Thanks for the replies all. One thing that looks less than ideal about the Soloist is that you have to pitch the inner first, which means potentially getting wetter if it is chucking it down. Is that a significant drawback? It looks pretty quick to erect so maybe not.

After a couple of trips out I feel like I have been bitten by the bikepacking bug (well, I certainly have plenty of itchy red lumps in annoying places), so having begged and borrowed some kit previously I need to get a shelter of my own. I don't have loads of cash to spend so I am pondering what typ...

Nice write-up and pics :-bd One of my wife's relatives has a place on North Uist and it does look beautiful, if bleak at times (if you choose the wrong weather). BTW in the interests in pedantry the pic you have labelled as probably the causeway from South Uist to Benbecula looks like it is actually...

Certainly feels like autumn here. This morning at work mist lay low over the River Stour, smell of woodsmoke in the air, crows crowing, leaves falling, conkers on the ground, trees full of berries and a chill in the air Yes it does seem that autumn has arrived a bit early down here (Hampshire) too....

Ok, I'll give it the shower head setting on the hose and see what happens! Quite a good tent FWIW! Only £50 Inc delivery You did better than the reviewer who got sent a used one complete with mouldy tissue! I seem to see this quite a bit on Amazon reviews… even when I was looking at electric toothb...

I believe for the first few years they ran at a shortfall Can't offer any tips on what's good value as I don't use it. What I'd be asking is why the data matters. If the data adds something to the good stuff of simply riding, great. If the data is the reward itself I'm not so sure that's a good thi...

For the last two or three years I have been given a premium subscription as a Christmas present, so the price is right for me… however I am sure I’m not using all the premium features. I am mostly interested in recording where and how far I ride, and also whether I am getting faster or slower. Yes i...

Hadn't weighed myself since June. Just hopped on the scales and 82.2kg which is exactly 1kg down on the last weigh-in but still very much the wrong side of 80! Need to get out on the bike more, and eat less. Sounds simple.

My recent interactions with TF Tuned was also really positive - I messed up the servicing of my DT Swiss forks - their tech fella told me how to fix it over the phone, so I had a go at that (and cancelled the service I had booked at TFT), then messed it up even more (in a different way), so booked ...

Possibly a bit of a cheat, but seen in the Surrey hills...



Storks are being bred to be reintroduced... I never knew they used to be a native species in England, but haven't been around for 600 years or so.

Just to illustrate what I mean about the buckles. The top part of the strap seems too long to really get it tight, as even when you pull the bottom strap as tight as it will go, there is still a bit of slack. https://i.imgur.com/E8d2mQM.png I sort-of fixed it by wrapping the top strap round the sadd...

This one is much better, it uses 4 swear words instead. Not for the easily offended: https://www.fourkingmaps.co.uk/ Oh my sweet God, by the Babee Jeebuz, that is funny. I am sure the older I get, the more puerile I become, but I've been checking out the locations or certain individuals in my life ...

On the subject of Ducatos, these chaps had one of their vans on display at Ard Rock the other week: https://www.leosv.co.uk/kinder

Looked very swish and only £54,545 for the display model

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Mon Aug 09, 2021 10:53 am How would things be if you didn’t spend the night in the corner of the field? What if you found a nice dry, flat bit on the bridleway?

Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Wales any more....

I can see why some don't align with MTB. With MTB marketing so often at the Redbull Rampage or MBUK "Attack The Trail!" end of things I can see why the middle-ground of gravel-ish XC riding has drawn more from road and CX culture than MTB. Road riding has long had the edge when it comes t...

It soon gets addictive. I’m up to 17x17 so increasing the max square now means quite a trek to reach the outliers, or planning some trips out by train/car. I’m certainly not a purist about having to reach the squares from my door. I found VV really valuable during lockdown for motivating me to go an...

It always seemed more logical to me to put front tyres on “backwards”, given that they need to grip while decelerating, while the rear tyre needs to grip more while accelerating.

Nowadays I tend to just follow the arrow direction though.

Gravel bikes are a bit of a mystery to me. I have never owned a road bike so am not used to drop bars at all. Has anyone here gone from MTBs to a gravel bike without any experience of road bikes, and if so how did you get on? The thought of tackling rough and/or steep stuff on skinny drop bars doesn...

Surely they missed a trick with the title, though?

Woo! Finally some new squares. :grin: I'm absolutely gutted about missing these two... seems I didn't go quite far enough. :sad: https://i.imgur.com/cirCt1S.png I imagine you know this but sometimes Veloviewer doesn’t give you the square until you open the ride and view the full data, as the summar...

Liverpool was stripped of its UNESCO status the other day. I'm sure they'll be thrilled they've been supplanted by some Welsh slag heaps! (Not to belittle the beauty and history of said slag heaps of course) <siren and rotating yellow warning light> Pedantry alert! slag heaps - waste byproduct of o...

Liverpool was stripped of its UNESCO status the other day. I'm sure they'll be thrilled they've been supplanted by some Welsh slag heaps!

(Not to belittle the beauty and history of said slag heaps of course)

mattpage wrote: ↑Wed Jul 28, 2021 1:39 pm
But a PR stunt for who, or what?
It is however a very bizarre event concept.

That I can't answer. Maybe they are compiling an email list of rich and gullible people with an interest in outdoorsy stuff - it's a valuable asset to have!

Based on the launches and subsequent vanishings without trace of some other overpriced packaged "adventures" recently, I doubt if this thing will actually go ahead. PR stunt perhaps?

Someone ought to invent a bike frame that makes use of all that wasted space inside the tubes. Think how much water you could fit inside a nice chunky alu frame :-bd I recall Moots did that. There really is nothing left to invent. :sad: https://www.cyclingabout.com/moots-snoots-fat-bike/ What’s spe...