Thing is, it’s one of my gravel bikes so gets subjected to a lot of vibration. Don’t want the pads rattling out. Loctite sounds like a good shout.

42 posts and no-one has mentioned Stardrops. Cheap as chips and works really well.

Am I the only person who uses boiled linseed oil still? Works for me.

Looks great; itching to do something like this with on old steel 26″ frame, but silly lockdown prices have temporarily put a hold on that.

What kind of room is there for tyres when using 700c wheels? Will you be able to get something meaty in there?

Sorry to drag this thread up, but my arse is also Spoon shaped and I have them on all but two if my bikes. I want to put a Spoon on one of those to replace an amazingly uncomfortable Selle Italia saddle I just can’t get on with, but can’t find one in the correct colour. Can someone confirm that the Madison Flux is exactly the same – not just similar as they seem available? Ta!

I believe the HC has no status in law (some of its “advice” reflects law but that’s different). Pretty sure I’ve heard of juries being instructed NOT to use it in reaching a decision

When I went on my naughty boy course (speed awareness – 82 on a motorway) I was told the exact opposite, i.e. the HC isn’t legislation, but ignoring its rules can evidence dangerous driving in court.

+1 for Polaris. Fit my skinny arms and are pretty tight. Had some on-one merino ones, they fell to bits, but they did fit.

I record all my rides on my wahoo app on my phone. It gives me the minimal analysis I need, and the only thing I really keep Strava for is the garage feature – this allows me to track my approximate milage on each of my bikes and make informed decisions about how long certain components are lasting. If wahoo had that, or there was a 3rd part app that spoke to wahoo that did the same thing, I’d drop Strava as the social functions don’t float my boat.

@malv173 – did you use sea salt or table salt? I had read that you needed to use sea salt as it isn’t ‘pure’ like table salt and naturally contains the other minerals, but was always a bit dubious, so I’d be really interested to hear what proper analysis showed up.

I thought the laws of physics had changed, and satin black was now fastest, or ‘stealth’ as it’s known?

I’ve got SS xc wheels on my Charge plug and 26” fuel on my triggers broom hardtail. No problems with them at all

Yes, I bought a couple of inner tubes from them on Friday and tried to use BC discount and was told the same. The lady was really apologetic and said that she didn’t think BC had made it’s members aware.

It was different for me. I was slow because basically, I’m clueless and don’t know what I’m doing. 😀

I’m also not as fit as I thought, and accidentally had several pints last night!

Did Scunthorpe today in the Trophy Day Series. Wobbled around, hopefully not getting in people’s way, and didn’t fall off. Came almost last; would have placed a little bit higher if I hadn’t had to stop with cramps in my calves on the last lap. Loved it.

@ferrals – thanks, I’ll do exactly that.

Nice one, some final bike checking / tinkering tonight and I think I’m ready to embarrass myself then!

Thanks, that’s really great info. Can I ask a newbie question? I’ll be on my own, and plan to bring a small amount of tools / spare cables (only what you can fit in a under saddle bag). Am I best keeping that on my bike or in the pits or somewhere, as I won’t have a mechanic or any support? Also, do CX racers usually carry water bottles in their cages?

seniors? vets?

Veteran men. Thanks for the info, do you think I’ll be ok on 700c / 35 Smart Sams?

I’ve never raced anywhere at all, I’m a complete newbie 🙂

I signed up sometime ago for the Lincs league and then promptly forgot about it while I dealt with having a cancer thing chopped out off my back (the not dangerous type, as it turned out thankfully). I’ve just realised that I’ve paid up to race the first one this coming weekend at sunny Scunny and haven’t a clue what I’m doing, lol.

Other than turning up, falling off and coming last, any tips?

I’ve got some Chinese fake road gear. The problem I had was fit – if they were right height wise, they would be too baggy, or if they fitted build wise, they would be uncomfortable around your man bits. Manufacturing quality was ok, however. I’m 6′ and 150lbs.

Use Polaris now, I just keep an eye out for the sales.

Thanks for the replies. I’ve got road 8 speed shifters in my spares pile, so am now planning a ‘gravel’ bodge build around an old steel frame and a 1 X 8 set-up. Just got to find a suitable donor frame… when the better half isn’t watching. 🙂

Can you deffo use a 9 speed rear derailleur with 8 speed shifters?

Fair enough, that does sound logical. So, in effect, it’s a more technically advanced way of offering single use sealed bearings?

A tiny part of me does think that the zeitgeist is moving towards more reusable solutions for stuff generally, and this is perhaps peak polar opposite and may have missed the boat, but I really am starting to sound like Captain Luddite, so I’ll shut up now. 🙂

The solid lubricant doesn’t allow any room for dirt to get in apparently

Ok, I don’t want to sound all luddite and ‘booo, new stuff, booooooooo’, however…..

If the above is true, why the seals either side? And if the seals actually stop the dirt and grit, what advantage does the solid lube really give over easily repackable normal bearings?

🙂 Yes, I’m good friends with anyone locally who sells CR2032’s!

I’ll chuck the strap in the wash with my next load (nothing to loose) and if that doesn’t work buy yet another one. Are Wahoo any good?

The straps? Yes. Wipe down the plastic bit of the strap after use. Have occasionally hand washed straps in cold water Didn’t do anything with the little pop on thingymajig, other than changing batteries. Am I meant to?

Thanks for the replies. Looking at the bike, it has 35c ones on there at the moment, and although I reckon I could squeeze larger in, it would be at the expense of decent mud clearance, so probably self defeating. I’ve had a earch around, and can pick up Schwalbe X-one all round for around £17ea, so I’m leaning towards those.

I’ve had a couple of sets of wheels, and the odd bit from Superstar and have had no problems whatsoever with either the products or their customer service. Don’t understand the hate tbh. I think it’s great that we have UK based small manufacturers like this.

Worth checking if Superstar have any left? If they do, they will probably be in funky colours, but it’s worth a check.

Off road – any weather.

On road – if there is a lot of spray about, I usually don’t bother as I worry about visibility and crap drivers a bit.

Received a race Face 90mm stem in the post today which should sorry out the riding position in mine. Not to sure about the gearing as yet as I haven’t done any rides longer than 30 miles in it due to it not being as comfortable as my other gravel type bike due to the stem, but I suspect it needs a bigger cog up front. Love it to bits though. It’s surprisingly capable off road.

If I’m reading the 1st post correctly, you’d stopped to help a motorcyclist ?
If so, any tracker would just show you stationary near a ditch at the side of a road and your wife’d still be worried wouldn’t she ?

No mate, a motorcyclist unfortunately had a fatal on my route, but I was already long gone when it happened. She just heard all the sirens and commotion, and then saw the posts on local Facebook groups that there had been a ‘bike’ fatality, saw where, and had a bit if a panic.

Anyhows, we gave Glimpse a go last night and she’s happy with it, and I’m happy it plays nice with my phone and the Wahoo app, so thanks everyone!

Thanks for all the suggestions – I’ll look into them.

I’m not using a Wahoo bike computer, just the fitness app on my phone.

Shifting to iPhone – Not an option for me I’m afraid. There is also the possibility that she might jump ship to Android next upgrade, so it will need to be cross platform.

I’ll look at Google maps location sharing, ta!

If you are clipped in, try greasing your cleats very sparingly.

I’ve got tifosi carbon posts on both of my gravel bikes; one of which is alu the other steel, and have had no problems with them whatsoever (I use proper carbon grip paste stuff). Less than £35 a pop from wiggle. The only thing I do is rotate the seat clamp 180° so the bolt is at the front as IIRC that gives a more uniform grip on the post or something.

Are those brake calipers dia comp Mx? If my memory serves me correctly, they were war everyone wanted on their freestyle bike.

Come to think of it, why do modern BMX not have front brakes? How do they manage to do endo’s / endo 360’s?

One last time to try and upload a pic…

It’s done. Been out today on it and I’m really impressed. Need to juggle tyre pressures, play with stem lengths and perhaps gear ratios, but it’s nearly there.