess.

I could always get some nice strong 142 wheels with the change ;)

This might help (I like maps and graphs) :)

UK monthly hydrological summary from CEH and BGS

Done!

Sounds like you may have some specific injury considerations, but as above I’d suggest looking at some of the highly cushioned options which seem to be getting more popular recently.

I got some Hokas a few months back to replace some Salomon road/trail crossover shoes and have been really pleased that I recover faster and feel less impact without any noticeable penalty for the extra cushioning. Not saying they would work for everyone but perhaps don’t let the weird looks put you off!

Yeah I know a few I’d recommend (I’m an ecologist locally btw)

Happy to send you a couple of options of freelance guys locally if it would help?

http://www.ecologyconsulting.co.uk/about/4591551052 – I would highly recommend Adam, for starters.

Yep, sounds like the pension and NI change could be the reason…

Contracted out pension ends

Sticky today!

I’ve got a job on cleaning the bike, but pleased the round went ahead, mud and all. Those middle laps (4 hour) were hard going, before it “dried up”!

Anyone else doing it on a suitably inappropriate bike?

Hmmm maybe! I don’t own a road bike and have never really ridden road – all my kit is likewise decidedly unsuitable for skinny tyres! My option is to borrow a cheap road bike off a neighbour (some kind of BTwin type) or use my rigid Niner with slicks (36 x 11-36).

I like my own bike and it could be a novelty, but the wind resistance and low gearing could make the whole thing miserable… In a later wave start anyway, so won’t be holding others up at least!

Parcel shelf thing – dunno if they all do this, but on my yeti the fixed parcel shelf can be rotated and slotted behind the rear seats (if you are leaving them up) – that’s how i carry my dogs! Pull the little boot floor liner flap forward and drop shelf in, solid as.

Thought it was a neat little feature myself, only came across it when i was wondering why the adjustable rear seats apparently didnt want to slide all the way back. Might not apply with a different boot floor option? Finding stuff like this makes me like the yeti more, its a bit like someone has tried to live with it! Thought it might be worth sharing ’tis all.

Had a Yeti Outdoor 1.2 tsi since May last year and been really impressed by it.

Great fun car to drive considering what it is, really nice engine but it is geared for town and b-roads ideally; once you are above 70ish in 6th don’t expect to just press the accelerator and go whoosh!

No issues practicality-wise; works well with dogs, house move and general carting people around. Five adults in it hasn’t given the little engine any specific hassles, but when i have five in the car (especially in-laws!) I tend to not be going for the local KOM (or whatever the car equivalent of that is!). No problem with getting bikes in for me, i do just fold the seat down though.

Understand the comments about getting the SE or up, but I have the S and specced the extras that i wanted (wheels, sat nav, MDI, etc) to avoid paying for features i had zero interest in and it worked out much better for me that way. The only thing you cant get as an extra is the darker privacy glass. Engines do vary by trim level though, so that might be something to bear in mind. I think the choices are basically 1.2 petrol or 2.0 diesel, with the 1.8 petrol only available on the fancy trim model?

Pleased with the purchase, although i do like VAG cars (audis and VW prior to the skoda).

Why not just make your own really really hard goal…? :)