ChrisF

Perfect season for commuting

Back in 1962/3 a gent by the name of Tom Sadie was one of the prominant figures in the Bellville Cycling club, often trying out for nationals. Many years later I went to school with his son. Oom Tom only spoke of Campie .... non of the fishing stuff stuff on his bikes ....

And every so often a sprinkling of snow in August and early September ..... With road conditions a roll of the dice after the winter rains .... Mid September have been a sweet spot for us. We are overdue for a visit ...

Have to agree with this point. So many of the watches now come with so much information on the screen .... it just does not "feel" right. Obvious a personal opinion. (or just not being able to read the small stuff...) I immediately search the Connect IQ platform and download a more natural screen ...

So almost as good as Shimano 11 speed then .....

GOOD LUCK to one and all.

Jip, screen technology, and industry trends are changing as fast as most things in the electronic era .... Thus MIP is a nicer way of saying it is ancient black and white technology. Stupidly long battery life keeps these going. Also the fact that solar screen technology still only caters for MIP screens (at least that was the case a few months back) Most other manufacturers have long since switched to Amoled. The easiest way around Amoled and battery life .... play with the screen settings. Most Garmin Amoled models now easily exceed 7 days battery life, including a LOT of gps tracking activities. Screen in the sun .... non issue in my experience. Having nice full colour is being optimised in the metric displays in more and more applications. I recently had to decide between a Frontrunner with Amoled and one of the solar models wit MIP .... seeing this screens next to each other .... visually it is a no brainer. For some the infinite battery life concept is a major decider. With the Frontrunner an empty battery charge to 100% in less than ONE hour. In fact if you charge it while you shower it hardly drops over a week.

So much better than being stuck on a virtually stationary N1 .... Just had to take the thoroughbred Revolt for a lap around the track ...

Pure P 0 R N ....

You ARE correct ..... BUT .... seems I need to change my office layout to see the DRIVE side .... 🤣

Hiehie ... my OCD .... Always a struggle deciding WHERE to align the tyre to the valve stem ... looking from the drive side the "MAXXIS" (or similar) may allign perfectly ... BUT, then when you look from the other side it is a few spokes out of line ...

Nice morning commute ... Just a tad windy on the way back ... still lekka ...

Robbie there are people that take their bike to the "authorised dealer" to have a valve CORE replaced His face when I took a spare core out of my saddle-bag .... He declined, insisting the bike MUST go to the dealers .... They live among us .....

Welcome to "me familia" ...

I opted for 2x11 ... rather, I searched for 2x11. (Ended up with a 2x12) I have a full suss and a hardtail which are both 1x11. Love it for its simplicity .... for its use the lack of range is not an issue. For the gravel bike I wanted top end, not spin out mid 40's. But, I need a granny for the hills .... only a 2x could deliver both. It WORKS !! Riders with stronger knees may rightfully approach this differently .... looking at the long gravel races on GCN, lots of 2x bikes ....

Then maybe read up a bit about LTwoo first .... Aimed as a decent entry level .... You may well prefer the crisp feel of a Shimano GRX

Which bit are you unsure of ? LTwoo - a newer groupset brand. They have been around a few years, and seems to be getting decent reviews. Quickest way to drop a bikes price, use a more affordable drive train. Trust you are familiar with the 1x11 concept, i.e one blade up front and 11 gears on the back.

I already went for a shorter stem on the Giant .... This may be reach issue .... or simply being used to the more upright position of decades of flat bar bikes .... Would be interesting to revisit this after a year or two ....

@Zebra and I both have the Alu Revolts, just one year model appart. The carbon was outside my budget ... rather in that budget carbon came with compromised drive and brake systems. I use it as a commuter and some shorter fun rides, i.e. 20km. Mostly tar, though very impressed with the few trails I have done, linking tar sections. Veey comfortable, even more so with double bar tape on the top. @Zebra does significantly longer rides.

Sort of first hand experience ... having looked at both brands when I bought. Disclaimer - I have previously owned both Merida and Giant, very happy with both brands. The Merida stock at the time was low .... what I wanted was not in my size, and what was in my size was not in my budget ..... all that aside, GLAD I did not buy the Merida. Why ? Internal routing of all cables and hoses .... incredibly neat looking setup, and no easy feat to service the head tube bearings .... Your riding may or may not make this an issue. My 2024 model Revolt has "normal" cable routing outside the bars, then in the frame. The larger tyre size of the Revolt is worth noting. From a salesperson at the one shop, which had both brands, the Merida reach is longer than the Giant .... I have longer legs than reach .... so the Merida would have been a smaller size frame for a similar reach ..... again, this as per the salesperson ..... would be interesting to do a deep dive in the stats and actually check the validity of this claim. (after the internal routing I was not interested in digging deeper into the Merida options) Must be close on a year now that I have the Revolt .... HAPPY !!

@Zebra

Condolences to the families of the two swimmers.

https://outercycles.com/blogs/news/the-story-behind-outer-cycles

Jokes aside .... around here the two best WORKSHOPS are just that. Go buy where you get a good deal .... then go where it will get proper service. Actually very sad

We have two good options in our area. . Mark's Workshop . Knipe_Racing