I haven’t read all the replies but another topic seemingly ignored in reviews is the battery life. Not how long it lasts on the ride, but how long until it needs replacing because it has degraded. Do the manufacturers have a recycling/replacement program? I have spoken to Orbea and apparently they don’t, whereas Trek seem to have thought about this and as far as I can tell, they have a system in place.

If you can’t replace the battery, or have to go through the hassle of disposing of it (not that easy nowadays) then you are just storing up problems for yourself. Your LBS is not going to get involved so it is down to you.

Food for thought when choosing a bike perhaps?

Thanks….meths I have. I’ll start on the reverse of the panel and see how it goes.

Pix? I’ll see what I can do.

Yup…..

It’s all the power I put through it. :o)

They have records but not the serial no. I’ll have another go working out the number and get someone else to look and see if they get the same result I did. If not, it looks like I’ll be getting in the car.

I bought the frame new but it was in 2015. Any paperwork is long gone but….it did have a lifetime warranty.

The serial no is for the manufacturer. The LBS is handling the warranty claim for me and if the details I have tried to read thus far are no good, I’ll take the frame to them. It is however almost a couple of hours round trip so I’d like to avoid that if possible.

Optilabs have been pretty good IME.

I wrote to my MP re Partygate, Covid Corruption, the state of the economy, the potential breakup of the Union to name but a few subjects (very politely and all points referenced), and he told me not to worry. BJ has got all the big calls right and he is a saint for involvement in Ukraine.

So it’s OK then. Calm down at the back…out Glorious Leader is in the clear.

I replied and suggested he not be so patronising in future and look at the real picture…at least from a non Conservative perspective. Trouble is, he wants to get back into the Cabinet so he won’t do anything.

I fear we are screwed and that Mhairi Black’s analysis is spot on.

@mrmo

Yup, it is pretty tough for farmers at the moment. The fields around here are waterlogged and it can’t be good for the 2020 harvest. A perfect storm for the agricultural community maybe.

@Klunk

“they’ll still return a pig wearing a blue rosette with a 20000 majority”

Matthew Hancock is ‘my MP’ and he’ll get around a 20k majority again. Interestingly though, a lot of older (true blue) people I have been talking to in the last few weeks (70s upwards) have said they will not be able to bring themselves to vote Conservative this time round.

Farmers (another reliable source of Con votes) aren’t that happy with BJ either. When he promised we would leave by Oct 31st come what may, many felt they had to sell their crops before this cast iron exit date. Supply and demand meant that prices were depressed and as a result a lot of them have lost a lot of money and are therefore not that well disposed towards Johnson & Co. Oh yes, that and not having anyone to get the crops in over the colder months.

You never know…..

I have found that running tubeless on the road is a bit of a lottery. If you get a thorn in the tyre, you’ll probably be fine but even a small cut could see you reaching for the tyre levers and the spare tube.

Mounting the tyres probably has more to do with the actual tyre/rim combo, as onewheelgod says, Schwalbe can be a b**ch!

It was a few years ago now but I had an experience where the clamps on my (brand new) roof bars snapped. The bit of the clamp attached to the gutter was still there…..the rest, where it was attached to the bars had failed.

Anyway, my windsurfer, masts, sail bag etc etc went floating down the A14 and straight under the wheels of an artic.

Peugeot dealer more or less said it was tough luck and go take a hike. (They had sold me the bars as robust enough to take windsurfing equipment so it wasn’t as if I was using them outwith their design parameters. Also, I was only going at 55mph at the time)

Luckily no one was hurt. It gave me nightmares for ages afterwards.

I have some carbon wheels with Hope Pro 4. I also have some Hunts. I had a go with the Halo Vapour GXC wheels the other day. They Halo were really nice. The Supadrive hub had immediate pick up and almost felt like I was riding a singlespeed again. The overall package looks to be great VFM.

Worth a look if nothing else.

Drop Galibier.cc a line. I find their shorts are always a little shorter in the leg than most. Not massively mind. They are really quick to reply to emails (normally) and I have always found them very helpful.

They are my go to shorts for any riding, 40 miles to 100+ and I have always found them very comfortable. Their new chamois is pretty good too. A small improvement on something that was already pretty good anyway.

Maybe Mason bees….no problems at all. Our garden is literally heaving with all sorts of bees at this time of year. We try to attract them in.Leave them alone and they’ll leave you alone.

I seem to remember a Morris Marina 1.4 Coupe auto in beige appearing in my life when I was a student. £400 and I was ripped off. Biggest pile of rubbish I ever owned. We parted company after a few months. But not before multiple breakdowns in the most inconvenient of places.

Bokeh…no question!

I’d like to see a bit more seatpost tbh. It may not be the prettiest out there but it is streets ahead of the Giant Anyroad

It has to be one of the ugliest bikes since….well forever tbh!

Get a grey one.

I have had a Bokeh for about a year now (nearly 5000 miles). I rarely ride anything else any more. My SC Highball is mothballed and my road bike only comes out now and then.

I tried it with 650b (USE Carbon) but didn’t get on with it in that configuration. The wheels have been mothballed too.

The Bokeh was probably the best money I have ever spent on a bike. I’m lusting after their Ti version though…….

The 26 year old is my son……

Yeah, I’m getting on a bit now!

Ta….I’ll have a look at those.

Boring :o)

No, he likes all sorts of stuff. Strategy games will work….

Thanks all.

@caigxxl…..nowhere near unfortunately!

deleted…..need to RTFM

Not sure….it was either an Orange X1 or a Massi full susser. I didn’t own it long enough to remember its name. I snapped the shock mount in faily short order, it went back under warranty. I reckon they gave it to an work experience welder to fix it….there was a massive blob of weld which was supposed to ‘mend’ the mount. I swapped it with the Massi rep for something else, apparently he liked it! Rode like a pile of poo.

The X1 was heavy with a pogo stick unit for a rear shock. I had some Rock Shox Quadras on the front and they were dire.

I had an On One Scandal too, that was horrible.

Waves!

Mainly on a “gravel” bike atm but if not, on my old Swift.

I thought we were a dying breed.

@dirtyrider…..that is the conclusion I have finally come to.

The Bokeh thing….that is what is holding me back. I have a Bokeh and apart from the times when I take my race bike out, I haven’t ridden anything else this year – on or off road.

I have been looking for something with tubeless wheels, disc brakes and can be ridden ‘fast and far’. The Definition seemed to meet the need but although a little more robust, I am not sure the Bokeh isn’t already filling that gap. I have different wheels for the Bokeh, including a pair dedicated to road tyres (just what I have chosen to do rather than anything else) so it is about as versatile as I can get it.

It may just be a case of having the cash to splash and having it burn a hole in my pocket!

Chortle….

Try Orange Seal, it seems better all round (to me) than Stans plus no weeping sidewalls on Schwalbe tyres!

I have had a couple of Nanos die on me after being sliced by flint otherwise, in about 3,000 miles I have had no issues. Love them to death.

Once I cleaned the inside of the tyres up, the holes are not that bad….it is just the Stans that let me down. I prefer Orange Seal. Will be patching the ‘dead’ Nanos when I get round to it.

Tubeless – definitely.

However, if you’re enjoying riding your bike, what’s the problem? Doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, whether it’s road, gravel, xc or DH.

At some point you might want to start MTB again and really get back into it, you may not, it doesn’t really matter.

Wise words…..maybe you are right!

Riding isn’t the problem. It is the mtb that sits there in the shed watching me with a baleful eye as I wheel out the gravel or road bike. As I can comfortably do all the MTB stuff round here with the Bokeh, the mtb is just redundant.

Move

Ideally yes…..Italy maybe, France, Germany even but they aren’t going to want to play with us any more. :o/ Aged parents to look after too so not yet.

I have got a set of 650b for my Bokeh which I am currently getting to grips with. Ralph on the front and a Thunder Burt on the back, both in 2.1. I have not had any mud clogging issues, there seems to be enough clearance for the gunk to just drop through.

I have also got some Grails in 700c flavour. I can’t decide which I prefer but, have noticed it is harder keeping up with my mate who has an Arkose/WTB Nano 700x40c combination, when we hit the tarmac. Once we hit the stutter bumps, roots and rocky stuff, I just forge ahead so I guess it is horses for courses.

If you have a Bokeh on order, beware….you might end up not riding your mtb any more. Haven’t touched mine since the Bokeh landed and they are sitting in the shed. I had a Kinesis T5Disc before the Bokeh and thought it was a hoot but the Bokeh seems to be so much better.

@trail rat…..you haven’t seen his bimmer. It is a ’96 and isn’t showroom nick any more! :o) I’ll check about the steering rack. Are there any telltale signs I should look out for?

@scud….we had a Lingo for many years. It was brilliant, we loved it but it isn’t quite what he’d be prepared to drive. (Don’t ask!) :o)

The Rav…vgc tick. FSH tick.

I can have the car for a couple of days whenever I want so I can take it round to my Dad and see how he gets on.

I have had a Bkool for a little over a year. I had a Tacx iMagic before that.

I really like the Bkool (well, as much as you can like a turbo trainer). I tend to do sessions of one to one and a half hours on it, something I could never have put up with on the Tacx, though I tried.

The sheer number of courses is great. You can try a lot of the iconic road climbs if you are that way inclined, plus a lot of people’s local loops. There are mtb routes too but IME they seem mainly to be more like fire road/gravel.

The resistance on the Bkool can come as quite a shock, especially if you hit 18% ramps!

I have used it a fair amount recently (too cold outside for a ‘weak’ chest) and have been watching my HR drop while there has been a corresponding increase in power.

I’d thoroughly recommend it. You get plenty of bang for your buck.

I had a Kinesis t5 Disc a while back. Had issues with 40c tyres rubbing the chainstay (one side only) so sent it back and had a sort of warranty deal on it.

The biggest PITA was the cable routing along the top tube. Every ride it took skin off the inside of my leg and it was always red and raw. It (the replacement)had to go so I didn’t build it up.

Otherwise it was a blast to ride. Replaced it with a Bokeh – chalk and cheese. The Bokeh is so much better but hits a different price point.

Going slightly off tangent. I have a first gen Swift married up to a pair of On One carbon forks. So far I have clocked up approaching 10,000 miles on it. It is still my ‘go to’ mtb despite being very much a ‘budget’ build.

Most of my rides are a bit of a mashup – road/gravel/singletrack and usually I’ll be riding upwards of 30 miles a ride, often 50+ and sometimes nearer the 100 miles.

The Swift is as tatty as hell now but still sort of does the business for me. Meanwhile I have a nearly unused Highball, XT spec, Fox Forks etc which is just sitting in the shed seldom used.

I think it is testament to the design of the Swift that the SC hardly ever gets a look in. Would I recommend one to anyone? Absolutely. I have no idea what the current gen of the Swift is like. I know there are differences in clearance etc but if it is anything like the first ones, you won’t go far wrong.

Thanks. :o)

Shut up Big Nose! 😆