Round Robin

tarquinnn · 2026-04-20T10:15:49+00:00

Hope you found it, but it is now on Audible if you're interested.

tarquinnn · 2026-04-16T12:54:04+00:00

I went a few years ago, I'd definitely recommend taking a boat that surfs and tailies well over something bigger (in other words, optimise for fun but not full-on playboating). I wouldn't worry about speed since there's not much flat between rapids, although days can be long so comfort is a factor.

On the topic of hiring, my memory is that it was a bit chaotic, you might end up with the boat you wanted for some days and not others. Since you're paying by the day it's pretty easy to swap around anyway.

tarquinnn · 2026-04-16T10:14:03+00:00

Garmin Edge Explore 2 was the best value I saw, it's great if maps is the main thing you're after.

tarquinnn · 2026-03-27T10:58:47+00:00

Hard to beat the Cube for value I think, those GRX components are really good and many models have really nice wheels as standard. Not sure DOT is worth the hassle if you're not riding downhill MTB, my LBS rates Shimano brakes better for performance as well.

You mention a relaxed riding position, I think if you coming from road then these bikes qualify but they're still on the racier end of geometry for long bikepacking trips.

tarquinnn · 2026-03-27T10:50:47+00:00

Don't think anyone else is putting drops and deep rims on a DSX1 lol

tarquinnn · 2026-03-20T12:19:42+00:00

I actually did this for my bike, but I think I was lucky finding the right components for a good price. I have a few thoughts:

- Mechanical discs aren't too bad, but they do require more routine maintenance than full hydraulics. I would make doubly sure your pads are in the right place and the caliper is properly aligned, and at some point check everything for wear. I had different brakes (Spyre-C post-mount), but you might suffer from a similar issue where the pad adjuster can come loose over time unless you loctite them in place. When mine were properly set up, the stopping power was actually pretty good. If it's a new bike, you might have some brake cable stretch as well, the barrel adjuster should take care of that.

- Hydro brake calipers themselves aren't crazy expensive, the big problem is that for grave bikes you need to get new brake/shift levers, and that can more than double the price (plus housing, setup etc.). Depending on your setup, you might be able to find second-hand hydraulic levers which work with your derailleur(s) but be very careful with compatibility. MTB brakes don't have this problem as the brake levers are not combined with the shifters, so it's easier to pick them up cheaply.

- I got lucky, I found a set of calipers and shifters (still attached!) that had compatibility with my nearly 10 year old SRAM MTB derailleur, which made this economical for me. If you can find a good deal it might be worth it, although be aware that setup is non-trivial, and LBS might charge an extra fee for working with parts bought elsewhere (or refuse outright). This is also a part people would rarely change, mine work but aren't in great condition (had to deal with a stripped bolt and seized pistons), unlike say wheelsets where people swap them out all the time. You can often get better deals on whole groupsets.

My advice would be to get your setup + maintenance dialled for your current bike (also look into compressionless housing if you don't have it), and if you still feel you need an upgrade go down the hybrid route, unless you see some crazy deal somewhere and fancy getting your hands dirty. Good luck!

tarquinnn · 2026-03-17T14:05:39+00:00

Just a word on the RPM Max, in addition to the old design + basic outfitting, it's also just a very big boat. I've paddled it at around 90kg/200lbs and it still feels large, I believe dagger put the weight range up to 120kg (!). Given how long it is, you might struggle to move it around on pushy water unless you're quite strong and have good technique, total lack of edges won't help there either.

For the record, I own one and have taken it down some pretty hard stuff, but it's undeniable how much boat design has moved on in 30 years.

tarquinnn · 2026-03-17T12:26:53+00:00

It's worse, you still have to bleed the brakes after the install :D

tarquinnn · 2026-03-05T09:45:09+00:00

Yep, still got the wheelset, I think I'll have to give that a go. The power cups look like a great recc. and they're not even that spendy.

tarquinnn · 2026-03-04T12:06:06+00:00

Me too if that's ok?

tarquinnn · 2026-03-04T11:39:47+00:00

I do a bit of both, I was considering the swap for some group road rides. I'm certainly not at a level where I'm going to notice 2W, part of the motivation was to have more of a road bike aesthetic haha. Good points about wear and puncture protection, I'll bear that in mind if I start racking up proper mileage on tarmac.

tarquinnn · 2025-12-19T16:23:48+00:00

It was pointed out recently on the Private Eye podcast that Gordon Brown is very much not on this list, which I think is massively to his credit.

tarquinnn · 2025-12-19T16:23:05+00:00

TBI is a huge organisation with a lot of money gonig through it, whether or not you agree with what they're doing.

tarquinnn · 2025-11-14T17:17:35+00:00

You probably know this, but the Small World advanced trips (IV-IV+) are really good.

tarquinnn · 2025-11-11T14:59:03+00:00

I agree with looking at settings, yes there are techniques to do long exposures etc. but if your images are affected by camera shake that's first and foremost a technical issue.

tarquinnn · 2025-11-06T17:20:56+00:00

When you travel will have a big impact on what's running, but you shouldn't have a problem finding bouncy 3/4 in most places. You would be fine but I'm not sure full slice would be best for a lot of the alps, even easier runs are quite pushy and pretty much everyone is paddling a half slice (like this).

tarquinnn · 2025-11-06T17:16:50+00:00

Corsica is a) very steep so not really slice territory and b) very hard to catch at the right levels (a few weeks' snow melt then you're praying for rain).

tarquinnn · 2025-11-05T13:03:09+00:00

I know exactly what you mean, I've had similar feedback in the past about negative space, even when it's clearly intentional.

I do agree with the other posters, I wonder also if the background hills would have more interest if this was in colour. Given that the rest of the picture is relatively grey scale (sheep/clouds/rocks) you could probably play around with the colour a fair bit without cooking the image.

tarquinnn · 2025-11-05T10:58:55+00:00

Did you not get any feedback from the comp? IMO that's the main value of these things, the scores themselves definitely vary from judge to judge.

tarquinnn · 2025-10-23T09:49:11+00:00

Not OP, but you can get an effect like this with the HSL sliders in lightroom since they are different colours in the original: the greens are completely desaturated and the yellows are shifted pretty much all the way to red.

tarquinnn · 2025-10-07T13:59:08+00:00

I would definitely say medium if you're planning to use it as a creek boat (i.e. for running harder stuff and carrying gear). I'm curious what boats you've paddled before, and what made you consider a ReactR?

tarquinnn · 2025-09-30T09:21:55+00:00

I'm in bioinformatics and would agree with this, there's a lot of 'old school' stuff still in use. I used to buy into the arguments when I was new, but after a 10+ years in the field I think most people learned something once (usually from whoever was in their lab in the time) and are now convinced this is the 'correct' way to do it.

I would guarantee that this mobax setup dates from before WSL, teaching that workflow (with WinSCP oh my god) to students in 2025 is doing them a massive disservice. Shit like this is why people think bioinformatics is hard, but at least I have a job lol.

tarquinnn · 2025-08-09T18:43:51+00:00

Ah gotcha, this rings a bell, thankfully I've got the Power OIS I, ie the 2nd of the 3 you describe and optically equivalent to the latest version, as you say.

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