techguy

Keep in mind that a carbon frame can be as thin as 0.5mm in places especially on a road bike. So yes a stone can punch a hole in it. Now I'm not claiming to be a composites expert but I've done a couple of courses recently and put under enough stress any carbon will fail, a bicycle frame gets its strength from the tube shape and if that surface has been compromised then to leave it alone is risky, you could repair the hole/crack etc but remember that the modern epoxies used today can be stronger than the original materials so by repairing the hole/crack you could be allowing for stress risers to appear either side of the repair job. Having said that however, a repair would be better than leaving it alone.

I disagree because carbon can fail without warning and I've witnessed a couple of crashed because of it. Carbon has a higher fatigue life than alu but when it fails it is catastophic, and in a way the hole may not get bigger and cracks may not visibly occur but the fact of the matter is that there has been a delamination of some degree of the layers. So a crack may spread on the inner layers and no-one would be any wiser till it fails.

I just moved onto a G1 and I can't believe the difference it made!(I won't mention the Alu piece of bike I was on)

I was running XTR levers with Deore calipers till I'd saved up enough to get the real deal... I have seen Magura levers with XTR calipers on Liam Killeens bike a couple years back-both mineral oil. I'm also pretty sure you could get away with (for Example) Avid levers on Formula calipers as they are pretty close in design, However having said that I'm not reccomending you swop between brands, Just that it would be possible so long as the oils are the same.

Using my husbands login, i would like to make a comment about VA spinning instructors. I am one, i teach at fourways Virgin. I have heard stories like this before and from the instructors point of view i can understand why he told you to leave, but agreed the way he dd it was terrible! As instructors we do not know the history of the people coming into a class and if youcome in half way through it firstly distracts the class and secondly you could be cold and pull a muscle or worse. That is why the general rule of thumb is do not enter a class more than 10mins after they have started. This is mainly for safety reasons!! So yes there are bad instructors but they are also incredibly badly paid, so why do it.... well generally for fun and the enjoyment of it, or this case the guy was grumpy and perhaps not very good and well maybe he needs the little bit of money they pay and that is why.... i dont know..... You should ahve complained to the club manager he has the authority or complain to the Manager on Duty. They have to sort the problem. Not enough direct complaints are made to the clubs so they generally do not know if their instructors are bad or not. They clearly do not do all the classes.

Having worked for THE man I have the upmost respect for him and his ideas that he's forever conjuring (sp?) up to try to make the sport better and to grow his bussiness, and the fact that he has nothing bad to say about anyone. But how bout a Fritz Pienaar fan club thread? Cuz lets not forget what he's done for MTBing in this country...Mazda Adventure Zone, drifter series?

The Easton wheels are awesome! I was invited to a seminar about them, hosted by the distributers, Brad Hunter, the owner of Easton's wheel division and founder of Velomax wheels, which as we all know was taken over by Easton. Spoke about the quality control and the tolerences these wheels are built to and its quite mind bogglling!!! The back up service is second to none and the quality in the first place is unbelievable! Hence they give such a good ride! The Stan's rims are good but the have to be built by a competent wheel builder, to result in a strongish wheelset. I have a set on my bike, they are super light but thats also a downfall, because they're not as strong as they could be...

all the people I know that have had one have gone back to their standard seatpost, I think its a gimmick, just like the flex stems back in the early 90s

theres a small allen key on the right hand side at a 45 degree angle to the wheel, that adjusts the side to side movement of the pads, if that is coming loose( and i've heard of them adjusting themselves), then it can cause the problem you're describing.

the attack and force are awesome tyres, but for race day only!

I know a guy who fell off the roof at logwood, landed on the fence pole next to the building... should've checked his bruises!

Thats because the overheads might be higher than other shops also as i've said, the profit margins are not as high as some might think...so by giving discount on certain products it is nearer to cost than people realise. Bike shops are businesses as well, after all. they're not all out to rip evryone off but instead trying to do an honest days work.

just a question, do you ask for discount at pick and pay? or after you've filled your car up with petrol? I agree its not a sin to ask, but don't get offended when the reply is no. Kona fan is on the money, bike shops in general don't make a killing (despite what some people think).

I hate to say I told you so....When every one else was raving on about the Raliegh... they are the same frame from the same factory! There's one at Bikeshak in Dainfern...

First off, go for it if they have the mental stability to vasbyt then they've got something going for them. However don't waste your time trying to be a pro in SA, I know so many guys who were pros locally for a year or so but because of the lack of sponsorship and number of teams they had to give up cycling to earn a living. Also a pro life is not all that fantastic, unless you're a special case the teams locally and internationally pay peanuts for young riders. Hence the need for mental toughness, to push through the first few years of getting your head kicked in...

Did you send it in for inspection/warranty?

The words JRA come to mind with this thread

I beg to differ, you don't get rich quick in the cycling industry, it would shock you how little profit a bike shop makes off a set of tyres, and any other product for that matter.

I know that Robbie was in talks with 3 teams and as of today he has a contract with one of them, won't let the cat out the bag

Just as an example of Cajees cut throat prices, I sold as customer a bike at bout R1000 below recommended retail, he liked the bike so much he wanted to buy his wife one as well, but he shopped around, He bought the exact same bike for R4000 less than he bought it from us. The price he paid was R1000 less than my cost!

Well, I know for a fact that cajees gets a bulk discount for one, and they are actually making next to no profit on some of their stuff. you see what they do is mark stuff up to beyond the reccomended retail price then if you quibble a bit they drop the price. they kinda make their money off people who don't question the price. as for the after sales back up, its just non existent. and I know that it annoys a lot of lbs's off when a customer goes to cajees and buys a bike/ other product and walks into their shop and asks for said bike/product to be set up. I agree fully with Buddah, rather pay just that little bit extra in the first place.

Hey man, you gotta ask for a good deal and all!

Dunno what connection there is between Cajees and Raleigh, but it can't be easy for the real lbs owners out there who have been supporting Raleigh throughout the growth phase...........do they feel let down, I wonder? Thats why a lot of lbs's have "thrown" Raliegh out of their shops cause cajees are whoring the brand out and undercutting those of us who are trying to make an honest living. The main reason I'm getting rid of Giant, Cajees is under cutting my prices.