Every father of a teenage girl has to deal with the fact that one day she will open her legs and fly away…

Is there another thread somewhere with a discussion or comparison?

Google – I found some comparisons on other sites. From memory 8 has integrated mount (so doesn’t need a frame) but has non-removable screen (though you can buy protectors), new battery. Feature wise seems to be a bit of a debate as to wether the new stabilisation is actually much of an improvement (but it now works on all modes). Biggest plus side on the software seems to be the new favourites which make it quicker and easier to use.

Any other offers for the 8? I don’t have an older model to upgrade from

so. Amazon price, and most other place £329

There are a few online sites that show up in a google search with a bundle for the same price – tripod/grip, head mount, memory card. Amazon want another £50 for that.

Are they scams? Device Monster was one, can’t find the other right now. both seemed to have a similar layout and captcha on landing which makes me suspicious.

How good are they as stills cameras? I can’t see myself shooting much video but I’ve been thinking about one as an easily pocketable, weatherproof, camera for riding/skiing/holidays.

Now they’ve got a screen this seems a lot more viable than it used to when it was ‘point and hope’

Wow. Not even DVI?

I think the last time I saw a VGA-only monitor it was a CRT.

London Cycling Campaign office bought some LG monitors *in the last 6 months* that are VGA only – I was dumbfounded when I tried to connect to them and found that was the only connection, amazing that anyone is still building them. DVI superseded VGA 20 years ago FFS.

Can’t wait for someone to eat eBay and Paypal’s lunches.

Everyone moans about eBay but I’m happy to pay their fees. If you know how much something is worth then sell it elsewhere. If you’re not sure eBay means both you and the buyer get a fair price – no haggling. Well worth a 10% fee.

Hope recently added both 200 and 180 to the range, they still make 203, 183 and 160. Not many better examples of a lack of standardisation.

I think Hope have always been a follower on disc sizes and the nature of their manufacture means it’s easy for them to make a lot of sizes – you can get a Hope rotor to fit your existing brakes. They originally went with 165 and 185mm from memory but when the big guys went for 160/180 they altered their range.

There are some oddities – IIRC I bought a Hope 200mm disc and adaptor to fit the front of my Fox 36s and it didn’t work. Could have bodged with washers but exchanged for different adaptor and 203mm disc.

Before Sonos I had Logitech Squeezeboxes. 2 years in to ownership they killed it off and stopped supporting it.

The software was open source and kept running by, presumably, a couple of guys as a hobby. It was ok but glitchy as hell and often broke. Sonos has been a dream in comparison, so I’m not sure the dev in a shed model is the way forward.

I had 4 Squeezeboxes and a Boom. The software was a bit clunky at times but I seem to remember a third party iPhone app that was slicker than Sonos at the time. Still miss the hardware – the Vacuum tube ‘now playing’ display was great and they were a good price for what they were. Like everyone else, fetched good money on eBay. Last time I looked it was still maintained and there are Rasp Pi kits to build players.

Airplay via Airport/Apple TV/Yamaha amp here. Multi room via Airfoil running on my Mac when I need it,

lister

The only one that gets me is up there^

Discs are 140 160 180 200 220mm….NOT QUITE!!!! Where did 203 come from????

203mm is 8″ – and there are very few 200mm discs out there, 203 is the norm.

WTF difference does that make? why not 178mm for 7″ and 153mm for 6″

(I seem to remember Hope used to sell 165 and 185mm, and at some point pretty sure I had a 183mm disc as well)
Even the Americans have accepted metric measurements for shocks, lets just have all disc sizes metric. Also radial disc mounts to avoid the nonsense of some adaptors not working on some forks…

The current case of the apple iphone charge is a good one. Apple can make a case why its better from a pure electronic engineering point of view. Does it offer any advantage or utility to the end user?

I don’t understand the fuss about Apples connector. They’re both USB, the only potential ‘waste’ is the cable, not the charger, and they have a finite life anyway. USB-C on both my laptop and as charger for headphones, while infinitely better than previous USB connectors (how many tries has it needed to get this right – ffs – I have far fewer redundant Apple cables around than I do earlier versions of USB), still seems to have more trouble making a reliable connection than Lightning

Torx bolts

Great in theory, but in practice I find them harder to ‘read’ the right size than Hex and seem no less likely to actually round off. The unholy mix of Torx and Hex used by some manufacturers is worst of all.

radial brake caliper on the back of the Hope HB.160 should be on every MTB.

this seemed really smart but haven’t hope dropped it from the next version of the bike?

Err, never overtightened any of the dozens of HT2 cranks I’ve fitted and never seen anyone else suffering from doing it.

Which is the reason the preload cap is plastic – the teeth mash before you can really overload the bearings.

HT2 fan here. No special tools needed (you can do up the plastic preload by hand if it really comes to it), bolts are at a sensible torque. If you can’t use a torque wrench as standard L shaped Allen key will be close enough.

Yes, it’s great to be able to do stuff properly at home but if it can be done in a campsite on holiday with a minimal toolkit all the better.

Add one of these your travel toolkit and you can do the BB as well

New Hope still seems to need 50nM torque and the tiny bolt on the preload head looks likely to be an issue.

The old Raceface relied on a few plastic spacers (that inevitably went missing when you removed the cranks).

My experiences of Square taper weren’t good. BB’s were a nightmare to get out IME and very easy for someone to knacker the crank by riding it when loose.

The Roger Musson (I think) book has plans for building one out of wood that seems pretty well regarded.

I built the Roger Musson one after reading his book. It works a treat and cost me £1 for the wood.

I built Roger Musson’s design. Wood was scrap so cost nothing. Bolts cost a few quid. Getting the metal parts to hold the wheel (QR at the time so with notches) cost a bit more. Then needed to find someone to get plastic bits cut for the guides. Adding the cost together and time it took messing about I really wish I’d just spent the cash on a factory made jig (but now can’t justify one having made Rogers…)

Just noticed my tickets for The Hold Steady on 7 March. Ariel Sharon and Matthias Kom (Burning Hell) in April, plus just booked Juniore at Bush Hall at the end of April.

Glastonbury tickets also in the bag though yet to hear an announcement of a band I actually want to see. Not that that matters a jot at Glastonbury.

We’re off to see John Bramwell next Saturday at Hebden Bridge Trade Club

Saw him as a support act last year and it was lovely – he’s genuinely good company.

Steve mason at the trades club tonight, a short but excellent set, delved into early beta band

I’ve seen him quite a few times in recent years and he’s never played a single Beta Band track that I can remember. Might all have been festival gigs so shorter?

Saw Baloji at Rich Mix this week. Great band, loads of energy.

I’ve been riding 2.4 Conti’s on 25mm internal DT EX1501s for most of the last year. Last few rides have been on 35mm internal rim with Maxxis 2.5WT. I dropped the pressures about 4psi front and back vs the 2.4’s. It’s wet and draggy out there at the moment but while the grip was fantastic they felt really hard work climbing.

I’m yet to be convinced that those measurements aren’t really the maximum rim width that works well rather than the optimum.

Sticky clay on tyres is pretty heavy on water use

I don’t think anything but a full power jetwash will get that off – Worx will remove a lot but you probably still need a brush.

High power short lance seems to work well enough (don’t know if that was a US restriction?) and has enough power. I’ve jet washed my own legs a bit on high and it stings but doesn’t remove the skin… on low it’s fine (and the wider the nozzle setting the less intense – theres a ‘shower setting’ on the nozzle I’ve washed under).

I’ve had a couple of 12v ones before – the original Dirtworker (got nicked) and something more recent. Neither were great, whereas the Worx is worth every penny – would definitely buy again

fit a flexible conduit with brush plates at each end,

That’s the best solution
if you don’t have an amp at the moment there are loads of HDMI switch boxes, either manual or remote control that will do the job eg first result was a remote 5 port for £22

I used this conduit when we built our house. Not sure it’s the cheapest but was cheap enough not to be worth spending lots of time searching elsewhere.

dumping it in the cold loft of a standard house

though uninsulated loft spaces are another sign of the low standards of UK building. We should be building into the loft as standard

You can open windows in a passivhaus the MVHR just wont run as efficently

We open our window occasionally in winter – you can do a ‘purge’ of the house by boosting the ventilation system but opening a couple of windows for a few minutes is quick and easy. The house structure is warm so it takes no time to reheat the air.

In summer the MVHR switches to ‘bypass’ mode automatically and has a small cooling effect but you do open windows in summer (when you’re not worried about heat recovery)

so that new buyers don’t realise they’ll have to add the cost of a whole new set of pots and pans to their budget

What did you have before? We got an induction hob a few years back and I think the *only* thing that didn’t work was a cheap aluminium frying pan. 20+ year old stainless steel pans were fine. Le Cruset style stuff fine.

regardless, it’s hardly the end of the world if you do need new pans – £90 / £45 Buy them in bulk for less than that and throw them in with the house.

I can’t sleep in our master bedroom with windows and trickle vents closed without getting ‘puffy eye’*

Controlled ventilation with heat recovery. Usually requires a fan unit but there are passive versions (eg https://ventive.co.uk/products/home/).

Air quality in our house with MVHR is very good – much better than a house with trickle vents. There are no draughts, humidity is well controlled – no condensation on windows, bathrooms dry quickly and towels dry without heated rails.

Seem to be loads of timber framed houses, hotel and detention centres burning down in last few years compared to b and b, buildings.

That link is specifically about a) LARGE timber framed buildings (rather than individual houses) b)about the risk *while they are under construction.

Thats a myth that foundations will be any less due to weight,

Yes – foundations are dependent mostly on ground conditions, not what’s going on top.

As of 2025 there will be no new gas connections allowed to new builds, there is a slight possibility they will allow gas hobs but not gas boilers. We are Looking at 350mm fully filled cavities, waste water heat recovery, ground and air source heat pumps, MHR, PV etc etc.
There is loads of uncertainty at the moment, but the general thinking is that by 2025 we’ll be at passive house standards for new builds and not far off it by the end of 2020.

That’s encouraging but I’ll believe it when I see it, particularly with our new Government. Remember, the Conservatives scrapped the Code for Sustainable Homes (which had many issues but did demand high standards at Code 4 and 5) in 2015. Building regs were supposedly going to be standardised at Code4 but as far as I’m aware that was never implemented.

Many local authorities were mandating high standards 5 years ago than they are now. Stuff I’m seeing being built on my street for completion in 2020 is nowhere near passive. Looks like 70mm celotex in a brick cavity and the same on big developments I’ve glanced at. My guess is that the mass building industry will lobby hard and change will be slow.

a slight possibility they will allow gas hobs but not gas boilers

That’s mental. a gas connection just for a hob? no need for gas hobs – if Michelin starred restaurants in high rise buildings can manage with induction so can the general public.

poor quality compared to traditional brick construction

I think a large number of new builds are timber frame, with the bricks being purely aesthetic.

Not the ones I see. Most seem to be block internal, brick external, with the minimum of insulation poorly installed in the cavity.

There’s nothing wrong with timber frame, quick to build, lighter on resources. If you want to clad it externally in brick you can do so. Our building standards are so poor the occupants don’t even get the benefits of solid walls to mount things to as the internal faces of the external walls are usually dot and dab plasterboarded as it’s quicker and cheaper than plastering properly.

On the Caledonian, Kirsty Wark used to use it when she was on newsnight. Present the show, taxi to Paddington, home in time to get her kids up and see them off to school.

They’re possibly the most civilised form of transport. Sadly, many have disappeared in the face of low cost airlines. Scotland isn’t really far enough – a lot of that trip is spent travelling very slowly or sitting in sidings fro what I remember.

We used to do the charter ski train to the Alps. Eurostar to Paris on Friday evening, bistro dinner near Gare de Nore, board sleeper, wake in Bourg, on the slopes by 10am on the Saturday. Coming back could ski most of Saturday before leaving the resort. Nearly 8 days skiing instead of 6

Nairobi to Mombassa was fantastic, spotting wildlife from the carriage
A few overnights in Mexico between Mexico City and the Cuidad Juarez (though I seem to remember they were just seated, and in a January freezing cold as they crossed the desert. (We sat fully clothed in our sleeping bags with our bags under our feet to insulate them from the bare metal floor)
Ankara to Istanbul
Luxor to Cairo
Varanasi to Delhi (3rd class Indian sleepers are a very real experience)

If you’ve limited time on a trip they save you a day of travelling, and they save the cost of a night of accommodation (I’ve always done the cheapest class). You won’t get the best night of sleep but a dose of Valium helps.

Overnight coaches are usually cheaper but are never going to be An experience in the same way (though the 36 hour “sleeper bus” from Vientiane in Laos to Phnom Phen in Cambodia sounds like it would be memorable for all the wrong reasons – apparently undersized double bunks that you share with a stranger if travelling alone and roads so rough there’s little chance of sleep).

Since flat pedal riders aren’t arsed about efficiency (if they were, they’d use SPDs)

Got any evidence to back that up? Attempts I’ve seen have failed to show a significant efficiency loss. (I ride SPDs on the mountain bike, flats on the commuters, Time Atac on my road bike so I’m pretty neutral on it, but it’s the security rather than ‘efficiency’ that motivates me)

for the OP – Adidas Terrex Trail look a bit more ‘running shoe’ rather than skate shoe. Also maybe Specialized 2fo flat 1.0.

I got used to the extra size (and weight) over the SE really quickly, but I wouldn’t want it to be any bigger.

SE to 11. Felt way too big for about a week and I’ve got used to it. I’d still prefer it to be a bit smaller BUT the extra size does make it much more usable for reading/typing.

Big benefits – Face ID, battery life, camera. But also smaller things – Bluetooth makes much stronger connections with fewer dropouts. I really like the ‘drag’ keyboard (drag from one letter to another rather than typing each individuall;y (doesn’t work on my iPad so must be hardware related)

every guage on a track pump has been quite vague….. I can now dial in 4 psi on the fatbike or 24 psi on the Tallboy and know its consistent.

I really would recommend changing the gauge on a track pump for easy/accurate inflation. Guages are accurate around the middle of their range so the standard 200psi gauges are intended to be accurate at road bike pressures of 80-100psi.

Put a 40 or 60psi guage on and it will be accurate at mtb pressures and being at the end of a hose are much less likely than a separate gauge to get dunked up with tyre jizz . I don’t trust my Topeak gauge at low pressures either for the same reason.

I’ve now got three nice pumps (!)

Silca Pista that’s over 20 years old and spent a lot of time in an shed. Refurbed with new leather plunger, gauge and has a SKS head on it, massively regret showing away the original valve head shortly after I bought the thing. Best pumping action.

SKS Rennkompressor with MV head and the stock gauge replaced with a £5 Wrekin 60psi max gauge so it’s accurate at mtb tyre pressures (but is not use for road bikes or tubeless inflators). That lives in the car.

Leyzyne Alloy floor drive with the screw on head. Only one that stands up by itself (annoying with both the others), worst pumping action, a bit too short (though maybe only because I clocked they make a taller one) but I like the valve head.

Silca Pista Plus looks good but it’s the cost of three Rennkompressors!

You still need to floss. Yes, you won’t floss. Hence hygienist

Strangely there’s actually no real evidence that flossing has value.
Should you floss or not? Study says benefits unproven http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36962667

the professional view:
Oral B.
Pretty much any model. They came up with a great initial design, proved it worked better than a manual brush in the average punters hands then had to keep reinventing more bells and whistles to keep selling it. Dont spend £100 on a toothbrush.

Don’t be worried about how “high powered” a brush is.

I’ve had Oral B toothbrushes for years. the ‘faster’/higher powered ones feel better in use to me, but that’s not getting expensive – no more than about £30. They were still using NiMH batteries in all but the very expensive ones until very recently. Last about 5 days.

Looks like there are now some Li-Ion models at a decent price – I’d buy this – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oral-B-CrossAction-Toothbrush-Rechargeable-Including/dp/B00K2U5XFK?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

Hondarribia to San Sebastian. @Basquemtb do versions of it with various amounts of uplift but a great day out unsupported. Fantastic coast views as you climb in and out of bays along the first third. A big climb up to the masts followed by some cracking descents along the watchtowers and down into Passaia. Lunch in the old town, the boat across the harbour and a few more great descents before finally dropping down for beer and Pintos in San Sebastian. Train back to Hondaribia. It’s a truly great day out on a bike.

In the UK there are few loops around Ambleside that I’m always glad to ride again (despite attempts to sanitise the fun out of ever larger parts of them) and I’d always happily ride the Borrowdale Bash again.

Haven’t had a bottle on a mountain bike since I got my first camelbak. Back in the day had cages fitted for light batteries but since then hasn’t been an issue.

Swinley is one of the dullest places on earth

Did you miss the “controversial” bit of the thread topic?

Flashing lights, at both front and rear, have more of a negative safety impact than positive and are hugely antisocial to other cyclists.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Apple’s ‘preview’ and screenshot funcitons are one of the best things about the whole ecosystem. Instantly open a pdf, or image, add a few annotations. Resize an image or convert a pdf to a jpeg (or vice versa).

Even on Windows 10 those functions still seem to be some unholy mix of Adobe Acrobat (which still takes an age to open and will inevitably want to update itself), Microsoft Paint and the ‘snipping tool’

[edit – just opening up my completely clean Win10 install it seems they have now pretty much copied the screenshot tool and pdfs open in internet explorer if you don’t have loads of other crap installed).

Still, Mac OS has been largely consistent since OS X launched around 2000. Windows has been through at least 3 quite different UI’s in that time. This is not a good thing

I’ve bought various bits off there. It’s basically Aliexpress with a smartphone app and easier payment.

Anything with a well known Brand will be fake. The one thing I have managed to buy off there that was useful was smartphone cables. The ‘mcdodo’ USB-lightning cables get advertised on Facebook at about £15 and you can get them on Wish for about £3. Genuinely seem really well made cables but you can pick them up for the same money on eBay now anyway.

my 2penneth

If you want to spend loads of money then spend it but the best value Macs are always the lowest end models and for ‘normal’ computing processing power doesn’t seem to make a noticable difference any more. I’ve just bought a 2019 MacBook Air (base model, 8gb) and it doesn’t feel noticeably more responsive than the early 2011 13″ MacBook (base model at the time, upgrade with SSD) or the late 2013 iMac (base model, fusion drive).

The screen is way better, the larger full function trackpad and Touch ID for access are great – it’s a nice machine, but gone are the days when you upgraded because the old machine was frustratingly slow. When speed is an issue these days it’s nearly always websites full of advertising or slow servers somewhere upstream on an online service.

If you do make a mistake, just sell and replace – second hand Macs go for really good money if looked after and that’s not going to change.

Can’t get my head around apple pricing… It’s insane.

Maybe at the top end and they do take the piss for upgrades, but as whole package of hardware and software it works. IMovie, Garageband, Keynote/Pages/Sheets which will open and save as MS compatible files reliably now and are nicer to use the Micorosoft suite.

I figured you wanted something lower and longer with a better handle (otherwise you need to find some way to stop it falling over the in car/van). ended up with one of these from amazon