MadManMike

Yeah they look nice! You can hardly tell they're an eeb, compared to the massive fat tubes you get on most of them.

I already put a pair of Acid pedals on it, assuming the factory ones wouldn't be great. Next plan is a new seat, as the factory one is not comfortable. Other than that, no plans to change anything, it's just a fitness tool - my playful bike will come out of retirement once I'm a bit fitter again

Yeah that NDURO 100 thing looks especially bad, the one below it isn't too ugly imo. Mine isn't pretty, but it fit the bill in terms of budget and massive battery - it's a free bike so I can't complain really.

I'm a long way off being able to ride even half that distance! You're not a fan then 😂

I love a bit of copy and paste. Also, I'm sure Nationwide and Halifax would be really interested in your waterfront property in Texas. Let's keep it going! 😂 I'd love to know the success rate of these spam bots.

Nice, the boiler and re-wire saves a few quid then. Kitchen and bathroom will be the main cost then, but not too bad if you're doing all the work yourself. Very jealous that you're so close to FOD, there's nothing much where I live and I can never be bothered to put the bike in the car and drive somewhere. Hopefully the new bike will encourage me to move a bit more

Picked up the new bike yesterday - Haibike AllTrack 5, 2025 model with the bigger battery. In eco mode it has a range of 175 miles apparently, which is way more than I'd expected. It was 33c yesterday so I've not used it yet, but the new pedals are fitted and everything is adjusted so it's ready to go. Can't wait to get out and put some miles down on it

Hello ChatGPT, go on, post the link, it's what you're here for and it's what we're waiting for.

Decent blank canvas! Is it mostly just decorating that's needed, or is there any electrics / plumbing to sort? Also, hello neighbour (almost), I live in a little village in Wales that's about 45 minutes away. Nice location for mountain biking as well, being right next door to FoD!

I haven't ordered it yet, my certificate is due next Friday, so assuming it's still in stock, it'll be a Haibike Alltrack 5 - seems to be the best spec for around £2500, bigger battery than most, which appeals since I'll be using it to put down miles more than I'll be using it down red trails. The £2600 certificate gets me the bike, a helmet and a pair of gloves. I have some already, but I figured they're all pretty old so I may well get some new kit

They look decent, my new eMTB will need a pair so I'll keep these in mind.

Fair point about the rear suspension, definitely something to consider. It's more the cost that was my issue - a decent full susser is significantly more than a hardtail. And as Rusevelt said, you can get them chipped to remove the speed limit - or raise it, anyway. Ultimately if I can get one around £2600 it's a free bike that will be fun to try out, if I don't get on with it I'll still have my Dartmoor to use, but I reckon I'll enjoy it as it'll give me freedom to go up hills - something my legs have always struggled to do, no matter how much I trained. And talking of training, my bike has gathered dust on the garage wall for about 4 years, so a new bike will definitely give me a kick up the arse to get out and about, especially since I need to put down some decent miles to get to anything fun - the assistance will help with that.

Ah OK thanks, that's good to know. Tredz had a couple of good deals when I looked a few days ago, so that could be an option then. Hopefully I'll hear back from HR today and it doesn't end up being a £1000 limit.

Nice one, thanks mate. It also depends who the scheme is with - hopefully not Halfords, I looked at their selection, it was... er... not great. I haven't heard back from HR yet, so none the wiser on budget today.

I'll find out what my budget is hopefully later today, but no I don't want full sus as I'll be doing a mix of riding on it and nothing big enough to justify full sus - I suspect the budget on one would be significantly higher too. Yeah I definitely want an ebike, there's plenty of hills around here as I live near the valleys. I've always been terrible at climbs too, so it's time to accept that fact and get some electric assistance It'll be used for a real mix of stuff - I'd quite like to ride over to Bristol for beers some evenings (40 mile round trip), sometimes it'll be with my family, other times it'll be a trail centre like the Forest of Dean. If I go to Bike Park Wales I'll take my 'proper' bike as it has longer travel and is set up for flying downhill. ...qué?

Howdy folks! I started a new job last month and they operate a cycle2work scheme - I'm waiting to hear the budget, since the old flyer said £1000 max (and I was told it was more, they just need to confirm it). I'm very lucky to get a monthly allowance to spend which works out at £216 a month, so assuming the max budget is half decent, I can spend £2,600 for the year without having to add any of my own cash at the end. I've seen this one on clearance which would be well within my allowance (any allowance not spent is added to my pension, so I don't necessarily have to max out the price to spend it all): https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/fathom-eplus-3 I'm out of the loop on mountain bikes and I've never been in the loop on electric ones. I'll use my "proper" mountain bike for places like Bike Park Wales, so the plan for the e-MTB is to put some miles down on road and trails, not serious downhill stuff (and I know what you're thinking - no I don't want a roadie / hybrid / gravel, not my bag really). Any tips welcomed, whether I should spend more and add cash to it or if for my simple requirements, a cheaper one will do the job... Cheers!

This one feels personal.

I was under the impression that draining can be a bit of a ball ache, especially with a tank in the loft. I also read that 8mm microbore can easily get blocked up, so changing one valve after draining could leave other pipes blocked. Anyway, I bought some bungs and all the kit I need so I'll be doing it with a vacuum this weekend. Yes, I'll set up a GoPro so that we can have a laugh if the vacuum doesn't hold 😂

See also:

I did consider that, but if something goes tits up, I'm in trouble (or at least stuck in an endless cycle of pipe freezing until someone can come and save me)

Conflicting information on the internet is so frustrating. I want to change a radiator valve without draining the system, there's a billion different opinions on it. If there wasn't a potential to completely flood my house I'd just go for it, but I don't want to risk it. I'm sure it's plumbers spreading false information so that we still need them 😂

It's in the job description. Look at Alexander, he didn't even use his real name when he was in power (see also: 'Tommy Robinson'). Sacked from almost every job he's had for being useless or a compulsive liar, yet he still 'ran' the country. Fined loads of people £10k a piece over lockdown rule breaches, whilst running his own coke-fuelled parties. Getting smashed with his colleagues whilst we weren't allowed to go to our families funerals. They're all self serving twats, but Trump is certainly one of the worst ones (aside from actual dictators that massacre their own people).

I don't see it as a bad thing that he can open dialogue with him, but if he does cut off all supplies to Ukraine, he's effectively handing it to Russia. If Russia do take Ukraine, where do they go for next? Hopefully he can negotiate some sort of deal and put it to an end, but time will tell I guess.

He wants to turn off the tap for Ukraine and he's a bit pally with Putin, so I can guess where it might end up.

Why? I get the feeling he might be good for America, but not so good for the rest of us.