I’m on the waiting list 
Good suggestion it looks awesome.
3 Likes
What gravel-ish rides are folks planning next year? Particularly in the north (north of York being true North). My calendar is light after The Fred in May and I’m not sure I can persuade my wife to let me sod off to Iceland and do The Rift (not now that I’ve booked 10 nights in Mallorca 
). So I need some localish gravel or low key sportives. Share your plans please
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I DNF’d the PennDuro but I liked the course & would’ve liked another go at it. Starts from Huddersfield so not quite north of York but deffo north 
.
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Here’s mine.
All within a 2hr train ride.
Train home, too.
All self supported. DBAD. Leave no trace and all that jazz 
(Wilmslow half marathon excluded. If I don’t run that, I’ll volunteer)
Morecambe to Scarborough
Arnside to Scarborough to Arnside
Mytholmroyd to (wards Scarborough 
) Leeds and Back
Bamford (Peaks) hillyAF circular
Macyllneth to Conwy
I might do the EnglanDuro…another ride to Scarborough
6 Likes
Good Morning 
RIGHT
My bottom bracket (PF30 / 24mm Shimano) and headset are fooked. Again 
Both were replaced last year prior to Frontier 300 (around April-ish)
I’m getting pissed off now. As the headset is an utter ballache (got to take the bar tape and brake hoses off to unthread the stem) And bottom brackets aren’t cheap (although this one is £35, versus the £65 for the last one)
Any ideas?
LizardSkins???
One of those little plastic mudguards that fit in the fork crown? Would help stop crud flicking off the wheel into the bottom headset bearing
This kind of thing
1 Like
Yup. Got one of them, it’s gouged a massive dent in the paintwork from steering.
Weekly proper strip down and clean? I’m not even going to ask upstairs because I’m fairly certain that will be the response.
Owning bikes is rubbish. So I married someone who does the looking after part
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Ha ha ha
That’s an annual task.
Ain’t nobody got time for that!!!
Summer and TT bikes have already been done.
Winter bike gets done in March (equinox ish time)
The gravel bike doesn’t get much of a break, but I’ve stripped it about 8 months ago 
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8 months when we have the conditions we have in this country. No wonder things are disintegrating - you’re creating sandpaper gloop and keeping it in there. Even when I don’t maintain my bikes anymore I know that’s way too long between strip-down for a gravel bike in this country.
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But honestly, who strips stuff down that often?
I mountain biked as a kid and was doing all kinds of stuff worse than this, and I can’t recall chewing through this many parts
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Time for a Chris King headset and some ‘90s style seals? Lizard Skins Headset Seal - Black | eBay
I ride in the dry so headsets seem to last me.
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Hope do a bottom bracket with stainless bearings & give a lifetime guarantee, thats the bb for you .
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On a cheap steel bike with indestructible heavy components. With the weight improvements and “new” materials, you’ve sacrificed robustness and longevity in harsh conditions. Shimano Sora components were always more bomb-proof than Ultegra - but also over twice as heavy and looked fugly. Why do you think the pro teams have so many mechanics these days, after the gnarly racing days everything is stripped down and rebuilt or replaced.
The people doing it in real life - they work in bike shops. They don’t earn enough to buy components at full price but they have the tools and a bit of time (or get to work really early) to get it done. It really is the reality.
You want bomb proof stuff - add the weight and go with the very cheap. Or go with the super expensive tech and get yourself a team mechanic.
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Damn it. So true
My winter road bike bottom bracket is the cheapest £20 24mm shimano English screw fit one and I’m only on my second in six years.
Yeah sorry. Being an engineer I can’t remove the sensible part of my brain
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I’m sure my Raleigh Grifter is probably still alive somewhere, it was indestructible
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Don’t be sorry!
It’s 100% true and something I’d overlooked
My 15+ year old Pearson fixie has never had a new headset, chainring or sprocket. One new BMX chain and only had a new bottom bracket, as I snapped the square taper one during one -13° commute back in 2009/10.
I’m going to look up what @doka and @GeordieM saie about Hope and Chris King, as they’ve said it before. Although unsure how I’d fit a CK onto this
@doka - Where did you find that?
I can’t see anything about the guarantee?
https://www.hopetech.com/products/drivetrain/bottom-bracket/press-fit-pf46-bottom-bracket/
https://winstanleysbikes.co.uk/hope-pf41-press-fit-stainless-steel-bearing-bottom-bracket
It was on one of their Youtube videos, maybe they decided against it 
. Off out, will have a look later.
1 Like