Currently adidas for me too – Supernova Trail for relatively good trails (their Terrex range looks a lot more beefy and I’m not really planning on full offroad mountain running)

But most adidas shoes seem to be 10mm drop.

I’ve had New Balance trail shoes, Hierro V2s. I really, really liked the Vibram rubber, but not the 6mm drop and overly squishy foam sole.

Quite a few options for MTBs (a lot less for SuperX)

Mavic do rear wheels like this
https://www.probikeshop.com/en/gb/mavic-crossmax-pro-29-rear-wheel-offset-9-12×135-12×142-mm-axle/155956.html

Actionsports website lets you choose 6mm offset in their custom builder (and get a Lefty front if you need one)
https://www.actionsports.de/en/wheels/custom-wheels/mtb-disc-29/

And Cannondale make it sound easy to re-dish anything (although I hesitate to try this myself)

Fit is really everything, except…

The first time you put climbing shoes on, the feeling is going to be so different to “normal” shoes that you need to have quite an open mind – what feels weird and tight might actually be just right. Unfortunately you can’t really shortcircuit the experience you need for this, so it’s probably better to err on the side of comfort (what someone else said about pressure points is a good guide) and accept that you’ll maybe need to upgrade before your first pair have worn out.

The other thing is that it’s really worth getting a pair that will reward and encourage good foot placement – clumpy stiff things will encourage you to ‘shudder’ slap the ball of your foot in the direction of the hold and lurch upwards. A decent pair will let you feel the difference, help you place and weight your feet properly and give you a chance to actually develop good footwork using different parts of the sole and edges. I don’t mean going all-in for a top-end pair, but there’s a world of difference between the cheapest Simond shoes and mid-range scarpa or sportiva shoes.

Which reminds me – different brands tend to have their own specific shapes, so most people get on better with one or the other. Try on equivalent shoes from different brands to get an idea of what’s best for your foot.

Oh, and I’d go for lace-ups or velcros for a first pair. Slippers are best later on, when you know what fits.

I miss climbing.

It’s usually cold and dry when I commute, and I sweat a lot, so I have never tried full waterproof stuff.

Polaris RBS jackets have a good mix of colours and have reflective bits in very sensible places that aren’t covered by a pack, but the fit is a little relaxed

Current favourite is a Bontrager velocis s1 halo softshell. Yellow in daylight and all over reflective at night. Good fit on me, and warm enough with appropriate baselayers when it’s just negative temperatures, but less breathable than a non-reflective softshell

I think you need to be lucky and have the right facial structure to make most of the smaller goggles work for you. The mask-type ones are an easier bet, and really good for visibility if you’re planning on doing any open-water swimming.

However, the smaller ones seem to make pool swimming a bit easier – I have atrocious breathing/head-turning technique and I can feel the water and get my head position better with the in-socket ones.
I actually ended up getting a pair of custom-printed ones from themagic5 (with a discount code they were about the same price as top-end googles from other brands). The fit is better than any other small goggles I’ve tried.

Last year my mum’s 2-month old Clio lost pretty much all of the front bumper and surrounding plastics outside her house one night. Carefully dismounted with all the bolts left lying around. It must have been just the right colour for someone.
She’s parked it in the garage every night since..

I tried out zwift last winter, mostly because they started supporting the trainer I already had. A few things that were a bit of a surprise for me:
– Even with a fluid trainer (not a smart one where the resistance changes with the virtual gradient) it’s really immersive. The visual feedback of your little feller going slower up climbs works amazingly well to push you to put more effort in.
– training to power (even Zwift power) is a revelation. So much more precise than HR zones. I’m a bit number geeky so I really liked this bit.
– there’s almost too much to do on Zwift, with training plans, group rides, fondos and just riding around. I live somewhere sunny, so didn’t really get enough indoor riding time to get the most out of it.

I didn’t really use it enough to get any real gains from training, but just doing an FTP test and a few workouts taught me a lot about what kind of output I can sustain – which came in very useful in the one 10km timetrial I ended up doing this year.

There are a few guides around on how to get a setup according to budget. As mentioned above, I already had a supported trainer (the brandX/lifeline TT02 fluid trainer) and a reasonable laptop, so I only needed a speed/cadence sensor and an ANT+ usb dongle to get going. I also had an ANT+ hr strap, and a garmin watch that allows broadcasting HR.

Oh yes – as well as setting up a good fan, laptop position (or tv position and where you put your phone with the companion app) is pretty important. As is some sort of sweat absorber to prevent you destroying your stem/bars/headset/carpet with rivers of corrosive sweat.

I seem to remember reading that the Stans connection is just for the rim bed/bead shape. Certainly the higher end SL Disc wheels come with DT Swiss hubs.

Yours seem to have “Hubs: HollowGram custom, 39t/3-pawl freehub for fast engagement, sealed precision bearings”. Could be rebranded DT Swiss 350s? Ah no – someone here says they are Formula : https://forums.roadbikereview.com/cannondale/endcaps-hollowgram-disc-hubs-362466.html

Dude diligence
Flounce
Chimney-poos

Closest fun stuff is probably just west of Lyon around Yzeron/Grezieu I think? Very popular with roadies, so Strava heatmap will probably show mostly road routes.
Seen these ?
https://www.utagawavtt.com for GPS traces
http://www.vetete.com/ for organised randos – usually quite XC, but basically local clubs marking up their favourite bits for a day
There’s a list of FFC sites here as well https://sitesvtt.ffc.fr/ these are the routes marked with a triangle and two dots. Can be a bit dull, but get you started. Site is pretty difficult to use though

Uhhh except that the Soul stone was the one being lurked over by the red skull and the mind stone in vision’s head was the one in the sceptre?

Still works if you replace Head with “Hole in the ground” though.

I always tighten or undo pedals with the wheels on the ground. That way I just have to remember that undoing pedals is the direction in which my knuckles will smash into the exposed teeth on the big ring when it suddenly lets go. This might be less memorable with 1x drivetrains.

Maxxis Ardent Race front/Ikon rear here (dry, dusty, rocky trails). Also used Spec Ground Control front/Fast Trak rear. Both of those combos have tyres with quite rounded profiles, which I prefer as I don’t have enough handling skill to push over onto more pronounced shoulder knobs

Even before reading Barney’s bit up there, rotational forces have been something that have concerned me ever since having a discussion with an intensive care nurse who wouldn’t wear a helmet because of his perception that he’s seen too many patients who’d been wearing a helmet and had suffered torsional injures (I know, sample of one, no real data, etc).
This doesn’t affect my choice to pretty much always wear a helmet, but it did influence a recent replacement. I bought a MIPS helmet.

But it’s noticeably less ventilated than the similar non-MIPS version it replaced.

Next time round I’ll look at some of the less sweaty versions : MIPS SL that Specialized have put into a couple of helmets, or POCs Spin. Maybe Bontragers Wavecell.

International Gnarpoon delivery to France seems to have been easy. Great work !

I’m using an 11-40 SLX cassette with an RX mech – looks like you could squeeze 11-42 in there but I didn’t try it..

This is 2×11, with chainrings mixed from CX and road on the front – currently using 46-34 (after trying out 50-34 and 46-36 !)

On the road with 25mm tyres I almost exclusively stay in the 46, cross chaining to use 46-40 with no problems (little bit noisy) but when I put on 40mm G-ones and ride up and down things I probably shouldn’t, having the 36 and even the 36-40 is very worthwhile for me. I am not blessed with ridiculous leg power.

Thanks Alex!

..this is turning into quite a lot of work for you – I hope you’re at least getting a free t-shirt yourself

Based on pretty much nothing, I imagine that Trek have developed an alternative to carbon fibre that is fully recyclable (no plastic)

Did the short version (50km I think) a few years ago on a perfect sunny day.

I really enjoyed it – not very technical or rocky, climbing up fireroads and ski slopes, then down on singletrack and across pastures.. although the longer courses go farther up and out and take some ridges and higher mountain terrain. Also I believe that they change the course a bit most years.

On the shorter courses there’s a real mix of abilities. Lots of people out for the experience and to finish and then fast racing at the front for all distances. No gridding, and my friend and I put ourselves too far back, even with our modest capacities.

Great atmosphere on the course and at the finish, with lots of people cheering you on. Lots of vids on youtube that show the terrain pretty well. Looks grim if it’s a wet year though!

I got a lot from Jerry Moffatts autobiog “Revelations”. Although he was a climber, all the sports psychology that he applied to himself to do the best he could should be applicable to any sport; things like accepting start line nerves, continual positive reinforcement and visualisation (including strategies for unexpected events, like misreading lines or feeling a bit off form…).

(edit: oooo amazon embedding.. fancy.)

He also co-authored a book specifically on this – Mastermind https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/publications/other_publications/mastermind_by_jerry_moffatt-9894 but I haven’t read it, so don’t know how transferrable it’d be.

Vivoactive HR has been OK for me – bought it for the same reasons as you, and to have notifications when riding with phone in bag.

Big disadvantage are the looks, it’s more ASBO tag than watch.
Big advantage to Garmins are the third party apps; I’ve changed watch face and added a better stopwatch and triathlon functions (still struggling with something that lets you build custom interval timings, but I think the higher end Garmins do this natively)

Garmin Connect is ugly, but mostly I don’t need to open it. It syncs to Strava in the background.

Alternatives would be the older Suunto or Polar watches – there seemed to be a few good reductions on these a while ago.

And for really more in-depth reviews than pretty much anywhere else, try here https://www.dcrainmaker.com/

Ultegra RX and 11-40 here – works really well without roadlink. Don’t forget that 11-speed shimano MTB cassettes are 1.85mm shorter than road cassettes so a spacer is needed.

Edit – if you search then a couple of people are saying that it works with 11-42 as well..

If you shower before leaving and put clean clothes on for (and after) every commute, you might get away with it. Using neutral unperfumed soaps and minimal deodorant can also help.

Thanks – I’m more concerned about the sprocket carrier touching the spokes really – I don’t have the weels to hand, but they’re straight pull and I seem to remember that the spokes are quite widely spaced behind the cassette.

Me neither, although I’ve heard « avoir les bouteilles » quite a lot, as it’s what French climbers say when their forearms are pumped solid.

Heard it in various contexts, mostly parents talking to friends. “salle gosse” is quite common too. Same sort of colloquial phrase as “la marmaille”

2018 was the first year that I really tried running – mostly prompted by a forced retirement from climbing. This thread is a great source of advice and inspiration! In 2018 I did two really good trail races – Festatrail (tour de Pic St Loup) that goes around our local hill, and the short version of the trail de Passerelles south of Grenoble. Both were about 16km, running for between 2h and 2h30.

For 2019 I’ve decided that just running isn’t for me, and that instead of being mediocre at just cycling and running I should aspire to be mediocre at swimming too (I have a long way to go for this..) and do some short offroad triathlons. For me that gives the right mix of something inspiring and challenging to train for, means that I keep going with trail running and mtb and keeps the target activity distances short enough to fit training in around real life, and hopefully avoid the kind of overuse injuries I’m prone to if I push distances – not sure that this will actually be possible, but we’ll see.

Will be out for the first run of the year at lunchtime.

Better than the year before

I’m in Europe, but the other country that rides on the left – Ireland. So it might be the mechanic being deliberate to build them that way trying to be helpful.

I ordered a bike from them for delivery to France. After I’d ordered it I realised that I hadn’t made any note about brake setup in the order, so contacted them to ask for Euro setup. They told me they automatically build this way for non-UK addresses – looks like the Republic of Ireland is bundled in with that.

The latest 105/Ultegra 11 speed rear mechs are only supposed to handle up to a 34-tooth sprocket.. but the ultegra ones handle 40 no problem!

I converted my CX bike to be a bit more gravel by keeping the 105 shifters (hydraulic brakes so wasn’t going to mess around) and fitting an 11-40 SLX cassette and an Ultegra RX clutch mech (RD-RX800-GS). Works perfectly – I did need to add a 1.75mm spacer for the cassette, which I didn’t realise at first. 11 speed mtb cassettes are that much smaller than road cassettes, but most freehubs are about that short anyway, so it’s possible to fit the mtb cassette without realising. But shifting is better with the correct spacer.

can’t really help with chainring – I’m still on the double at the front. I can manage most roads using the 46-tooth CX big ring and 11-40, but I’ve put on a 34-tooth small ring, for the steepest offroad climbs (my personal definition of “gravel” is quite close to “definitely the wrong bike for here”)

I’m in a similar place to you – just finished the Zwift 101 sessions and one FTP test.

I’m tempted to keep going, 30 minute workouts are quite easy to fit in and the plans all give you a window to do them in which makes it easier to fit around real life. I suspect that 30 minutes training to power on Zwift is going to be a lot more effective than just riding, or even trying to do a certain kind of effort during commuting (which is the majority of my riding time).

Why not try one of the shorter programmes? You’re paying for Zwift anyway so it doesn’t cost anything and you can always stop.

I’ve mostly talked myself into it – just need to work out if I can combine two 30 minute commutes and a Zwift workout in the same day without either destroying myself, or compromising the training.

For apple stuff, you used to be able to get engraving on some things if you bought them from apple.co.uk – I got my sister an engraved shuffle.

It’ll still go out of date, but it makes it a bit more special for a big birthday

Just checked – they still do it on iPods and iPads

Did they have a spot on their hand that they pressed when they wanted an adventure? Or what books were those?

Took me a while to get this.. Pretty sure it’s Captain Cobwebb

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Captain-Cobwebbs-Adventurers-Gordon-Boshell/dp/0006911102

Gorilla tape is actually pretty good (unless you want to remove it apparently, it’s said to leave quite the gluey mess). Slightly thicker than the proper stuff, so I imagine that two wraps would help with your baggy Nics, and much more resistant to accidental scrapes with tyre levers… yes I have done this.

Good guide to width here https://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday-Gorilla-Tape-Tubeless-Conversion.html

Crossroads is wire bead only I think – probably really solid, but heavy.

G-ones are available in much lighter tubeless ready versions. I’m using the allrounds (40mm) for everything and they are what everyone says – quick on tarmac and surprisingly good offroad.

When I’ve worn through the back tyre I’ll probably move the front to the back, and get a G-one bite for the front, to encourage even less appropriate behaviour for a drop bar bike. Yeah.

Thanks all – knowing that the bosch motor spins the chainring faster than the pedals explains a lot..

So, now looking at this

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-zr-lady-hybrid-7.0-500wh-714314

Bosch Cx motor, 500Wh battery, 1×11 and a decent fork. Battery integration isn’t as nice as the Cubes, and no space for a bottle, but looks good apart from that I think. Bit pink though.

Any thoughts?

Problem is that it’s not for me.

This is what’s puzzling me (two examples, not bikes I’m trying to choose between)

1×9 with 11-36 and a 15t chainring

https://www.scott-sports.com/fr/fr/product/velo-scott-aspect-eride-40?article=270788269

2×9 with 11-36 and 24/38T chainrings

https://www.liv-cycling.com/int/vall-eplus-2

How can these bikes be in the same category? What am I missing… or am I being silly in thinking that anyone would notice a 23 tooth difference in front chainrings when trying to pedal?

Well that explains why owners obsess about battery usage – I can’t imagine climbing steep hills on a 21kg bike with those kind of gears.

So, how to choose? Trust the manufacturers?

Grande Traversees in France?

Full version of this https://www.la-gtmc.com/ is 1380km, but shorter sections would be good. Right through the Massif Centrale

Have just ordered these for £277  : http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/fr/en/rockshox-sid-rl-solo-air-forks-boost-2017/rp-prod174786

But 29″ version is only selectable for the “list of options”, so not sure if they are actually in stock.. will find out in a couple of days!

(they’re boost, but I’ll buy a conversion kit for the wheel if they actually turn up)