The Bikes' Performance.

We are drawing more attention than ever. What with our matching fleeces in the evenings most people take us for touring football players. Richard has taken to saying that his job is Cyclist.

Rear disc brakes abandoned in favour of Cantilever V-Brakes: I chose the non-specific brake pads ones for both of us so that we both had the same, the others did seem slightly better. We are carrying these as either spare parts for the back or in emergency to replace the front disc brakes. The V-Brakes are really good, powerful, easy to adjust, etc, etc.
Richard's rear rack broke: aaahhh very very worrying, luckily we found an aluminium welder and were back cycling after two hours feeling very relieved. The break was on the left hand side directly above (approx10mm) the bottom bolt. 
Wheels seem to be doing well, despite the fact that we have both taken several nasty pot holes at full speed and fully loaded up. My front wheel's spokes seem to be out of correct tension but this is only a matter of routine maintenance.

Frames good so far.

Stems good apart from mine creaks even after all my efforts at tightening it up.

Tyres sent out to Istanbul: One used for 2 days now and it seems excellent. Schwolber all-round superb. Re-mounting the tubeless after being stored in pannier for several weeks was a pain and also the valve on the tubeless insert didn't work (we took it to a tyre repair place who soon sorted it all out for us for free and gave us a cup of tea (photo somewhere)). All four original slick tyres have died the death now: all due to beading coming away from sidewall on the stitching. (I think that this is linked to the tubeless rims but Richard is unsure).

Gears good

USE seatposts have been a great relief for the rear ends on undulating road surfaces. Because of the frequency of bumps some have to be pedaled through and the jolts would normally be quite severe. Tri-bars still superb: offering aero position but also a very needed rest from handlebars for hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, back and legs. Superb Pedals and shoes good.