matt_theforce

What a rubbish start to 2023 https://www.hooniganracing.com/

Had a real blast yesterday. There has to be a joy to working a late shift! Warm up going up the TPT to Woodhead Pass, then down the Northern HorseShoe Loop, back along the Longdendale trail, up Woodhead to the Old Road, down the Old Road, around Langsett Res then back across to the TPT and home in time to go to work

I'm no stranger to cycling but for a lot of years have been mainly Road/Gravel focussed after falling out of love with hike a bike MTB climbs here in the Peak District. My son is almost 15 and I have no chance keeping up with him now on the up-hills & as he is getting into MTB racing (XC and Downhill) I need to be able to keep up with him/challenge him on his training rides. I test rode a 2021 Trek Rail 5 at Dalby Forrest and the geometry was so close to my Trek Top Fuel (but with extra suspension travel) it felt so familiar but so much more capable so I took a trip to my local Trek dealer (only 8miles away) & bought a 2022 Trek Rail 7. Its a great spec & doesn't need any upgrades although in time I may change the Bosch Purion screen for the Kiox (I don't need the mapping but would like a better battery gauge/clock & info on my energy used vs power provided) I've only had it for a week & its fantastic, I forgot how much I actually enjoyed mountain biking & now being able to climb stuff I've never been able to before its giving me a whole new world to explore Matthew

I cycle those lanes often, the camera's don't do the steepness and the terrain justice (especially the 1st climb from Riding Wood Reservoir & the last one at Hill Top).

Yes, I know the driving instructor so he has been giving me guidance so I don't teach my son bad habbits from the start. It's my sons birthday today and he is in a similar position, doesn't want to go out for a drive as he has so much A level work to do. There's no rush & I'm not going to pressure him as I want him to enjoy his experience.

I rang the AA to see how much they would charge to put my son on my policy while he learnt to drive but they don't insure anyone under the age of 25. I gave Collingwood a call but they couldn't come close to other learner quotes 😞, they also came recommended by the AA who I'm insured through. I moved to St Albans from York in 1997 @ 19yr old, my insurance went down when I made the move, when I moved to South Yorkshire (Penistone) in 2006 my insurance went up! Quick Update.. After lots of looking around we took a policy out in my sons name through Adrian Flux. The price was extremely competitive & I've had insurance through Adrian Flux before with my modified cars and always had a good experience. As there is long delays in driving lessons, we felt a 12month policy in his name was a good idea as the policy allows for a 1yr no claims bonus too . The v5 can remain in my name but my son will be using it as his own car until he buys his own car and then will be used for my younger son to learn to drive in in a couple of years time. Another benefit we've found to buying a cheap car to learn in, the boys & I are carrying out the maintenance & servicing together, giving them valuable skills for the future (should they chose to use them) but at least they will know the basics of checking oil/coolant/washer fluid etc etc.

Hi All, My son is 17 in March and I'm looking for an insurance solution. He is in full time education & doesn't need a car but would like to get his license before he needs one so is currently in no rush to pass. I have a 2007 Polo (V5 is in my name) & this will be the car that I will take him out in. So far I can see 2 possible solutions * named driver on my policy * he takes out a learner driver policy (and my policy will remain on the car as the V5 is in my name) I like the idea of him having his own policy & I've done an online check for a policy of his own which was around the £270 mark for 12months (with NCB being given at 10months), what I can't find out is, if he passes his test during the 12months will those months count towards his next policy (as he will need to cancel his learner policy and take out a full policy) What have you done with insurance for your young drivers? Any recommendations/pit falls? The V5 is in my name and I have no objection to changing it to my sons name, it will not become his car though as it will be kept in the family as his younger brother will also use it to learn in. Thanks Matthew

I'd forgotten all about this thread How is everyone this morning?

Its something that can get him started with being able to design & build scale models, more to aid with his creativity so size isn't overly important at the minute. We've been doing lots of googling and watching youtube and the Creality Ender 3 & v2 get some very good reviews as a starter printer

My son is at 6th form and studying Maths/Science/Design Technology as he would like to become an architect. He has asked for help towards financing one. I have no idea where to start at what to look at. What are peoples thoughts/experiences? Thanks Matthew

I prefer the 3door seats as they make it easier for cleaning under them 👍

I'm of a similar opinion to you on the PCP/Lease thoughts. 2 years ago we bought a low milage (55k) FSH '13 plate Yeti from a main dealer, sold to us on what excelent condition it was in etc etc, the amount of rust (common problem on the doors) but also the roof & all the scratches and dents certainly didn't come across as excelent. I've just purchased an '07 Polo with 111k on it with FSH and there are a couple of stone chips, no rust & less dents/scratches than the Yeti! We looked at replacing the Yeti last month & visited a main dealer to see a 1 owner FSH '17 (I would like a DSG Yeti) but again the one on the forecourt was in worse condition than the Polo

I'm still quite pleased with my watch, the heart rate monitor is still giving me results that are similar to what I used to get with my chest strap. My watch has been kept up-to date with software updates and I've not noticed any differences in performance/battery life etc. The only sporadic issue is when starting an activity, sometimes the GPS connects straight away, other times it can take 5-10minutes & it happens across both walking & cycling activities.

I can't offer any advise for towing with a mk3 but there is nothing wrong with your van

Did you get anywhere with this? I've had my fair share of vrs's and other models and fancy something different so have been looking at the scout with 184bhp, like you I don't need the ride height (yet) but the 4x4 & DSG is a must. Although there might not be any aftermarket suspension specifically available for the scout did you look down the octavia vrs 4x4 route?

Another neat feature found, I can broadcast my HR from my watch via bluetooth to my laptop when using Zwift chest strap no longer needed (battery life is reduced slightly using this feature though). I've turned the auto start walking off and now only start it when I want it and have noticed an improvement in battery life which is now out-weighed by broadcasting my HR on Zwift. I'm still very happy with this watch

I too did the 17" S3 alloy change on my Octavia, they didn't stay on long before I went back to the standard 16" Elegance alloys My Octavia was sat on KW Springs & Dampers, the mk1 Octavia's make fantastic looking sleepers I can't comment on the 1.8t maintenance/tuning as I only had my mk1 vrs for 18months before buying the above PD130, that said, my PD130 had 185bhp & 343ftlb and handled the power fine with the standard 205/55/16 tyre size & allows the 312mm brake upgrade to fit nicely

I should be able to get an extra couple of days out of the battery with some GPS tweaks as I haven't looked at them yet, GPS is used for around 1-2hours everyday just with dog walking. Just changing the auto start for walking from 10min to 15min has increased the battery life by a day, I pop down to feed the horses twice a day and that is a 10min walk each way so got picked up as an activity too. I've still lots of features to look at and no doubt some to disable, I turned everything on when I set it up and slowly turning off things that aren't of use to me.

My sister has a Forerunner and has said the same about her activities. The only tweak I sometimes need to do is if I use a different bike (known as Gear, possibly on the Forerunner as you can have multiple running shoes) The VivoActive allows you to manually start a walk or have it start automatically, it is very slow to finish the activity though so best done manually. Analogue watch faces are free on the VivoActive 4 The VivoActive 4 does seem quite adaptable to multiple sports

Update. I made the decision to buy a Garmin and bought the VivoActive 4 Black/Slate, after a little shopping around I managed to get it for just over £200 which I'm happy with. I've been using it now for just under a month and thought I'd share a few things about it. I've compared the GPS & Heartrate monitor against my MIO Cyclo 315 & chest strap at the same time while out on a number of hikes & bike rides & the Garmin is very impressive, no missed data/no high or low data & almost identical to my MIO Likes * It's a nice lightweight watch (compared to my old Samsung Gear 3 Frontier) * Application integration to & from Strava/Zwift (more Garmin Connect that the watch) * Sleep Tracking and Body Battery seem quite accurate & often mirror my mood that day * Easy to customise the menu's/data displayed during activities & access the app you want * When manually starting an activity the GPS picks up really quickly (tried from several different places) * Battery - charging time is very quick & lasts very well (approx 4 days for me). I walk 3-4miles every morning(with GPS due to a very active dog), I also do a similar length walk in the evening too & sleep with the watch on (only take it off for showering). I have disabled PulseOx. I only turn bluetooth on once a day to sync my activities & its on for approx 10min (not that it needs that long). When on being used for an activity the battery life with just GPS will certainly outlast what I'm capable of, I've done a few 3-4 hour rides/hikes & I've been very impressed at how little the battery is used. Dislikes * It is advertised as supporting Turbo Trainers but I found out after I bought it that it doesn't support smart turbo trainers (never mind), I can still use my chest strap and my rides auto sync with Garmin Connect & incorporated into the watch * The screen is a little sensitive and often lights up when moving around in bed Overall I'm very happy with my choice & for the odd 1hr ride I now don't take my MIO bike computer and just use my watch.

I've never heard or seen them so will do some investigating I have a friend who has been using Polar devices for years, he is currently using the Polar M430 and he really likes it, I have to say I much prefer the look of the Vantage M though. I've a couple of customers who use various Suunto sensor's & they seem to be extremely reliable. I do like the look of the 5 all black My wife went to work and forgot to put her Garmin Vivoactive 3 on yesterday so I went out for a ride to try it out, I was really pleased with the data I could see from it, the heart rate and GPS tracking was pretty much identical to my MIO315 cycling computer & chest heart rate monitor. The Vivoactive 3 is lacking in some features that I would like but that has got me researching the Vivoactive 4. At the moment I have the following Comparisons to be done on : Polar Vantage M / Garmin Vivoactive 4 / Suunto 5 all black Investigation to carry out on the Microwear H series so many choices out there!!

For the last 2 years I've had a Samsung Gear S3 Frontier and I've had nothing but trouble with the sports side of things. I'm looking to replace it, I'm not looking for a Smart Watch as I don't use half the features. Requirements * Built in GPS * Budget £250 * Cycling/hiking stats * Good battery life when used for activity tracking It would be nice if I could link it to a Saris h3 turbo trainer or Zwift but not essential. What are your experiences/recommendations? Matthew

I like this idea, it opens up a whole new area for people interested in health/wellbeing/sports

My full service would include a conversation with the owner to asertain the type of cycling/weather/mileage etc to get an idea of what components should be used to provide the best value for money/longevity. removing all components Bearings (Clean & re-grease) or replace (no cost for caged bearings unless specific bearings were specified) cleaning all threads and applying fresh anti-seize Tyres & Tubes removed and inspected (inner tubes replaced at no extra cost) All inner & outer cables replaced (no cost for parts unless specific cables were specified) Brake fluid changed (no cost for the fluid) Wheel truing done supply/fit new chain (no cost for chain unless specific chain was specified) Rim brake blocks replaced (no cost for parts unless specific brake blocks were specified) Service sheet with torque settings listed for each component Collect & Drop Off service as a full service requires an extra clean environment Replace any required components (no labour charges) Everything that is removed will be cleaned prior to being refitted I also give the customer the choice to have their removed components back As part of this, should a customer want a new gear shifter/chainset/cassette etc etc or an upgrade of certain items, I would only charge for the part As part of my initial conversation it may reveal that a full service isn't required. Make sure you speak to the mechanics, find someone who is willing to take the time to listen to what you use your bike for, that way you are more likely to get the correct service for your bike and your needs. Matthew