Dappere

Prepare yourself for advice on anything from the brand of toothpaste to the deodorant you should use. 😂 Regarding Thule roof racks, there are two factors to consider: the length of the rails and the fixtures. The length is generally determined by your car model and can often be reused. If the new car model has a similar roof width to your old car, or is narrower, you may still be able to use the existing rails, provided you don't mind the overlap. The second factor is the fixtures; you have less flexibility here. In some instances, this is the only component you'll need to replace to fit the racks to your new car. This could set you back around R1500. The Pro Ride bike holder is compatible regardless of the chosen rails and mounting parts. From your message, it seems that you've sold it. The ability to finance a new roof rack will depend on several factors. Some car brands offer rebranded roof racks as an additional accessory, which means you could potentially finance it along with your car. If feasible, an additional R11,000 financed over the average period wouldn't significantly increase your monthly instalment. If you can afford it, I would recommend purchasing the racks from Thule. Hope that helps.

From my understanding, spoke tension and rider weight have a much bigger influence on potential spoke breakage than the wheel brand. Insufficient tension for a rider's weight would put more strain on the spokes.

👆 I'm sure if I called my girlfriend a grumpy old man, the situation wouldn't play out too well for me 😅. But my girlfriend said the same thing, which is why she isn't riding it.

Does anybody have information regarding number collection?

I was thinking the same thing. I guess it will be a pick-your-compromise situation: either deal with okay weather and muddy trails, or bad weather and muddy trails. On a loop yesterday on the Bottelary trails, they were alright in some sections. We'll have to wait and see if the weather over the next few days improves or worsens the current trail conditions.

Part of the reason I use a roof rack, but that also opens a whole other can of worms 😅 I have never used this myself, but I am aware of evoc and Thule that offer covers you could have a look at. https://www.thule.com/en-za/rv-racks/rv-rack-accessories/thule-bike-cover-_-307335 https://evobikes.co.za/product/evoc-bike-rack-cover-mtb-black/

If you didn't specify the items on the policy, or at least increased the insured amount of the bike to compensate for the upgrades done, then no. From my understanding, they will likely try to replace your stolen bike with a similar one (like-for-like), or one of similar value. There should also be an option to get the cash payout, in most cases taking the replacement is a more valuable choice. Again this has been my experience and might differ from the one you have. Apologies for the loss, hoping you can get a new bike soon.

I understand what you're trying to convey, and in most cases, I'd also pick my MTB over any other bike. However, over recent times I've rather grown a close bond with my gravel bike - it's the one I choose when I want to rack up bigger kms with the potential for adventure. In my opinion, doing rides like the Cape Cross is perfect for a gravel bike, with its ton of mounting points and designed bags. I also appreciate the multiple hand positions a gravel bike offers over an MTB. You're right though, you could certainly do all that on an MTB as well. For me, the efficiency not just in the bike itself, but in how it's able to carry bags and attach them with less hassle compared to working around a rear shock, makes the gravel bike ideal. That said, I wouldn't attempt a true MTB-designed route on my gravel bike. There's certainly a time and place for both!

Completely, when riding a 1x on my gravel bike I ran a 44. Some of the gravel event climbs became rather ambitious, to say the least! 😅 I swopped back to a 2x chainring of 46/30 to have lower bailout gears for when I'm completely knackered. 😆

+1 for adding a dropper. Good looking bike - how does she ride?

+1 for CBR

The drop bars have increased reach compared to a straight bar. Most road bikes have reach between 80 - 100mm, the latter being considered long reach. For gravel specific drop bars, generally with a flare, they have a smaller reach around 70 - 80mm. Specialized has a short reach version of their gravel drop bar at 65mm. When Trek released their new Checkpoint, they increased the top tube length and compensated by reducing the reach of the handlebar the bike ships with to 75mm. There are also gravel bars available at even shorter reaches of between 40 - 55mm, but they aren't as common. There is a cyclist, Chris Hall, who pointed this out in one of his videos:

Building a monster gravel bike seems to be favourable amongst ultra cyclists. Lael Wilcox is one cyclist that comes to mind who rides a similar setup. If adding drop bars, consider shortening the stem to accommodate for the longer top tube. I would love to see how this build progresses - post pictures!

There is another forum that speaks into this -> The form is rather old, but from my knowledge, and judging by some of the responses, I don't think there are options available. You could also consider a more budget-friendly option: https://sigeyi.co.za/. While I haven't used this brand myself, I have heard good things about it from people using it in my cycling group.

They do, but there isn't too much information available, other than an email address to contact: rethastigant@telkomsa.net Ref: https://d1zwi51l39apzt.cloudfront.net/uploads/events/78433/BOLAND GRAVEL MONSTER EVENT OUTLINE V1.pdf [Slide 8]

Mums are the best 😀. A 10% discount feels like a slap in the face. I hope you can get this sorted with Assos Switzerland.

I'm not certain if Kyle still works at CWC, but I took a pair of damaged Assos bib shorts I had purchased from CWC back to them. Kyle at CWC facilitated the interaction with Assos South Africa, and they ended up sending me a new pair. Based on Kyle's explanation, Assos will assess the damage to the bib shorts and handle it accordingly - either a complete replacement, repair or a discount on new ones. It's worth reaching out to the bike shop where you bought them and see if they can provide assistance.

I'm chuffed you think my perceptive observational abilities and flawless grammar could only come from ChatGPT! Unfortunately, this was penned by my own human brain, though I appreciate you believing ChatGPT is already that convincingly bright and eloquent. I'll take it as a compliment whilst reassuring you this analysis is all me, baby!

While Cube is known as a quality brand with excellent products, their distribution and customer experience in the South African market seems to take a blanket approach rather than addressing local needs. Their recent press release emphasised manufacturing prowess and brand reputation, with no indication of tackling pain points specific to the South African cycling community. To better serve this market, a more tailored distribution and engagement strategy may be needed from Cube, focused on understanding and meeting the unique requirements of South African riders.

I know leather saddles can be repaired or refurbished rather. There is a risk to having non-leather saddles repaired, comes down to the risk of the saddle rails popping out. https://m.pinkbike.com/news/why-is-it-so-hard-to-reinstall-saddle-rails.html haven’t heard of anyone locally doing it. Few options available in Europe, if you would like to go that route?

👆and then the organisers urging people to car pool or cycle to the venue says a lot about the current, and expected state of the roads. I was considering sitting this one out after seeing the rain today, the above validates my decision to give this a skip. Feels like another around the pot situation waiting to happen.

I generally run XR2 front and rear - my go-to tyre. This past summer I tried XR2 front and XR1 rear and really enjoyed it.

@Brettowski worth checking with Navworld -> https://navworld.co.za/

I was thinking the same thing when trying to tie that board to the Trek Checkpoint. The cables enter the headset from the front and have an outfront mount for my Garmin. I'm considering wearing the board like a Superman badge. 🤣