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Saddles are a strange and very personal thing! I have a Carrera MTB with what looks like a very uncomfortable, unbranded saddle, yet it fits my pelvic bones and rear perfectly. Same with the Oxygen; the saddle looks even thinner than the Carrera's, but it's a Lookin and, again, it suits me just...

Regarding the suspension, a hardtail bike would probably suffice; i.e. a (decent) front suspension fork and no rear suspension. That's what I have and I turn off the suspension fork on roads and activate it when off road. It works well for me. Should you have a sensitive rear, consider a...

A long time ago I lived in northern Sweden. I bought a cheap, secondhand bike with two gears working on a 3-speed coaster hub. They tyres were similarly poor. However, that bike did me proud on my commute on all surfaces, including snow. They didn't salt the roads up there, as it would still...

Looking at the (Norwegian) shop, they are offering the beta version for 10000 NOK. The intended price for the market version is 15000 NOK. That's 50% more than the price of a Rohloff, which is a proven product.

You do lose a few spikes, but not that many, especially if you run them in properly. The Ice Spikers have a deep tread, so won't be the fastest of tyres. The main difference is the constant noise from the spikes. Grip is fine. The big thing is to adjust tyre pressures to suit conditions...

I swapped the brake pads today. The Tektro OEM ones were swapped for some Clarks. Wow, what a difference! I'd got used to having to really grab the levers, but once the new pads were bedded in the stopping power was phenomenal with just a subtle squeeze. I went for a pootle along some country...

I think Ice Spikers might be overkill, tbh. I have them, but only 'cos the two cheaper Schwalbe winter tyres aren't available in 27.5". I ran Schwalbe Winter Marathons last winter on 700c tyres without a hint of a slip. There are these. They have the studs a little towards the the centre. The...

I wouldn't spend £2K on a bike. I simply wouldn't have the money. I've seen some very nice Haibikes, but I wouldn't spend that much. I can't compare Haibikes to the Oxygen, but it is very good. Saddles are a very personal thing. I have Lookins on my bikes (luckily the Oxygen came with one) and...

My winter tyres are called Ice Spiker Pros. Thet don't actually have spikes, but instead of having studs on the outside of the tyre, each tyre has 370 spikes all over the tread. The lesser-studded ones do help on soggy leaves. Without mudguards they often fling them high up behind you!

Sure, studded tyres make a noise, but having that layer of security whatever the temperature is very reassuring. I had two pairs of wheels for the MTB I used the tyres on, so it was easy to swap. That isn't possible with the Oxygen, so I'll fit them in the New Year and stick with them until the...

If I have one gripe against the Oxygen it's the 27.5" wheels. It does reduce tyre choice. I'm currently running Schwalbe Land Cruisers on it. I had these on my 700c wheeled bike and they were great for grip on towpaths and such surfaces. However, they used to be puncture prone. The latest...

We'll have to agree to disagree, Trex. The Kenda tyres were cheap and two punctures in two rides on ordinary roads convinced me that Marathon Pluses were the way to go. Sorted. Look at the list of things I felt I had to upgrade and it's clear that many of the original fittings were not fit for...

I'm not sure what you mean here by 'snipes'. No one has put forward any view that is not objective, as far as I can see. I have honestly put forward my opinion about my Woosh Scirocco CDL & it wasn't a good experience, so I couldn't talk glowingly. That isn't sniping. With the budget you have, I...

No, I don't think so. The rack breaking was the last straw. The gear derailleur needed replacing; the seatpost bolt didn't work & was replaced; the saddle was terrible and was replaced; the suspension seatpost was cheap & nasty; the suspension forks were heavy and ineffective (& were about to be...

A geared machine will give you more options, for sure. The Ridgeback I converted with the Automatix hub wasn't a particularly good basic machine, but the FWD/Automatix system worked well. I adjusted the gearing by fitting a smaller rear sprocket to raise it. Once I'd done that, I could max out...

If you're talking about the Automatix system, it changes up at about 11.5MPH without you having to do anything. To change back down, slow to less than 11.5MPH, stop pedalling and it happens automatically. No cables or shifters required.

Depending on your wheel size, there are studded tyres available that will give you a good degree of grip even on icy surfaces. I used some over last winter and they worked well. Schwalbe make the most widely available ones. Whether you wish to inflict those temperatures on yourself is up to...

For simplicity consider the Momentum Upstart or Model T. They have a two-speed hub gear that changes up automatically and down when you stop pedalling at a slower speed. I had the system on a converted bike and it worked surprisingly well. You can tweak the gearing quite easily by changing the...

Yes, I'm pleased with the deal, but the bike is good value at list price too, IMO.