I used the HOW line on the weekend and the new bike storage is great and whilst I have never failed to get my bike on a HOW train, it has often been a bit stressful and difficult, so the improvements are very welcome. I hope it gets well used so TFW see the benefits from the investment in cycle faci...

It is a dilemma repeated across nearly all sports/activities that I am interested in. I am thinking tents, sea kayaks (the price differential for a carbon Kevlar boat made in the UK or Sri Lanka is stark), handlebars (I can’t bring myself to buy some Geoff bars even if Jones bars are bonkers expensi...

I don’t post here very often so ignoring my feeling of imposter syndrome… Best trip… a ride from Inverness to Shetland via Ullapool, Lochinver, the Flow Country, Orkney and then ferry to Aberdeen and back over the Cairngorms to Rannoch Station. I enjoyed it so much… Fav bit of Kit: The pump Shaf gav...

I keep coming back to BB7 after stints with other mechanical brakes (Shimano cx something, spyres and about to go back from a set of klampers) Out of interest… What made you decide to move back to BB7s from Klampers? I had always thought they were probably the best cable disk brakes if you were hap...

I thought Gabriel said “Read!” …

And the prophet said that he wa not able to read…

But maybe I got that mixed up

My feeling is that it is a bit different to the Kona and most other new hardtails in that the seat angle is a more traditional 73 degrees. The Big Bro is similar but that has a shorter more Ogre like geo. Most other frames are much steeper now. I tend to prefer a slacker seat tube so this bike looks...

A friend used to live next door to this place. It was really interesting and cool both metaphorically and literally. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/halliggye-fogou/history/ From memory you could kip in it… but it was close to some cottages on an estate that quite a lot of people vi...

I am not sure it is always easy to get from the seated carriage into the rest of the train… you have to get into and beyond the dining car. Seated passengers aren’t normally given access to the dining car… I may be wrong though. Also… cheaper to get three seats. Get a two+together rail card for two ...

I must admit that the new seats aren’t as easy to sleep in as the old ones; but I do manage to sleep on the train quite well. I wake up a fair bit but in between I definitely sleep enough to feel reasonable at the end of the journey. Having something like a coat or sleeping bag to lean on is definit...

SRAM 12 speed (the HG ones) cassettes for £25 in Wiggle/CRC https://www.wiggle.com/p/sram-pg-1210-eagle-12-speed-cassette?utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=base&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwISlBhD6ARIsAESAmp7nU_okGcqdlpniYd0uMGz5T7yyVh86ug8INzEGQMLYQ9rf2iL5sOYaAriLEALw_wcB&g...

I’m no good at following routes because I like to spontaneously deviate or change my mind. I could never do an ITT for that reason… so guide books are kind of something to look at when planning a route to get a general idea of what’s out there or for a bit of inspiration to get going. Not about cycl...

Perhaps it's just old folks with loss of functional fitness/strength, riding tame terrain, wishing they had the sitting position equal to that on a penny farthing. Perhaps all the "modern" (well, they've been here for 10 years) MTB geometries and bikes simply aren't thought to be made for...

What I'm getting here is that it's a solution to a problem caused by the drive towards ever longer / slacker frames. I wonder how it would make a bike that's more 'normal' behave? I'm sure some people will no doubt see it as an 'upgrade' and it will find its way onto bikes with numbers that don't r...

I have one of the Neoair mats that had a wide opening you blow into and then roll to seal like a dry bag. They seem to have stopped making them. Anyway, they were designed to be inflated by mouth so I have always assumed Thermorest thought that it was ok to blow them up with your lungs. The problem ...

I saw on STW that the owner of superstar will keep supporting spares (he posted himself) and it's just the wheel part of the business he's shutting down, apparently the wheel building machine was bought by sounder. Anyway, should hopefully be spares for a good while, fingers crossed! Thanks. That’s...

I caved in and got a decent boost 29er set for 92 quid delivered, superb. Gives me an excuse to move on some older wheels not used anymore

Me too. I bought a pair of wheels for a bike I don’t even have (yet)! Third set of superstar wheels. I hope they keep making spared for the hubs!?

As a final word the quality of KMC 12 speed chains is atrocious
I've just bought a KMC X12 for my full-sus - first time I've replaced that chain. KMC chains on all my other bikes.

I have found KMC 10 speed chains to be excellent - not tried the 12 speed

If I’m not worrying about weight I take rice (often microwave rice that only required a couple of mins boiling). Chuck in a curry sauce mix of some kind: usually Spice Tailor and a tin of mackerel or sardines. You can prepare this really quickly and I think it tastes great! The only problem is that ...

Dunno about what is 'A' bike packing bike but a rigid 29+ is a brilliant bikepacking bike. Or even a brilliant bike. *sigh* I agree. People say a 29 x 2.6 is just as good but I don’t find that to be the case for general bikepacking. I don’t find 2.6 any faster and they don’t have the same rollover ...

Hamish wrote: ↑Tue Nov 08, 2022 10:49 pm Kind of… but the ECR is still an outlier with its low BB and non sus corrected geometry. I think it’s a good bike and was built specifically for bikepacking. If I was ordering a bikepacking bike from you I may well ask for a lighter ECR type bike with a slig...

However I try to avoid it… most of my bikes seem to coalesce around some kind of heavy duty rigid mountain bike thing… I have a Longitude, an ECR and a Pugsley; I think they are all bikepacking bikes. I also have a Tour de Fer which I think is a touring bike and not a bikepacking bike. In other word...

I have ridden it on a Thorn touring bike years ago and it was fine. A bit rutted and boggy in bits… but fine… but it was a while ago. It was much better than bit of the B 4358 race track that we rode afterwards.

There is a long stay at the station which I have used. I don’t object to paying for parking as parking a car is often burdensome for residents.

As far as I can see the clip it butts up again the saddle rails in a slight channel. aApair of J shaped clips pull in opposition, hooking this into the saddle rails. If a hook breaks- it all fails.. call me cynical... :roll: I guess that if a hook breaks you have to strap it to the seat rails like ...