Thanks @leffeboy , have managed to do it. Had no idea that was even an option! Have also bought my partner a Xmas present from the shop….trying to get her into gravel riding so a book on British gravel routes may help get her hooked (rubbish present as it’s mainly for me!!)

On the other thread Mark mentioned we needed 17% increase in subscribers. 

Its a tough catch 22, the adds will put of some new traffic from joining. But 17% doesn’t feel that high. Be interesting to look at this in the new year, maybe Mark advising what the required total is and seeing if we can crowd fund a free year?

What is the best way to do this to make sure the money goes to STW, so not a gift back to me….thats what happened last time I tried. Highly likely my fault, but some nice easy instructions saying how to go about it would be good.

I’d happily follow the suggestion by Twonks and help by paying more for my subscription.

I have tried in the past to pay more and ended up getting a card with a voucher on it, but I was just trying to pay more to help.

I’m a daily reader of the site and for me I’d happily pay more to ensure you guys survive.

Where I now live has always been calling me. I left Liverpool at age 18, always wanted to move back but the time was never right. Moved back last year at age 49, this place, the people, this city is my home.

I also have a place that is similar and I did think may one day be my home. But it’s more my place of relaxing my brain. When things get on top of me I head to Eryri, do the same walk, sit on a bench at the top of a hill and look out at the reservoir and the mountains in the distance. But I don’t think it will become home, just my retreat.

I get fishing boats and the diesel engines waking me up. I can cope with that though, it’s quite nice to look out and watch. The worst noise is from the Sunday runners, constant stream of club runners chatting away. I live in Liverpool Albert Dock, we have a riverside path that runs underneath my bedroom window…..b@st@rds!! (I’m on the top floor and can still hear them – sounds like they’re running through my bedroom!)

My carbon gravel bike with carbon seatpost, carbon wheels and carbon bars hasn’t managed to kill me yet….

It gets some stick as well, doesn’t live the easiest of lives. I’ve raced road and CX for years on carbon bikes, have seen the odd catastrophic failure, but that’s tended to be when there’s been heavy contact. The failure never caused the crash was merely what happened during the crash. That was very very rare as well.

Been to Vegas a fair bit and had a great time on every trip. I’ve always taken cash I can afford to lose. I’m not impulsive or have addictive traits, so for me it was just a fun trip. We gambled, but in all honesty we spent more time at the restaurants and bars.

I wouldn’t ever gamble what I couldn’t afford to lose. I’ve occasionally won fairly reasonable amounts. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have never lost too much. Each trip I’ve always come back home with some cash, not always from winnings, but sometimes from just not gambling or spending it all.

I never take any access to my bank accounts. That’s just a personal rule, I take cash and an emergency travel card.

I did watch Lennox Lewis fight Hasam Rahmed in his re-match. To watch a heavyweight world championship fight was an experience and well worth the money.

I honestly don’t recognise the descriptions above. The vast majority of the people I encountered were just similar to myself, people there for a good time.

I resemble a lot of those last remarks!!

Team rider, ridden on road for years, mechanic did all the spannering. Every time I tried fixing something his words were pretty much “next time just bring it straight in so I don’t have to fix the mess you’ve made”…..

I can fix a flat though…..

Was out shopping earlier and popped in to a watch shop. Been thinking about getting a Longines Hydroconquest, tried a few watches on….

OK so I’m an ex Rugby League player so don’t get scrums….

But Argentina did seem to be pushing early. Young prop also was scrummaging at a weird angle. 

I won’t blame the ref. Some decisions went Argentina way in my view. England were very poor with ball in hand. Slipped of loads of tackles. Shite to watch. The future looks bleak for England, third place hides how bad things are.

My god that was a poor advert for Rugby. A failed experiment by England. Dominated by Argentina for the last 50 minutes. 

Far too much complaining to the ref by both teams.

Highly likely to be a scam, don’t know how but must be.

I put a bike on FB marketplace, within 15 minutes three people had offered to buy it from me, all saying very similar stories. The bike was for someone else (family member), if I send my bank details they would transfer the cash into my account. This is without seeing the bike or asking any questions about the spec.

Shirt (chest) level tackles have to be part of the game. Wrap up the ball in the tackle to slow down good offloaded. Part of the game. Even when I played (years ago!!), two men in the hit, one low, the other going for the ball and then jacking if possible.

Get your point regarding line out though. SA constantly closed the gap. England had to do something to counter the gap being closed. 

I’ve found the postcode makes the biggest difference.

When married (2020) and living in a nice part of England I had a Merc GLC AMG and a DB9 (2011 plate). The insurance was less than a grand a month, I’m now paying close to that for a single car, valued at £27k, but I’m now in a less desirable post code. Even horsepower wise, way less than than the merc. 

Tempted to get rid of the Cupra and just use the girlfriends Audi A1. Insurance is pennies!  But it’s an Audi A1….

In my opinion the best thing to do with scrums is to see them as an offensive attacking position. Allow feeding as it happens every scrum. Maybe remove wing forwards to create space on the field, so just 13 players…..

(Tongue in cheek obviously, but I do think think the best spectator sport is a hybrid of both….I played both, and as a flanker in union)

As a Welsh man, living in Wales with my Welsh family….the commentary is not less biased here than what ITV is towards the English.

Well done Emgland, really enjoyed that game. They were so focused, made for a great game. And as a neutral I absolutely loved it. I’m really looking forward to the final now. 

Cupra Leon, age 50. Liverpool City Centre address, £900. (21 plate, 10,000 miles a year)If I moved to the girlfriends in North Wales drops by £250.

I have full no claims (over 10 years).

Missus just bought one about 4 weeks ago, she loves it. Running both road and gravel wheels, tyres. 

We’ve done some nice upgrades (zipp wheels, bars and seatpost). Got it quite light now. 

The only thing to note is that the frame is small. We are both 5 foot 8, and ride a 54. I normally ride a 52 and my gravel bike is a small. We tried the kinesis in a small (52) and it felt tiny.

Sky Cinema subscription, we get two tickets for the Vue cinema every month. This makes it cost neutral to us as we used to go the cinema monthly anyway.

I love DH racing, and I get that there is danger involved in racing. But  there is a difference between DH and Rampage.

I completely understand why the riders choose to do Rampage. I played Rugby League until my 30’s. My body is pretty wrecked because of it. I knew the risks, my dad was also a rugby league player and knew exactly what was instore for my body as I aged. But I absolutely loved playing, training and the processes involved in the game. It’s not that I ever thought it won’t happen to me, it’s the fact that I absolutely loved it and accepted the consequences. (I have very little use of one of my arms due to a neck and shoulder injury, sleeping is very hard to come by due to lower back injuries….changing a tyre is a nightmare for me due to lack of grip strength – but I would never have changed any of it)

I am conflicted when I watch Rampage, mainly because I’m now a squeamish wheels on the ground 50 year old. The skill needed to do what they do is amazing, the almost rawness to it is great to watch. The riders are fully aware of the risks. They are clearly nervous/wary of the challenges. And they’re not doing it just for the cash. For me, this type of riding is pretty much the pinnacle of mtb’ing. And I’m a XC rider/racer. I do get it’s not for everyone, but even watching the ridgelines they do, it’s awesome to watch and their skill shines through. 

But equally, I hate to see Gee crashing like he did. I look at some of the drops/jumps and it does appear that there is absolutely zero margin of mistake and the failure can be life changing.

I don’t think it should change. I think people should be allowed to make their own mind up on what they want to do/risk. But as long as they’re not doing it just because of commercial or financial reasons. (I know there’s a conflict there as they need to do this for publicity/sponsorship reasons….aaagghh, proper conflicted!!)

Not sure if a a midlife crisis, but definitely going through a period of certain things in my life dawning on me. I divorced about 3 years ago, from an unhappy marriage that I was only in for the kids sake. Looking back I should have left years ago when I realised I had no love or even any positive feelings towards my ex wife.I have realised that it’s probably me who is incompatible with being in a relationship and I’m happy to be single. I have female friends whom I see, one more regularly than the others. They are all younger than me, I’m 50, they are either in their 30’s or early 40’s. The relationships are predominantly physical as opposed to any feelings or expected future plans. I would think people may look at my life and thing it’s a MLC. 

I’ve done the nice/fast cars through my earlier life, two 911’s, AMG Mercedes an Aston, VW T6 campervan and am now driving a Cupra.

My divorce was mentally horrendous. I’m not going into detail, but it was awful, still is. I’ve lost the ability to believe people can be good humans. It’s easier to keep feelings at a distance. Again possibly mid life crisis. Hard to say. (Hope this doesn’t sound negative, I have a really good life – I just didn’t for a long time)

There was a name drop of the architect, Karen someone maybe.

I liked it. The tree house element is purely conceptual. The raised element was to give them the views / feeling of being in the tree canopy from the kids bedrooms.

I thought he did a really good job, £375,000 for that house is very impressive. Was pleased for the chap and his family.

I’m conflicted on this. Normally I’d be with NickC, they’re adults so keep out of their business.

But I’d hate to know my mate was making steps that will potentially ruin another friends life along with his career.

Ive never had an affair or been tempted, but my exwife did cheat on me. Ultimately the person cheating knows the damage they are going to cause. But if they’re not cheating and the rumours are just “office gossip”, I would suggest you owe it to him to at least mention it in a very non accusatory fashion.

Difficult position to be in.

Every morning without fail.
Every evening after I’ve been to the gym / been on a ride (so about 5 times a week I shower evening and morning)

Even though I work in an office I still get “warm” so like an evening shower as wellz

Mornings I have my routines. I have to do certain tasks in order, showering is one of them. It’s a bit of an OCD thing I’m told – drives my partner mad as I can’t budge on my routine and when I do it properly stresses me.

We go to Tenerife every Feb. Not too far to travel to and pretty Much guaranteed good weather.

Think we paid £1800 each. 5* all inclusive in a nice area.

It’s really hard to recommend to be honest. They are perfect for me, but I may have less flinty roads. The 27mm Strada Pro’s do feel more comfortable (supple) than most 32mm’s I’ve ridden. But they are without doubt more prone to nicks. They’ve always sealed for me, but it’s hard to say if this is luck or not.  I’ve had no issues with sidewall leakage or cuts.

I dont really ride them in the winter though. I tend to ride Bontrager R3 tubeless. Just because they’re on my winter bike rather than any concerns I have.

The 27mm are very comfortable. A few nicks on the tyre but nothing bad. Here’s the only time the tyre didn’t reseal….

Here’s some more pics, you can see that the 27mm tyre fits the 23mm rim really well, no bulbous light bulb effect. And you can also see where the sealant has done its job in the second photo. Those tyres are well used, must be close to 600 miles, maybe more.

Vittoria I’ve not used for a while, they were pretty good. Not as fast as a GP5000, still not a slow or draggy tyre. Reasonably easy getting on and off my rims (tubeless as well). They maybe clincher above, but I ran both tlr and clincher over the years.

Never blown off. Good grip, raced on them for years. In fact my wet weather racing set up was carbon rims, aluminium brake track and Vittoria corse tyres. (White bike above)

And here’s them on a better looking bike….but not so good looking rims.

Following on from the previous thread, I’m a huge fan of both.

Ive raced crits and road races on Challenge Tyres. Comfort has been very very good. Grip in my opinion is very good for both wet and dry weather racing. Absolutely no way would I consider racing a poor performing tyre in a crit race in the rain. I’m talking  about closed circuit and city / street races, so technical with lots of fast cornering. Constant fast corners, sprinting, climbing out of the saddle with high power (no rear tyre slipping).

Getting them on and off the rim….no issues. I only have limited use of my left arm. I struggle with Pro Ones and the older GP5000’s. My rims are mainly Bontrager, but I also had Reynolds 65mm rims that are notoriously difficult with tubeless tyres. Challenge tubeless tyres have been fine. Even after getting a nail in the tyre, it wouldn’t seal due to large hole, but I managed to get a tube in with the Bontrager rim strip still inserted, tyre seated no issues.

Have used a fair few Renee Herse tyres and never had an issue with them blowing of the rim. Grip has also been absolutely fine, but these tend to be on my gravel bike, 38mm and 42mm tyres. I’m not particularly expecting the grip to be on rails like I would do with a 27mm tyre.
But I do find that a bigger more compliant tyre tends to be softer. It’s going to cut up. They’re also going to be slightly slower than a gp5000. It completely depends where your priorities in a tyre lie. Speed and comfort, gp 5000, comfort before speed, Challenge. Comfort, Renee Herse wide and extra light….but bigger risk of punctures even tubeless.

In my view, GP5000 is the Goldilocks tyre. But my personal preference is for comfort being slightly higher elevated over speed, so Challenge for me. I also really really struggle with GP5000 tubeless on my rims. But that’s purely down to my rims and my lack of ability to remove those tyres from my rims….i don’t think I could put a tube in should I need to in an emergency mid ride.

Pro Ones I found ok, similar to the GP5000, good performance in all conditions, tight to get on and off but not as comfortable as challenge. They also wear out fairly quickly. But that’s just my use of them, other people will have had differing experiences.

Another really good tyre is the Bontrager R3 in a 32mm tubeless.  They paired very well with my Bontrager rims. Fairly comfortable, I’d say from a longevity perspective they were my best performing tyres, but then lose out in speed to GP5000 and comfort to challenge.

I don’t think it’s possible to make a tyre as comfortable as Challenge tyres without accepting the fact that they’re going to cut up on really bad roads. And equally I don’t think you’ll be able to get tyres to be as resilient and fast as the GP5000 without reducing comfort.

Sealant wise, I tend to use whatever I have in. I probably use Orange or Stans the most. I did originally buy challenge sealant but don’t think it’s needed.

Wheels are 19mm internal (Reynolds), 21 and 23mm internal Bontrager. All carbon. And here’s a pic of my Aelous RSL wheels with the Challenge Strada Pro 27mm tyres. And I do think they look awesome and we all know that’s the most important part!

Ran quite a few sets of Rene Herse and had no problems setting up tubeless. And I’m a cack handed fool.

The Compass Tyres come out at £120 a pair (   https://www.merlincycles.com/challenge-strada-bianca-handmade-tubeless-ready-road-tyre-700c-296584.html   )

I’m a bit of an OCD kind of guy, there’s others  with a racing background on here who are similar….and we kind of repeat the same things on these types of threads. But your question is about finding the holy grail between comfort, speed and puncture resistance. There are probably just a small number of tyres that meet these requirements and you’re still going to have to compromise. There is also the fine balancing as to get speed and comfort, as you then start introducing less puncture resistance.
GP5000 are probably the safest best. But I wouldn’t rule out the Compass. As long as you’re comfortablem with the fact that it’s a race ready tlr tyre. The only flat I had that wouldn’t seal was a huge **** off nail through the side wall. I used my compass tyres for crit racing, general road racing and also lots of fast training rides. They’re not on the bike now, I’m running mainly gravel tyres (scwalbe g one ultra. Ok but heavy, grip in winter off road is great though)

I know I’m the wrong demographic, but for me I’d be seeing how comfortable a 30mm handmade clincher is. The speed certainly won’t slow you down. They do cut up over, but so will most comfortable fast tyres. It’s part of the compromise.

I don’t think you will notice a real world speed difference between 30 and 32mm.

When I was racing I did all sorts of testing to find my fastest set up. Including testing tyres of different sizes on different rims. Whilst not scientific (was just me on the local closed road crit circuit with a power meter and a selection of wheels / tyres). I didn’t notice any significant differences. From memory 25mm was the fastest (on 65mm rims); 32mm was only a couple of watts different. I opted for 27mm for the mixture of comfort and speed. But this was on a smooth circuit, averaging 280 watts and 23mph on an aero bike. Real road conditions will bring them closer together.

(The Crit circuit is a kidney shape, ok road surface, small but high intensity high speed climb followed by a fast downhill and then a fast straight – I admit this wasn’t intended to be a real world test)

I’d suggest giving them a go, or possibly even trying a 35mm Rene Herse. It sounds like you would prefer comfort to outright speed. You will lose a very small amount of speed but you will probably make up for it in comfort and less fatigue.

Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass – 700c x 35mm

I’m also a huge fan of Compass tyres. I don’t know how they are so comfortable but they really are good. I didn’t lose speed with these, I found them a very fast but comfortable tyre. I really did feel like the 27mm tyre felt as comfortable as a 32. So you could also give the 33mm a go.

https://www.challengetires.com/shop/products/strada-bianca-6/230712

I have 38mm Gravel Kings on my gravel bike for road duties. I have a nice set of road wheels I swap them over for pure road rides. I think these are made of paper as they cut up very badly. They’ve sealed so not had any issues with them and I guess I do very light gravel on them which they seem to not like. Before the Gravel Kings I had 38mm Rene Herse Barlow Pass, they were ok. Comfortable but did feel draggy but that was likely  to be perceived dragginess due to them dulling the ride – I don’t think there would be much real world speed difference (and yeah they were tubeless).

But to be honest I agree with Daffy. 32mm is the sweet spot for road in my opinion. But a good 32mm tyre, GP 5000 type.  Set up tubeless I’ve found 32mm to offer good levels of comfort.

beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that, but I like my bikes aesthetically. Admittedly they’re not as nice as Beakers Isen above but I still like them.

I loved the Aeroad and think it’s decent looking for an aero bike. The saddle on the bottom picture doesn’t help, I’d only just received and hadn’t set it up. But a great bike to ride.

The Emonda is great to ride. I did try and buy an SWorks Tarmac but the shop weren’t particularly helpful with sizing, stem / bar set up. So went back to Project One (that’s my third). And yep, I raced on them.

I think we need armed police without a doubt.

But I am at a loss as to what the current action is for. Surely if an unarmed man is shot and killed then the person responsible for the killing / murder, should be held accountable in a court of law?

Is there some portions of this story that is missing? He was in a car previously used by people known to carry weapons,  but as far as I’m aware there needs to be a distinct threat to life, the press reporting doesn’t appear to show that threat?

Depends on the riding, for XC it’s spd, my big travel bike used for more technical riding it’s flats.

And yes, I’ve used spd’s for decades. I just prefer for slow technical sections to not be clipped in.

For my urban riding I do use SPD’s. But that’s generally on a gravel bike.

If you’re going to be using it for technical and jumpy trails then just go with whatever you’re comfortable with. If you’re going to do a mix of urban and technical and you prefer flats for urban, then surely it’s  flats then?

Shimano SPD for me though. Used for a long time so very comfortable with them.

As a Welshman, I want to say what an awesome performance. But it’s hard to say just how bad Australia were.

But wow I didn’t see that result coming, very happy, actually gutted I didn’t go to the pub to watch it. Also I’m quietly pleased Biggar went off early and we didn’t fall to pieces.

Folks over in Anglesey not too impressed. But they like to moan. Here in North Wales most people I’ve spoken to are ok with it, most have taken it with jest….lots of funny moaning.

That’s a big statement right there!

SA missed a few penalties, but that’s still a great win. Proper physical encounter. Going to be some sore bodies tomorrow. Ireland tackled like demons.

Great game. Let’s hope the Irish can hold out for the last 5 mins.

Just very glad it’s not Wales playing SA, we would not have a chance!!