ChrisF

I also had to take a second look .... No gate at BikeADDICT. Also that slope looks wrong .... Also seldom that all partitions (back offices) are removed.

Uhmmm ... @Jewbacca But is cycling not affordable ? Look at the wide range of semi decent bikes at places like Sportsmanswarehouse. Decent, and still not expensive, models in Giant and various other brands .... BUT ... we have champagne taste on box wine budget ....

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/surprise-specialized-sale-slashes-hundreds-of-bikes-and-accessories-by-50/

What we, the collective cycling community, need is an Etzebeth collection agency .... Let's not forget how many of these bikes are re-distributed at the point of a gun. And we read all too often of our fellow cyclists that end up in hospital when they do anything but hand over the bike with a tip and a thank you .... die stront moet stop !!

Hiehie .... VERY difficult for me to be objective on Trek. I KNOW they have some excellent bikes. I DO support some of their UCI riders. BUT .... that dealer in Paarl screwed me over properly .... and to rub salt in the wounds the 2016 model EX5 really was a dud, at least mine was.

@DieselnDust knows Mike du Toit. He was using the fundamental strain gauges in power meters in cattle scales in 1999. The fundamental technology have been around for decades. The rate at which consumer electronics progressed was the key game changer. Going to be interesting to watch how the consumer electronic experience evolves in the next 5, 10 and 15 years ....

Not sure if this is just an SA thing .... A friend rented a bike at Bloemendal .... got hooked on MTB. Bought a second hand HT .... I used a lot of my spares to fix that bike properly. Took him about 2 months to reach the point where he "needed" a full suspension .... despite me introducing him to @Me rida my bicycle and explaining to him that it is the RIDER, not the bike, yada yada .... Bought a full suspension off Bike Market .... this time I did not get involved in fixing it up .... Took about 3 or 4 months until he broke the budget to buy a brand spanking new Scott Spark full suspension .... Rode it HARD !! Lots of air time .... and could not (would not) understand why he had to keep taking it back to the dealer for the one suspension issue after the other. (my guess - he kept on bottoming it out with hard landings). Then winter came ... lekker om in die modder te speel .... Two extreme mud events and the bike took a serious hammering, all this before the bike had even reached 1 000km. He refused to pay for a true strip down and rebuild .... not surprisingly a few components have since seen early failure. Currently hanging on the wall as he cant get spares for the freebody, and wont pay up for a new freebody .... So a nice frame hanging on the wall, and no cycling .... Sorry, back to the point .... is this an SA thing where "we have to" progress to the latest and greatest" at the expense of our budget ? His version of this "expensive hobby" may well put people off MTB ... while in reality that 2nd hand full suss could still have been serving him WELL, and the sport could have been relatively affordable ....

Welllll .... MOST have been saying this. There are the odd Hubber hell bent on telling us that the PREDICTIONS show a growing market, and that it is all good and well. Back in the real world ... 1. Only buy new if you really have to replace at this point in time 2. DO YOUR HOMEWORK !!! Trek's local special is a JOKE compared to what they are doing overseas ! They are still milking us !!! Okay, at least they are one of the first brands to embark on big specials in SA. Some other brands are doing two-for-one specials in Europe, but hardly any discount here .... 3. As much as some Hubbers gets their knickers in a twist about "low balling" ..... the secondhand market is going to adjust as the real specials start on new bikes. 4. The more immediate issue .... it is getting stupidly difficult to get hold of some basic spares. 5. The closure of family shops such as Cyclosport is a vivid image of the REAL state of this industry.

@MTBAustria

Panaracer have a few semi-slick options, in 50C. I have used the semi-slick in 50C from Specialized. They do have 42C tyres with a slick centre line and gravel tread to the sides. Wonder if they have something like this in 50C ... Every so often I want to go slick .... but some of the roads are narrow and do spend time on the gravel shoulder. Let's hear what the others can add to this ....

Speak to Janos at Evobikes IF this is imported he will know. He can also check stock availability. Sadly MANY tyres are not imported to SA

I did a quick scan, seems most "multiple sellers" are now registered as "business accounts". So you know immediately what you are dealing with. Then again ....a certain member has more than 400 adds, but not a "business account". Another is closing in on 600 adds, also not a business account. But hey, the stats are right in your face. Easy enough to spot this aint no ordinary person selling his 2nd bike on the Hub.

What feedback ? New buyers wont know to ask questions. New buyers cant be pre-informed, as there are no comments allowed. The ONLY advantage of Bike Hub vs Marketplace or any other portal is "Bike Hub Pay" ... Yet, week after week the tears flow of some deal that went South, and neither party wanted to use Bike Hub Pay. Scammers ... This surely is THEE reason to be super careful of Marketplace and similar. Let's be honest though, couple of pretty sad posts off late of long standing Hub members involved in deals that "did not go smoothly". ZERO expectation of "community" of "safety in post numbers" just because you are dealing with a Hubber, sadly so. And right back to Bike Hub Pay - THEE one thing which elevates this platform above the others (now if only people would use it more often) Skuus, ek gaan sit solank in die hoek.

Whats up folks ? Mood seems to be as gloomy as the misty autumn mornings in the Cape. Sales is NOT for everybody !! If you want to venture into selling stuff ... grow a thicker skin. The humanoid-bot spitting out the low ball offers is going to keep on doing it. Your blood pressure and mood, and most definately not your replies, will ever change their business model. Same as hooting to a Taxi .... BLOCK ... move on. And if the normal Hubber starts offering lower than asking .... then re-evaluate your price. Emotional value does not translate to second hand value .... sorry.

Couple of these articles doing the rounds - https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://restofworld.org/2023/temu-mobile-gaming/&ved=2ahUKEwjQztrs99CFAxX3UaQEHbrbChIQFnoECCcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0uI800qDzm7hECy70BZgu2