MuddyPete wrote: ↑Thu May 02, 2024 8:12 am "...in a time when ships were made of wood...and men were made of steel..."

In a time when ships were made of steel and men had wood...

here's an example of how good the industry / media are .... I met a bloke the other day who was selling his hardtail mountainbike and buying a gravel bike so he "could go bikepacking" He's probably embracing roadpackin', the freedom of the lanes and byways. Sorry, I mean Road-Packing (TM)...

Oh no.. hope not? Graham is one of the real good guys in the bike world, many of us around here owe him a lot. Not been over there recently so hadn't heard anything.

(I feel a tirade coming on) I hear that tirade in a low voice narrative over an epic landscape video.. "This wild and open landscape that has taken all of our time, our energy and some of our soul simply began to represent the expanse of the forum... And while we set out questioning the meanin...

Adventure requires an element of the unknown, there are no guarantees. Wanna climb the Eiger N Face with me this summer? I got some spare gear and the route looks easy to get started on. Adventure guaranteed! Something about adventure being a lack of planning.. :) But yeah.. pre-packaged adventure ...

Funnily enough I was talking about this in a work meeting/presentation yesterday.. what does adventure mean to a brand and why is every bike company using the term. It's easy to jump on these things w/o getting into how or even if it's relevant so it either gets diluted or goes hyperbolic as brands ...

Go Lael :-bd interested to see her route too. It's a complicated time to doing a RTW. I think the places I'd want to see most seem like the more difficult ones in terms of visas or risk. Fair points I reckon Shafiq. I raced in Israel about 10yrs ago and had some conflicting thoughts about it all. In...

Insulated shirt sold

replied, thanks

Bought 2 sizes of these from CRC sale in final days but didn't want the hassle of the return at the time that Sports Direct were taking it all on. Both are Size L - would fit 5'10+. The M size fitted me well at 6' / 38-39" chest. The L would suit someone of a bigger build. It's nice kit, I kept...

A supplies recommendation - there's a wonderful Post Office / Cafe / someone's living room in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Gegin Fach. It has a little outdoor area that's suitable for grubby bike riders where you can browse SH books and various car boot sale type oddities. Also a Spar and a chippy nearb...

Yes. Road 11-12s freehubs are a little wider than MTB 9-10-11s freehubs. If you have a Road 11-12s compatible freehub you can use any trad spline MTB or road cassette, a 9-10-11s MTB or a 9-10s road cassette just needs a 1.85mm spacer behind it to take up the space. (edit - that 1.85mm spec is for S...

Must take a look at these asap...

The lost lane book series by Jack Thurston are worth buying, some good gems in his books. Not gravel as such but nice, quiet back lanes with some off road. The Wayfarers route in Corwen/Llangollen way is worth a ride, probably not the best route out there (but I like it) but feels ‘pilgrim like’ ri...

Not bikes or gear but I saw earlier this am that Ride The Divide is being revisited or a part 2 is being made. Not a huge fan of the original aside from how the landscapes and size of the route came across, interested what comes out though.

Mezcals are pretty smooth to be fair, similar to the Geax Saguaro I used and liked before. I'm a sucker for a proper smooth centre tread or something with no buzz at all though, makes longer stints in the lanes feel better. Generally means zero braking ability on wet grass too :grin: but they're ok ...

New Mezcals and new Peyote model. Peyote might be a better tyre than my Terreno for mixed use bikepacking, Mezcals are great but I want to do longer stretches on tarmac with no tyre buzz, https://bikerumor.com/vittorias-new-world-championship-winning-peyote-mezcal-xc-mountain-bike-tires/ (image post...

Nothing wrong with touring but its not bikepacking anymore than a sportive is or an enduro race is.

"For most, ultra distance bikepacking races are camping sportives" - discuss

Interested in the PR roll and bag - will PM

Same here :) Did he make a shimmed loop bar? Didn't see those. I had the original Ti Hbars on a 650B gravel bike for a while, was a good combo. Some Al cut loops also. They felt a bit narrow overall though as the grip section ends are shorter. I like the old Hbar design as a road/utility/ hybrid bar...

Edit: on a carbon steerer tube I always assumed the bung that goes inside helps equalise some of the pressures from the torque applied by the stem! Should do yes, doesn't always prevent the stem edge making marks into the outer or leverage against the headset etc but it could/should make up for com...

Loops?
Could save yourself a fortune and get the Al versions.. I have both and can't tell a jot of difference fwiw. Bought the Ti loops just to finish off the bike. The old Ti H-bar non-loops feel quite different though, much softer.

In my head, a manufacturer has designed that forked or spaced it to the forces required (here’s hoping) whilst a lot of manufacturers I’m guessing has not designed the rear stays for such use (and a lot now in design the rears to flex or to be more ‘compliance). Yes, I agree - was just picking up o...

voodoo_simon wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2024 1:45 pm Its clearly.a bad idea to inflict clamping forces on a carbon tube

Carbon steerer tubes?

Don't get me wrong, the design does raise eyebrows.

Some failures allegedly on carbon frames, (disclaimer, I work for the company who distributes them now but it's not related to my own role there) A while back I got a chance to talk to the chap behind the product and had to ask him about what looked like an interesting leverage situation and how th...