Btw I worked as a bike mechanic for 4 years and have Cytech 2 qualification so have seen the number that have failed generally. They are very sensitive to cable setting, 1/2 a turn on the adjuster can mean the difference between it working and not. Wasn't doubting you'd had problems, just intereste...

Don't go the Alfine 11 route, I'm on my 3rd on a fairly lightly used bike. What sort of mileage do you do though? Regular oil changes? And have you had jumping and crunching on all three? Bought mine used from NorwayCalling, and haven't had any more jumping or crunching than I'd expect from moderat...

Or... https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/hubs-intern ... 135mm-36h/

Yes. Lots and lots and lots of road bikes. I'd been hoping for more 'adventure' bikes to drool over, but almost everything was Hipster Shiny (or faux grungy) and just not the sort of thing I'd actually want to ride. The Ti snow racing fatbike was nuts, though, and there was a smattering of bikepacki...

ZeroDarkBivi wrote:Put it this way; not an ideal setup for something like Torino-Nice.

That's pretty much what I expected you to say...

I bought a second-hand one last year that really should see the light of day soon... I've two Jetpackers too.

Tarmac, particularly climbing? Purgatory??

More bend than a Carnegie / Old Gate?

Sold?

Just found this, might be of interest: Keeping your USB battery alive with a low output load.

I use the MyTrails App with IGN mapping and the VTTrack overlay to show me off-road trails with their technical level. IGN Mapping is cheap but not free on this app. MyTrails App VTTrack Blog post - use Google Translate Those with a more IT-literate-hacky bent can probably still bootleg IGN maps usi...

JohnClimber wrote:More SD cards is the answer

I think a USB OTG (On-the-Go) adapter allows you to transfer data from most / many Android phones to an external memory card / stick / hard drive, meaning that you don't have to open up your phone to swap stuff out.

Other than my Alfine 11, I run 8-speed on everything. £10 each for cassettes and chains and none of this 1x bollox. Decent shifters are getting harder to find new, but I have a big stash of SunTour thumbshifters...

If you're passing by, there are some nice short / steep / woodsy trails to be had in the vicinity of the Runcorn water tower. Worth an hour or two's exploration.

jameso wrote:Old-school semi slicks may be ideal.

*Cough*Smart Sam*Cough*
The only choice you need to make then is width

Depends on the terrain. For a degree of Gnarr while carrying camping gear, I'm thinking of restoring a '95 FSR and adding disc brakes. 60mm rear travel, up to 100mm forks and pretty light.

... cheeky-trailed a section of the park to get to the Col Palet... On this route, mountain biking is apparently 'tolerated', althoguh the final section has a gradient of ~25% apparently: https://www.utagawavtt.com/randonnee-vtt-gps/Sous-la-face-nord-de-la-Grande-Casse-4723 With what local knowledg...

What's the earliest you could realistically attempt the route in the summer?

I find that my Berghaus Hyper Hydroshell is very breathable. And wind/water proof, light, just expensive. This one? Actually looks pretty much spot-on what I've been looking for for summer use. I have a full-on winter Gore-Tex which has pit zips and so is bearable to cycle in at anything below arou...

jam bo wrote:then pit zips are more important than the fabric.

Then I think the roomy Gore-Tex Paclite with pit zips may just clinch it...!

That said, how well does Paramo work if you do run hot and sweaty?

I definitely run 'hot' and sweat A LOT, hence my interest in highly breathable jackets.

I've been waiting for the right summer-weight NeoShell jacket to turn up on eBay or in the sales since I heard about the high breathability of that fabric. However, I have the option now of going for a very nice half-price jacket using N40r GORE-TEX PacLite, or another cheaper one which simply speci...

slarge wrote:To answer the question of whether the bearings are accessible - I stripped a scrap hub and can confirm that they are really not accessible.

Thanks @slarge. Shimano XT it is then!

Although spendy the SON has a 5 year warranty which is worth factoring into costs, especially if you're paying for wheel builds... If there's no possibility of getting decent grease into SP dynamo bearings, I'll probably be going with Shimano next time. I've been running a second hand (probably cam...

@jameso - or anyone else who can comment - can you get to the outer bearing seals on SP dynamo hubs by taking off the axle end caps or similar? If so, would it be possible to carefully prise off the seals and put in some decent grease? Might help with the bearing longevity if so, as I don't imagine ...