I ended up buying a pair of GP4000 IIs based on the general consensus. Not tried them out yet though.

Should I have ignored your advice from that thread then? 8O

I asked this exact question a week ago! See here.

The other distance challenges are open ended aren’t they? Or is there a cumulative one with a target each month?

There’s a total distance one for the month. Seems to always be 1250 km.

It seems strange that they drop the climbing challenge in winter, but the distance challenge is the same every month. I’m currently on 304% for the climbing challenge this month, but only 74% for distance. Now that I’ve been doing the challenges for a few months, they don’t motivate me in the same way that they did at first. I like the random ones though, like the Strade Bianche challenge which inspired me to do a 176km ride that I probably wouldn’t have done this month otherwise.

Or just save yourself the bother. I’ve never used the intermediate position on my GD. Partly because it’s not particularly straightforward getting in that position, but mainly because I don’t see the need for any position other than all the way up or all the way down.

I’ve got tiny size 47s, but for me Vaults have been by far the best in terms of foot support. The only thing I’ve used (and still use) that is as good is Burgtec Penthouse Mk IIs, but on the newer versions the platform is closer to the crank arm, thus limiting the useful width.

Either way, he needs a new chain. It wouldn’t be that surprising if the number of links removed to fit the new chain would make the old chain long enough. Makes sense to me.

I also wouldn’t be too surprised if you could join together 2 completely different 11-speed chains with a split link and not notice any difference in functionality.

I’m definitely planning on getting a Chariot Cougar, or possibly CX, but that’ll come later.

Snakes on a Plane

Thanks for all the pointers, certainly given me an idea of where to start looking. We live in the middle of nowhere, so car trips are a necessary evil, plus my wife will be on her own a lot during the day. My wife wants to buy new, and given the high resale value I don’t see any reason not to – doesn’t cost that much more, you have a guarantee, no wear and tear, no cleaning required on purchase, and can sell it for a decent amount once we’re done with it.

Sling at first, then figure out what you actually need after it arrives.

Buy the minimum up front, then on demand.

That would be my sort of thinking, but my wife is outraged and the very thought of carrying a baby home from the hospital in a sling! I think we’ll be making a trip to Mothercare very soon.

Hmm, mixed opinions. Think I’ll get the Contis though. Can always but the SL-1s back on when the Contis wear out. Thanks for the opinions.

Interesting. My only other experience of road tyres is at either the cheaper end of the market, or the Conti Gatorskins that I run on my winter bike. Perhaps that’s why I’m pleased with the SL1s.

Excellent – exactly what I wanted to hear! Thanks all.

Molgrips, do you know if it would still record while charging? I prefer the idea of just taping it to the bars and connecting it at the start of the ride and then not having to touch it.

Cheers Stato, I’ll see if I can track down a really short one of those.

Just took a look at that. I’ve got 2 overlapping 12×12 squares on Anglesey. Unfortunately there’s no way to extend them unless I can work out how to ride on the sea!

Well, I’ve finally done it and my OCD is satisfied:
Heatmap linky

It has definitely kept me motivated over the last few months, having ridden 4,000 km since the start of November, and it has been great seeing parts of the island that I otherwise wouldn’t have (although a lot of the riding has been in the dark).

Now I need another pointless target for motivation!

Can only comment on the Gabba LS, but I just bought a Large and the fit is perfect. I’d normally wear a medium for Endura/Altura/similar kit. I’m 6’0 and 80kg.

I use the Bontrager Flare. Hard to say how effective these things are, since you don’t see it yourself, but it makes sense to me and I’ve not had any close calls yet. Rechargeable. Night constant, night flashing, day constant, and day flashing. More lumens in the day modes where they’re needed, less (but still lots) in night modes to extend battery life. Night flashing mode is actually brighter pulses rather than on/off, so constantly a source of light. Decent side visibility too. Rubber band attachment method is very secure and means easy switching between bikes.

In which case the only difference is Ultegra instead of 105. I’d go with the 3 and save the £300. The 105 groupset on mine has been faultless and I can’t imagine you’d notice the difference.

I presume you mean is the PRO 1 worth the extra £300.

Isn’t the only difference that the 1 has Ultegra Di2 as compared to mechanical Ultegra on the 2. I’ve not used Di2, but I imagine it certainly has advantages, and it would cost more than £300 to upgrade later. If it were me, and I had the extra £300, then I’d probably go for the 1. However, if the extra £300 was a stretch, then I’d be more than happy with the 2.

FWIW I absolutely love my 2015 Defy Advanced Pro 2 with mechanical 105 and cable discs.

I’m Mark Q-T on that there Strava group.

This year has got off to a good start. All road miles though – fitting in mountain biking at the minute is frustratingly difficult due to various life circumstances.

I’m 6′ and the ML is spot on.

Thanks for all the feedback. Seems to be a clear consensus that the Dogma is overpriced – I’ll pass the info on.

Wide size 12s here. Five Tens for MTB, Diadora (size 47) for road.

Apparently groupset is Campagnolo Record 10sp, wheelset is Most Wildcat.

No idea on spec I’m afraid, which I appreciate makes the question hard to answer properly. Will try to find out. I guess what I’m really asking is how good is the Dogma 60.1 frameset and, if it were your money, would you go for that over new options? If not, which new options would you be looking at?

Sorry, forgot to say it’s the Dogma 60.1. Don’t know any details other than that.

Absolutely love my Defy Advanced Pro, but not tried the Advanced to compare. The frame is identical, just full carbon forks and a few better parts on the Pro spec. I went with the Pro as there was a good discount on 2015 models when I was buying.

I’m with FOG on the toes. I also use normal road shoes with mid thickness Sealskins socks and On One neoprene overshoes, but find that I lose feeling in my big toes after an hour or so. Fingers are not a problem despite just using Troy Lee XC gloves.

Right hand would be ideal but left would do for now. How much would you want for it?

Looking like that might be the only answer unfortunately. Annoying when the main advantage of the GD is ease of serviceability.

Hollowtech required. My commute is 30km each way, and it is also my winter bike, so don’t really want to drop below Sora level. I can get Sora for just over £40, so not bad. Should probably just stump up a bit of cash, but as I said if I can upgrade both bikes in the process by switching the chainset over from my other bike then it would all seem a bit more palatable (despite costing more!).

It’s currently working fine with a 9-speed chainset – well, apart from the non-driveside arm constantly trying to fall off and hence the need for replacement.

I’m reluctant to spend money on my commuter/winter bike (especially as the downtube is dented and probably on borrowed time) – therefore buying a nice new 11-speed Ultegra chains for my decent road bike and shifting the 105 from that to the commuter seems more palatable! Backwards logic maybe.

Cheers rhid. Will definitely be up for some mainland MTBing sometime, although probably not before Xmas due to various commitments. I’ll drop you an email once life settles down a bit and I can get out on the MTB.

I wasn’t aware of the Creperie in Rhosneigr, I’ll have to check it out – my waistline may not thank you for that tip!

Cheers for the encouragement. The NCR routes are definitely a good way of getting around the island and I used them to do a 65 mile route at the weekend – nice and quiet. I’d seen that Tour de Mon route and much of it is shared with my planned 200k perimeter route, although I prefer to go clockwise around the island due to location of hills and direction of prevailing wind. I’ll definitely be entering the Tour de Mon this year if I’m free, if only for the chance to cycle down the runway of RAF Valley!

I’m in too. Now back to bed!