patches

I guess I should have stated that currently these riding activities only happen about 6x per annum. I'm even feeling stingy buying the bike carrier for myself 😅

We recently purchased a new car and with a new car comes a new challenge on how to transport bikes. The old car (2015 Polo TSI) was a little run-around and we didn't care much for dirtying interiors or some light cosmetic damage caused by clip on bike carriers. However the new car (2022 Volvo XC40), although more spacious, is somewhat sacred (at least for now), so a more considered approach needs to be taken when transporting muddy bikes and bums. So I'll be heading down the path of a Thule roof rack, bike carriers, and seat protectors I'd likely be spending around R4500 (equiv) extra to be able to transport a 2nd bike and rider. A riding buddy. Yes, one could always say "I'll meet you there", when it's a local trail, but where I live (Auckland, NZ), even the local trails are 45min away, and half the fun of riding with friends is the company, even on the drive there and back. So therein lies the question... at what point does one usually call it and say it's too costly to purchase equipment to accommodate the transportation of a riding buddy? Keen to hear the various Hubber philosophies on this

Extremely dangerous! Definitely going to require a new bike!

I had a Buy Now of $9,990 listed for anyone quick to the party that didn't want to get into a bidding war. Will be interesting to see if it exceeds that Buy Now price?! Most of the other things I have sold this way, exceed the Buy Now at auction.

haha yeah, I'm safe from the couch... for now!

I think therein lies a clue (I know, easy to see in hindsight). But if I were to hazard a guess, the pics posted in the ad may be from Christmas (5 or even 17+ months ago) when the watch was received as a gift, and a braggy photoshoot ensued, unrelated to the advertising of said item (5 days ago). Again an element of misleading/false advertising, intentional or not.

So true! I leave one on each bike as a "valve cap" for the prestas.

Can't argue with the dictionary! "completely new and unused". Used "just a few times"... not brand new Used once... not brand new

Well that is part where many take issue with the Healthy Homes Standard. In a number of cases getting houses up to the prescribed standard isn't practical. Adding heat-pumps seems to be the easiest fix, but then landlords find that their tenants don't even use them as they don't want higher power bills. A lot of the time the upgrades that landlords implement translates into increased rent, and when asked, many tenants in lower income households would rather have the option to rent a cheaper place because it doesn't have a heat pump etc. Then there's the fact that why is it ok for an owner to live in almost any form of leaky/damp/draughty/cold building, but not for a renter?

Our 1950's bungalow does surprisingly well, now that I've replaced the ceiling insulation in all-but-one room (a project for another weekend). It does get a lot of natural light, and we do run the heat pump occasionally (aircon for those not fluent in Kiwi speak). Typically our monthly energy bills are: Electricity - $60 (spring, summer autum average) - $90 (worst case winter + wife working form home with heatpump on all day) Gas - $60 (for hot water & stovetop) Haven't got double glazing, underfloor or wall insulation though, and in the event that my dreams come true and we move to the South Island, we won't sell up in Auckland so may have to put a fair bit of money in to meet the Healthy Home standard for prospective tennants.

Very nice! Very nice indeed! I tried really hard to get the Polestar onto my wife's shortlist. She even humoured me by going to the dealer to get more info. Not to mention my "business plan" on how the sub-$80k models qualify for a $7,500 rebate, so it's such a great deal! I think I over-did it though, as each time we'd drive past the the storage yard, a few km from our house (where all new Polestars park pre-sale), she'd give me a "don't say anything about a Polestar" look. They're also on the up-and-up here. With that government rebate, Tesla Model 3's have been selling like hotcakes. But not that Polestar stock has landed, they're on the increase too, for those that want a car that doesn't look like a fish. In the end though, she didn't quite like the design as much as I did. However, its not all lost. She does like the other 2 variants on the CMA platform... the XC40 (clearly) and the upcoming C40. So maybe in a year or so she'll trade in for an XC40 Recharge when they launch here. Are they available in Aus yet? I've seen some YouTube test vids on them from your side of the Tasman Oh and did you go for the dual or single motor?

I took the plunge and listed my wife’s Polo on a $1 TradeMe auction… it’s worked for me in the past. Hopefully it does now or I’ll there may be a few nights on the couch 😅 https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/volkswagen/polo/listing/3596191956?bof=r2xal3Ji

That's awesome! It's so scenic around there too! Wishing you guys many happy years in the new home!

I think those are for me to purchase. Fair enough, haha Looking at getting some black Thule Wingbar Edges. Way cheaper than the R25,000 (equiv) that Volvo charges for a towbar... ouch!

Not my purchase but my wife's. Volvo XC40 T5 R-Design. Quite an upgrade from her little Polo (seen behind). With this nice new vehicle comes a catch... I don't actually have a car of my own (once we sell her Polo). We share a car (have done so for 5 years), and it works out fine 95% of the time as we commute by bus most days, I have a motorbike, and most other places we either travel together or one of us is happy staying at home. However, when it comes to transporting muddy MTB's (and bums), the new car will be off-limits (at least until the shine wears off) so I either need to get a roof-rack & carrier, a towbar and carrier, or find a something to cover the interior with 😅

Oooh! So jealous! I've wanted one of those since they came out! You're going to have to get the matching Pilen hipster helmet and gear! As for commuting in Auckland and kit... I am probably the 2nd worse person to ask (the worst being any of those motorcycle gang members you see riding around in shorts and pee-pot helmets). I typically commute in my work pants (chinos or jeans most days), with tekkies and an Alpinestars offroad adventure jacket, which I beefed up by sacrificing some Leatt D30 body armour to install in the inserts. I do have the matching Alpinestars pants which have some form of abrasion resistance, and they can be worn as over-pants (when I'm not on the pie and twix diet). But generally I'm a fair-weather commuter so I don't ride if it requires too much gearing-up for rain. That said, I also have some cheapie, elastic waist and ankle rain-overpants which will offer sweet-nothing in the way of abrasion resistance, but they're comfy, quick to don on/off and are compact when folded up, so keeping them in my bag "just in case" was not a hassle. That said, if motorcycle commuting was my only/primary option, I would likely wear my boots (MX boots so overkill) and full offroad-adventure kit for those very rainy days.

Yup, I did get that set. Here you can see it next to my other tool-belt gear (for scale) Sadly there is no torque wrench in the set, just a 1/4" ratchet. But that has great build quality, as do all the other components of the set.

Hey there fellow Saffas! Do you miss driving a manual? Do you wish you could get behind the wheel of a solid Uitenhage Built, German engineered vehicle? Would you like the adrenaline rush of driving one of the most stolen cars in South Africa, but without the risk because it's in Auckland? Well have I got a deal for you! hahaha! Just kidding, but I am actually in the process of selling my wife's little 2015 Polo TSi. We tried to trade it in, but as she bought it in Australia and brought it over when she moved here, the wholesalers view it like other Australian imports (most of which are write offs). Additionally it's a manual, and although all Kiwis say "oh man, I love driving a manual", they rarely actually consider buying them, especially little 1.2L Polos. So yeah, I might try my luck on a $1 TradeMe auction... it turned out ok for my Husky dirt bike 😅 (...Unless any of you have teenagers who could benefit from learning in a great little learners car!)

I'll be the first to admit that I use the old "safety squints" and "safety jandals" (the Kiwi word for flip-flops/plakkies) way more often than I should 😶😅

I pay about $60pm for comprehensive on my Husky, insured for about $15k including the upgrades. Fuel is about $2.80/L for 95 and the above-mentioned bikes will be a fair bit more frugal than my enduro bike. Yup! those are the kickers! A bit over $400/year. I go month-to-month as I may put on hold if I can foresee myself not using the bike for 3 months. Which reminds me... I need to renew for May 😅

+1 on something like an MT-03 for commuting. Another 2 options, a little more than your parking bill, but budgets are made for stretching, right?! Being a Husky fan I'd also consider a Svartpilen 401. Will also be light and nimble, plus you could gravel-road it on those tekkies. https://www.cyclespot.co.nz/bike/husqvarna/svartpilen-401/999611795/ Alternatively a Katoom 390 Adventure https://www.cyclespot.co.nz/bike/KTM/390 Adventure/999609021/

Recently started watching this one on a flight, then continued at home https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9170108/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 Just finished season 1 which started off very intriguing and the general concept is great. However I either fell asleep and missed a bunch or the writers started dropping acid halfway through, because by the end I was so lost. Anyone else watched it and thought the same? Anyway, I may take a break before I jump into season 2.

Loved this show! Sad that the season has already ended, but apparently Apple has already filmed the next 6 episodes so hopefully the wait isn't too long.

Time to dust off this thread before it hits a year without posts... Anyone here use Shapr 3D for modelling? Particularly the iPad version. Has anyone printed a model produced in this manner (particularly the free version, which I belive has lower quality STL exports)? Inventor and AutoCAD have always been my weapons of choice. Fusion360 more recently as I no longer have an Inventor licence. However, after initial impressions I must say I'm quite surprised by Shapr on the iPad, especially how they have gone about making it intuitive even when controlled with an Apple Pencil. Don't know if it's just the novelty and I haven't timed myself to see which is quicker, but using the pencil to model almost makes it feel more "creative" or fun, and less of an operation. Below is just a simple test model from the hands-on tutorials.

Once again, not strictly a cycling related purchase, but some here may be looking to purchase for cycling related purposes... Recently acquired a Ricoh Theta Z1, to accompany the Insta360 OneX2 purchased late last year. Ricoh Theta Z1 (left), and Intsa360 OneX2 (right) These cameras are competitors and excel in different areas, so the choice of weapon is largely up to the use case. As an action camera, the Insta360 is probably the better bet with more weatherproof casing, on-board touch screen and superior video performance over the Ricoh. Plus it's half the cost and smaller. So why even go for the Ricoh... Image quality in poor lighting and better image stitching in my use case. As previously mentioned I use these cameras for progress capture and issue tracking on some of our construction sites. They are mounted to a hardhat, and are coupled with a smart software platform that stitches passive capture to create a virtual walk-through, automatically aligned to floorplans, previous captures, and 3D (BIM) models (nerdy nonsense). Insta360 Once X2 mounted on hardhat. Ricoh Theta Z1 mounted on hardhat. Side-by-side comparison of captures with each camera. Note the better image quality from the Ricoh (right) and the stitching misalignment on the Insta360 (left). Site progress capture side-by-side with architect's 3D model (the space is will be a pathology lab).