50 3/4 here.
Hope 70mm x 25deg stem, might not look gnar but keeps my back a bit more upraight.

And buy a plus or fat bike.
Low pressure tyres help.

33:18 on a Puffin, running Jumbo Jim’s. It’s about right.

I’d happily use Tectite copper push-fits again. Very impressed with them.
The company I work for manufacture pneumatic pifs, ours will do 18 bar, they’ll usually burst about 50-60. Inconsistencies in tube quality are usually where failures occur.

We bought a bigger house, later in life (just turned 50). No plans to retire yet, I actually enjoy my work. Both have decent pensions building up.
Would have been mortgage free, in a modest 3 bed semi. With a lot of spare cash we’d just not have saved though, certainly not to match the mortgage we’ve taken on. But it’s a calculated move that will see us down size st the point our boys will be buying, with a 50% deposit on something decent each.
We did the same when they were born, going interest only for a period, that allowed them to enjoy a parent at home full time for a few years.
Life’s too short to miss that kind of stuff. If we’d not have taken on this new place we’d probably have brand new cars each, foreign trips a few times a year, but we don’t miss it. Wife has a new motor but I’m happy doing the bangernomics thing.
But remember though, that bigger house comes with substantially bigger bloody Council tax bills. !!!

Petrol, manual box, lower spec models, don’t fuss over colours, all good advice. Trawl the FS boards in supermarkets, convenience shops, your local FB selling pages too.
Some of my best cars have been my cheaper purchases from the above methods. Avoid Autotrader like the plague, mostly crap at that money.

RIP good fella. ☹️

Niner, SIR.9 or MCR.
Very light, the later SIR.9 is a chunk heavier. I think they did those in 14” (XS size they called it).
Rare as anything though, but beautiful ride quality. I’ve had an EBay auto search for an MCR running for 6 years. 😁 No luck.
On-One, small Inbred 29er. Looked nice in the orange they did. Ti model is like hens teeth now.

15yr old Galaxy. Takes bikes standing upright with plenty of room for a mattress, seats out it’s like a van, refuses to do less than 35mpg. Love it.

Can you cut a slot on the other end ? Plusgas is your friend, let it soak to do it’s stuff.

We use them for Scouts & while they aren’t practical in terms of the shape, they are very easy to put up. Can’t remember the make but they are all canvas ones & very well made. If 6 clumsy teenagers can’t destroy one then your cherubs should pose it no threat.
If you can, get the porch add on, it makes getting in & out in wet weather a tidier affair, boots can stay outside etc.

Beko Heat Pump one here. Had it a year, paid £80 for 5yr warranty, fearing the worst, but it seems very well put together.
It works brilliantly, costs little to run & even has a light inside. Yes, inside…!!! :-)

Your ABSOLUTELY sure they are going in the right way, & totally square ? :-)

Not tried Hope in my SIR.9, but had an old King in there & plenty of std Shimano HT2’s.
Do currently have a Hope in my Puffin EBB, went in with no issues.

The anodising shouldn’t be more than about 20 microns thick, so unlikely to worry the thread much. I’d pop it to a bike shop to gently run a tap through it. Plenty of oil.

Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri.
Excellent, really enjoyed it.

A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper outshone Lady Gaga for me. Good soundtrack to boot.

Ladybird. Spotted that on one of the tv services. Not seen but some good reviews when it came out.

I’ve grown really fond of the 105hp, 1.0 Ecoboost, base model Focus I’ve been driving.
Now the Focus doesn’t do any one thing brilliantly, but it’s just a really well put together car that really is a nice drive. It’s not quick, not compared to the 150hp Tiguan, but it’s got a turbo boost that comes in at just the right moment off the line.
Give one a go. The badge snobs on here will scoff at this but I never expected to like it as much as I do.

It’s actually a far nicer car to drive than our brand new 1.4 Tiguan, that the Wife drives.

29×3” Knard runs with plenty of clearance in a Niner steel fork.
If your near the Midlands you welcome to borrow it.
2.8 Trailblazer is quite compact, not sure if they do 29” version though.

Dell Precision, M4800.
It’s about 2 years old.
The IT chap has just put Windows 10 on it, which seems ok.
It runs Inventor quite well.
No idea what size it is inside, has a 7i sticker on it.

Slept in the mighty Galaxy up in the Lakes, sub zero by a few degrees. Woolly hat & a couple of sleeping bags. Slept peacefully.

Bridleway, long way from the road, let alone hone, 10pm, pouring rain.
Spare tube was 20”. Went into 29” tyre, & inflated, briefly. The bang was incredible.
You’d be amazed how much undergrowth you need to pack inside a 29” tyre to get it rideable.

Get him whatever fit well but get some miles in here before heading off. Pricier brands aren’t always better. My boys prefer fabric boots, I then give them a good lathering with Fabsil. Keeps most rain out.

It’s still a cracking day out.
I buy a pass but only do 6 or 7 runs. Probably better buying single rides but it’s less faff. Only go a couple of times a year, & I hire their bikes also.
For little over £100 I get a nice carbon bike, lifts back up the hill all day, & a bloody great time.

you honestly enjoy riding miles and miles of flat sand?

Yes, I do.
Well, when the mood takes me. Hey, we are all different. One of the best days biking I’ve ever had was taking these two on the beach in Norfolk.
Pics 2018 by pten2106[/url], on Flickr

Thomas Nagy, YouTube Electrician, ran his Trafgic for a good few years & raved about it. It had quite a few milee stop-start around London. There’s a few videos on his channel, obviously aimed at tradesman but interesting nonetheless.

I got hold of some old Pace Carbons for my lads Spesh Hotrock. You’d need to either lace the front to a disc hub, or try & get some of the canti bosses (hens teeth – I did the former). They are 420mm & worked perfectly. I might still have them, if your interested.

I bought my lad one, from Amazon, more because it looks like the £300 Apple Watch he wanted. (He’s 13…, & lost two watched already).
I’m not sure what an Apple Watch gets you over it, but it connects to the phone to take calls, (takes a SIM card to make its own), displays emails, text messages, tracks movement etc. Probably more but that’s as much as I can see it does.

Tiguan ?
Ours is nice enough. Small petrol engine is perfectly capable, (not what you’ll hear on here though…)
Plenty of space for family of four plus (small) dog.
Looked at others but it just felt better, & came out cheaper than Skoda & Seat version. Taller driving position is nicer. It tows a caravan occasionally, & does a great job.
Looked at buying cheap, have done so for years, but can’t be done with the hassle of an older car these days. £300 a month buys me something that is always warrantied, economical & modern in terms of safety, features etc.

What I would say is, don’t be fooled into thinking you need all the bells & whistles of the range topping version, or loads of options. Most mid-spec models come with a decent level of kit these days.

Elvis is our 2 yr old Cockerpoo.
He will happily do 5-10 miles, pace dependant, following me on the bike.
Had him out this afternoon, rollerblading. He’s brilliant, perfect temperament, doesn’t lose hair, & isn’t too big. He’s about perfect for a young family.

Might have been mentioned already but “You” was quite good.

Assuming insulation is up to spec, a foot of loft insulation etc, you will see a saving but it depends on how you use the heating. Off completely is ok but if it then takes 2 hours at full blast to get it back up. Would you be better trying a timed stat that drops it by a couple of degrees during the day/overnight?. I noticed no real change in bills doing this…

Midlands, new build 4 bed detached, wife who ramps temp up whenever she can, using about £35 a month of gas over the winter months. Old house, ex council semi, was closer to £50-£60 over winter months.

Sixapod & Willy Waver are usually the first run for me, & still rate as firm favourites. The A470 is better if you can have a go at jumping, even if your wheels probably just clear the ground like me. :-)
I like Terry’s Belly but it does carry on for quite a way when it could spot you out closer to the buses.
There are a multitude of options though, probably more than a single days worth to get the best out of it. Hot stepper is a laugh, there are some good drops but, providing your moving, get your weight back & all are doable. Be wary of someone skidding to a halt in front of you as the bottle it. :-)
The little trail from the cafe to the buses is good too. :-)

Second gen Puffin, if you can track one down.
Pop an ad on the Fat bike FB forum(s)…?
They ride really well.

God I’m thick.

I’ve some 100mm’s for my SIR.9, which runs better with 80mm. If you get nowhere I might be up for a swap.

Commuted on the Puffin quite a few times. Always draws a crowd in the bike sheds.

Facebook classifieds…

Singular Puffin. Such a portly behemoth has no right to be as fun as it is.

Kona Ute. Game changer bike. Should never have sold it. Just brilliant. If you’ve never owned a cargo bike you should.

We part ex’d our house last year, for a new build. Three EA valuations, they offered us the average of the three.
We also had another done, by another EA, as a reference.
All went through quickly & easily.
When our old house eventually sold it was about 4% less than the lowest valuation. The Company was Move With Us, who were very fair, efficient & actually nice to do business with.

Sounds like you need to discover Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt novels. Don’t bother with the latter ones, written by anyone willing to have a go, stick to the early ones: “Sahara”, “Inca Gold”, “Raise the Titanic” etc. Ok, they are a bit predictable, & a but James Bond, but they are well written & the plots are good fun. Perfect for half an hours daydreaming until your train gets in.

If you want the best then there is only one Frederick Forsyth. Start with “Day of the Jacksl”. But bare with it though. Forsyth spends a lot of time & effort setting the scene & the characters. The attention to detail is excellent though, &, bar one or two, I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read of his.

And where are all the nice steel 26” frames ?

I’ve had an eye open for a couple of small / extra small steel frames, eg: Cotic Soul, for my two lads but; they are like hens teeth. They were all over the place once. You were literally tripping over them on Ye olde forum. Folk were literally offering hard cash for people to take them off their hands.
But now……..nothing. Presumably they’ve all rusted away, to dust.

44.7mb down, 12.5 up.
200mb Virgin Media cable, wi-fi on speedtest app on this clapped out iPhone 6, at 18:32.

“Delayed flying home to Manchester”.
The heart bleeds.