Zebra

Judging by the front & rear spoke- mounted reflectors in situ in the spokes, as well as the still-in-place plastic spoke guard between spokes and cassette, this bike may well have been a ladies/or else a lightly used bike; not many riders will leave those items in place (#generalisation!). Pedals, too. Bike looks in good condition.

Just a thought - if you could get someone to make you up an INEXPENSIVE f-r-a-m-e fit bag, that can carry some gear - then you only need to relocate say 1x water-bottle cage(s)... Otherwise, TEMU & co have VERY inexpensive seat-post-mounted w/proof 'out back' bags, will try and find you a pic, inexpensive as in dirt cheap, not GREAT quality, but they do work, after playing around with the strap positions - will try and dig out a picture...

First off, leave EVERYTHING you can, at WORK, as much as is feasibly possible… probably no need to be carting WORK shoes hither & thither!!! A backpack leads to a hot back; where possible, let the ‘Donkey’ (bicycle) carry the load (your gear)… That said, a laptop may be better on your back (suspended, as it were), but if no laptopk, try and get the BIKE to carry your load. Bags, you say! What BIKE are you riding? Hard tail, Full Suss, Road?

Hi Chris, unsure if i have asked you before, but what size(s) are you two batteries; the downtube battery versus the rear rack battery, and what range can you get (in ‘average’ conditions)?

We deal with Garmin (as a Business) - at 'arms length' - their service/technical department is backed up ROUGHLY 3 weeks, before they can look at/open a product, for potential repair/warranty, etc. So much patience is needed. We do work through a 3rd party shipper & forwarder, which saves us the hassle of dealing with Garmin direct. But much patience needed. They could do much better. Cheers Chris

this post, maybe?:

...talking about 'emotional scarring', just this Sunday morning I got a bit 'emotionally scarred' going up Chappies: a largish chap in ill-fitting bibs/shorts, where the fabric was more 'net curtain' than 'bib', and what was once-seen could not easily be UN-seen! 😲

Ok, mine is a 2005 S-Works 26”er, which i bought from the late Willie Engelbrecht (RIP); it was HIS Epic bike, until he fell training, broke his clavicle, and he sold it to me, for Epic 2006 & 2007… Broke my leg on a m/cycle in the mountains of Maseru, so converted my ‘worthless’ 26”er to a home-made eBike (for 'active recovery' )7 or 8 years back, never looked back! It is now used to deliver laundry to my Mom in her old-age-home, for quick, local shopping trips, and for hard rides around Cape Point with a sub- 3 hour CTCT mate, on his analogue bike, and i REALLY get a PROPER workout, in low-power settings! Epic Brain suspension (much derided) works well for me, since it is basically locked-out for road miles. I have the funds now, for a R-E-A-L eMTB, but enjoy this bike too much! (Until the DJI AMFLOW hits our shores, anyways!)

Agreed; Wildog forum for the win.

The chap in Woodstock, Moejahid Bardien, is VERY thorough: 082 859 6086; i feel he can either assist you, else advise you on who can. Cheers Chris

There. Fixed the creak, or rather, the cream.., 😉

Yes, interested to hear the recipe. Tx.

Have been part of planning for a 1-day event before (Audi/Club 100 40km TT), lots of planning, but it was worth-while, so keep positive! Some fun names to consider, to help ‘Sell the Sizzle…’ whilst you shop the idea around, for your forthcoming race: The Makadas Express… The Gravel Express… Race the Line… Steel, Gravel & Sky! (ok, they may be a bit lame, but you get the idea; create a ‘hook’ to hang your idea on, good luck!) Chris

(As an avid cyclist who also commutes by car 4 days a week - Hout Bay - Paarden Eiland, & back again, here is what the CYCLISTS mentality seems to be - including this morning...) "I wear ASSOS, I am riding Carbon, my body fat is 6.4%, the cycling top I am wearing today is Natural Stone, we are riding 2 abreast since we are discussing The Donald, my bike is 1x SRAM GX Eagle, and please chillax driving in on your way in to work at 7.10am - I only start at 9am/10am/11am, or...whatever...these damn cars are SO annoying... Tongue partly in cheek...! 😉

your post got me thinking; the (slightly) lighter bike, or the better-handling bike, since it is 8 days long…🤔 would love to hear the weight difference? having done 3 in a row, on the old route (much has changed), i too, think that you do not need carbon wheels, that puncture prevention (as much as is REASONABLY possible) is key….… .……as is a rear-derailleur hanger, or 2 if your partner is not on the same bike. Finally, a new DIALLED-IN drive train is useful, with the emphasis on a using the new drive train a good few times BEFORE Day 1…. Question; any difference in bottle-carrying capacity between the 2 bikes? Chris

…bringing this back up to the top, for a friend….

…to my Mother, in Noordhoek Assisted Living; her washing/ironing delivered, er, by Bike, er, Courier…🤣….….to be fair, it is R63.00 ROND toll fees between Houties and Noordhoek, , e-a-c-h w-a-y….… ….……..rewind one week back, and it was off to Auntie TEMU, for a cheap R300 seat-post-rack, slap on a half crate to get a more ‘aero/streamlined’ look, and then out the door on the mercy mission… Worked splendidly, R126 ROND* saved on the round trip, and sommer collected the next load for return. For ONCE, I felt like the Good Son…😇😆 …and got in something of a work-out, by keeping the motor near idle…. Specialized Laundry Bike, for the brightest whites….! *(I do have a frequent-user card, which saves on vehicle tolls, but do not let facts spoil a good story…😉)

@Stevecalland

Hmm, care to….elaborate? 🤣

...there is great value in the USED-side of things - my 5c, you generally get more bang for your buck, unless a new bike is being sold at a meaningfully-reduced price (last years model range, or Black Friday, etc). So I like your idea of looking 2nd hand. Cheers Chris

I am an ex-recumbent rider, bought 2 2nd-hand recumbents in the States, shipped them back to SA 20 years back, rode them for a good few years, then sold both to go more MTB side of things… Actually wanting to buy one of them back, but lost the buyers details, since it was so long ago! 1 was LWB, under-seat steering, Alu mostly, very long, partly foldable, basically the Limo of LWB recumbents, a USA LINEAR recumbent. The other was a SWB, under-seat steering Orange Street Machine, a quick bike, quick steering, and went downhill like water off a duck’s back! Would like to find it, buy it back, and give it a make-over! Then i would do a few longer- distance tours on it, say 3 weeks at a time, they are SERIOUSLY comfortable bikes! Tell us a bit more about YOUR recumbent? Cheers, Chris 072 211 7725

…this GCN video, at 4 minutes 55 seconds in to the video, DOES raise an interesting ‘Gravel PRICING’ conundrum; though related to the price of Gravel BIKES, and not entry fees, they query why gravel bikes cost up to 20% more than an ‘equivalent’ high quality MTB, and the likely answer is; they charge what they do because…they can! (demand). Are things about to Ungravel: GCN Show, Episode 627… Demand might be PARTLY why Gravel RACES are seemingly costly…and then charging very high prices for accommodation/food if the races are largely ‘isolated’ does seem cynical. But then, I did the Epic races back when THEY were affordable (2005, etc…), and now….

...subscribe...

They do have that size, on Special at R599 incl from TENG TOOLS Paarden Eiland, just check the specs to check it is correct... (apparently Italian-made, and reduced from R900-odd!) Chris 072 211 7725

@Paul Gleed we have a 'specialist' tool shop just 3 doors along from us (Paarden Eiland) - I will pop over and see what they have... (are you looking for more-affordable than Park Tools, or can you not get the Park Tool...?) Cheers Chris