Dropper post above everything else IMO.

Those tyres (Barzo) are good allrounders. I’d only swap them if the terrain you’re riding on merits it (e.g. rough and rocky).

Tubeless next.

@Mark

– Create PSA posts to bargains in the forum and INCLUDE A LINK. That is a direct help financially.

Is it worth you listing affiliates so we can PSA the deals that make you commission or is the affiliate list really too long?

I even chatted with an ebiker this morning!

At least they’ve got an easy home game next.

Have you looked at Snowcard?

Slightly modified, it took me 3.5 days (24hours riding time). (Started in Bangor instead of Holyhead. Diverted to do one descent each in CYB, Climachx and NYA.) Top-tip: Try to avoid finishing in Cardiff during evening rush-hour. If I were to do it again, I’d consider diverting onto NCR42 and finishing in Chepstow instead.

I’ll be able to suggest some ideas for mid and south-east Wales. How long do you want the longer rides to be?

07 mk1 Fabia estate 1.4TDI. 193k. £30 tax, 65 mpg, FSH. No depreciation left. Would definitely be perfect bangernomics territory for the next owner, if I were to sell it (I’ve had it since new and this isn’t a stealth ad.)

Possibly rode more within himself, keeping something in reserve, so that when they finally caught Donnacha, he was able to pull away from both of them. May have had some psychological benefit from riding with Rufus most of the way. Probably helped to keep a steadier pace and make better decisions about when to rest/refuel.

Blue Scar is a nice flowy trail. Quite fancy doing the Skyline in it’s entirety, as only ridden bits on the Rhigos side so far.

I wasn’t that impressed with Y Wal.

Just over 210km left for the lead rider to cover now. I’m assuming he’ll do an all-nighter to stay ahead. Could be finished by this time tomorrow, or possibly even earlier?

Vali, I would say.

Missed the start of the broadcast, what’s up with Cami?

Edit: She’s injured, RW just answered my question.

Gutted! I was looking forward to riding it. Still saves me a trip to Cannock, so silver linings and all that.

I wondered about that, the rules say “There is to be no drafting when riding with others”, nothing that says they can’t ride together otherwise.

Events like this are a 10% bike riding and 90% eating challenge.

I wonder how much cake will they inhale at Fremington?

Don’t understand how Jersey and Guernsey can field 5 riders in total but Wales managed 0. What’s that all about?

Almost at 1000 km now, that’s some going! Could he finish in under a week? (I assume not as it will get a bit slower going along the Pennines)

Ménière’s disease

IANAD

got anyone correcting grammer (sic)

@dangeourbrain

Is it just me?

FIFY

You’re welcome!

Maybe we should set a challenge to get this one added to the list.

Barzo/Barzo = good XC all-round set-up. It’s my default “race” option. When I’m less bothered about overall speed I use Mazza front/ Agarro rear, for better control, but they are a bit draggy in comparison.

Hans Dampf is one I’ve only ever used as a winter rear, combined with a Magic mary up front, for general trail riding.

Usually the answer to these sort of questions is that it’s not as desirable or as keenly priced as you think it is. Or you’re selling at the wrong time.

I expect eBay will give you the widest audience.

If you’ve lost memory then your head (ergo your helmet) must have taken a fare whack. I’d be buying a new lid.

I’ve used Snowcard for the last two years. Fortunately I didn’t have to test how good they are when needed!

(serious answer) Going under low bridges along the canal towpath.

Any descending.

Dismounts.

Fitting it upright in the back of the car (front wheel off), not an issue now as have a van

On the 530 you can configure the display to just show parameters that you’re interested in, e.g. distance, speed, elevation etc, or just leave it on the map page. Scrolling through the display pages is easy. You may want to turn off the climb feature as it switches to that by default during climbs and is a bit of a distraction from navigation.

Any sites you recommend for downloading routes ?

https://singletrackworld.com/download-category/gpx/

komoot

ridewithgps

but there are loads of others that I’m sure people will be along to recommend

bikehike.co.uk is good for planning your own routes from scratch

The Garmin Connect app is free and does most of what you want it to do. Plenty of websites available where you can download GPX for free, amend routes (including start-point, direction etc). Some demand a subscription, but most are free for basic features and you only have to pay for advanced options.

If you don’t wear a heartrate monitor then it won’t measure heartrate. If you don’t tell it how much you weigh then it won’t be able to calculate calorie consumption. Just load the gpx and tell it to start navigation or navigate to the start of the route. Just ignore the stats that you’re not interested in.

Not looked at the t&c’s , but is it just on your first order?

Thanks, that tallies quite well with what I’d expect. Probably around 6.5+hours for the 100 km, if it includes about 2200m climbing. Will give one ago and see what happens. I’m basically looking for an event where I’ve got people in front of me that I have a chance of keeping in site or even overtaking. That usually makes me put in a bit more effort.

Are the Quandiem the older style evo brakes?

I don’t claim to know the detail, but the levers look very similar (on the outside) to the DH-R EVO. The callipers look completely different.

Just be aware that you’ll need 2.3mm thick rotors for the EVO models. (FWIW: I really like my TRP Quadiems, but they’re not EVO versions)

Couch to 5K app pretty much covers the 2nd option. As the name suggests it tapers up from a low starting point, but you can skip the early weeks if desired.

Was he the first home?

Yes, according to the Café (where he had his recovery fish and chips) FB page.

Any news on who has finished?

Huw finished in around 3 days 11 hours with a faulty tracker.

Any ride where I’ve bonked. The worst of those was a section of the Wales C2C “Dave Buchanan” route from Maentwrog to Ponterwyd, linking up CyB, Climachx and Nant yr Arian. I remember stopping at the petrol station in Machynlleth to take on as many calories as I could. Still had to climb over the top past Nant-y-Moch to descend into NyrA. So knackered by the end, I didn’t have enough energy left to eat an evening meal.

Typing that has got me thinking about doing the whole WC2C again, maybe in less than 3.5 days next time?

Pidders was muttering about his bike not being right today, but not being specific. Anyone got any details?

No insider info, but I wondered if it had anything to do with the automatic suspension lockout system?

Phenomenal effort from Nino playing catch-up.

If it’s a one-off trip, then will definitely be cheaper to hire one.