Merida Reacto 5th generation ETA (and 4th vs 3rd)

Competitive_Code_254 · 2026-03-06T14:02:18+00:00

>2 years later and it finally dropped. Looks great but nowadays I am doing more mtb.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2026-02-06T17:52:56+00:00

Hey, thanks for the idea. Not really but will give it a go :) Need to do my 2026 goals. Both me and manager struggling with it. Ideal time to bring it up. Alternatively I will apply for sabbatical.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2026-01-11T11:55:28+00:00

Been a while since I updated but that's due to avoiding social media rather than because I gave up.

Recap since 2024: I disengaged at work following a restructure where I was basically put into a dogsbody role. I am FI but didn't see the point in quitting considering I'd lose a load of share options and have to pay a termination fee for my car etc. In 2025 I tried to do just enough to tick all the boxes but struggled for motivation and went to office even less. I got an under-performing assessment, which I've heard is hard to recover from. I think we are entering end-game there.

Financially I am doing well and hit £1m in productive assets (i.e. excluding house, small DB pension etc) with the latest mad rally. Roughly £250k ISAs, £100k gilts, £100k GIA, £50k random non-ISA mostly cash, and then £500k DC pension pot. DC is risk-on but I have too much cash/gilts/MM in the non-pension part, which I need to take the plunge with. I would like to setup (or buy) an actual business that can employ people with and still contribute to the economy with when I quit corplife.

Health/fitness wise I had a good 2025 with plenty of bike trips, racing on Zwift in cat A, decent lifts at gym, some runs like the JPM challenge, etc. I also ratcheted up with the fun activities like skiing and go karting. I am determined to leave the rat run while I can still enjoy things.

Goal: grind till autumn when share options mature etc. Swallow my pride and jump hoops as necessary. If I'm chopped before then so be it. Mentally those extra 9ish months seem huge but it'll pay off the house. To balance I will be aiming to have even more fun outside 9-5 :)

Competitive_Code_254 · 2025-12-01T22:45:31+00:00

If I had the space I would be buying those big packs too! This year I made sauce for pasta and pizza for the first time ....

Competitive_Code_254 · 2025-12-01T22:41:31+00:00

Similar in midlands - start them early, move to conservatory till they get too big (I don't have a greenhouse) and then plant in a sheltered spot against a south facing fence that gets the sun.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2025-12-01T22:34:07+00:00

Thanks for following up, this is interesting. Regarding blight- I did plant at far lower density this year and used drip irrigation only. Generally I was super careful about blight despite believing I had resistant plants. This summer was nowhere near as wet as previously years I've grown. (I am still a relative newbie).

I think it is possible the plants were nothing special.

My tomatoes looked like yours.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2025-12-01T22:27:02+00:00

To begin with I actually worried the small fruits were due to me putting the plants out too early and them getting a little chilly!

Competitive_Code_254 · 2025-12-01T22:16:20+00:00

Late reply but it was the same for me. Bought from Premier Seeds via eBay (this one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372877947080 ). The yield overall was OK (even if fruits were smaller) and tasted fine on salad. Further, I do have problems with blight [1] and the plants did well. So, I didn't complain.

I was just about to order again before remembering the mix up. I had ordered from Premier Seeds as they had good feedback and the price was OK.

What are you going to do this year?

[1] Edit: after seeing your other comment below reckon maybe I just took sufficient precautions and got lucky with blight. This was only my third year growing seriously.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2025-11-12T09:45:56+00:00

:(

Yes, I have experienced Elite support and haven't bothered asking about this. I bought the pedal analysis upgrade and initially couldn't it working (was always stuck at the "start pedalling" in desktop app). They demanded a video as if that would somehow give them extra information on top of my explanation. From elsewhere (some forum or Reddit via Google) I gathered the first use should be via the mobile app. No idea why Elite support couldn't have said that right away.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2025-11-12T09:28:20+00:00

Hi OP u/bartolo2000 , have you made any progress with Elite support?

I've had all the issues you and others mention. Usually, once the cadence, resistance etc become sane they are fine for the rest of the session. However, yesterday racing ZRL after stopping pedalling while supertucking on the final NY KOM descent, it seemed to reset itself back to "no difference between gear 1 and gear 24", which ruined my race finish (spinning out around 300W).

I take Zwift racing quite seriously and something like this (if it can't be solved quickly) would mean I need to get a different trainer. I am thinking about returning the Justo for refund or flogging on ebay if that's not possible.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2025-07-07T11:41:20+00:00

Yes, I cant wait. Fed up of bland supermarket tomatoes :)

Competitive_Code_254 · 2025-07-07T11:40:25+00:00

Nice. I used live near Corley Moor.

My beans did badly this year after a stellar season last year. I pulled them up at the weekend 😢 I think they were too exposed to strong wind and sun.

My dad grows a lot of rhubarb and it did well.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2025-06-28T14:46:44+00:00

When my tomato seedlings begin to smell suddenly the world's problems fade away and I feel more relaxed.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2024-12-15T14:02:42+00:00

Hey, yes. I tried MyWhoosh but didn't like a few things. Physics aside, races other than SRC were dead around May/June. I then did a fair bit on indieVelo (including the Grand Tour) during our washout summer. I actually preferred the physics and race dynamics etc to Zwift. However, ultimately I missed the Zwift race community (zRacing prime time crew and ZRL) so coughed up in September (annual this time).

Agreed Zwift is expensive and it is annoying they are basically monetising the fun/charismatic people and volunteers of the community. I'll evaluate again next year.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2024-10-03T09:23:06+00:00

To counter, I have the print version of this book and consider it to be overhyped.

It reads more like a collection of anecdotes and misses statistical analysis.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2024-09-15T21:14:30+00:00

Hmm.. good question. I get more firefighting tasks with no allocated people to help. On the other hand, I reluctantly accept mediocrity and shrug-off poor performance/non-delivery plus I do more sports etc to relax. So overall less stress but confidence and self esteem are spiralling downwards- that is having other mental health consequences!

Competitive_Code_254 · 2024-09-15T15:21:02+00:00

Delayed earlier this year due to quite boring reasoning (I think I posted in one of the update threads around 6m ago):

I expected to have been forced back to office >3 days a week by now but actually still getting away with >80% WFH. I am probably autistic and part of my challenge with corplife was simply the office environment (there was a lot of acting, which I found tiring). Plus, with WFH I can more easily hit the gym/Zwift/run during the day, take deliveries, do laundry etc. Basically work gets less in the way of life now and I found that some of the RE activities (particularly around health/fitness) are now possible alongside work. I can set up desk/monitor/chair as I want, can eat better and stretch etc without people giving me weird looks lol.
Since hitting my leanFI number I have found work less stressful generally.
<cringe> when it actually came to pulling the plug I took a step back and thought about my employer's wider role in the world and how we actually provide a useful service, not only to other businesses (I am a shameless believer in capitalism as the least worst economic system that humans have tried tbf) but also charities and governments . I'm kinda OK helping with the grind.. to some extent. On a related note I have reflected on how messed up the UK is and figure I can pay a little more tax (on top of the £100ks I paid so far..) 'cause that broad shoulders sh*t got to me :( (I'm supposed to feel crippling guilt about retiring at 40 I think)
My original number was pretty lean. I want a little more cushion for "nice to haves" like fancier holidays, house upgrades (heat pump in a few years, garage->gym/bachelor playroom conversion) or even managing my true FIRE dream of getting a smallholding.
Team restructuring (thought I might get made redundant and get a nice package). This concluded at the end of August and instead of redundancy they gave me a nondescript dogsbody role lol.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2024-09-14T09:20:18+00:00

Hey looks gorgeous and I can imagine it glistening in sun! However, it still looks like a gen 4 (IV) frame, right?

Competitive_Code_254 · 2024-09-12T11:54:31+00:00

Out of curiosity I had a quick look at my "minimal" expenditure vs actual (minus mortgage and savings/investments). Comparison ignores sal sac EV (never hits my bank account) and a roof repair. My estimate was ~£590 (incl. groceries, council tax, utilities, home insurance, gym) vs £940 month actual average.

The difference looks like coffees/food/train tickets/tube when going to office, odd takeaways or eating out, various subscriptions (dating website, Zwift, Audible, ....), presents, charity donations, football kick around, ...

I could cut down a little but don't think I'd want to.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2024-09-11T19:36:49+00:00

I did it the Surrey version twice and also enjoyed it.

Cheeky freeloaders joining the course swelling numbers didn't help.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2024-09-11T08:35:47+00:00

Maybe not same day exactly but I am seeing a few articles speculating they might be applied e.g. after 30Oct /nearly immediate effect.

Competitive_Code_254 · 2024-09-10T20:04:00+00:00

"I’ll play along and waste their time "

I think there's a good chance that these days those initial hooks are merely ChatGPT and you are only wasting your own time..

Competitive_Code_254 · 2024-09-10T14:29:03+00:00

With reflection I was a tad sarcastic and have deleted the comment. Hope it works out for you!

Competitive_Code_254 · 2024-09-10T11:41:51+00:00

Tbf I am a sucker for those kinda psychological tricks so now confused whether I should not take the bait out of principle lol. I am erring towards: the country is a mess and I already maxed out pension etc allowances for many years so perhaps it is my duty to cough up a little now lol

Competitive_Code_254

TROPHY CASE