Go to West Wales instead. We just got back from Cardigan area and it was quite pleasant, not really that busy at all.

Don’t bother. It’s awful. You won’t have a good holiday in West Wales. Go to Cornwall, it’s far nicer.😉

My Courses have now reappeared! Definitely not user error. Maybe it is restoring on demand, hence the delay.

You’ll pay the figures below.
TCR includes things like the standing charge and exit fees to give you a guide to compare different suppliers. Crudely it’s like APR on a loan.

@nixie good point about spacers between the ring and spider. I was thinking about moving spacers at the BB.

@bigblackshed i probably am overthinking!

I think you’d be better cancelling the Wiggle order before they ship it: too big and coil fork.
May I say respectfully that online bike buying may not be for you and that you’d benefit from visiting a store? Calling round all your local shops checking stock would be a good use of an hour.
If you want to stick with online, that Carerra Fury recommended above looks like a reasonable buy and it’s easy to take it back to halfords or even pop in to size it up.

Not wanting to upset your decision, however, the thing which put’s me off about the Kona is that it’s got a coil fork, which will be tuned for an average adult not a light 12yo, so it’s unlikely to give any effective damping.
The tektro brakes and microshift gearing are all reasonable compromises for the budget.
I guess we’re in difficult buying times and the kid needs a bike so you have to get something; maybe a 2nd hand fork upgrade at some time in the future might be needed (easy to swap out)

I built up a 2015 Canyon Spectral size XS for my 11yo, for £750 (pre COVID) which has been brilliant. It was just pure luck that it came up on eBay, but setting up a search for XS frames is a good idea. Bear in mind that parts are also suffering from the COVID tax.
Ps he’s 150cm (no idea what that is in those archaic numbers OP used 😉)

Reba is 100-120mm, sounds like you have bought something else.

Your thread title and post are a tad cryptic and the topic deserves wider coverage. Just to spell it out for the slow ones like me, this is the UK government awarding dodgy contracts for PPE to shadowy companies. Stinks of corruption.

Budget/sensible 29 wheel choice

Stolen.
Interesting like-new XT brake on there from about 2014. Worth £30-50 on eBay itself. But it’s stolen.

@dc1988 which Lomo have you got and how do you rate it? The Venom for £99 looks a superb spec for the money.

@molgrips you’ve been missold, any tri-suit won’t last more than a few surf sessions. Take it back.

And then right on cue the curmudgeons start up with their own tireless whinging about the apparently shameful demise of chain shoving parallelograms, and the inferred demise of humanity’s technical abilities.
Thus turning what should a five post thread into a 2-3 page slagging match…

As the OP, I was just having a little vent after a frustrating few hours, I never expected to stir up such strong emotions!

Seriously?

I fit dozens every week and never have any issues.

Yes I’m being serious! I think the problem had something to do with the rear suspension compressing. I tried deflating the shock and simulating some sag, but that didn’t work on the work stand. In the end, I tuned it by riding it.

@kayak23 😂

I assume you’re not a local? You’re unlikely to find many locals on here (though I think there are one or two). Try asking on one of the local buy and sell type Facebook groups. Some people do van runs on the ferry to IKEA etc who can take all sorts of stuff out with them and link it into a UK courier. Passenger ferries started running again last week.

If you’re after old school XC, you can’t go wrong with following one of the HONC routes starting from Winchcombe and venturing out into the Cotswolds in either 50K, 75K or 100K formats. This time of year you won’t even have to deal with the mud, though you won’t get the mid ride cake stop run by the WI.
There should be plenty of folks sharing the routes on Strava, Garmin Connect and the like.

Edit: just double check with a map before heading off, as there’s sometime a short section on private land.

The Superstar Element V6 wheelset @ £280 look good on paper with better engagement on the hubs than the DT 1900s and lighter.

https://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/element-v6-wheelset-uk-made-hubs.htm

Anyone using them?

Name the business so others can avoid in future. A Google search will find this thread.

Gavin Williamson was asked this morning on BBC Breakfast if all children would return in September, five days a week “as it was before” to which his reply was a curt “yes” (Iplayer 29 June 2h41m12s).

Make sure to get the right movement. There are two types, one you squeeze to open and one squeeze to close. You want one that opens. Also cheaper types may have the end tips a few fractions of a mm too wide, which makes it tricky to fit into the circlip holes.

What would you have done if you’d ID’ed the vehicle other than to tell it was a taxi? You’re going about this mystery the wrong way. You had someone at your door and you didn’t question them.

Seems to me that the kids seem to be graded three ways- below expected; expected level; or exceeding. All relative to the curriculum. And the majority of the resources are directed at bringing the “below expected” up a level because that’s how the teachers are graded.
They’ve lost sight of teaching a child to fulfill their potential and having expectation relative to their potential ability.

This is exactly my kids’ experience. Their primary school is focussed on working to bring everyone up to the expected level, which is very basic and any kids who are above this get significantly reduced attention. When I ask for harder work for them I get fobbed off.
The school got picked up in the recent OFSTED for not trying to excel their more able pupils.

I found the Slaughter quite unpredictable given its shallow centre and high edge knobs. Rolled fast though. My Purgatory grid rear is great but it’s proving very susceptible to rock slashes that don’t get plugged with Stan’s fluid and need an anchovy- three in a month, might be a duff batch. Butcher 2.6″ up front is spot on.

Yes, but it’s a bit of a faff. Download the gpx file off Strava and then upload into the Training section of Garmin Connect, then download to the Garmin unit.
You can get free OSM maps onto the 520 if you want a cheaper unit than the 520 Plus. Google ‘DC Rainmaker maps onto Edge 520’

If by seized caliper you mean sticky pistons, then it might just need a bit of simple maintenance.
Take out the pads and advance the pistons 5mm or so with the brake lever (don’t go too far). Scrub with a degreaser using a toothbrush or similar and get it nice and clean. Allow to dry and apply silicon grease with a cotton bud around the edges of the pistons. Push them back in and cycle in and out a few times using the lever. Do this until the pistons all advance at the same rate i.e. not sticking. Clean up any misplaced grease and pop the pads back in.
Worked a treat for my Guide R

I sold on ebay last week with home collection (£1 fees deal). I got about 35% more than I would have pre-lockdown. I set a cheeky fixed price with offers, expecting to take the closest offer over the weekend. It went crazy, I got a dozen offers within an hour and then some chap bought it at the buy-it-now price. He paid with paypal (3.4% part of the £1 fees T&Cs) and collected the next day (drove 2.5h) , so no money needed to be exchanged. I asked him to sign a collection receipt and job done. He was a nice chap, I hope he enjoys the bike.
My advice is avoid Gumtree and FB and list on ebay with 12 very good pics and a long, detailed, honest description.

mid range (£5k ish)

Footflaps must be one of these upper-middle class folk who have been getting richer during lockdown as he’s had no outlet for his income. Let him spend away with abandon, it’s selfless actions like this that are going to get our economy back on track. Good on you footflaps, keep spending- just make sure it’s a British bike!

This is a bizarre thread.

you’d be surprised at what goes on when you upset the powers that be and that Cinnamon_girl may be on the money

Or perhaps you’re both conspiracists? Incompetence throughout the civil service makes it impossible for something like this to be feasible.

I generally consider it low risk, but I use my left hand for gates, right hand for mopping sweat and emergency flies-out-of-eyes.
I’ve also developed a technique for opening bridle gates with my front wheel (not quite Danny Mac style).
Some interesting, credible research out about how copper destroys the virus, so I might get a copper latch hook to keep in my pocket.

Not wanting to divert the discussion, but I just want to pick up on this point about hand washing:

I doubt that includes hot water, my science lab doesnt.

Water temperature is not a critical factor in hand washing. The necessary chemical reaction will occur with cold tap water. It’s the time spent applying soap and the technique which are critical.

Here’s an excellent article explaining the science:
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/3/11/21173187/coronavirus-covid-19-hand-washing-sanitizer-compared-soap-is-dope

Primary teachers & parents: what’s so essential about Year 6? (lockdown easing)

As others have said, the Garmin incident detector is just too sensitive. I use it but most rides I’ll end up having to stop and cancel the alert message (you get 30 seconds) via the head unit.
It could be an excellent facility if Garmin invested some developer time in it, to improve the algorithm and add a sensitivity variable.

I think what we have to take from the MRT response is if they are wiped out with Covid, who’ll be there to help those in need on the fells?

The government? These organisations and the RNLI only exist because historically it wasn’t provided by the state. If they didn’t exist now there would be considerable pressure on the government to provide the service.
We have a government funded Bristow SAR Heli service and the RAF mountain rescue (no aircraft) who could do the job.

I noticed the A400Ms doing a lot more unusual routes and low approaches over airports they wouldn’t normally use. Staverton in Glos used to get one approach a year or so, now it seems to happen every other week. Yesterday one was in Jersey. All just training according to Brize Norton RAF FB pages.

So Johnson has indicated June 1st and Y6 as expected, but Reception and Y1 was a surprise. The younger classes will struggle with distancing. It’s got to be an economic decision for those two classes as I suspect those kids need more 121 time when at home, so even harder for parents to WFH.

@perchypanther sorry I should have made it clear in the OP I was referring to England, rather than the rest of the UK who set their own rules.
Here’s a translation:

Children in Scotland complete seven years of primary school, starting in P1 (the equivalent of Reception classes in England), going up to P7 (the equivalent of Year 7 in England). After this, they do six years of secondary school from S1 to S6 (equivalent to Y8 to Y13 in England).

@hugo

Finishing year 6 will make no difference to transition

My thoughts exactly, good to hear it from a Y6 teacher

Could be sticky pistons. I just sorted this on a bike that has elixirs where the rear was binding. The pistons need a clean and lube with silicon grease. Instruct him how to remove the pads and then gently easy out the pistons 5mm or so by squeezing the lever (don’t go too far or you’ll be talking him through full bleed). It might be necessary to hold one piston in with a tool if they’re sticky to force it out. Gently clean it all and then apply silicon grease with a cotton bud.Push back in and cycle the pistons quite a few times to lube them up. Make sure no grease is on the rest of the caliper before reinstalling the pads. Mine have run sweet since doing this.

Last two rides I’ve had 2 punctures after having none for ages with tubeless. First one half deflated the tyre before sealing so I just had to pump it back up. Second one was a big nail which needed an anchovy and a pump to get it going again. This was the first time i’ve used an anchovy even though I’ve carried them for years. Previously I’d have just popped a tube in when tubeless fails, but it’s messy. I carry a tube but I could now leave it at home and rely on the anchovy.

Isopropyl alcohol is a must

Unsurprisingly, gettings hold of IPA at the moment is quite tricky. Any suggestions for an alternative cleaning product?

There was a link on here last year, but it wasn’t that conclusive (I may resurrect if I get no response here)

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/alternatives-to-isopropyl-alcohol-for-cleaning-forks/

Also noticed this sad beast (G-CIVN) just now on flightradar. Is it going to its grave, or are they parking them up at Kemble?

That’s the third 747 going into Kemble this week. Five are due.