Chameleon you say… Like the TVR purple paint job?

I ended up buying a second hand 10spd SLX clutch mech and tensioning it with an old spoke (can also use a short run of old cable). No more dropped chains or chain slap, and it only cost a tenner!

Cheers @golfchick, was going to pick up a Big Al I think if budget/wife allows.

Ragley Big Al/Wig is what I’m aiming for with the same requirements. Should be back in stock soon…

Double check you’ve routed the cable through the rear mech correctly – quite a convoluted route on SRAM mechs.

Update: popped over last night, it was excellent. Running really dry apart from the soggy bog of doom at the top, but it was possible to pick a line through so I presume it’s usually much worse. Reckon it could be a bit grim in nasty weather, but on a warm summers evening with a cold beer at the cairn it was spot on.

I presume ta11pau1 climbed the North America (East fork prong at the Langsett end) BW, as the West prong was very rideable and not tech at all really as a climb. Descending the East prong and climbing the West one is definitely the way forward by the looks of things.

The cranberry clough descent was a corker – must remember to pack my handlebar light as well as my helmet one next time 😂

Thanks ta11pau1, that’s really useful. Heading up there tonight to tackle it from the Ladybower end, should be a good laugh!

Cheers ta11pau1, much appreciated!

Most recent from KoftheP twitter was a couple of days back saying it’s a little sloppy up top but passable, and the descent was nice and dry.

Rescheduled to a Friday night ride to avoid the Saturday morning rain.

Top tip about the KoftheP twitter, thanks for that!

I’ll head up and have an explore then 🙂

It’s worth the trip!

All really helpful posts, cheers guys! Somebody mentioned PhD to me today, similarly it’s something I swore I wouldn’t consider… Everything is on the table again now though!

Cheers @lunge, I’ve sent you a wee PM.

I approached it with “I love my current job, but sadly it’s no longer viable”

It’s the truth, can’t ask for much more than that!

Excellent – directly after posting this I came to the same conclusion and posted something up. At least I’m used to interviews and applications!

Interesting, will keep an eye on here.. Main problem is the almost total lack of hills around here – I’ve just been popping out on the CX for the occasional road blast, had given up on any drops/jumps until I can get back out to the Peaks. Will have a butchers at Kenworthy at some point.

@anyexcusetoride legend, thanks – just what I needed for a mate who wanted new shoes but refused to pay more than £20 for “white high tops with the thick soles”

Sorted

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/st-520-mountain-bike-275-yellow-id_8360662.html

As much as it would make sense to find him a second hand rigid singlespeed 29er, he’d probably not thank you for the loss of street cred he’d suffer as a result.. mountain bikes are the “in” thing just now amongst the yoot, if you start him with something new you at least know nothing will need replacing for a while.

@dlr sorry, missed this. I’m nursing along an ancient pair of 5-10s, not sure what I’ll do when they finally die…

14 year old me invented a shop without a checkout, where everything was bought and paid for using a QR/barcode scanning app linked to PayPal. Was doing a week of work experience at the time, and the design manager put it forward for the internal pre-patent process. It got approval, so my dad got a tasty payout (he worked at the same business in a totally different department). Within a year, PayPal themselves announced a near-identical product…

Enjoy – I did a very similar route (from Hayfield) a few weeks ago. As per grannyjone, the Hollins Cross climb and Rushup run are both pretty muddy just now, so the going is a bit slower than you’d expect. Moving time was 2h40m, but factor in butty/picture stops and a meaty puncture/buckle and you can round that up to about 4hrs elapsed.

Size uk14 here, albeit relatively long and thin. Never had any issues with Superstar Nanos/Carboncycle/Nukeproof pedals (all roughly the same design).

Forgot to say, we just rolled up on a Saturday and cracked on. Don’t know if it’s possible to book in advance. Bike hire and cafe available, plus a TV showing bike related stuff normally so you can have a break.

Been once, airbag and pump track were away at an event so reduced entry fee. Couple of big scary jumps with plenty smaller to build up. Well worth a visit, I can’t wait to try the airbag next time out – for now I’m using riding time to get out in the hills before the weather gets even grottier..

Heard that a 2p coin could be used to help press bearings into a freehub. It worked, but as I’d removed the cassette already I then had a (very well seated) bearing and a 2p piece held in nice and tight by the lockring, and nothing to attach a chain whip to in order to loosen the lockring off.

Ended up with mole grips clamped between my thighs to hold the freehub (protected by an old t-shirt) while I put my bodyweight on a ring spanner to loosen it off.

This was at 4am before my annual big bike ride with the brother, we left at 7am still smelling of WD40 – all of our rides seem to start with an all-night maintenance bash…

+1, great lights at a great price with great customer service

Can’t make it on Weds unfortunately- would’ve been good to finish with a bacon butty!

You have mail re bulb referral 🙂

Wind energy is a form of solar energy @chevychase

Wind turbines- I’m a big fan

I got beasted by a couple on a tandem yesterday on my commute home – amazing how much momentum they can build up! Admittedly I was JRA from some birthday drinks so wasn’t going for pb’s, but they must’ve been sitting comfortably above 25mph on the stretch where they caught me – was properly impressed.

Want one now…

I noticed Ben Hope was mentioned ages ago, has anyone ridden it?

Heading up that way in June, and keen to get up there with the bike!

Saw this article this morning, made me laugh- my marathon PB is 7h20…

I was on track for 3h30 until something in my knee went pop at the 10k mark and I hobbled 20 miles to the end. Had told my niece I would finish it for the heart charity that had helped her out, and I wasn’t keen to let her down. Similarly my sister in law cracked on and finished the thing with a slipped disc, and my wife who suffers from clinical depression and for whom running felt like a panic attack also got to the end. In fact they caught me up despite having started over an hour later 😂

To those giving it the “ooh slow people shouldn’t be allowed, it’s a race” – jog on, anyone who finishes a marathon is at least out there doing something, and you’ve no idea what they’ve gone through to get themselves to that point or why they’re doing it in the first place. Stay in your lane and let them get on with it.

Palmer’s lodge is great if you’re happy with a hostel

It’s technically/physically possible to limit the temp rise globally to 1.5°C but the political shifts it would require along with the selfish habits of humans the world over probably mean it ain’t gonna happen. My money would be on 2.5-3°C followed by mass panic and development of carbon capture tech to try and remove CO2 and potentially reduce global temp. By this point it’ll be too late for an awful lot of species and habitats though

A good route into control (although potentially very frustrating) would be to get him a drone kit- all the mechanical gear with a microcontroller. Means he gets to fiddle with putting it all together, also teaches him a bit about basic control theory (as above, forget about robotics unless you’re willing to learn control)

Currently using a 2007 Renault Megane for exactly that. Don’t expect the electrics to work brilliantly, but the 1.6 petrol engine has been solid for us and it’s like driving a big French sofa with cruise control.

“Never Forget”, Take That, unashamed fan

Admittedly limited involvement from the kids

Hahaha exactly

Tough crowd today!

Congrats on the new role brant, I had a Blue Pig X which I loved, sold it to a madman who bent it in half casing a double at BUCS.

As much as OO/PX may have problems with various parts of the business, brant has only just rejoined them… Give the man a chance to effect change, eh? No need for some of the aggression on here, calm it doon.

The main thing that uni has taught me is how to solve problems under immense time pressure and stress. The engineering is almost secondary, as unless you’re going into a research/design role it’s mostly common sense and experience over time, not the ability to memorize equations and solve very specific closed systems.

If a decent apprenticeship had been available to me when I was 18 (I did look), I probably would’ve done that, but I’m really glad I took this route and did the degree. Great job prospects, brilliant network, no ragrets.

disclaimer: living in Scotland means my tuition fees were covered (thanks taxpayers), and scholarships kept me fed and watered (thanks institutions), so typical student financial woes weren’t as prevalent for me. My student loan is sat in a savings account waiting to be dumped on a house deposit in a couple of years…