I don’t think I could ever bring myself to buy Hunt wheels due to the way they’re marketed (stickered up catalogue parts? – no sir, we’re a boutique wheel designer – look, we’ve got an ‘aerodynamics expert’ and we design our own rims)

It just winds me up for some reason :)

I gave up using Apex rear mechs for CX racing. They’d destroy themselves far too easily in mud even with a decent two bike/washer set-up.

No issues with Rival.

Surely the only thing that makes a hardtail a bike packing hardtail is the frame mounts?

If you’re not bothered about that, then you’re just choosing a hardtail really.

That said, from your choices….bikepacking is tough on frames – bags and straps rub over long distances. I would steer clear of carbon frames to that end, unless you want to cover your frame in helitape.

Have you looked at Surly frames – a number of them are built for bikepacking. I’m enjoying my Bridge Club for example.

Wolfboxes as per above. Awesome kit

I’d suggest learning to juggle. It’s cheap, quite good exercise (picking them up!), and great for coordination. It’s also quite ‘mindful’ so good for de-stressing.

Whilst I got pretty good about 20 years ago, I never got to 5 balls, so maybe that’s a challenge!

Old colleague of mine buys console games from car boots. He waits until the console has become outdated enough that the games are about £1, but before there is any retro appeal. Unopened ones are the ones to get.

He stashes them for a few years and then sells them via eBay. He used to make about £500 a week from his car boot / eBay stuff.

Mind you, he had a knack for it. Went on Bargain Hunt with his mother and they totally smashed it. Not only did they win, they got the Golden Gavel – classic.

I rode some of the 100 a couple of years back, until I got hypothermia (yes, in August!)

Was amazed by the trails on the island. Some really quick tricky stuff. It’s bloody expensive to get there mind you…

In the mid 90s I had a Metro broken into – they stole my smart work shoes off the back seat!

I’m after a tape deck!

Drop me a line on rtedgeAThotmail.com

Ta

Rich

“Just wondering what best outdoor session might be, should I focus on the 6 x sprint-then-2 minute efforts to replicate starts, or just do multiple laps sprinting out of corners and trying to hold threshold for 10 minutes at a time?”

Which one are you least good at? ;)

You could watch this to help decide ;)

http://www.immortalreviews.com/home/2018/4/29/sigur-rs-route-one-experiment-captures-iceland-with-technology

:)

For a more serious answer, I found 3 or 4 days in Reykjavik was enough. Wander around town, take some of the bus trips. My wife went whale watching and saw some amazing up close whales (very lucky apparently). I went on a MTB trip on the trails around the city (some interesting stuff, although not super tech). Awesome country.

db – you’ve not had one old enough then. Go and buy a cheap T2 and give it a poke ;)

LOVE that film.

Here-ford… :)

I’d second Ton’s Fargo recommendation, although I’m not sure the Fargo is strictly a ‘gravel bike’, maybe more of a drop bar MTB (in terms of front end geometry). Not that the label matters, just the geo.

They’re superb though, and really capable, even when fully loaded.

Check that your local league hasn’t gone to online entry (NDCXL is online only for example)

Take some pressure out of your tyres, especially if it’s wet. Always seem to see newcomers sticking 40psi in and wondering why they can’t stay upright ;)

Well I drove my 36 year old Transporter to work today, so..??

Straightliner – yeah, I did 2008, 2010 and 2011 I think.

Whilst 2008 was indeed a tough year in terms of the weather, I don’t remember anything about the actually management of the event that I found lacking. I seem to remember getting fed and washed etc. Maybe I’m wearing some rose tinted specs though there. It wasn’t the best year tbh!

I rode the Ritchey Trailmasters event a few years later as well (three days out from one base) – thought that was good too…

mrhoppy – Trans Wales did this very well over the years. I did it three times and it always seemed like good value for money…

I’m delighted to see someone trying to bring more stage racing to the UK, but for me that’s silly money, especially as accommodation etc is extra.

For that sort of money I’d be looking at going to Poland again to do Sudety / Beskidy, which I reckon you could do for less money, including flights and the hotel upgrade.

Also the distances are way too short each day. At race pace you’ll only be out for about 3 hours!

:(

Perhaps a bit worrying, but my immediate answer is….knives…

I did it last summer. Day one Knighton to the bothy near the lakes. Day 2 to the end and then back part of the way on the road. Day 3 was about 40 miles of road back to the start.

The road riding is actually quite nice, about 50 miles total. Seem to remember it’s one big climb up and over.

It’s a really nice route….have fun!

Surprised no-ones been along to comment about how bikes should never be flipped upside down like that etc….

…also at our old house I accidentally discovered that we had a mostly rubble filled cellar when I broke a floorboard in the space under the stairs. That was pretty cool :)

We looked at a house for sale in Matlock that literally had a cavern entrance in the garden. Not a small cave, the sort of cavern people go into with helmets, ropes and lights.

The previous owners had allowed some sort of permissive access, which sounded like a legal nightmare to me! :)

I was looking at these to go in our camper.

Having said that, I’ve got 200w of solar, and 220Ah of batteries.

Even going budget build with that fridge and some cheap batteries and panels, I reckon you’re well over £500.

I’ve had a succession of old VWs in matt – red oxide, satin black, yellow filler primer and matt nato green. All of them were excellent, as I could respray any scuffs or scrapes.

On a new car? As people above have said, if it’s anything like a matt finish bike, no thanks! :)

Is this some sort of poem?

Oblongbob – I’m trying to help a mate go tubeless on his 26-er bike (he’s a bit behind the times!) – do you have anything that’ll run tubeless, and isn’t too aggressive? Happy to bung some funds your way to cover postage/inconvenience etc

Even in the unlikely event that I found out that Froome had the coolest taste in music imaginable, I’d still think he was a boring, weird doper.

Would you normally think a 50 mile ride in a day was a long way? If not, you should be fine.

Bear in mind when you’re fully loaded up, hills are tougher.

I’ve got some cheap, new WTBs in the classifieds? ;)

It doesn’t seem that long since people on this forum were making ‘Y’ stickers in the correct font to stick on the end of the model name of their Rockshox forks.

Glad to see folks have caught up a bit in terms of what’s acceptable.

I’ve got a 29er Mk1 Scandal in the classifieds if anyone fancies building a parts bin hardtail. Quite possible to build these pretty light….

As well as the stuff Edukator mentioned above, be careful about centre bore. It’s possible to buy wheels that don’t fit over the centre of your hub…..

New trails are Coalville are fun. Not that long though thb.

Stick it on eBay. If anyone asks, you bought it from a car boot sale.

I was tempted by this recently….

https://porsche924.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=35954&sid=06e733f39da32e180d5cef05ab4f82e0

Listening to too much Propagandhi turned me vegan :)

I think naming cars is dumb, but each to their own. What really annoys me is when people advertise their vehicle (usually VW campers) with….”the time has come to put our van, Flossy, up for sale….”

Makes we want to buy the van and just burn it out in front of their house.

Johnw1984 – how much you after for your frameset? Message me if you like?