I’ve just had my order cancelled too. Apparently I cancelled it?
So I re-ordered and this time they cancelled the order and said it was out of stock.
Just put your hands up and say it was a mistake!
(Still showing as IN STOCK)

They’re being taken over by Trek, so are presumably getting rid of old stock.
Banana is listed as out of stock, but Strawberry, Vanilla and Chocolate is all listed as in stock… 18x50g for £1.85.
Possibly a missed decimal place?

11-42T + 46-30

After more research I went for Absolute Black 46-30 oval sub compact chainrings, which were a doddle to set up with the standard 105 front mech.

I swapped the 11-34T cassette for a 11-42T. This was a bit of a leap of faith. I knew (having read the roadcc article), that a 11-40T would work, but I wanted to get as much as I could so I gambled with a 11-42T. I had to swap out the 105 rear derailleur for an Ultegra GS (medium cage) derailleur and as I was putting it on my gravel bike, I went for the RX model with the switchable clutch mechanism.

It works!

I had to use pretty much all of the ‘B-Screw’ adjustment, but everything else was plain sailing with the set up. I used a straight out of the packet 116 link Ultegra chain and here is very little tension when in 30F 11R. Also the Rear derailleur is almost maxed out when in 42R 46F, but you shouldn’t be riding in those gears! At least I know that should I inadvertently choose those gears, I won’t die!
For most of my riding, I am now using the larger chainring a lot more, which means they’ll wear more evenly than before, so that’s a plus!
The larger steps in the rear cassette will take some getting used to, but it’s worth it for the end goal of 42Rear and 30Front.

GEARING

LOWEST GEARING with 35mm tyres

ARANGEMENT INCHES

Checkpoint STOCK 27.24 (34F/34R)

105Chainset 34/50 36T rear 25.61 (34F/36R) (Current bike)

Absolute Front 30/46 +36T 22.61 (30F/36R)

Stock Front + Rear42T 22.00 (34F/42R)

GRX Recommend 30F 34R 24.00 (30F/34R)

IDEAL GRX setup 30F 42R 19.40 (30F/42R)

Cost –

Absolute Black rings 30/46 £145

XT 40T Cassette CS-M8000-11 £60

Ultegra Rear Mech RD-RX-800-GS £67

Ultegra/XT Chain HG-701 £19

£291

This seems expensive, but you have to replace a worn out drivetrain at some point, and the clutch mech works really well off road. I can now ride up 14% climbs fully loaded and remain seated and spinning. For me – it’s worth the effort and cost.

Yep, thanks. I’m going for the full set. The kit on my gravel bike (Chainset, cassette, chain, Front Mech, Rear Mech) will be donated to my road bike which currently is grinding away a very old drivetrain.
Having done more research (thanks to the advice above), I’ll be going for…

Ultegra Rear Mech RD-RX-800-GS £67
GRX Chainrings 30/46 FC-RX600-2 £85
GRX Front Mech FD-RX810 £35
40T Cassette CS-M8000-11 £60
Ultegra/XT Chain HG-701 £19
£266

The Ultegra rear mech also has the clutch for when I go off road next summer.

The stock ratios for the bike 34F/34R gave 27.24 inches and this combo will give me 20.43 inches. I’d like to have got a 42T on the back, but this will be a massive improvement over stock. I hope this helps others looking to do the same!

PS I might actually try it without the GRX front mech (penny pinching!) to see if the current 105 incarnation will cope.

Just found a decent article for those that are following this thread!

https://road.cc/content/feature/246424-how-get-ultra-low-gearing-gravel-bike-adventures?qt-more_features_sidebar_tabs=0&page=1

Thanks Scotroutes. I’ll go for the Ultegra Mech and an 11-40 cassette with 30-46 up front.
Good luck and let me know how you get on with yours once you install it!

Thanks everyone.

I’m using this bike a lot to do the local short journeys that I would normally have done in the car (shopping etc!) and so it’s already got racks and panniers. Also I’m cycling to the Alps (solo and camping) on this bike, hence the need for the extra gearing. Apparently buying a separate touring bike is not an option…

So back to the original question…
Has anyone tried a 30/46T Chainring + 11-42T combo?
If not GRX, then what else has anyone toured on that works?
I’m slightly reticent to buy the GRX components on a ‘maybe’.

Mister P – I’m getting my information directly from eh Shimano website;

1×11-speed wide RD-RX812 / RD-RX817 (Di2) – RECOMMENDED CASSETTE – CS-M8000-11 (11-40T, 11-42T) CS-M7000-11 (11-40T, 11-42T)

From https://bike.shimano.com/content/dam/productsite/shimano-northamerica/pdf/GRX%20DOC%20CONSUMER.pdf

Ewan – That’s funny and I’ll probably forward that to the guy with the car in question!

Hard/soft issue is sorted by the internal filter in the under counter unit.  We already have our water filtered as we live in a chalky area of Kent and it makes a big difference.

The machine also takes care of how soft/hard the water is.  You take a sample, test it and adjust the machine which in-turn adjusts the carbonation to suit.

The OP is justifying his (now £802!!!) tap, by saying sparkling water is costing me £500 a year and I can have it for free after two years with this product and cut down on my use of plastics in the process.  I can’t help what the company do, although I might start a trend in the Audi/logburner/nice axe/beard oil/skijacketed suburbs and who knows where it could end…  If only I’d bought more cassettes in Woolworths…

FuzzyWuzzy – a demo is a good idea.  Hey, has anyone on STW got one of these taps that could shed some light for me?

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Pubs normally have a CO2 cylinder attached to the head of a multi-drink ‘gun’.  When you press the correct button, say for ‘Coke’, syrup is mixed with water and CO2 to create the drink.  You’ll notice though, that the drinks that come from the guns, do not stay as fizzy as coke from a can or bottle where the CO2 has been mixed at lower temperatures and under greater pressure, so that it remains ‘in’ the liquid.

I’m lead to believe (wait’s to be proven wrong!!!) that the Grohe tap forces the CO2 into the already refrigerated water under pressure to create ‘sparklier’ sparkling water.  I have a home brew beer kit (obviously – who doesn’t) and without wasting a 16g cylinder, I’m prepared to say that is won’t work.

Soda Stream might be acceptable under normal circumstances…  However you’ve still got to the faff (yes I really said that) of making it and refrigerating it.

Anyway – I digress.  I wasn’t asking for validations of my personal choices, or alternatives to my prospective purchase.  I’d just like to know if anyone has used one!!!  Mumsnet is looking like a better idea every day!

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When you add CO2 to a beer keg, it pressurises the keg.  It does not add fizz directly into the beer, and just makes the beer come out much faster and whilst this does give the beer more head, the beer is not directly carbonated.

Also, HQ requires that her spanky kitchen does not have a Heath-Robinson beer Keg sitting on the side, regardless of cost saving…

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I actually quit liked the axe thread…  Peak STW is a long way off, although the side steps on *my new Overfinch Range Rover that automatically pop out when you open a door, aren’t quite colour coded as per the rest of the car.

CO2 savings will come from having a bulk tank in the garage and refilling the CO2 cartridges from the unit myself.  Normally you’d send them back to the manufacturer to be refilled rather than simply placing them in the recycling.

*Actually not my car, but they do exist!

– Yes, we drink lots of fizzy water and no, it’s not free.

– What the mineral water company does or doesn’t do isn’t my concern and I’m sure that my environmental conscience and actions alone, won’t make them go bust.  However a local company called Silver Springs Soft Drinks Ltd ceased trading about five years ago.  Apparently not enough people were buying their products…

– Chakaping – it comes in brushed chrome too, so it could accentuate the flappy gear paddles on an Audi, or possibly compliment a free standing log burner and flue?!!!  You’ll regret not getting one when your orangery overheats in the summer sunshine!

– My tap water tastes OK.  That’s not the problem, I just don’t particularly like still water.  The Grohe Tap, chills and carbonates the water.

I was merely looking for someone with any experience of one, as there are few online reviews.  Although I have just seen it reduced to £802

I used to ride with a big group of 20-50 people, sort of under the guise of the local bike shop.  I never missed a ride even in the darkest depths of winter and sometimes I’d lead.  One guy fell off and smashed his elbow and I never lead another ride for fear of being sued.  Kind of stopped riding with the group too.  I introduced some people to bikes who now ride all the time 10 years later.  I enjoyed it, but the nucleus of the original fun bunch left, or stopped being fun, so I left too.  Meeting at a crap pub didn’t help either, even if it’s really close to me.

Now ride on the road lots and almost always on my own.  I can adjust my route length depending on my mood and stop for a wee without holding everyone else up or simply getting dropped.  I like to tailor my routes subject to my whims.  I’ll get back on my mountain bike when the trails dry up and hopefully catch up with a few mates.

The only group rides I do now are with my wife and kids – it’s great to seem them buzz after a proper ride.

There’s a chap at the CAA, who states “I am out of the office until xx/x/xx.  Please re-send any email after that date.”

A bold move that won’t work for most.  However a holiday where you’re still ‘at work’ isn’t  a holiday

As above, socks are the key to using one pair of footwear in a wide range of conditions.

Above freezing my MW80 cope with just Bridgedale light hikers underneath.  Below zero, I pop on a pair of cool fusion liners underneath, or go all out with knee length Seal Skins.  Your body will stop sending blood to your feet if it recognises that it’s too cold to cope, so bizarrely, bare legs will make your toes freeze no matter what’s covering your pinkies…  Air gaps between jackets and gloves demonstrate this rather well.

Arcteryx Atom SL.

I bought it having seen a review by Trekkit where they said, “Everyone in our office has at least one of these and it’s my go-to jacket for most of the year”.

I used it as an outer layer skiing this year down to -10C and it was amazing for something with such a small pack size.  I only needed an outer shell when it properly rained at the end of the week.

Bikes/Cars/Jackets etc, generally you get what you pay for.  Whilst an XTR mech might be eye-wateringly expensive to some, some people like to pamper themselves with nice stuff.  I could ride a lot of my local trails without a dropper post, but I’ve got one and use it on small sections of most rides and I like it.  I’m not riding the World Cup but I like toys.

Do I think that I’m serious about the outdoors?  I’ll leave that up to you to decide – I honestly couldn’t care less if I tried, whether you think I am or not.  Rab say the Firewall Jacket is for “Active all year mountain use”.  I believe that it’s also suitable for catching the train and keeping you warm and dry en route if you choose.  Personally I don’t think that £110 is a massive amount to spend on a jacket that should last.

See “All the Gear, No Idea” thread from last week for further opinions!

Sandwich bags are too expensive.

Wrap brushes and rollers in clingfilm.

Sandwich bags / Carrier bags?  Won’t someone think of the children…

Dropping Camelbak is easy as Osprey make better packs. However I’ve always bought Giro Helmets. I bought one, it fitted well and you can remove the straps to wash them, so that’s what I’ve bought ever since.
I’ll research other brands next time though.

Kryton – in 2006 we bought an A4 outright and worked out after 2 years that a brand new A6 would be cheaper once you’d taken into account depreciation and any issues. Loved the A6, it ate miles when travelling to the Alps. It was our first PCP/lease/lease hire and it took some persuading, but once you’d put the numbers into a spreadsheet, it made sense.

Once the lease was up, my father in laws car came up, (C240 V6 petrol), which we bought cheaply and it got written off. Then we went back to PCP and got an A3 as we’d dropped the need for pushchairs etc and didn’t need the space. We put a roof box on it when required and we also have a Discovery3 should the need arise. That was much cheaper and we haggled a really good deal and the A3 worked out well for us financially.

It’s worth shopping around for those that are being discounted and as long as you’re not set on a particular brand or model, there’s bargains to be had.

We’re now on the Father-in-laws latest hand-me-down, which is an E220 CDi. Not what we wanted ideally, but we paid the trade in price which made it cheap(ish) and it should last forever (think Stuttgart Taxi). It eats miles and lugs huge amounts of stuff around, plus we have an asset.

What will I do when this one finally dies? It’s hard to say. The up front costs of a 6 year old Panzer-Wagon are still quite high. However if you haven’t got £10 000+, then PCP with an initial payment can make sense. Although the Direct Debit sucks, you’ve got no surprises as everything is covered under the agreement – you just have to know that you can cover the £200-£300 every month.

I’d prefer not to go down the lease/hire route as you have to be too careful with the car. If you buy something to shift stuff (ie an estate car) it’s hard not to damage the car, with general usage. Paving slabs, rubble sacks, garden rubbish, mountain bikes, dogs, puking children etc all take their toll. I use roof racks a lot for SUP boards and windsurf kit and inevitably things get scratched or chipped. If the car belongs to me, who cares? If it belongs to a hire company, they go over it with a fine tooth comb when you hadn’t it back and everything gets picked up, no matter how dirty you leave it or if the arrive in the rain…

You pays yer money…

… have t-shirts or pants that are older than the ‘yoof’ that are in the pub.
… think that mpg is more important than top speed.
… hear,”Let’s go upstairs” and you know that you both mean ‘go to sleep’.

Apparently, you stop listening to ‘new’ music at 36.

Your eyes start to fail between 40-42.

I often move big stuff. 1.5 Ton machines to 300kg balloon baskets and the simplest way is rollers. We use nylon rollers, but dowel or broom handles would work just as well in your case. It worked for the Egyptians…

Had 200TDi, 300TDi, two TD5’s, DiscoII and now a Disco3.
Evolution for me! I prefer the comfort of the Discovery 3 and it tows just as well if not better than all the 110’s I had.
Scratch your itch. You seem to know what you’re getting in to. We got rid of our last TD5 110 because it wasn’t safe for more than one child seat. I’ve gone a bit soft now so probably wouldn’t give up the comfort to go back to Defenders.

Had all of our TD5s chipped. More power and torque and better MPG. Get a Mantec rear wheel holder – it will stop the rear door from rattling itself to bits. Chequer plate the top of the front wings. They’re so useful for standing on!

Good luck.

PS Other owners wave at you. It’s weird at first!

Meniscus tear a 3 years ago. 75% removal of meniscus on left tibia.

Biking lots. 180km rides are no problem (for the knee at least!).
Walking lots too.

Running career is over. Tried again last October to resurrect my running shoes, but to no avail. Hurty knee and other injuries means I’ve admitted that it’s not going to happen. At 44 I’m also thinking about longevity as I still want to be riding/walking/windsurfing etc when I’m 70, so given how punishing running is to my body, I’m happy to drop it.

Only issue is the cold. My left knee feels it, but not when riding so much. More often when I get back into the shower after exercise, it gets a bit painful when it gets warm again.

Overall, not hugely life changing, but no more running or squash. Not the end of the world really.

I’ve got 3l, 2l and 1.5l CamelBak bladders (from various other bags) that fit in my old, old MULE.

It originally came with the 3l, but when it’s completely full, it changes the shape of the bladder containing part of the bag and takes up some of the other internal room from the main compartment.

I’d get a 3l bladder and only fill it up as much as you need for the ride you intend to do. This will mean that it will form to the shape of your back more readily when half full for example.

I got back in the pool last week after not really swimming since playing waterpolo 25 years ago. Bashed out 2000m in 38 minutes. I was happy with that and it’s proof that technique counts. I wasn’t that good a swimmer when I played ‘polo, but what little I did learn seems to have stuck. Lots of good advice above like keep your head down and breathe out underwater. As soon as you lift your head up, your legs will sink, so concentrate on the lines on the bottom of the pool and don’t be tempted to look up. Most pools have lane swimming first thing in the morning – get stuck in!

Good luck with it.

Thule Euroclassic Pro 903 with 4th bike extensions here.

Nobeerinthefridge is correct with his description of the tilt function of the 9503. However the 903 has a lever that lets you tilt the rack that lets me into the back of a Discovery 3 fairly easily.

The 903 was a lot more expensive when I upgraded, but it’s quite a swanky rack and I’m very happy with it. Hopefully I’ll never have to buy another one again!

My beloved Sheryl.
A Top Fuel 110. Fully XTR’d and everything was kept top spec.
We had a party for her including Champagne at the top of a local hill once.
Loved that bike.

It was stolen and I spent 2 years trawling eBay and Gumtree looking for her. Not sure what I’d have done to the tea leaves if I’d have caught them in the act. Finger nails and drilling teeth simply wouldn’t have satisfied me…

A Tracker when I was a kid. Everyone else had Grifters with twist shift, but the Tracker had 3 speed Sturmery Archer thumb shift, suspension and a massive drum brake that seemed to send people over the bars. Best Christmas present ever, but it weighed a ton!

I stopped riding on the road for years, mainly due to a few incidents with other road users (cars), including the classic, *”You don’t pay road tax”!

I’m back on the road now and I’ve already held someone to account using GoPro footage. However prevention is obviously better than cure/prosecution.

Joystick on bars and Joystick on Helmet, plus Exposure Enduro on Bars. All set to flashing. I find that the high output and the fact they’re never in synch seems to alert people (wake them up) to my presence. I think the helmet light works really well when you look behind to get people’s attention too. The reflection coming back from road signs (even in the daytime) should be enough to give away my presence even if my rear light doesn’t.

I have two lights at the rear. A Leyzyne Zecto, set to max power flash and a Cat Eye set on constant, just incase some idiot tries to pull me up on the flashing light / constant light argument.

I’m also wearing an Endura Windchill II jacket, which is comfy, practical, bright and reflective.

Also having ridden motorbikes for many years, I think defensive riding and eye contact is really useful.

Stay safe you crazy kids!

*NB, just for the record, I pay a shedload of road taxes I have 3 vehicles, two of which are used for work and unfortunately are in the highest tax band…

Quadrathlon part three.

High Cadence throughout.

Decent Average Speed.

wife/mortgage/kids/job will all remove the choice for you. Do it while you can. Better to regret the things that you have done rather than the things you haven’t.

Once you’re up the proverbial creek, use Bepanthan. It works on babies rear ends so and it will work on yours too.

Obviously prevention is better than cure though.

My local Trek dealer does saddle fittings. You basically sit on a load of gel and your imprint gives them an indication as to which saddle is going to fit you.

I use the Muc Off chamois cream and it seems to work. It’s so much better value than the tiny pot of Assos cream you get for twice the price.

Salomon for me.
Their trainers have always seemed to fit like a glove for my feet (if that makes sense). I moved onto their walking boots about 6 years ago and I don’t buy anything else.

Proper socks are just as important as the boots. Bridgedale for me. I wear light hikers for 8 months of the year.

As above – whatever you buy, don’t take them out of the box in the car park at the bottom of the trail!

http://www.wood-finishes-direct.com//search-site?q=linseed&search_submit=

Try these guys. Normally give really good advice and there’s always someone in the office that seem to have an answer for *any question.

(*That is related to wood finishes)

We’re still getting 15 eggs a week from our 4 hens in the winter. They are two years old.

Definitely get an electric pop hole. It means that once you’ve guaranteed they’ve got food and water, you can leave them for a weekend. They put themselves to bed.

Rats are an issue. Our coop has chicken wire buried underneath but they still come from our neighbours garden if there’s the slightest access to food. It also is covered over the top to prevent foxes. Foxes will dig underneath, or climb a 6 foot fence, so creating something sturdy and well thought out is a good idea.

They will destroy your garden if left unattended.

We bought ours from a farm who used to handle them every day. This meant that they are tame enough to pick up and handle. Both the chickens and the kids seem to enjoy this interaction. If you go to buy them, and the guy has to run around to catch them, or use some sort of net, it is unlikely you’ll be able to tame them to such an extent after.

Contrary to what’s been said above, ours lay in the nest box all the time…

We still use ours after jumping on the Joe Root 2-week juice fad diety thingy two years ago. It now comes out twice a week on average.
I like it for the breakfast juice – 2 carrots, 2 oranges, 2 apples and a nob of ginger.
Wife likes green juice – kale, celery, cucumber etc

Sometimes we just use it as a really good way to get rid of lots of veg in the fridge, or fruit that’s just started to turn.

Start with. “Who’s looking after the countries kitchens while all you chicks are here?”
Or, “So… How long have you been a female impersonator for?”

Then just go with the flow.

If you don’t worry about money, then you’re rich.
If you also have lots of time to do the things you like, with the people that matter to you, then you’re very rich.
If you’re healthy too, then you’ve won the lottery.

I’m taking home the Rollover every week.

True Romance

A bit early for April Fools!