Not too worried about the differences in grip between the above as its for a winter rear tyre and will have none anyway. Rolling and mud shedding are the deciding factors – any more comments on those? Will have MM on the front.

Sounds like you guys are comparing nice vans to average cars in this running costs thing

skoda octavia 07 plate – 55mpg long term average
t4 1997 – 33mpg average, more road tax

insurance is much of a muchness though can’t compare like with like as we put more time on the car

both have hit us with hefty garage bills at some point though the van got the record there when the fan belt snapped, I overheated it and needed to rebore cylinders & replace head unit

Just back from a scottish trip in high top T4 with our 2 year old. We got the van before the child, it was great for a run up to Lofoten. 2 y/o won’t sleep alone up top yet, so it was very cramped for 3 and moderately to very sleep deprivation inducing until we got a tent which we now fling up nearby, though obviously restricts us to parking spots with a safe grassy bit available.

High top ranges from 30mpg at motorway speeds to 37mpg at around 50mph. Occasionally we can’t get under a barrier. We do use it as 2nd vehicle, though its pricier (and noisier) to run as you say.

You are right about child seats. I decided to replace the rock&roll bed (JDS Metaltech in Worksop were helpful). Few child seats take a 2 point belt especially once they grow past a certain size.

Years ago I had a talbot with wooden pop top. Nice and comfy, only with snow outside on a winter climbing trip did I once lower the pop top for warmth. Considerably larger (room for bikes inside when sleeping) and much worse on MPG.

In between I had a tiny vauxhall combo. Maybe a viable solution if you want to be a 1 vehicle household, but when running a separate car was excessively small. Fine to sleep a night in the back, crap for hanging out on a rainy day.

Bikes outside on the T4 – well locked – but I wouldn’t park anywhere dodgy.

The main pro/con depends on whether you like flexibility. If you want to pre book somewhere comfy to stay (even if it’s just a campsite where you’ll put up a big tent for a week) don’t bother with camper, get a normal van if you need more kit space. If like me, you love holidays where you don’t know where you’ll be the following evening, chasing weather windows across europe on a whim, enjoying the random parkups as much as the five star locations – camper is the right choice. Assuming they still let us into europe :/

Like, over 1100g heavy?

Whatever is recommended for enduro and weighing no more than 1kg – speedgrip or soft? I used to like the trailstar rubber, when it wasn’t worn out at least

I have any old cartridge hub (the stock one on a spesh enduro comp 2015) and it keeps blowing bearings, nowhere near as durable as the hope on the other bike.

Happy to save 50+ quid by not having ratchet magic but I absolutely don’t want something made of cheese like my current one.

So, will 370 fit the bill?

Andy Yeah I think so

Sounds like that’s settled then – my current hub isn’t DT, and DT350 might be cheaper quieter and just as reliable as a hope – yay :)

No DT logo, just one of these https://images.app.goo.gl/adBdeZVmNRLvhKYV6

Good to know

Does the lower profile of the stans means it pinch flats less? (still on tubes here)

It’s for a 29er, but cheers

I rang and, being in south wales, was put through to their midlands branch. They said there’s an income threshold which you have to self declare you are not above. Sounds like it might not be checked but I’m not going to sign something that isn’t true. :/

Yeah I’ve just looked up EICR prices online, they come in at a lot less than my current chap’s day rate so looks like I can afford EICR from a third party.

Going to ask him to take it up with NICEIC as from responses above they it sounds like they may be able to make the previous installer come back and finish the job properly (even though I wasn’t the customer at the time).

If the current chap is on the upsell (which he probably isn’t) then does sharing the old cert with NICEIC force my hand?

@tjagain the current guy is still here working. The previous guy (before my time) tried to pass off a consumer unit change as minor works. They have a test certificate, but it’s for minor works which isn’t correct, and the current dude took one look at the unit and said it’s dodgy.

If the original chap is told to redo his wrongs, given he’s the kind of chap who did it wrong in the first place I’m not sure that really helps!

Yeah, the wiring is old and not to current regs (single core cables, unearthed lighting circuit) so it is possible to get it signed off as ok with that proviso so long as it tests ok?

When were the Swedish charges dropped?

Teachers, policemen, Nurses, paramedics etc etc. These are properly stressful jobs with a salery much lower than £40 000

Doesn’t mean it’s right though. My reaction from a software engineering point of view was that lower stress roles are likely available at 40k. (And definitely we should improve work conditions for teachers, nurses etc).

Nobody should have their mental health put at risk by work.

also can you get it in through a schrader valve without removing the core? or if not, are my cores likely to be removable?

Are all the sludges the same? ie will stans work equally well as the car one, and will both work in inner tubes (seeing as they are each designed for different thicknesses of tubeless tyre)

The consultation is specifically about mountain biking

No, it’s about Trees and woodlands, Wildlife and wild spaces, Geology and soils, Water , Cultural heritage Built heritage and archaeology Community and last but not least Recreation

That said do respond to this please guys. Note wild trail discussion is buried under ‘community’

One issue I flagged up is their plan to eventually make all car parks pay-to-use. While I’m fine with contributing to forest management via parking, the existing pay car parks all close around 5pm so if new ones follow this model there will be nowhere to park for evening rides. Worth a mention.

I wouldn’t mention S******n on the internet but somebody else already has, so. Might as well point out that the existing management plan there doesn’t account for its great value for mtb, and a more permissive approach is needed that allows the better wild trails to remain as well as respecting wildlife.

Quick google shows small bikeparks with lifts at les orres, pra loup and orcieres

You thinking Pila?

I’m looking for stuff near sport climbing, family friendly campsites and wouldn’t mind a visit to that black/grey earth place

I’ve tried gt85, main trouble with that is the extra level of mingingness in the tyre when you come to change the next tube!

Familiar with the washing up liquid trick but some tyre/rim combos are still a pita to get seated. Wondered if rapid delivery of air would do the job, for the same reason it works with tubeless?

Gwaelod y Garth inn if they do lunch, on your way past

As of last night I can provide a new PSA:

Pouring beer on your stove pipe to see whether it sizzles tends to create a mess

Plenty of reasons but you’re more off topic than a chemtrail believer in a brexit debate

Fossy I’m going to sue you for breaking my smugometer, you owe me a new one

I too have been through long periods without getting pinch flats
Being on a full suss 29er helps
Haven’t changed pressure or riding area and yet this current spate seems to be in full flow

£2 each on PX

No bigger than 2.35″ though, halfords go to 2.5 :(

…environment…

Don’t remind me of the guilt. I’ve got a box full of snakebitten tubes and no time. Best bet is probably to wait until mini sideshow is old enough to do the job!

actually here’s an idea, maybe i should start hanging them on trees, that feels like an eco type thing to do…

leaving it to burn out is doing this

leaving it to burn out is ambiguous. you mean vents open (takes longer, maybe less sooty) or closed (stops burning pretty quick)?

If you ‘shut down’ the fire you reduce the oxygen leading to more CO and a cooler fire

If I shut down the vents then (despite being defra approved vents which don’t fully shut) the fire just goes out, leaving unburned fuel.

there’s nothing but a glowing pile of ashes left anyway and therefore little/no creosote

Hadn’t thought of this – so mostly burned wood will not release creosote? in which case opening up makes sense like you say

I always aim for >200c although my newly bought IR thermometer thingy shows that an indicated 200 is actually more like 170c.

Cheap thermometer is designed to over read as the outside of stove pipe is cooler than gases inside perhaps?

Also, 200. Holy flipping sugar. Starting to think 5kw burner was overkill for our 4x6m room as we’re quite warm enough at 110 thank you very much! (official calculator says 4.6 is ideal, which is the right ballpark – I’m quite surprised)

Rene – assume I don’t want any more heat at this point

old people generally do tiny mileages and all low speed town driving.

Yet I’m guessing still get lower premiums for the same annual mileage estimate (the older types whose insurance details I’m party to live in the country and some of them drive a lot). Hard to clock up a high mileage doing all low speed town driving.

Most of you seem unaware that there already are mechanisms in place!

License has to be renewed every 3 years past 70.

FIL just had his license revoked because someone (we don’t know who – doctor possibly) told the DVLA he wasn’t fit to drive.

But if you want a real measure of the risk, ask the insurance companies who bet their money on it every day why premiums for the elderly are lower than 20-somethings. (I think FIL was still paying less than I do at 38 with a clean driving record fwiw)

fashion … no real reason … other than to ‘look nice’

I wouldn’t call something people have been doing since the dawn of civilisation a fashion. There’s something about sitting around flames that’s more than just being warm and looking nice.

I’m asthmatic and I hate campfires, but our (defra approved) wood burner (burning dry wood) is pretty lush today in wet (countryside) weather

Surely the cleanest, most ecological and likely the cheapest kind of heating is all electric electric ground source heat pump on a green tariff?

If you haven’t heard of heat pumps they can be 4x more efficient than electric. Also can be funded by RHI at present. But they are slow to warm up and there are problems with impacts of the coolant gas escaping

I know this is basically a road cycling forum but is anyone interested in the offroad potential?

I’m not going to be an early adopter, keep me away from the newfangled stuff but if it catches on, is scientifically proven to be effective and becomes reliable cheap tech it could be a great substitute for overly hot downhill armour I never wear if I have to ride up.

I agree it’s not worth the cost of replacing chainstays. Replacing entire frame isn’t a silly idea except I don’t have cash for a new frame right now.

For those of you who asked for more details
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wRxKdcrJn2eks4UC6

It’s cracked on the bit where the tube goes thin to turn a corner (and maybe give some tyre clearance? tyre is deflated in pic). Crack goes roughly halfway through tube on both sides.

I don’t know anything about how stress points work so, for those who do, does this lead to any particular recommendation?

Haven’t been on this forum in like 10 minutes so I’m probably at least 3 revolutions out of date. In fact the only revolving thing I’m aware of is my flat rear tyre.