I’ve used a little company in Salisbury called Lasercell a number of times before. I’m sure they could hook you up quite easily too.

I did put a small t-foil on the rudder to start with but it worked better without. I might try again with that at a different angle too. The issue with foils is that they are basically weed catchers, so if you use it anywhere with weed then you need to stop it quite regularly to clean them off.

Ha! You’re right, i’d not seen them in that light before! I wanted them more angled up but my in work foil procrastinations weren’t done with any measurements of the actual boat, hence why they came out like they did. I just superglued them on as they were as I was interested to see how it worked.

I’ll cut them off and try a new design soon. I want them to be tapered so that they become thinner and produce less lift as the boat lifts higher and faster to try and keep the boat in the water (I can’t adjust the depth of the propeller so need to keep it low enough that it stays in the water at the stern)

This is a bit left field, but using some really poor foreign plans that I found on Aerofred I have constructed my first RC Boat. I picked this plan as it looked easy to build as didn’t have many parts to it (I soon discovered it was because a lot of the faces had to be freestyled into position to cover the open parts around the bulkheads…) anyway, it turned out ok but is incredibly narrow and unstable under throttle with a single prop.

I added some additional sponsons on the side which did help make it a little more stable, but the most recent upgrade has been some custom designed and 3D printed hydrofoils.

Final result is actually pretty good for what is something of a bodge rather than well thought out design. It’s very stable at around 75% throttle and cruises around up on the foils. Due to the angle of them they provide too much lift at max throttle and it leaps out the water and nose dives. I plan to attempt to remedy this by adding weight up front to try and keep the nose down. If this doesn’t work then either a rear foil or more tapered front foils so that they generate less lift when higher might be the answer.

Either way, a nice project to work on with the kids. The fact that it’s not worked great first time has given us some practical engineering to overcome too.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AW2ShvB6ZurGo4uR8

I had a 2009 that went in the same place although I spotted it before it had totally sheared off. I managed to get it repaired, I sprayed over it in black rattle can paint and carried on riding it and quickly forgot it was there.

These are great bikes, amazing that back in 2010 you could buy this complete bike brand new for £800!

I have been purchasing my coffee from ‘Coffee Plant’ recently. It’s excellent and I don’t think too bad value for money. (sure, it’s not cheap, but it is very fresh and they offer an excellent variety of beans and roasts.)

They also do a trial kilo with free shipping which is worth a go (you can also add other beans to the order whilst the shipping is free if you wanted to stock up) https://coffee.uk.com/shop/special-offers/new-customers-carriage-free-sample-offer-2

You can read up on the beans and roasts here: https://coffee.uk.com/product-category/coffee

I find that the beans do come out quite a dark roast and usually go for the medium or even medium-mild.

Personal favourites are the Mexican and Brazilian.

well Merak, that is amazing.

I have the original build of this having used and abuse it as a teenager… I dug it out my parents garage a while back and it looks very sorry for itself now! I might be forced to actually buy a new bodyshell and spruce it up!

Guys, I’ve got an old Tamiya TL-01 that I dragged out of my parents loft when back in the day. Turns out that ‘young me’ wasn’t particularly kind to the old body shell and what is left of it is largely held together with tape and hope…

Is there anywhere online where I can source a reasonably priced body shell so that I can spruce it up again. Mechanically, it seems to work fine still so seems like a nice project to work on with my lad.

Thanks in advance.

Sonder Cortex is £999 and pretty excellent. Not sure about the ‘simple linkage’ but mine is 18 months old and haven’t had to replace any bearings yet and it’s been used multiple times per week ever since I got it.

My ultegra one was all well and good until I attempted to fit a new cable and then couldn’t remove the little 2mm tension grub screw as it’s rounded off. Need to try and attempt to get the little bar steward out now. I’ve fixed the mech into the big ring and am manning up for the time being.

Mine doesn’t do this, so assume that something is wrong.

Is the air pressure sufficient? Is the tension on the cable too tight so that it’s not fully releasing into the ‘locked’ position?

I had this same dilemma. In the end I went with the GE1 as I decided that I liked the idea of the fact that they were more shaped and less round and this seemed to make them more worthy of the money I was spending on them over other grips.

Either way, I REALLY like them. I’ve been using Deathgrips for a couple of years and these are better in every way. More grip, more comfort, more shred.

Goodwood Farm Shop (near Chichester) is not far from you. They do a lot of really excellent meat and dairy products. Not sure they will deliver but you can pre order and collect from the farm.

There are loads of trails all around this area. The benefit of the ‘gravel bike’ is that you just don’t have to stick to the roads. I’ve got a 650bx47 bike which I use for everything that isn’t full on mountain biking. It’s remarkably capable and you can take on almost everything on it. Just head out for a genre free bike ride and see where you end up?! (it’s even better in Spring/Summer/Autumn in fairness, as you’re less likely to ride into a swamp when you head off the beaten path).

Get yourself an OS map, highlight all of the bridleways, byways etc, pick a destination and then see how many you can link up to get there.

I live in Widley, and although there aren’t really any ‘gravel routes’ around, it’s possible to add a lot of interest to an otherwise dull road ride.

Thank you Chiefgrooveguru, you’ve saved me time and effort as this is what I expected too! :-D

The list of printed things on my current road and mtb’s are as follows:

Chain stay protector
Chain guide
Steerer Tube Wahoo mount (different on both bikes to match length and angle of stem)
Light adaptor for aero seat post so that the light doesn’t notch to one side or the other.
Seat Mast adaptor to run a seat mast topper on top of the abovementioned aero seat post.
Rockshox Compression Adjuster
Rockshox and Fox volume spacers (both shock and fork)
Helmet light mount (specific for my light and my helmet)

If it’s a plastic part then I just model it in Solidworks and then print it on the Markforged in Onyx material, solid fill.

I’ve got a Sonder Cortex which I fitted a 10mm longer fork and a 2.0 slackset. That started at 66deg and now is somewhere around the 63.5deg and tbh, I also can’t really note that it’s any worse at climbing. It descends like a beast and the steering perhaps feels a little slower in the ‘car park’ but the rest of the time I can’t notice any downsides. I might at some point re-fit the standard headset to see if I can notice a difference going back but not sure there is any point?!

Go for it.

Not exactly answering your question as I’ve not used the Tannus, but I’ve been using the standard Rimpact inserts since September and I think they are absolutely spot on. Light, great protection and seem to be lasting well (I took them out to swap tyres and they look exactly like when I put them in) despite running pretty low pressures (15f 18.5r).

I read a lot of reviews and these seemed to get the best reviews for anything that wasn’t cushcore, and were a LOT cheaper.

I’d certainly have no issue recommending them.

I’ve had this recently with my new Bluegrass pads which I never got with my previous Dainese ones. I’ve been experimenting and recently i’ve been applying Coconut Oil to my knees before I put my pads on, and then ensuring that the pads are in the correct position. Not done any really long rides since using the Coconut Oil but so far it’s definitely an improvement!

^ Ha.

I’m a roadie riding mountain biker, I have a variety of colours of clothes which I wear on the bike, but the long and the short of it is, that almost all of the good quality roadie clothing is only really available in black. Bib shorts, Tights, Shakedry jackets etc. I’ve got a selection of fluro yellow helmets, gloves, shoes, overshoes etc to mix it up.

I’ve been knocked off by 3 people who “didn’t see me” regardless of the time of day, clothing choices or number of lumens i’m packing and I’d say that i’m a very defensive cyclist and will always avoid any interaction with cars if at all possible.

Sadly, ‘I didn’t see you’ is apparently a valid and acceptable excuse for poor driving and until that changes then it will always be a high risk pursuit.

As I mentioned in the other thread. I have one, I ride it a lot and I think it’s pretty excellent.

Hopster, these look great!

Side note: Which tyres are these?

I’ve got the cheap 4 Pot MT500 brakes and they are pretty excellent. I am 80kg and when they are bed in and bled the power is phenomenal, to the point where I am not really sure that I could actually benefit from any more power.

One thing I have noticed is that 4 piston brakes take more maintenance to keep them running really sweet. Need to bleed them more regularly, and they tend to need more caliper alignment to keep them running perfectly as they have twice as many pistons working in unison.

I rode it last year, here is my route.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2752458774

It took me 1hour 28mins from the gate to the top and I stopped a few times to admire the scenery. As has been said, it’s all rideable apart from the one section that is obviously a hike a bike section!

It was a great ride, most enjoyable.

SXNeil is a top bloke, I did wonder if he might come and get involved in this thread.

As mentioned previously, I’ve got no issues recommending the bike to others and I’d defs buy another Sonder when the time comes.

Where do you live? If you’re anywhere near Portsmouth I can disinfect mine and you can take it for a spin :-D

Mine is not noisy and I’ve not heard a squeak out of it. I’ve wrapped the chainstay in self amalgamating tape and run an XT rear mech with clutch so don’t think there is much chain slap to speak of.

I’ve written a few bits on here about mine and it’s great.

Mines an XL

How much do you weigh? I’m 80kg and I tried the soft negative spring and it made the fork worse for me in every way so it only stayed in for one ride. Probably worth it if you’re sub 70kg though.

I’ve had one since September and I think it’s pretty great actually. The paint finish looked great from new, but has flaked a little more easily in places (but in fairness, I have ridden the thing pretty hard from day 1)

I’ve got the basic version with the Rockshox Deluxe and I’ve got it setup nicely now with all the volume spacers and 20% sag. It’s a proper trail bike. Mine is 140mm up front and 120mm rear. It pedals well for long rides and you can shred the balls off it in the gnar.

I love mine. I got a frameset and built it up myself but there was no issue with the fit and finish of the fixings. I did have an issue with one of the linkages but it was sorted very swiftly by Neil at Sonder and dealt with it very professionally.

I’d have no issue recommending the bike at all. It’s a bike and it’s designed to be ridden so don’t be precious about it and ride it!

Which fork is this for DrP? I have the softer negative spring for the Aion which I don’t need. PM me if you’re interested.

I bought a pair of 29″ Boost wheels from there for £129 a couple of months ago and they were totally as described and perhaps the bargain of the century.

We’ve had one for 6 years now as we decided to upsize from the Punto and we’ve done 100,000 miles in it. It’s been crashed into twice and written off but we bought it back and kept it on the road. As has been mentioned above, it’s not a looker but it’s just so practical. It’s like a tardis and very practical for use with kids.

Ours is the 1.3 multijet. It’s not fast by any stretch but it’s not too depressingly slow to drive. We usually get around 50mpg but since lockdown and the 50mph speed limit on the M27 it’s actually up to 60mpg now. (due to the lack of aerodynamic thought in the design, you really do get punished for pushing that brick through the air any faster than is sensible!)

Hard to know where to go from Doblo ownership. Anything smaller of sleeker and you’d be annoyed at the reduction in practicality. Anything larger and it would seem overkill for normal use.

I am going to revisit my review of this post. I’ve had mine installed since September and it has been FAULTLESS.

I pumped the pressure up to whatever it recommended when I installed it and I’ve never had to touch it since. I lift up the sealing ring and give it a clean and lube up with some KS Post Paste every month or whenever I give the bike a thorough clean and this seems to be enough to keep it running sweet. The amount of play in the saddle is tiny (you can feel it in the car park, but not when riding) but this amount hasn’t changed in the time I have had it.

I would totally recommend this seat post. The quality is excellent and the service from OneUp is apparently very good too (although I’ve not had any experience of this myself). For reference, mine is a 210mm post shimmed down to 190mm and it has the V2.1 actuator.

I’ve got the MT501/520 and they are fully brilliant, regardless of the cost!

Genuinely the best cycling jacket i’ve ever worn. I borrowed one for a 18 hour / 325km Audax in March last year which featured ALL the weather conditions and I wore it all day. When I took it off I was totally dry by the end. I was totally blown away by it. Need to save up and buy my own now.

As others have said, it’s phenomenally thin material and it would be an expensive thing to catch and tear whilst enthusiastically riding through brambles!

I’ve had my Cortex since September and ridden it loads and apart from an issue with the linkage which has been swiftly sorted out by Alpkit it’s been a joy to own. The bearings are all fine still as I had it apart a little while back just to check.

I have one too, got it at Christmas. I mounted it onto the bike but had to rebuild it as it got full of mud and crap over winter. I’ve used it as a normal pump and it was very effective, no reason to believe that the CO2 won’t work as expected too. I really like the Blackburn stuff, really nicely made.

Not sure if the photo works but I took this one yesterday up on the South Downs, nice carpet of bluebells and wild garlic.

What sort of van is that, Colp?