Proprietary parts definitely put me off, but I own a cannondale and a Look road bike. So apparently I can look past the issue. I have to say some of the Proprietary stuff on my Look seems like genius, others is just mental.

I got the first one as a free ebook from Amazon I think, then bought the rest-great business idea from them! On to the Aubrey-maturin series by Patrick O’Brien now so that will keep me busy.

I don’t know if going for a run is an option but let’s just say my running routes are selected on the basis of accessibility of locations for a poop in the woods. A city centre Run is a recipe for disaster. I run a lot too by the way…

Bird watching? Think of it as a good excuse to get out and explore new areas around where you live, combine with photography or drawing if that interests you.

Only the one time and it was on a climb, which always over-estimates the power for me. Around 6.5w/kg. Not sure I’d get close on a trainer or want to even try. I’ve done plenty of 450-500w 5 minutes though so I would have thought that 500w wouldn’t be hard for any decent hill climbers or racers.

Just under 13 biked, just over 2 Run. But apparently my alp de Zwift efforts might not count…

Beaten to it! I thought my geological knowledge was going to be essential to this, but yes, lichen.

I’ve had good experience with anything from Campag/fulcrum, choose model to fit your budget. I’ve never taken a spoke or spanner to these in many thousands of miles. Aksiums developed some play in the hubs after a while, and not especially light.

Buy the Park kit. Before I saw the light I wasted far too much time with homemade setup involving a torch, fishing line, dental floss, hoovers, tweezers and so on. It’s expensive but works and it makes a frustrating job incredibly satisfying.

My tested FTP is about 25W lower on Zwift than it is outdoors, so I’m pushing lower w/kg on Zwift than I could in real life. But I figure I’d still get shelled out the back even if I had my outdoor numbers. Plenty of people doing it legit on Zwift, and Zwiftpower does a good job at sorting out the sandbaggers if you’re interested in seeing how you really stack up.

I usually wear out or need new cleats before the pedal is done, so just buy new pedals since they are so cheap compared to cleats. Experience of cheap eBay cleats has not been good either.

As with many answers above, my experience is that a safe bet is whatever Campag/Fulcrum fits your budget and taste. I also have a pair of Kysrium Pro SL which are 1400g I think, and at almost 80kg I’ve never considered the stiffness (or lack of) and so far I’ve had no problems going out of true or breaking spokes. So thumbs up to them too.

2 pairs of carbon clinchers from CSC on eBay. I was sceptical about the first pair, but with no problems decided to get a deeper set as well. No problems after a couple of seasons use.

As above I had a set of campag wheels that never needed touching in many thousands of km, some fulcrum racing 7s (made by campag?) that are going similarly strong. I’m not sure these wheels ride significantly differently. Campag/fulcrum seems generally well regarded as compromise of durability, price and sensible weight.

I have had no problems with a small set by Felo that I bought on Amazon for not too much money

Mango wheat beer going on at the weekend. Half wheat, half pale plus some citra for fruitiness. Going to try some frozen mango in fermenter after a few days, but have some concentrated flavour in backup in case that fails to excite.

Happy owner of two pairs of CSC wheels. Rim brake only though. No issues with hubs, rims fine so far although I’m not sure I’d throw them down an Alp descent. Rear 90mm is a little flexy when powering out of saddle but that’s the only complaint so far. For me it’s Hard to justify pairs that are 2,3 or more times the price.

I went from same position as you (survival swimmer) to a 2.00 min/100 Ironman swim in 9 months, so to oly you’ll be fine. Stuck with the lessons, and keep at your own practice. You’ll probably have some breakthroughs when you make big progress and other days you feel terrible. Drills and sets are fine but there was nothing like doing close to the full distance in one continuous swim a few weeks out from the event to give confidence. As Edukator says, buoyancy from wetsuit will help a lot. I sometimes use buoyancy shorts in the pool as a technique boost and to mimic wetsuit swimming, makes a big difference.

I’ve got Look BB65 on one bike which sometimes seems like genius but the tools required to remove and reinstall are ridiculous (not changed bearings yet so that fun awaits). I also needed to buy a special 14 (fourteen!) mm Allen key for a set of campag cranks. For me the big S and HT2 just works with no faff

I’ve got a similar problem. I thought I had a mouse, until I put down a mousetrap (a proper snappy one) then found it the next day set off, moved, bait removed and free of vermin – but next to it was a suspiciously large dropping. So I put down a proper big rat trap and I’ve neither seen nor heard anything for 2 weeks. Did said rat just decide to bugger off?!

They certainly have their flaws but Flybe is extremely useful for me, and offers the only real connection to family on the Isle of Man. They also provide vital medical transport for residents to bigger hospitals in the NW. Yes, if they go bust someone will take over the route but not likely with the same frequency. EasyJet for instance probably isn’t going to offer 4 flights a day to Manchester like Flybe currently does. I’ve also got some Flybe vouchers I need to spend sharpish!

That’s certainly the rumour on local news here, although it’s unconfirmed at the moment. Certainly glad I wasn’t parked there or flying today, but good to hear no one hurt

Rides 406
Time 375 hrs
Distance 10038 km
Elevation 74 900 m

First year I’ve gone over the 10k km although it’s mostly on road and includes some zwift over the winter so some would say it doesn’t count. I’m pleased though!

Just goes to show experiences can be quite contrasting – I very quickly warranty returned two Lezyne units (one wouldn’t even turn on out of the box) so would never recommend them, hopeless. In contrast I have had 3 successful years with a Edge 520 and 235. Once I had a mid ride restart and very occasionally need to re-pair the Edge, but in general I have found it just works. Unfortunately this doesn’t answer your question because I’ve never tried a wahoo!

As above, just buy the park tool and don’t mess around with thread and vacuum cleaners etc, it’s just not worth it and you’ll wonder why you didn’t just buy it in the first place!

I have a whole dengfu road bike, including forks and seatpost. I’ve not died yet and I’ve done plenty of road miles including some racing, sportives, etape etc. The overall finish of the bike is very good and for what I paid I can’t fault it.

Beaten to it on the Beaufort cheese machine, although I bought mine from the shop

Sounds like you’ve convinced yourself already, and if you’re asking the question then you probably need 4 not 2. Hope you never need them but you can’t put price on piece of mind. I’ve not got a bag but have all the rest because I had to have it all, plus training and practice for my own sake, my family and those I ski with. Apologies for the expensive answer!

If it is internal cabling then just buy the Park kit – it’s expensive but when I think of the hours I’ve wasted…

Last year I did the Etape 1 week after an ironman, actually I felt reasonably recovered and performed OK. I was a couple of weeks after that before running much and legs felt heavy and slow so I’m not sure I would want the two marathons that close personally unless it was done as an easy long slow run. I thought usual advice was no running for a week, then short easy runs for another week before starting to run properly.

I could never recommend Samsung after getting horrible light bleed on two sets (not low end models) that were taken back immediately. A friend had the same. I replaced with an LG and it’s been perfect. More choice from App Store on Samsung than LG although that’s the only downside I can see.

I can’t tell the difference to be honest, I have oval and round and switch all the time. Only tine it’s noticeable is high cadence in low gear in little ring-then it can be a bit lumpy.

I’m on my 4th winter commuting 30 minutes each way daily with the Evans fwe version of the proviz jacket. After so much use it’s holding up amazingly well for the price. My dream jacket would be half reflective, half luminous for those low light mornings and evenings when you don’t need the full reflection. But I dream on…

@henrik I also bought the bargainacious Judys from PX, and a set of fulcrum red powers from CRC. Now debating over XT, SLX or new XD free hub plus eagle. I only ride a mountain bike for a few weekends a year and a week or so each summer so this seemed like an ideal opportunity to build up something modern and fun on a decent budget. My old ‘dale F1000 is still going strong but at over 15 years old I fancied trying something a bit more ‘up to date’! Going to pick up the frame tomorrow, pretty excited to get building.

Thanks for the super fast answer Brant, I’ll give it a go and see how I get on.

Sorry if I’ve missed it in the previous 9 pages, but can anyone comment if this needs a specific boost chainset, or if I can get away ok wth a standard?

My powertap single sided were just reliable and faultless… until they suddenly weren’t. But replaced under warranty at 20 months old. New ones haven’t put a foot wrong. However, not able to service bearings etc yourself scares me in the long term. Also heavier than keos or ultegra etc. On the plus side, simple installation and 2 minutes to swap between bikes makes them a perfect choice for me.

Orange XL ordered, first new mtb in 14 years! I don’t ride my old one much, so it’s been hard to justify replacing it. Excited now though.

As above was going to suggest the smart as one of the cheaper option. I’ve not found a really nice place at a decent price. Continental is nice but I’ve paid more like £160. Good to remember that the Clarion brand (e.g Folketeater) not only include an excellent breakfast (as do all apart from the smart I think) but also a free hot evening meal. While this won’t be the most exciting as it’s limited selection, it is usually perfectly ok in my experience. So in effect this could save you £40-50 on a meal out. Even McDonald’s will be over a tenner!

If you’re thinking summer next year you could always try the unlimited flights with widerøe, and just use public transport, which is usually good, if expensive. Not done it myself but it seems like good value, and you can link up some otherwise remote locations without backtracking.