Robbie Stewart

I expect after the mad rush things will calm down. I'll give it a go in a month or three.

Thanks. Will it work if I soften the rubber a bit using a hair dryer?

I can tell you this about that rim tape though. If you get even a slither of it between the bead and the rim, good luck trying to pressurise the tyre. Discovered as much during a ride at Banhoek. I had to bodge a fix with a plier, a pocket knife and a CO2 bomb. I still managed to finish my ride at least.

I just smile and wave and pass when it's safe. On my morning cycle route there are a couple of regulars who I greet every morning. The tannie with the brisk walk, the guy taking his three dogs (one of them is a tri-pod) for a walk while he listens to KFM on his phone. The same faces pedalling around the loop in the opposite direction. The MyCiti bus driver who always stops at the same spot and gets out for a ciggie. I manage two loops during his smoke break. The dude at the bus stop in his overall working for City of Cape Town. Then the dude and his wife taking a brisk walk around the same loop every morning with their somewhat chubby staffie cross. The same staffie that religously takes a dump in the road, slap bang in the middle of the path all the cyclists ride. I'm so accustomed to it I expect a turd in the road each morning, and I'm yet to be disappointed. It's almost therapeutic to be honest. not the turd. the ride.

I'm not sure. I had the rim tape fitted by the LBS mid last year. It's a yellowish tape is all I know. edit - more beige to be precise

This has GOT to be my pet peeve. I am absolutely frustrated when I am approaching well left of where normal people cycle, only to be forced into the road because a runner is on my side of the road and refuses to move to let me past. If people insist on running on the wrong side of the road then they should consider the cyclist who they expect to either stop or veer into traffic so that they can be given the courtesy of being a chop, I mean pass. . . . I dislike running. I will stop now.

Just another reason why going full send down Conties Black Rhino is safer than road riding.

I learnt that fitting a 2.25" tyre back to front on 36mm inner width rims, and then trying to remove that tyre to fix the rotational direction is a mission. It sticks to the bead like no one's business. I pulled the 2.45" Minion DHR 2 off with my bare hands yet this new Racing Ralph won't let go regardless what I try. I can't even get a tyre lever under the bead.

It is for this reason of just blatant lawlessness on the roads that I ride a specific route each morning that pretty much ensures I ride on the west coast cycle path and back roads for about 98% of the ride. I'm not naive though and realise anytime a car is in the vicinity I'm at risk, and this is why I prefer to ride off-road where I can take calculated risks. My main reason for riding in the mornings is to get and stay fit. I just wish there were more cycle specific routes available. But that's a whole new discussion.

. . . I also want to say that pretty much every Kwid on the road in these parts (Sunningdale / Parklands / Blouberg / Tableview) are beat up clunkers driven by morons glued to their cellphones. Most of them are missing a mix of side mirrors and fenders. I am suspicious of them being driven by Uber drivers.

This morning I headed out for a light pedal. Coming around the traffic circle by Table Bay Mall I hear a vehicle behind me, but VERY close. Too close. I veer off the road and hop onto the cycle path and that is when I notice the POS taxi literal centimeters from my wheel. 50 meters later it started raining. I noped out and went home. I managed a grand ride all of 2 km this a.m. Let the record state your honour that my bicycle was lit up like a flashing Christmas tree at the time.

Did anyone say @Long Wheel Base ?

I had this exact discussion with a client yesterday. They were thinking I'm a lunatic for wanting to willingly pedal around the peninsula. In their minds, that magical number of 100 just seems insurmountable. I had a good chuckle. I rate a ride around the route less strenuous than doing a full enduro at Jonkers.

Windy. Mid twenties. Sunny. As the saying goes, "if you're waiting for the weather to do things in Cape Town, you'll do nothing".

It will. Might feel a bit much but should be good.

I fit my tyres onto 36mm ID rims. Walked into the garage this evening only to notice I fit the rear tyre back to front. Tried to peel it off to fix the mistake. Ja. That tyre will NOT let go of the bead. 2.25 at the back, 2.35 up front. I'm thinking I'll attack it with the wife's hairdryer in the morning to add some heat to soften the bead. Failing which I'm riding that tyre back to front then.

I refuse to plak stickers on my bike or helmet. I don't want pichas and the tannie at the chute maar build a bridge and get over it. I must admit to quietly shaking my head at people riding around in the weeks leading up to the big day with those photographer stickers on their helmets. Clearly the bike gets dusted off the in weeks leading up to race day after going into long term hibernation on the second Monday of March every year.

Thanks for the heads up. For the record, I won't be entering any xc-duro's on the Camber. The Stumpy is way too much fun. I'm just needing some quick rolling rubber for the cycle tour and my morning rides. Since I started "training" ( building base ) my fitness has shot up and I'm suddenly much stronger and leaner so I'm continuing this trend. My only problem is the slow rolling speed on those Maxxis tyres and the fact that tar riding was killing a perfect set of gravity tyres.

They may be heavier compared to other xc tyres but they're still a good ton lighter than the Maxxis Assegai 2.50 and DHR 2.40 I was running on that bike. Those tyres work well in a gravity descent and nowhere else. I just fit them and I'm happy.

There is a good jump line that gets progressively bigger at Plaisir die Merlé in the Franschhoek valley. The jumps start off similar in size to what you found at Bloemendal and then grow in size as you descend. The entire line from top to bottom is about 2km. That's pretty much were I started really improving my own jumping skills. There is also the Hoogekraal skills park with some proper good size jumps and drops, but it's quite far from Hermanus.

I'm not sure. The box says Addix Performance Compound. I don't see any reference to Evo. I'm new to these tyres so I have no reference point. I just got them because they look fast and were cheap.

Praying for you @'Dale. For healing of the physical, mental and emotional scars. For justice. For renewed joy. We're all grateful you are still with us indeed. That you can still see the people who matter the most in your life. All things considered, I felt tense riding Victoria drive last week and yesterday I rode down Zevenwacht downhill line and that felt less intimidating than road riding.

This is nothing. That pretty much amounts to a windless day here in the Cape. Currently the wind is pretty much gale force. Be glad it isn't that strong, or at least pray it doesn't get stronger.

Thanks. I picked up a set of racing ray and racing Ralph at CWC today for 499.00 each. The one is 2.35 and the other is 2.25. they look fast and that's all I'm after. I ride a fixed 42km road route each morning and I want speed. On Thursday and Friday I was having to work my a$$ off trying to keep up with other riders just pedaling with almost no effort. They were shooting the breeze while I was striking matches.

I'm considering a pair of these. I won't be riding off-road with them. It will only be for my morning tar rides. I currently have Maxxis Assegai / DHR 2 combo which is heavy and slow rolling. How do they roll on asphalt?