A quick search doesn’t find it, but I had remembered the magped stuff being one of the relatively few things I’d seen a properly scathing review of in Singletrack in recent memory?

It’s great when its dry, but there has been a lot of rain in the Lakes recently. As mentioned above, save yourself a bog fest and ride something rocky!

The The Angle tarn – Boredale hause loop from Glenridding is good, and can be extended into a nice rocky figure of 8 with the Ullswater lakeshore – Boredale Hause tagged on the end.

I’d not seen it, that is very nice.
I’ve got one of the current bash guards on my hardtail, and it’s been great so far (about a year?) vs Lakes rocks. Very tidy minimalist design.

The bit that would be really helpful, marketing nonsense aside, especially for components would be a bit of an asterisk next to it in a review or online, and a “this is also sold as … by …” to make finding spares easier. The old Kona Wahwah/Nukeproof/early Superstar pedals for example, all seemed to be coming from the same factory, and easier to get replacement axles and bearing kits for some than others. Ditto the thousands of own-branded hubs on OEM wheelsets.
Why not just quietly list the fact that its actually a Novatec and what bearings it needs, because it won’t be anywhere on the manufacturers website in 18 months time, when I pull the shattered remnants of greasy sludge out and start trying to devine the code.

I use a Garmin Edge 130 as a head unit when I’m road riding, and it mirrors a bunch of stuff over from the Fenix 5.

The ludicrous mode is a lot of fun, but doesn’t last all that long. I guess it’s a fairly heavy model. Am I right in thinking that the Lego IR control doesn’t give proportional steering?

spacemonkey
Member

Has anyone been messing around with the Buwizz motors?

Hi, I did this, with the 42077 rally car.

Picked up second hand for about £30.

It’s been pretty interesting as a project honestly, I managed to cram two L-motors under the lego V6 in the back, and a servo under the dash. The stock kit suspension is pretty hard, so, I experimented with adjusting the geometry a bit to get that rally-car nose to the sky when accelerating feel. It’s entertainingly rubbish handling. Even with the BuWizz in the front it understeers a bit, but has lots of torque. Key is making sure the driveline to the diff is all fairly captive, so that you don’t lose any gears under torque.

Donuts aren’t a problem on our kitchen floor:
Link to video here

If you use the Brick Controller 2 app, you can control the BuWizz with a Bluetooth game controller, rather than touchscreen, which is a lot more satisfying. I’m using an 8BitDo SF30 Pro.

I’m keen to have a go at building something like the tracked racers using some bits I’ve got laying around.

I recognised Swinley, but which is the trail center at about 42seconds? Looks a bit like the open section at the top of Llandegla?

I thought it looked like the top section of Glenlivet

It’s the lower south descent at Whinlatter

Isn’t it sort of part of the fun of strava (yes, I also race at actual races, but it certainly peps up the training)? I’ve got a handful of local KoMs, and love it when I get the email through telling me someone has put a faster time on one of them. Its an opportunity to get out for a spin and turn myself inside out to improve on what was previously my best effort.

Rammstein live is pretty amazing.
The article above scratches the surface, but there is a lot more references going on. One that stood out to me, having had a couple of years in German schools was them using a mildly altered version of the dropped (after ze war) bit of the national anthem…
Deutschland, Deutschland über allen
Rather than Über alles…
It’s a wierd callback to make, bit I think a lot of their lyrics are pretty punny, you could squint a take this as a commentary about selfishness or greed, especially around the refugees.

null hypothesis: no air adjust present? coil only, air volume set with oil level? I think I had a set like that.

Old Marzocchis used an adaptor for their non-schrader valve, it might be under one of the top caps.

Fossy I had a bluecon first, also killed it, it was a lot less reliable, used a battery that didn’t last all that long. I didn’t rate it. The miao miao is a night and day improvement.

It varies by area, down to the local Clinical Commissioning Guidelines, worth digging them out. I hit a couple of them just about for our local one, but had been self funding for a year, so could show evidence of the benefit too.

What i hate is the number of comedians and TV shows you see where the word “Diabetes” has become a punch line to end a joke about fat people or eating too many sweets and T1 people get that same slight stigma attached, i have a number of people say to me “shouldn’t have given her so many sweets”!

I quite like the Ed Gamble take…
ed-gamble-on-being-called-a-diabetic-comedian-live-at-the-apollo“>Ed Gamble

It calibrates a bit over the first couple of hours, it can read a bit funky at first.
I’m using a Miao Miao on top to give the live readings to my phone, this has been a total game changer for my control, alarms for overnight lows, and to read out to a garmin Fenix watch via xdrip+ so I can see my levels while riding. This would allow you to do the remote follow stuff too.

I had a lot of trouble with sensors falling/getting knocked off (around 1 in 3), but since starting to use the Miao Miao ive been using Kineso (sp?) tape to cover the Libre sensor and the MiaoMiao, and haven’t failed one since Oct.

Strongly recommend downloading Kerbal Space Program (especially given the Scott Manley reference above), and having a go yourself!
It has explained a lot of how this stuff works to me in a way that A-level physics modules on the topic didn’t.

While I was laid up with a broken hip, it took me a solid week to get to having a lunar/Mun lander, and getting it back successfully.

As Randall Monroe has it… https://xkcd.com/1356/

Er, thats the “torque caps” thing – the non-Boost Lyriks have it too, its meant to make the fork stiffer if you have the right SRAM wheels. Hope were making some end caps that worked with it I think.

I feel a weight has been lifted from my shoulders…

You might be doing it wrong.

It took me a few rides to get used to the Burgtecs, now i wouldn’t ride anything else. I’ve smashed both of the sets of F20s I had, over a couple of years i never really loved them, though the newer hollow pins improved them.

The arrival of the oh so creepy Google Duplex ai calling tech? Lots of missed appointments, misunderstandings and general nonsense. This Vs GP surgery receptionist is not going to end well I wouldn’t have thought.

I wonder if a big part of it is that more people buy an off the shelf bike now, with an OEM fork already installed. The £lots sticker price for the halo product super fork in a retail box is almost then a way of making the OEM fork seem worth more when a consumer is doing the mental maths in the shop/spec’ing something up on the internet. This bike comes with a RS Pike XYZ retail RRP = x so rest of bike cost is cost – x. We all know the OEM spec stuff (even with the same spec level) tends to be corner cut in some way, but its a mind trick innit.

The death of standards though, you buy a complete bike not a pile of parts to bolt together, so the forks for sale in a shop are an “upgrade” for most, not an actual part.

Sorry if this is a little rambling. Am full of painkillers.

I managed Penzance in Cornwall to Cockermouth in Cumbria, basically the entire length of the UK a few years back, in a Renault Trafic, having killed the alternator passing Plymouth on the way down. Was a bit tight, no wipers, lights, blowers, using headphones/mobile for music. Got home, tried to restart, totally dead!

Park in a hill if you are not confident?

Well, I did my Giant Glory last month at home. It cost me 2 evenings of sunny ride time, about £35 in bearings and a bruised thumb.

What’s that worth to you? What’s the hourly rate at your job?

It’s reminded me about how much I love single pivot bikes.

I remember watching Thomas the Tank engine as a child and thinking that all of them engines and  people were total arseholes. Then I saw this and it cheered me up on the whole subject. https://youtu.be/w8qaGcq8Ruk

Toot toot.

It’s a really interesting parable about humans destruction, not by a malicious AI, just one who blinking loves making paperclips.

I can see this and Roko’s Basilisk making for some bleaker sci-fi than the current Black Mirror episodes that have covered the same sort of ideas (AutoFac and Metalhead?).

I’ve had a few, last was a Troy Lee D3, which was a really comfortable helmet, but currently racing in a 100% Aircraft, which I prefer. On CRC for £150+ if you can cope with being in last years colours (the horror!).

I’ve had one for a few months, works really well for the days when the weather has set in, but, if it does stop raining, you cant just “take a layer off”.

Great for Ski-touring too.

Was ideal outerwear for the Ski-en-duro: https://youtu.be/F8teQFIGQ_0

As a flat pedal rider I love his riding style and line choices. Just watch him corner, right on the ragged edge, but seemingly still in control.

I was racing a BDS up at Innerliethen a few years back, after my inauspicious race run, watched the Elites come down the hill, down in the bottom corners, everyone else rode round them, Sam jumped the lot. Its that kind of creative line choice, I didn’t see anyone else ride it all weekend, and he likely hadn’t practiced it or someone else would have spotted it!

Gearbox linkage is prone to failure. Water pools on top of the engine and especially around the injectors, meaning they corrode in place and also prone to failure

when it does, you can ziptie it back on. It’s worth having a few zip ties stashed for the day that it does. Mine went at about 180,000. Van continued to live a healthy life until I sold it at 240000.

Setmurphy woods has some fun trails, or head west for all the riding down the west coast, Cold Fell/Dent/Crag Fell down to Ennerdale, Eskdale, Wasdale…

They’re not the grippiest out of the box, no (remove the washers on the pins helps) but like I’ve already said, they’re bonkers easy to adjust you know! It’s about 2 minutes per pedal.

Even with the spacers removed, I thought they compared poorly to everything else I’ve ever used. One side (non-drive side from memory) kept trying to unwind the pedal body from the axle side nut while riding. Fixed with loctite. Wasn’t a fan.

I hated the Saints I picked up cheap, too small, lots of play, poor grip. I got good mileage out of some Hope F20’s until I snapped an axle on the Fort Bill motorway – but after 3 years of DH racing thats probably to be expected.

I’ve also had poor experiences with the DMR Vaults and the Steele PO30s succumbing to play and notchyness within a couple of months.

The Nukeproof Neutrons I got about a year ago are lasting well on my hardtail – strava says 1700km so far, I’ve popped a bit of grease into them,and nipped up the internal nuts to take out a tiny amount of play about 4 months ago, still sweet.

I got a set of Mk4 Penthouse flats for Christmas, am excited to give them a run out.

I guess it might be worth looking for the Kielder 100 race segment on Strava and chopping it in half?

Not a bad way of joining the trail, means you have the twins to finish, and a clear exit point!

I’ve just moved from a SWB Trafic to a SWB Transit Custom. Its quite a bit longer in the back, enough that my surfboard now lays down flat rather than being angled. It _just_ fits in a standard parking bay.

It’s been a while, but I remember some jumpy short trails tucked away in Cherry Hinton Quarry

There are some semi cheeky trails and a bridleway in Lanthwaite woods, and mikewsmith will be along any second to recommend his former favoritist ever local loop, up Fangs Brow, along the bridleway above Holme Wood and down to Watergate Farm.

Whinlatter is close, like pedalable with a hangover close from there.

Drop me an email if you want some more targeted advice.

We went to a nice wedding in the village hall near the Kirkstile last summer. This is a good excuse to break out the video I made:

My son (aged 9) has an EV3 set and it gets tons of use. He is currently building a custom ‘wheelie car’ robot based on an episode of Scrapheap Challenge and he has also learnt a lot of useful programming techniques along the way. The block based visual programming is very similar to Scratch (which is also great).
Also encouraged his reading as he has worked his way through various large EV3 building/programming books.
Overall, it’s really well done and despite the somewhat hefty price tag he’s more than got the money’s worth out of it.

I tried to get a sort of Segway type thing going, using the IR sensor to figure out distance to the ground and trying to keep it balanced from there. Never got it to properly work (about a minute of increasingly wobbly action before it buggered off towards the coffee table), but had a good couple of days learning about PIC algorithms.

I picked up a BrickPi

Yeah, I’d been eyeing those up. It’d probably end up in a drawer with the Pi though…

Yeah…

Pi one is currently behind the TV connected to a strip of lights, running a Boblight server for the Kodi box.

Pi two is in the BrickPi. I haven’t used it for a while, though I keep meaning to try and build a Machines of the Isle of Nantes style Elephant/ATAT

Next time I’m broken.