lloydkayak

I was also contacted by a Graham Lewis (email address didn't make sense at all) - same scam trying to pay on something I have never heard of. In connection with a bike I have up for sale at the moment. He clearly catches people if he has been active so long.

Hi All, I wanted to post an update here in case anyone catches this thread with similar queries. I got hold of a set of drop bars and old Sora 8 speed shifters and new cables and housing. The conversion was pretty easy and I can confirm the stock V-brakes on the Giant Escape work fine. The reason for this is that the tekro brakes on the Giant Escapes have slightly shorter arms than the shimano standard v-brakes (I have two of these bikes one 2012 the other probably 2016 or newer). The arm is around 80mm which is sort of between the standard v-brake and the mini-v. The bike rides really well in this configuration, because the frame was slightly small for me, the jump to drops increased the reach to something really nice, a little more aggressive. I will try upload photos once I take them. Nils at Woodstock Cycleworks has helped me loads with the conversion and I would seriously get him involved if you are doing this. He helped me set the shifting to a whole new level and is currently replacing the crank on my bike. (The Sora cables - I think it was the brake cables - are not the same size as mtb ones so know that going in or suffer a second trip to the LBS)

Hi, Anyone got any experience or ideas for converting long pull calipers (v brakes on a giant escape) to something that works with drop bar (sora) shifters? Options: - find mini v brake calipers (cant find any locally)? - do some kind of cantilever caliper conversion? - magic and/or who needs brakes? Any advice welcome.

I recently got a mountain bike again and am keen to check out the trails around Newlands/Rhodes Mem/Blockhouse. Access to Rhodes seems to be around that dodgy park on the other side of the M3. Are there any areas I should be avoiding specifically?

Thanks for the useful thread. Does anyone know if a Level 3 permit includes activities under Level 2? Or do you need to buy one of each?

Does anyone know anything about the duties on ebike components? Very keen to bring in a battery pack and a motor conversion kit (Bafang or similar) but I can't work out if customs will nail me? Its likely that the motor kit and the battery wouldn't be sent in the same shipment.

Thank you V12! Sounds like a winner. They aren't big into coffee and I commend them wanting to stay away from capsules and the unnecessary waste they create.

https://www.yuppiechef.com/spatula/how-to-make-great-coffee-with-your-moka-pot/ that is a pretty useful how to guide explaining the few nuances of moka pots. Try get fresh coffee that is ground medium (same grind you are likely to find in the store bought packets) but fresh coffee definitely tastes better. Pair it with a good quality hand grinder and fresh beans to be extra cool.

Anyone here have experience with bean-to-cup automatic machines? A family member wants one and has bought a siemens eq. 8 series 600 for about R12k (on special apparently). Seems solid, all I could say was for that money you might be able to get a Jura which is well known and seems to be well loved. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

If it is for espresso, I would go for the rocky. Dosing into an espresso basket from the encore might be a mission ( I used to use a krupps grinder that also caught the grinds in a container). The reviews for the encore also mention that it is best suited for "occasional" espresso use... whatever that means

Commuted for the first time again in ages. Couldn't believe how much I enjoyed racing cars along the 15km route. Watching for the same car you saw 10km back. Commuting really is awesome. oh and I noticed I am really unfit compared to when I used to commute everyday 2 years ago.

I am interested to know if anyone has worked out safe/optimised routes from either city bowl/woodstock area to century city.

Anyone know where I could get a Rancilio Sylvia Steam Wand in Cape Town (preferably the V2 model). I just got my hands on a Gaggia Classic and see that I can mod the steam wand with very little hassle. Just need to find a suitable replacement... That pinarello thing is terrible

Sure.., I will send you their details via pm

I have been in contact with TFG (the foschini group) who own @home and bring in Breville locally. They are the ones who source parts and they are trying to find stock of the single wall baskets for me. If I come right, I will update the post. The guys that service Breville are Liptronics in Cape Town but they told me that they don't sell parts and that I should contact TFG directly. Hope it helps.

Where do you guys get single wall baskets, I have a feeling that the Breville basket is the same size as my machine's basket. I am trying to go through "the foschini group" who brings Breville into SA... Must be single wall baskets available somewhere?

On a different note... I don't have the budget for a proper manual machine at this point. I have honed my skills well on a Russel Hobbs machine (seriously cheap for what the machine can do). I am trying to find a replacement non-pressurised basket for the portafilter. It apparently would make a very big difference. Any ideas of where I could get one? Thanks in advance

Could I also trouble you for a pm price please SAGecko

Thank you for all the comments... I will put the idea of using a fresh coffee machine over the pod idea. We are also very concerned about what to do with the wasted pods... Not very useful at all, and we are environmental engineers. The trick is trying to figure out how the beans work, but I have some ideas.

Coffee guru hubbers... The boss has finally agreed to consider getting a "pod type" automatic machine for the office (+-80 people). He wanted to go the nespresso route (which I agree with for simplicity) but was informed that the home machines will burn out very very quickly in an office environment with that much use. He is now considering the rental route, we have been offered a rental machine with 400 pods a month for R2700 pm. We don't get to choose the pods we want, they give us a selection... I was told this is a nespresso system but the pods are flatter than the standard nespresso pod. Any other options we should be considering... The office is very cost sensitive, they are simply trying to provide the machine, we as the staff would ultimately buy the pods we end up using. Anyone know any good deals or have a contact for the rental option I should be looking at? Thanks in advance.

I am running Kenda Kwick Tendrils. They were pretty cheap and I run the 35mm tyres on cheapie mtb rims on my commuter.... They haven't punctured in over 500km of commuting http://www.kendatire.com/en/bicycle/kwick-series/kwick-tendril/

... post delete

I have cycled over 4000km to work and back in Cape Town, much of the route is off the bike lane. I have never, ever had any major issues with motorists... EVER I am courteous and respectiful and I receive the same response from motorists who often go out of their way to not endanger me. These idiots in groups thinking they are cycling the tour de france must be fully prosecuted and made a public example of... From what I have seen, cyclists are most of the time the problem when it comes to attitude. No matter what started it, their response is just as brutal and unacceptable as the other crime we have going on here. I am fuming because motorists that see this will now come after me!

I have learnt 2 things this week: 1. I am currently cycling faster from Blouberg to work than it's taken me in the car (55 minute cycle, >1hr in the car!) AND 2. I must not forget to check my limit screws on the gears from time to time... BLEH (Pretty stoked I managed to avoid the off when the rear wheel locked up at about 30km/h)

Thanks for the response, My main goal is not actually weightloss, but rather health. But i do need to put a bit more effort in. This thread helps that a lot.