Jaco Steyn

Andrew, thanks for the very civil and positive reply. It just goes to show that you are a true gentleman! I have responded to your PM and have sent you an e-mail. I promise that I will visit your store in Fourways as soon as I have an oppurtunity again. With the price of fuel these days it will be diificult to predict when this will be. Again, please accept my sincerest apology for my inconsiderate way of approaching this matter.

I am slowly beggining to regret that I ever stared this thread! It never was my intention to "bash" cyclelab at all. I was merely trying to air my dissapoinment in Cyclelab, because I was expecting this great emporium of cycling goodies. This was however not the case. I quite accept the fact that a store cannot always have everything on hand, but if the pitch line for a bussiness is "The experts in cycling", I would then only expect the sales person to inform me that the item I seek is not in stock, and should I wish so he would source it for me. Andrew, I do sincerely apologize if I have approached this matter in an improper or unfair way.

Turtlek, thanks for the offer! I will however first have a look at why my LBS in Vanderbijlpark has to offer. If I still do not come right, I will take you up on your offer. Just as a matter of clarity, this is what I am looking for. As you can see the brakes are almost brand new. The one on the left is the one that was still attached to the caliper and the other one actually onle needs a spacer, washer and a nut to tighten everything to the caliper.

Whoa everybody! I am not trying to bash Cyclelab at all. I come from the Vaal Triangle where the cycle shops are not quite as large as Cyclelab. I was merely commenting on my first impression of Cyclelab, the same as any jourmalist would have done whether he is a food critic, motoring or lifestyle critic. I have the utmost of respect for Andrew because in my opinion he has done more to expose cycling to the majority than most. I am even considering joining the Cyclelab cycling club! If I do not win a membership as seen on supercycling this week, I will most probably do so of my own accord. I am quite sure that Andrew is man enough to take my critism in his stride, and look into what can be done to rectify or improve the situation.

Before I get to my point, just some background. We went on holiday to Mount Amanzi near Hartbeespoort dam for the September schooll holidays. I took my bike along to do some LSD's, but nearly had a terrible accident. When I came down on one of the long downhill's my front brake block came loose, wedged in between the fork and tyre, cut the tyre and eventually got out and got lost in the long grass. I could noy find a decent bicyle shop in that region, so I decided to stop at Cyclelab on my way back to Sasolburg. This would then be my firt experience with Cyclelab. Maybe I did not look as if I had money in my pocket, because I was still dressed as if on holiday (khaki pants, shirt and sandals), but it took a long while before someone attended to me. I tried to get new brake block for my Campy Veloce brakes. In that whole shop they only had a few Shimano Dura-Ace pads, a few V-brake bads for MTB's. The migthy Cyclelab could not help me with a simple item such as brake pads! After a while the young lad whom tried to assist me came back with a packet of replacemet pads which he found after rummaging somewhere at the back. I did tell him I lost the whole brake block that screws on to the caliper, so I do not know how he thought I could have made use of only the pads! He did not even offer to try and source it for me. I am glad that Cyclelab is not the bike shop closest to me, because if it had been so, I sense that I would have had a lot of frustrated montents in that shop! I did however see Andrew McLean in the shop, and had I known it was his birthday, I would have walked up to him to congratulate him on his birthday, but also informed him that he is running quite low on stock of basic parts. Happy Birthday for yesterday Andrew. Bottom line, I am still looking for brake block for my Veloce brakes! steynja2008-10-08 12:08:25

My available budget for a bike carrier took a turn for the worse, so I will not be getting a Thule Ride On at this stage. In order to enable me to transport my bicycles for the interim period, I have decided on a Raleigh branded 3 bike carrier similar to the Thule Hang On for R600. Mr. Brandon Els, you will hear from me if should something go wrong! It actualy seems quite sturdy. Here is a picture of how it looks on my car.

Thanks to all who have responded with suggestions. It seems that the Thule is the way to go. I think that I will go for the http://www.lifestylemd.com option. I have just checked, and the 2 bike Ride On 9402 carrier with delivery costs included will come to R2354. This seems quite reasonable to me.

My LBS will be getting a few different models of the HoldFast range in by this weekend. I will go and have a look at the selection available and look at build quality. I can get the HoldFast Sprint 2 bike model for ?R2200. I see however in the link provided by Super mil that I can get the Thule Ride On 9402 (2 bike) carrier from them for R2299 which is only R100 more. I did not check about their delivery charges, but maybe I should go for this option?

I see that Hagar has also recommended the HoldFast range. I am also looking at the Holdfast Sprint. This one is about R1000 less expensive than the Thule. Does anyone have any major concerns or gripes about the HoldFast range?

Thanks sammajoor! Any idea where I can get a good deal on one?

I would like to tap in onto the personal experiences of my fellow Hubbers. I am getting a removable tow-bar fitted to my (new shape) Toyota Corolla. It will have a goose neck, so there will not be any backing plate. I now need a dependable 2-3 bike carrier that will attach to the ball of the towbar. My first choice currently is the Thule RideOn 9402/9403. Any thoughts on this or any other suggestions? steynja2008-09-08 12:02:30

For the lucky ones out there that can afford the Edge 705, I see that there is a firmware update out there. You have to make use of the Webupdater to download and install this update. Change History Changes made from version 2.30 to 2.40: Fixed problem where stopping and restarting the timer could cause invalid track points. Fixed problem where an invalid power value could be logged when stopping and restarting the timer. Improve battery checking to remove inadvertent shutdowns. Fixed problem where speed sensor data was not used when GPS signal was lost. Fixed problem where low or 0 speed could be recorded prior to a turn. steynja2008-08-24 15:40:55

I did my first local (in Vanderbijlpark) "race" this past weekend in ages. The serious Hubbers need not to worry about competition at this stage. The distance according to my Edge 305 was 40.6 Km, which I completed with an average speed of 29 Km/h. I cannot describe how good it felt to be cycling along fellow cyclists and generally "enjoying" the bunch! It is now just over a year since my knee operation, and I must say I am really satisfied with how I my knee currently is performing. When we encounter an uphill section, I really peddle out of the bunch without putting in too much effort. If I can just regain my fittness and stamina, then I will have a serious shot at my wish for a sub 03:10 94.7 Cycle Challenge. My best to date was a 03:20.

Any hubbers doing the National Womens Day race tomorrow in Vanderbilpark? It will be my first race after my "sabatical" You will recognize me as the person on a black Silverback Monterey wearing Sasol cycling kit looking as if he is going to have a heart attack any moment.

Hi Skye. Now that rhymes quite nicely! That is an almost certainty. I have not missed one in the last 5 years, even with my knee operation, and do plan to do so before I get to my 10th one.

I am planning to do the Tuinetraprace in Vanderbijlpark this Saturday if it is still on. Only the 40km one though. This one is usually on National Womans Day. And, as I recall, the wind usully blows your socks of this day! I will have to phone to find out what the status is on this ride. Anyone with more info?

After a lot of setbacks such as pneumonia, bronchitis and a good dose of laziness, I did my first training ride since the Argus! Man, it felt good! I could only do 25km before the visibility got the better of me, and I did it in an embarrasing time of 55 minutes. Geez, it is going to take a lot of effort to get back to the fittness level I had a year ago before my knee operation. But, slowly and surely I will get there. steynja2008-08-04 11:45:12

http://www.cape-epic.com/content.php?page_id=145&title=/Dates_and_Fees/ Rider Change FeesIndividual rider changeR500Before 23 January 2009 (2)Double rider changeR1 000Before 23 January 2009 Late individual rider changeR1 000Before 20 February 2009 (2 & 3)Late double rider changeR2 000Before 20 February 2009 (3)Late individual substitutionR8 400After 20 February 2009 (2 & 3)Late team substitutionR16 800After 20 February 2009 (3)

Got this off the net so I do not know if this works: Unlock iPod Volume Limit Does a pesky iPod volume limit have you in a bind, because you like your music to punish your ears with overwhelmingly loud sound? If you know the password, this isn't for you, but when you're at the end of the rope with no other option, here's a simple fix without restoring or formatting your iPod. [edit] Steps(Mac) Enable hidden folders. If you go into Terminal and run these two commands all the hidden files appear when you open Finder. defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE killall Finder To get back to hiding hidden files use these commands defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE killall Finder Navigate to the hidden folder named "iPod_Control", and once there click on the folder "Device". Once there, delete the file named "_volumelocked". Eject your iPod. Then, restart your iPod. You can do this by holding down the center and menu button for at least 6 seconds. Once your iPod has rebooted, check and make sure that it worked. Simply go into "Settings", "Volume Limit". If it asks for a PIN, you did it WRONG. Retry the above procedure. [edit] Steps(Windows) Enable hidden folders. Go to "Tools", "Folder Options". Then click on the tab called "View", and under "Hidden Files and Folders", click "Show Hidden Files and Folders". Navigate to the hidden folder named "iPod_Control", and once there click on the folder "Device". Once there, delete the file named "_volumelocked". Eject your iPod. Then, restart your iPod. You can do this by holding down the center and menu button for at least 6 seconds. Once your iPod has rebooted, check and make sure that it worked. Simply go into "Settings", "Volume Limit". If it asks for a PIN, you did it WRONG. Retry the above procedure.

I had a problem some time ago where I could not add an image to a message. I solved the problem by firstly clearing my Internet Explorer's cache, and then I reset the IE to its defaults. This solved my problem, maybe it will work for you as well? steynja2008-06-20 03:29:35

I am no expert, but I actually think it is a bad idea to add only battery acid (Sulphuric Acid H2SO4) to the cells. If it is completely dry, that might be an indication of a leak or crack in rhe body of the battery which ultimatelly may lead to replacement of the battery. I think that you must rather add "electrolyte" which is a mixture of acid and distilled water, which must have a relative density of ? 1.25. We normally have to add water to car batteries because the water evaporates, and because sulphuric acid has a boiling point of roughly 290 ?C and will not evaporate under normal instances. Battery cell electrolyte is something like a 35% w/w mixture of sulphuric acid with distilled water. I am really speaking under correction here, so please do not take anything that I have said as fact!

Bruce, must the file be a GPX file in order for you to upload the file? What happens if you save the file as a GDB file? Wil that not work as well? If you like, you can e-mail me the GPX file and I can play with it for a while to see what I can get right. My e-mail is in my profile.

Which GPS software are you using? I'm currently running the HandyMap AI Gold trail, but it seems a little unstable. I would seriously recommend the Garmin MobileXT software with the latest (March 2008 edition) of the South African streetmaps. Works like a charm! I also have this on my Nokia running on Symbian 60.