I was Saga and direct line before that. Same issues. They kept increasing premiums.i found that by going to compare and choosing a new one each year I got cheaper insurance because they give you a big discount. They then hope your too lazy to switch.

I’d been with direct line for ten or fifteen years and I rang them pointing out the huge difference in premium. Guy on phone admitted they were no longer competitive. I do t rule them out but I do check them and the rest against the competition.

It’s really worth looking at go compare etc. You don’t have to take the cheapest or dodgy internet one. Same applies to energy as well.

Wheels are always the best upgrade ;-)

Also a lot of mileage may just be junk miles. Structured training and working on hills will also improve your climbing ability. If you have a power meter then you will have a better idea of your true fitness. They are better than a HRM for this sort of thing

jwt technique and right gearing will have an affect. Spinning and locking your core will help.

Without a power meter its hard to say if you’ve lost power which is down to training not weight loss.

Ultimately its power to weight ratio and being light makes you faster up hill for the same power output, gears technique.

I ride from home, washing the bike isn’t required. Once it turns dry I give it a wash. It stays dusty until I go abroad and its in a bike bag or winter hove’s into view. So maybe a few times a year and gets used a lot. It gets dirty as soon as I hit the trail.

No extra water required ;-) Maybe you need to adjust your own view on cleaning the bike. Hit the trail and its dirty or dusty.

Bronson bottom ones last about a year rest all ok.

I don’t use detergent on the bike or spray them with GT85. Pump them regularly with grease. No issues really

Muckoff, detergent etc aint going to help and not needed

why not do it yourself? 5 min job. Plenty of videos its only one bleed screw

Igm were talking about a guy who is 1.7m tall. Your ideal weight depends on your hight, body shape etc. We’re not implying everyone should be under 80kg. That would be dim

What will happen if your climbing on the big ring is it will wear out quickly. It’s made aluminium the others are steel. I’d go down one and get a good chain line. You’ll be just as fast and faster up hill. Spin to win.

dishwasher door-lock appears to have given up the ghost

fixed mine couple weeks a go 10 min job

its 6 screws to take of the facing off, couple around the lock and it fits in only 1 way

Very simple job and £30 versus £300 for a new one? It still cost less if you get someone to do it.

you would see biggest improvement by loosing 10 – 20kg in weight

I’m 59 – 60 next year, its not the bike ;-)

Got the Ultega disc, never going back :-) just so much easier and effective breaking

Small normally. 30 waist. I’m a in Medium Castelli

try Pinkbike for sale, plenty of great pre loved bikes there

plus 1 for demo, lot of money to spend on a bike you’ve never ridden, They all ride different and size up differently. Much depends on what how you ride. One company’s medium is another’s large.

122.11GB :-)

garmin 800, 1000 and Oregon 650. All worked flawlessly for years of abuse. They have even been submerged

I do use them – (nearly) daily and charge them up daily (nearly) maybe if there not charged up regularly they go flat?

800 must be 5 or 6 years old now, shows the scars of much abuse.

I have the rubber covers as well for them that has protected them from some damage ;-)

brilliant, used them for last month. Faster, safer, easy to use, same weight whats not to like?

Same debate when disks were introduced to MTB and they were all wrong.

Wont be going back to rim brakes on MTB or road bike ;-)

2.3 DHF and DHR

or

2.3 HR2 and H Dampf

I find tyre pressures make a bigger difference than tread for grip

Don’t miss breakfast. Eat less in the afternoon and evening. Common problem, people eat big meals in the evening when the energy is not needed.

Start to train your body to need less, smaller portions. I snack a lot, nuts, fruit, yog but avoid big evening meal. Breakfast tends to be the larger meal. I also drink one active bio for gut bacteria.

Stop eating biscuits and other crap food items – simply don’t buy them and their not there. Plus you save money.

Weight is simply what you shove in your mouth. You don’t have to do much to get a healthy (healthhier) diet.

maybe body position stem too slammed

maybe body position stem too slammed

Vortex for two years very pleased. No issues here.

demo the bike first ;-) all bikes are different

Same. Try rolling your bars forward or back to align your wrists arm and shoulders in a straight line. Worked for me. Took some time to go away but it worked. It might be your bars are too wide or narrow. Your on the right track, it’s cockpit setup

Lose weight get fitter. You could drop 5kg? Not going to be able to lighten the bike by that much. Then spend your money on some carbon wheels. Wheels always give the biggest bang for buck. It’s not just the weight loss, lighter wheels accelerate faster.

Still there

I’d go for a demo, money well spent. Otherwise everything else is just subjective opinion. I ride a SC. Try Skyine at Afan they normally have or can get a demo bike for you.

Reach is not all.

Destiny is all!

Fly loads with them, shoes, helmet, clothes etc all go in. Have you let the tyres down? (stifles yawn) yes of course. No one ever checks. All that matters is the weight. Stay within that and no issues

Flying next weekend Easy out of Gatwick for Spain. Evoc will include Bronson and everything else, no luggage.

Sent mine to TF for annual service they noticed a warranty issue and all I needed to do was send them my invoice. Got a brand new set a week later. They did the rest.

Servicing pays, top service.

Did loads – Sounds like training fatigue. You need to structure your training. It must include periods for your body to adapt, recover and train again.

Active recovery weeks, come down to half at least what you do normally. The next week you feel like a new man.

Good diet and rest are more important than lots of miles. They tend to be junk miles. Structure your training, include shorter hill rep sessions, intervals, sweet spot sessions and longer rides at lower pace.

Training doesn’t mean destroying or smashing yourself.

As above, tiredness and lack of fitness is most often the cause. Finish early even on an uplift day. People aren’t used to it. I ride their often.

I’m responsible for me. I don’t shift the blame. If I come off I know who’s to blame ;-)

<but what else could a 57 year old do to mitigate coming off on the blues>

I’m older than that and as the posters say – ride within your limit’s. Even old guys have limits, apparently LoL

Told my children to vote labour – last chance they will have in a generation

I’d Demo

Whyte
5010
Scout

Have ridden Whyte 130, Orange and 5010 I’d guess 5010 is the ideal for me.

Orange 4 – just felt like a heavy lump compared to the Whyte and SC. This is opinion based on demoing them and how I ride and where I ride. Buyer be aware

Building from frame is ideal, you get the bike with the bits you want. Ive never understood the buying then months later ‘upgrading’. What I can say is that no two bikes ride the same and you should try before you buy. There is no rush

Stick with the orange 5 for now its a good bike, why blow more money until you’ve gained more experience and knowledge? Use it and then do some demos. You might prefer DH or trail or gasp gravel :-)

Pinkbike for sale is full of bikes people have bought used for a couple months and then sold at a big loss.

perfetto (gabba light)

Has pockets

Plus one for spring autumn

perfetto (gabba light)

Normal gabba way to hot unless you cycle in cold and wet.

Just lower your seat, bring the back into a more upright position and add a spacer to bring stem up. Surrey hills just use a Thompson post save the weight.

Depends where you ride some drops need your seat slammed and ass well off the back

Southdowns Way
Ridgeway

I’m surprised about your delivery date issues? Heres what I got. And they delivered week before. Tracking link was great, followed it all the way from Germany.

Estimated dispatch date

17th – 21th Apr 2017

We’ll send you a link to track the delivery once dispatched.

Did they not deliver by the date in their email?

Just bought road bike from them, couldn’t be more pleased. Perfect quick service. Bikes superb. No issues at all. It came a week before the delivery date. Which I understand is common practice. I know of at least three others in my bike club who have also bought from canyon in last 3 months. All very happy. Just for balance.

< they wound a screw and the whole mech popped into place> Limit screw. If you google youtube you’ll find plenty of very good videos on how to sort these things out. Quicker and less expensive than LBS.