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Thomson stem arrived, just trying to tweak the bar angle/hood position now before fitting new cables/bar tape.

Thinking of going for jagwire cables and lizard skin dsp 3.2mm

Love this, had one a few years ago and definitely want another. Mine was also the 2.7, even tried a bike rack on it haha. Looks like your's is coming along nicely.

46cm thomson gravel bars added to the boardman.

70mm 0° thomson stem is on order to lift the bars and bring them closer (currently 80mm -7°)

Then once I'm happy with the lever/bar positions I'll recable and add new bartape

Beautiful looking bike!

So a small update -

The cheapie boardman for Miss Raleighracer has been stripped and sold.

The brown mongoose Street bike has been sold.

The raleigh banana has been stripped and sold.

The shopping bike has been stripped but I'm keeping the frame for now (might build a monster cross/super comfy bike to ride with the partner)

Miss Raleighracer now has the 29er for our bike rides.

I got a new beater diamondback (for free). Stripped the paint but couldn't be bothered to do the tricky bits so painted any 'braze on's' and welds/joints in yellow.

Got a thomson seatpost and clamp for the gravel commuter and made myself a safety pizza haha.

There was no camping this time, would love to give that a go in the future, I think it would make it far a much nicer experience. (Would need to buy some more appropriate kit though)

Just got back from my 2 night tour around the peak district. A few things to note

• congrats to Google maps for an excellent route (I just blindly followed it and did no planning myself)
  
• cycling really is great, can't believe I've been scared to do that for so long (although I always wanted to go further than I have and saw a short distance tour as not a tour(I did 80 miles over the 3 days, I know some people that do that before lunch))
  
• nice to know there are still some friendly people in the world
  
• special thanks to the weather for giving me 2 great and 1 meh day 🍻
  
  

Things I need* to do if I was to do the same again
*need is subjective, a) it all went well and I'm back safe and happy & b) more time on the bike/fitter could fix all these I'd guess c) I didn't have to push at any point

• wider tyres (currently 28/30c) and less pressure would of been lovely on the cycle tracks to increase grip & comfort - will look into probably 32/35c but still want to keep them under the mudguards, however I know this bike has run 42c without guards
  
• higher/different bars/more absorbent bar tape/carbon cockpit to reduce fatigue & increase control when not on tarmac
  
• less weight/stuff (although in any hobby that's usually the case) & I basically used all that I took with the exception of the emergency bits (1st aid kit/tools/waterproofs etc) will look into what I carry if I do this again - perhaps spending a little on a smaller showergel/Deodorant etc instead of just grabbing what was in the bathroom (however this was supposed to be cheap and as a result cost me ~ £150 all said and done) also wish I'd taken the time to steal a few lighter bits off of other bikes but time/effort was against me, although only grams they all add up!
  
• will look into easier gearing, really a triple would be great (in my head for that true touring vibe), but an mtb 2x crankset may also work, more investigation needed
  
  

Overall 10/10 would do again!

Well I have a tour* booked thst I set off for shortly so I've made some modifications to the winter commuter and decided to use that. I was struggling to decide between the boardman 29er or this so we'll see how I get on.

*tour might be an big exaggeration to some, laughable to others but we must all start somewhere.

Panniers (brand new came on a bike I bought still with the tags on) and rack found in the loft, a beautiful carradice handlebar bag I kindly got for my birthday and I should be set.

Unfortunately it's the old gas pipe tubing model

Readers wife -

Raleigh banana, shimano 105 and hi-vis bar tape.

Small but not quite bike related update, made a bike stand so I no longer have to lean the bike up against a wall when not using the work stand.

The 'shims' mean this will fit 2.5ish" tyres with no shims, 2ish" with one shim and 1ish" with both shims in.

Another quick and easy job done once I'd remembered where my basket stash was - behind the shed of course.

Smaller basket fitted to the giant shopping bike.

GT given a full strip and service. Given the unfortunate realisation that this may not get ridden for potentially a long time the plan was the regrease all bolts, lube up the drivetrain and polish and protect the frame in the hope whenever this does get ridden again it should be easy to get going with no seized bolts or rusted drivetrain to contend with.

for my own reference currently weighs 7.8kg

Whilst doing the usual parts bin rummage looking for inspiration I saw a bolted seat post clamp, fizik saddle, boardman stem and chopped Easton ea50 seatpost so a plan was hatched.

Seat post clamp to replace the QR one currently on the winter bike, Easton seatpost then the brooks from the 29er. Then the shorter 100mm boardman stem to bring the bars back a touch. (Still like a relatively low bar height for now but this may change through miles on the bike, if not I'll be cutting the steerer down a bit)

QR clamp from the winter bike onto the 29er because it was in better condition. Deda seatpost from winter bike holding the fizik saddle.

Boardman stem will of course be getting acetoned once I get it back from my dad.

Boardman 29er given a mini service tonight - derailleur stripped and cleaned, brakes out and cleaned, bb apart etc etc. Only things bot done were forks/headset and brake bleeding because I did them not long ago. Can be tucked away now till nice (dry) weather returns for the off road commute.

@Tom13

The boardman 29er is fantastic, I much prefer the longer stem, flat bars and racer saddle but just doesn't really work for the current commute. If my planned spring time tour doesn't come off I'll be doing a mini tour on that!

Raleigh was such a good bike, again a shame it doesn't work on the current commute.

And giant was a great bargain spotted by a none cycling friend for me haha.

XT Rear mech bought off ebay with worn out jockey wheels for a bit of a bargain, fitted the jockey wheels off of my broken one, given a quick clean and straightened the gear hanger.

Winter bike is bike to running order -

And lastly (for now) is the bike you see above on the right.

My street/park BMX, a Mongoose R120. Bought on my last day at halfords to use my discount since my current job sees me going to alot of skateparks so I have a bike just incase I want to ride.

Standard spec except brakeless, 2 pegs, some bits of plastic as DIY spoke guards, obviously cut seatpost and my favourite bodge, I had 2 pairs of the same mongoose grips from another bike so instead of just buying odi long necks I cut the grips in such a way the pattern still lined up and glued 2 half grips together to extend them.

Current plans - see if I can get a longer seatpost and see if I still have the parts tp put a rear brake on so its a bit easier to just poddle around on - subject to it all being free of course haha.

Redline race bmx - must be 15 years old, got used hard for both training and racing on back in the day.

Current plans are absolutely nothing except when I get a bit of a midlife crisis wobble I usually clean it/buy something that I would of wanted for it when I used to race. Eventually I would like it to be the dream bike when I raced but usual excuses of time/money apply haha.

(Only rubbish photos I had)

The turbo trainer bike - was my old winter commuter but as I said the commute changed to include some cycle paths not just rode so obviously I had no choice but to get a bike with discs and room for bigger tyres haha.

Running the old 105 groupset from the GT, a few parts bin bits and some 'nicer' parts I bought along the way like cinelli bars/stem, shimano 600 front brake (modern long drop rear) ultegra cranks etc.

Current plans are debating to strip off the non essentials whilst it still works on the turbo to free up cash or selling it all together minus the wheelset and use that to put the GT on the turbo. Both are unlikely and most probably it'll will just stay as it is.

(Excuse messy gym)

Mrs Raleighracer/cheap hack bike - because I love a cheap hack!

An old boardman frame I got in a bit of a bundle deal off a friend. Full parts bin special with a firm £50 limit was the plan, needing a cassette/chain/bb and gear cable took out nearly the full amount so has to run a hacked up road front mech with insulation tape to take up the 31.8-34.9mm difference to hold the chain onto the middle ring.

Current plans are keep a close eye on the parts bin for upgrades. Possibly a paint job if the partner enjoys getting into cycling.

Kona Cowan- ive owned this for 12 years now and has again seen a fair few changes through its life. Currently/will be my mountain bike of choice for sherwood pines for those that know it and other local routes. (I hate riding my commuting bikes to not commute for some reason)

Runs a sram 10sp drivetrain, shimano xt brakes, slx crank and a super hard to find 30mm thomson seatpost.

Current plans are a short stem and wide high rise bars to replace the ones stolen for the 29er, a bigger 2.4/2.5 front tyre and move the fancy mountainking to the rear and a narrow wide chain ring.

My old nice weather commuter bike. This has seen some variations over its 11 years with me but currently rocks 11sp 105 groupset, thomson seatpost, 130mm stem all the way down, Chinese carbon tubs and a recently added larger range ultegra cassette.

Current plans are a strip and service so I know its good to ride should the mood take me and/or a bit of altering to go and ride some hill climbs after watching the national hill climb championship up winnats pass the other week. Somebody has to come last right haha.

Shopping bike - an old retro giant f&f including headset and seatpost I got for the pricely sum of £2. Everything else was in the parts bin and thrown on to do the short ride to the shop.

Current plans are a smaller basket/wider bars as it is a little cumbersome to ride at times. Also to get a front shifter to allow use of the recently added triple. (I used to live on a 16% hill with the post office at the top so just used 1st gear to go up the hill and freewheel back down)

Next up is my nice weather commuter, which takes me through a short but enjoyable country park and a little bit of single track. Since moving house commuting purely on the road is too scary for me since there's a dual/single carriage way that lorries fly up and down giving you very little space.

It's a boardman pro 29er (funnily enough whilst working at halfords I prided myself on not owning a halfords bike but now have 4 haha) short thomson stem and Eastern DH bars stole off my kona and brooks saddle are the only changes I've made really.

Current plans are a full service over the Christmas period and just enjoy.