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Calm who are, I believe, based in Peckham, specialise in no and low caffeine coffee.
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"we have a Starling at home:"
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fury-road-thats-bait.gifIt's both really nice and will just never happen. And I never like the sensation of "liking the look of a Trek".
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I'm going to end up seconding what a lot of people are saying but:
- it's a shame the Hakko FX888D is more expensive these days because it's a real workhorse, good quality, good tips. It's my desk-driver.
- The modern TS101/Pinecil types aren't bad, though you really want a laptop style power supply to get them at 20V. I wouldn't want to work on a large project for ages with one, but it's great to have something I can chuck in a bag that isn't a huge brick.
- Old Wellers or similar are great.
Regardless, though, some things will always apply, especially for repair/reflow work:
- Get some good quality braid for desoldering work.
- Get a good sucker, ideally, an Engineer SS-02. I used to think that the Solder Sucker as a concept was absolute junk and it turns out; no, I was using junk ones. The Engineer one, with a silicone tip that gets flush to stuff, is brilliant. Really well made, not expensive.
- Get a chisel-style tip (eg: a D24). More surface area = heat conducts more quickly - better for desoldering. Those fine-pointed needles that most irons come with by default are rubbish. I use a fat chisel for literally everything, including surface-mount work. Heat heat heat.
- By contrast, thin solder is the place to make things small. Big fat wires of it are no good for fine work.
- it's a shame the Hakko FX888D is more expensive these days because it's a real workhorse, good quality, good tips. It's my desk-driver.
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There are also lots of ways to ride chunks of that route/area separately; Canterbury clockwise around to Wye and back up north is a nice... 50k, Faversham-Cantebury before that through all the woods adds on another 20km. The full route doesn't mess around either, it's a big day out and in rough conditions - see last year - it's... a lot. (Thought I recognised the Bizango in a friend's photo. I wasn't there this year, don't have the legs right now.)
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Design for repair is a surprisingly challenging topic, especially in the landscape of things resembling consumer electronics (eg head units, electronic shifters/mechs, etc). Designing for repair often pushes the cost of objects up, and companies are threading the needle of cost/repariability for the home mechanic or civilian/repairability for a service center. (Or, indeed, repairability for no-one.)
And it turns out people often like "paying less right now" than they like the idea of "buying a thing that can be repaired". Regardless of what they might say they prioritise.
Really obvious place you can see this is the consumer electronics industry's growing love of glue and adhesive. Why use expensive screws that need metal nuts/machined receptacles when you can just glue your phone together? Who's ever going to take it apart? Makes it thinner, too! Compare that to something like, say, the Framework laptop - lovely bit of engineering, repairable, upgradeable, and the trade-off is aesthetic and chunkiness that isn't exactly a blocker but isn't de rigeur.
(I hate glue.)
But with a bike... a bicycle, by default, literally is designed for repair. It's all (largely) on the outside! You can see how it works! (Even hydraulic calipers, no way am I going back to mechanicals). So the idea of chucking a composite pedal because it costs as much to repair as to replace... well, sure, only if you factor the environmental cost at zero. Which, sadly, enough people do to make it a thing.
I don't have an answer. But it's depressing, and doing something about it is better than not. A tool that costs as much as a new pedal, long term costs less than a new pedal.
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If i can find something cheap with 100mm or rear travel I assume it'll be good for all day trail riding?
These big bikes are still fine for long days out, yes. "all day trail riding" = "trail" or possibly "downcountry" in modern terminology/marketingspeak, which usually translates to 120mm-140mm rear travel, 130mm-150mm out front. The main issue with 'cheap' will be getting something that's... basically a bit too old, ie, out-of-date geometry or out-of-date standards that you can't build upon. You can still find some great s/h deals around, though.
Dreary question: where do you ride? What do your trails look like?
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Everything @TooTallTim said. And crucially: yes, these are the right sizes for your heights, especially from a brand like Cannondale that hasn't gone crazy with reach.
The wheelbase might look crazy long, but some of that length is in the slacker head angle; reaches are longer but seat tubes are also steeper, and stems are shorter. For the rider, it's both comfortable and confidence-giving. Don't forget that these frames are all also assuming a dropper post most of the time: you have a lot of ability to dynamically move your body around the cockpit as you ride more technical (down) stuff, even whilst keeping it centred.
You sound around the L-to- XL mark in a lot of brands; note that many companies (including specialized) are now moving away from t-shirt sizing and into numeric sizes (eg: S1-S6 in Specialized's case) to reflect that riders do size up/down depending on preference, and height isn't the defining factor as much these days.
bikeinsights.com will help you see how modern brands compare to one another.
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It probably won't get pushed in, the plug is usually wedged very tight in that hole, plus everything - plug, sealant - is quite sticky. So the plug should just get flattened down. When cutting it, though, the trick is to try to disturb the plug as little as possible; use that very sharp blade, saw through, there you go. Patching it from the inside (and removing the plug) is still a possibility down the line.
terribly, terribly sad, unfair, and sudden. love to all those who care about her. .