[BBri89]

Originally Posted by SantaEugence

Did a nice 30k earlier, was feeling brave so went out in the shorts. Wasn't too bad until early evening when there was a freezing fog and accompanying Arctic wind which froze my fingers and toes a bit.

So next recommendation request... warm gloves and warm socks? I had gloves both underneath and on top of my fingerless cycling gloves but that didn't really help towards the end.

Gloves, I've got some foil-lined Shimano ones which are great in the proper cold, but can be a bit sweaty if its above 10 degrees.

Also got some windproof Altura ones that are great around 10-15 degrees.


As for feet, I wear "thin" sealskinz socks, which are about as thick as typical football socks and feel a bit strange at first, but they do offer some decent protection from cold and wet.
If it is wet though, I wear overshoes as well. I've got clipless on both road and mtb, and different overshoes for both, they do a really good job of blocking out the wind and cold and wet. But for flat pedals I don't know if they'd be so good... depends what the bottom of them are like.

[Ridg]

Originally Posted by SantaEugence

So next recommendation request... warm gloves and warm socks? I had gloves both underneath and on top of my fingerless cycling gloves but that didn't really help towards the end.

for gloves I mainly wear a pair of gore bike wear windstopper gloves, if it's really bad then I've got a pair of their goretex gauntlets which are basically ski gloves

on my feet, I've got the shimano goretex booties, technically an MTB shoe but my winter bike has spd pedals

the wiggle merino socks are fantastic too https://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-aeron-w...ht-merino-sock

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by SantaEugence

Interesting, the bike is what it is for the time being but I was thinking of buying some clipless pedals and accompanying shoes - at the moment I'm just wearing my old running trainers which are heavily perforated and let the wind right in. Are overshoes a pretty decent/cheap fix for keeping feet warm in the winter?

They're certainly a great option. You'll find that your feet are less likely to get sore from pressing down on the pedals with some proper clipless shoes, even if they're the most basic. If you're after some then I'd suggest popping into your local decathlon if you have one nearby as they do some Shimano M089 shoes for about £55 - they're the ones I used for years as you could quite often pick them up for even less than that. You can buy better ones but that 'better' comes from them being stiffer, and you're unlikely to appreciate the difference in them. They'll fit overshoes well too as they're pretty slim. I don't use overshoes for the sort of riding I do as they impact the release/clipping in too much for my tastes but when I used to do winter xc training and would cover about 200km a weekend in all weathers they were an utter godsend when combined with some decent clothes. The alternative to the Shimano pedals would be some of the more BMX/skate style shoes (Shimano do some) which are all PVC coated and a bit more waterproof/warmer as a result. I'd probably go disco slippers + overshoes though as it gives you a better year round setup.

Originally Posted by Ridg

on my feet, I've got the shimano goretex booties, technically an MTB shoe but my winter bike has spd pedals
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Those things are brilliant, as are the Northwave version. I still have an old pair of the boot they're based on from the late nineties called the D100 that was sold as the down hill option. Black and red, they looked the part. Shame my feet have grown since then, even with trying to squeeze my size 45 hooves into 41 climbing shoes and they no longer fit. Still keeping them though!

Like anything in winter it's all about getting warm kit that works for the sport you're doing. And I'd really recommend looking at Decathlon. I baulk at paying full price for modern MTB kit and honestly, some of the Decathlon and Madison stuff is spot on. I just picked up a soft-shell Quechea jacket for £40 that I've been riding in recently and it's brilliant. Oh, and if anyone hasn't discovered them yet but rides in the wet...waterproof 3/4 shorts. Best. Invention. Ever.

[moonshine]

An awesome day to be out on my Santa Cruz Hightower C today in Scotland

[BBri89]

I'm going tubeless on my mtb and road bikes.

People who already ride tubeless, a few questions for you...

- what sealant do you use, and how much per tyre.
- how often do you check it.
- how long does it last/often do you need to top it up.

Thanks in advance.

[moonshine]

Originally Posted by BBri89

I'm going tubeless on my mtb and road bikes.

People who already ride tubeless, a few questions for you...

- what sealant do you use, and how much per tyre.
- how often do you check it.
- how long does it last/often do you need to top it up.

Thanks in advance.

I’m tubeless on all my road and MTB.
-I originally used schwalbe Doc Blue, but i have switched to Orange Seal aon recommendation from my LBS and have no complaints
- I don’t check it
- I just top it up evert couple of months

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by BBri89

I'm going tubeless on my mtb and road bikes.

People who already ride tubeless, a few questions for you...

- what sealant do you use, and how much per tyre.
- how often do you check it.
- how long does it last/often do you need to top it up.

Thanks in advance.

Having been running and racing tubeless for the last 15 years, including being sent pretty much most stuff to test up until about 5 years ago I've had a fair amount of experience with what works consistently (the only thing I was ever bothered about). This is including the old 'ghetto' style on the dh bikes which involved stretching a cut open BMX tube around your rim, fitting the tyre and then cutting off the excess tube from each side!

- Stans or Continental are the two I've found to last the longest and plug the biggest holes, with Conti just edging it. Avoid Joes as I find it balls up, and Hutchinson is even worse as it ends up a congealed golf ball inside your tyres, particularly if it's warm. I did try using the decathlon stuff in a pinch but it clogs valves and doesn't seal anything particularly effectively.
- Use decent tape (Stans, Cafe etc), or Gorilla tape. I find the Gorilla works really well. I started using it because at the time I swapped to Mavic EX830 rims you couldn't easily get 30mm tape so just got a big roll of Gorilla and sliced it down to the correct width. It doesn't survive tyres being taken on and off as well, but as I never bother with swapping tyres anymore it's a moot point, particularly for the cost.
- Related to the above, I never check it as the tyres are usually junk within 12 months (super soft gravity tyres on the enduro bike) but even on the Cove xc bike I swapped the tyres out on it after three years as they were dry rotted and the Conti fluid was still fine inside. That said, most manufacturers don't recommend nearly enough fluid. On the DH bike I'd run 300ml + a couple of table spoons of glitter to help plug bigger holes. On the enduro bike with 2.4" Michelin DH22's I use about 2-250ml and then on the XC bike with 2.2" tyres and a much lower risk of punctures I use about 150ml. The reason I use more is that you need enough to coat the inside surfaces and still have plenty left to pour into any hole you get and plug the gap. Doing 50-75ml simply makes the inside of the tyre damp with it, nothing more.

Also, get some tubeless tyre plugs. Either go cheap and cheerful like Weldtite, or Dynaplug. All the other versions are just really expensive versions of the same design system as Weldtite, with the exception of the Stans system but I've not used that and haven't really heard anything to make me want to, particularly as to make it effective you have to use their sealant. Dynaplugs are damned expensive but really, really effective and plug some massive holes. Way easier than faffing with a tube too. Also, bear in mind that the CO2 cartridges tend to congeal the sealant more quickly so if you've had to use one of them it's worth adding some extra sealant.

[Ridg]

Originally Posted by BBri89

I'm going tubeless on my mtb and road bikes.

People who already ride tubeless, a few questions for you...

- what sealant do you use, and how much per tyre.
- how often do you check it.
- how long does it last/often do you need to top it up.

Thanks in advance.

I've got muc-off in 2 bikes and stans in 1
The muc-off works great on my road bikes, but wouldn't seal my MTB rims properly, so got some stans too. I overfill on the road wheels @ around 60ml per tyre, I also like to run some round the bead to ensure a good seal on the rim so probably use in total 80-100ml

On the MTB, never checked never topped up.
On the road bikes, I've topped up a couple of times this year if I've thought they are losing pressure; ideally, you want valves with a removable core and a way to "inject" the sealant (I've got a massive syringe and bit of rubber hose Isits over the valve) from amazon).

You're meant to do it every 3 months, for most people they either don't bother or will only do it when they puncture. So far I've had 1 puncture (was able to ride home) in ~ 3000Km of riding

[Rbrown]

Looking for some advice from you bike experts.

I have my bike on a wahoo kickr snap trainer - with "wheel on".

My bike has through axles.

A friend has given me a trainer wheel with trainer tyre. The only problem is that it has quick release skewer mechanism on it. He thinks I can just use skewer on the bike.

I've attached a picture of my through axle and the trainer wheel of it helps.

I'm not sure I can. Struggling to see anything on line. Not sure I want to damage my bike by trying.

Anyone got any insight?

Thanks in advance.

[BBri89]

Perhaps if you changed the wheel hub you could, but as far as a straight swap goes I think you're out of luck there.

[Rbrown]

Originally Posted by BBri89

Perhaps if you changed the wheel hub you could, but as far as a straight swap goes I think you're out of luck there.

Thanks. That is what I was thinking.

[Ennoch]

Simple answer is that no, it won't work, unfortunately. Sometimes you can get lucky with adaptors but I'm guessing your bike (mtb?) is 142mm or boost (pretty much all bikes in the last 8 years are) while that trainer wheel will be 135mm and there's no way of squaring that particular circle. Yeah, gotta love the bike industry for standards that are anything but standard!

[Rbrown]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

Simple answer is that no, it won't work, unfortunately. Sometimes you can get lucky with adaptors but I'm guessing your bike (mtb?) is 142mm or boost (pretty much all bikes in the last 8 years are) while that trainer wheel will be 135mm and there's no way of squaring that particular circle. Yeah, gotta love the bike industry for standards that are anything but standard!

Thanks. I have a Cube hybrid bike - so agree that it won't work.

Thanks for the input. Appreciated.

[Ennoch]

No worries. The following video would be funnier if it wasn't so tragically accurate as a representation of what actually happened with 27.5". All because a few manufacturers were sour they missed the boat on 29" by saying how poor it was, until the front mech was done away with and suddenly you could chop 1" from the chain stay length!

Anyway...

[Ridg]

Originally Posted by Rbrown

Looking for some advice from you bike experts.

I have my bike on a wahoo kickr snap trainer - with "wheel on".

My bike has through axles.

A friend has given me a trainer wheel with trainer tyre. The only problem is that it has quick release skewer mechanism on it. He thinks I can just use skewer on the bike.

I've attached a picture of my through axle and the trainer wheel of it helps.

I'm not sure I can. Struggling to see anything on line. Not sure I want to damage my bike by trying.

Anyone got any insight?

Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately, you can't; you can go the other way thru axle hub to QR but not QR to thru axle

what you probably want is this and a training tyre for your current wheel

https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/...ap-142-adapter

[gangzoom]

Went for a 'short' ride after a week of Zoom calls.....I didn't quite anticipate the snow/wind/cold.

First time I've cycled in sleete, first 30 mintues was fine, but once the wetness soaked through the layers I was ready for home!! All I can say was 30mm+ tyres/mudguards/disc brakes/bomb proof tyres. Not an experience am keen to revist any time soon!!

[Ennoch]

gangzoom even on the MTB and in the shelter of a forest I draw the line at sleet, it's just misery. Give me a snowstorm and freezing temps any day! On a road ride it must be relentless.

After the snow this week I really wasn't sure which of trails would be rideable and my mate wasn't much use as he'd been on a ward all week so hadn't seen the hills in daylight to see how much snow was there.

A few vids of the trails I've not put up before. Annoyingly it seems the trail maintenance that's been going on recently has simply involved chopping out roots, removing rocks and building berms on what were awesome flat corners. So a few of the tracks I pushed back up to kick out the berms and throw some rocks back into what used to be rough rock gardens. The excuse is that the trails get so much traffic now that they need to be built differently but my view is that mediocrity simply breeds more mediocrity and so if you want to stop trails being blown out after a couple of weeks you need to stop people being able to go flat out and faster than their ability to carry them; leaving roots and rocks in thus helps keep the speed down and prevent corners being blown out as the average rider really isn't very good on the brakes.

Anyway...! Avalanche (the tail end of another track which was just a bit disgusting and dark). This one needs some of the loose scree raked back on, it used to be a lot more surfy than it is now. The entrance used to be difficult to find so people rarely rode it but it's now obvious and the punter masses have found it so it's suffering:

Another track called Waterworld. This one used to have an awesome ride down what was basically a waterfall but someone removed a tree root ('because it was too difficult') and basically removed what was holding up the entire steep chute. A shame as it was epic. What's left is a shadow of its former self, but still fun. The top was the most difficult bit today as the line in the snow was pretty thin and not really in the right place so it kicked you all over the place. I need to experiment with the chest mount as putting it under the visor gives the bet view of the trail but really doesn't show anything of the angles you're getting to to keep things rubber side down:

The last trail called Liver Damage (following the theme of 'Nae Spleens' nearby). It was pretty much dark at a few points in here and it's at least 18 months since I've ridden it so I was taking it pretty steady. Some of the steep chutes didn't have much traction to keep a lid on the speed today!:

[BBri89]

New wheels... gone tubeless...
Mavic Ksyrium Elite UST.

Makes a massive difference, so much quicker and easier on the lighter wheels (total 600g saving) plus lower pressures (about 20psi lower) than with inner tubes so much more comfortable.

Was cold out today though, 3C felt like -2C according to Garmin/Strava. Smashed out 25 miles in sub 90 mins though.

[Ennoch]

Nice, Mavic's UST system is still the best tubeless set up I've found. Rim strips and tape are cheaper but they're a pain for replacing spokes on the MTB and the tape also inevitably needs periodic replacement. I've got a set of Mk2 Deemax wheels sat there from 2003 and they still work perfectly. Just keep the free hub internals clean and lightly lubed, that's the only Achilles heel I've found to the Mavic wheels in the past.

[BBri89]

Yeah I like how they just work out the box. Held 80psi for 24hrs before dropping below 40psi.
Bit of Stans Race sealant and they hold pressure for a lot longer now, dropping about 5psi per day, which is about twice as fast as the inner tubes but not a problem

I top up pressures before every ride anyway. Just need to find the right pressure to ride now.

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by BBri89

Yeah I like how they just work out the box. Held 80psi for 24hrs before dropping below 40psi.
Bit of Stans Race sealant and they hold pressure for a lot longer now, dropping about 5psi per day, which is about twice as fast as the inner tubes but not a problem

I top up pressures before every ride anyway. Just need to find the right pressure to ride now.

How much sealant have you got in there? Depending on the tyres you'll probably find that a little air is leaking through the carcass, and some is leaking through the rim interface. Once some of the sealant has got into all those small leaks and set you should find the pace of air dropping will tail off. I find the first few rides the tyres will need pumped up before each ride but after that they'll hold firm for weeks at a time.

[BBri89]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

How much sealant have you got in there? Depending on the tyres you'll probably find that a little air is leaking through the carcass, and some is leaking through the rim interface. Once some of the sealant has got into all those small leaks and set you should find the pace of air dropping will tail off. I find the first few rides the tyres will need pumped up before each ride but after that they'll hold firm for weeks at a time.

I've got about 65 grams... put the bottle on some kitchen scales (don't tell the wife) and used the Mavic syringe & tube. Basically a full syringe was about 65 so went with that for now.

Maybe once it's all sealed and stopped losing air I'll top it up a little bit perhaps.

The sidewall and tread is slightly white/grey in places so definitely sealed some bits of the tyre.