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Or a Stelbel Inox? About half the price of a Sachs and XCR. Maybe not quite the same vibe, tbf

I've gone back and forth with a few SMPs and I'll say 3 things:

1. There is a real difference between the 2 different 'families'
   
2. If you try and plant your sitbones it won't work. You need to find support under the 'rocking chair' bones (the ischium?)
   
3. Small differences in location and angle make a really big difference.
   
   

Colby Pearce has a couple of really good articles on SMPs (google 'Colby Pearce SMP'), but 1 nugget really stood out for me: if you start riding on one and it's great, but gets uncomfortable after a while, that's often a sign that you're on the right saddle but it's in the wrong place. If that's the case, seeing an SMP literate fitter would be a good option.

The other thing I've found is that if you don't engage your glutes and core and just 'collapse' your soft tissue into the saddle, then just about anything is uncomfortable. I had recurring saddle sores in the 'gutters' at the front (sorry for gross terminology) until I worked hard on this. My thought process or cue was trying to align my pelvic angle and my shoulder angle. It wasn't a visual thing but a feeling or thought process. Don't know if that's helpful but good luck.

Will a Record RD take an 11-34 (SR only does 11-32 iirc) and they wanted matchy-matchy? Or is it some weird kind of flex? Maybe even people dropping 6k on a frame have a budget limit?

I mean, strictly speaking it's not really 'logical' to spend £6k on a steel frame, so your guess is as good as mine at this point tbh.

Nice bike though. The look is growing on me.

Well if this is true...

Bit of a classic, that. GLWS.

RS definitely sees himself as something of an 'artiste'.

I'm not sure he's quite my vibe, and you definitely get what he thinks a road bike should be, but a Sachs is definitely something a bit special.

I was going to say they're not my aesthetic, but this is pretty nice:

I'm pretty sure the Glider is still available.

The Well S might be an option, too.

Post of the year, a fabulously apt final line, and a rare example of a mixed metaphor that absolutely works.

Would recommend @GoatandTricycle as a seller. Great comms and prompt delivery

The chainring maxes are always conservative. Factor said the biggest combo that would fit on the LS was 50/34, but 52/36 was comfortable in the end. I'd be genuinely surprised if a 50/34 wouldn't fit on a Crux. But if you're using it primarily as a gravel bike, a 48t big ring is likely plenty (unless you have #rocketwatts)

If anyone hasn't listened to S-Town, you should: it is hilarious, terrifying and very sad in equal measure.

Cyclescheme and GCI, iirc.

Still trying to persuade our works to do GCI. If you can spread it over 3 years or more, I'm having a Crux!

I'll take the 40t AXS chainring please. DM incoming.

https://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/product/39011/2022-crux-comp/

2.5k down from 4.5k

Yeah you'd need to change the groupset but if you got a few hundred quid back on that... ?

No personal experience, but quite a few people online reporting success with these:

https://mrxsolutions.net/products/2-replacement-batteries-charger-for-sram-axs-etap-xx1-x0-gx-reverb

£40 for 2 batteries and a charger.

You'd void your warranty, though

Signed up.

Then the Fred 3 weeks later. Season over by June!

Anyone entered next year's Dirty Reiver? 2024 entries open today.

Tubed version only on sale, I think; an occasional riding partner has them and hasn't commented negatively. Sorry - not much help!

Yep

On a related note, can any of the mechanical experts chime in on a v minor fault:

On mechanical 12sp, I've found that shifting up the cassette (to bigger sprockets) is hard to get 'in sync' with the click of the derailleur. The shift generally seems to want to jump the gun slightly, if that makes sense. It's very minor but it is a smidge annoying.

Always hard to argue against the idea that Shimano 'just works' in a way that Campag and SRAM don't. I've often thought that pragmatically 105 or GRX 600 would do absolutely everything I could possibly need them to.

But it just doesn't do it for me like Campag does. Dunno why.

So seeing what's happened with Campag over the last 6-7 years has been a bit sad for me. I grew up seeing Colnagos with Record in my LBS and salivating over them, and telling myself that if I could ever afford one, that's what I'd get. Then when I did have the money, I bought SRAM. The shame :-)

My only caveat would be that there's a known issue with some of the 12sp shifters being waayyy too stiff: apparently there was a problem with the spring supplier at one point. They will modify the shifters if that happens to you, but it's a job for the Stoke or Leighton Buzzard service centre, neither of whom - in my experience - are terribly efficient or helpful.

Cheers - that's helpful

There's a long-running thread on Campag over at weightweenies. Graham, the UK tech rep, is making some interesting points. If you're interested in people speculating on their demise and the reasons for it, it makes quite engaging (if repetitive) reading.

I'm a big Campag fan - in particular I think the wheels are just beautifully made - but it is very hard to justify mechanical Record at ~1/3 more than the real-world price for Ultegra Di2. Even Chorus was about the same price last I looked, and much harder to get parts and good support for.

It smacks of petulance and amateurishness on Sunak's part. Even if he did think that topic was off limits, surely our PM should be able to a) either be the bigger man and simply ignore what he (almost certainly wrongly) perceived as provocation or b) discuss the issue sensibly in person like a serious politician.

But then very little he and his party do surprises me any more. I think I'd find a sudden outbreak of competence, decorum and decency the most shocking thing, actually. You know, the outdated stuff like respect for the law, at least trying to govern in people's best interests, not stoking division, etc.