DMJ

Thanks very much. Helpful advice!

During longer rides (4 hours plus) my big toes tend to go numb. I did Munga Grit (533km) in October which took me about 35 hours non-stop to finish. I waited about 6 weeks to get the feeling back in the front of my big toes. Perhaps I had nerve damage that healed. Is this a common problem? Can anyone give me advice on what shoes to get? Is it a cleat position issue? I have wide "shrek" feet. I usually have to size up in order to not have the shoes be too tight. I currently use Specialized mountain bike shoes, which are apparently wider. But there is space in front of my toes, as a result the shoes perhaps feel *slightly* too big. I use insoles and the smaller size would have been too small. Any advice would be much appreciated.

In my experience, most bike shops simply do not know what they are doing. There is a lack of professionalism and skill in the industry. Anyone can open a bike shop and hold out to be experts. There needs to be industry regulation and standards, which do not appear to exist in my city at least. The value of the goods they work on would rival many car dealerships. As well as the fees charged! It is a matter of who you are prepared to deal with. It is all rather amateurish, disappointing and expensive.

TB is not the same as Epic or IM. It is not a comparison that one should make in order to reason that TB will also cancel. Epic, for example, involves international athletes flying in, large race villages over almost 2 weeks etc. TB is 1 day and involves a crowd only on the start line. Other than that, everything else is manageable. Many other events have gone ahead recently, with no issues. In my view the event should go ahead as planned, unless the Govt prohibits it. There are those with gripes as there always will be. Suck it up. Times are tough. I have entered the Repeat and plan to be on the start line on 30 Jan. Looking forward to it.

Insane! Massive respect.

What happened to Thinus Redelinghuys? Looks like he slept for 5 hours last night. Is he just taking it easy this year?

Definitely the 29er hardtail. Sani2C is very manicured. If you just run your tyres not too hard (soft enough for comfort and grip) you will be fine. Most people have their tyres way too hard. On a hardtail it is important to not do so as your tyres will absorb a lot of the bumpy stuff. Good luck and the most important advice is to enjoy it! Sani2C is epic and well organised.

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Could be sticky links in your chain. I had this issue mainly from using wax lube. Try cleaning your chain then moving each link individually to free them up, then use a non-wax lube and wipe off excess. Then try cycling again. My ticking disappeared when I stopped using squirt lube! I also took my bike to 2 bike shops and paid thousands for irrelevant issues. Ticking would restart soon after getting it back from the bike shop. Figured it out myself at home after Googling. I have no issues now.

Since my OP Pyga have got in touch - which I commend them for. I spoke to Pat Morewood who explained that what happened to me should not have happened, and the person I had been dealing with is no longer working for them from the end of this month. He is also not a senior person as I had been led to believe. Some of you need some clarity: 1. I never said the Mobu is 2 years away. I said they said they are not replacing the Stage with the Mobu imminently. They are different bikes. The Stage will be sold for at least the next 1 to 2 years. I was advised that the Mobu is nowhere near to release. I have no other info. 2. When you want to buy a car, you can test drive it first. My whole gripe (which I told Pyga about when I dealt with them at the time) was how can they expect me to part with my cash, without allowing me to even try the bike (I even asked for a car park test). It seemed a bit smug. 3. Like when you have bad service or food at a restaurant, you are entitled to post a negative review. On this Bikehub we support each other with advice and reviews. The fact that you are not going back to that restaurant does not mean you cannot give a negative review. 4. There has been no suggestion from Pyga that I was making up any of what I said. To the fanboys who say I am I liar, without any facts - really? I was impressed with how Pyga have dealt with it. My impression that they are arrogant and do not care about us locals anymore was perhaps misplaced. It is a pity I was not able to deal with someone else at Pyga when I was keen to buy. But I do have a great new bike which I am very happy with and already shredding on the trails. I will not be commenting further unless necessary. I just wanted to report that Pyga have reached out and did the right thing. They seem to be good guys. I just had a bad experience - it happens. Have a good weekend.

No worries. I already bought another bike that I am really happy with, so I won't be in the market for a Pyga any time soon. I just found them to be disappointing. I was expecting local to be lekker.

I am in Durban. I had been emailing them and I spoke to a senior person on the phone at length.

I was in the market for a new bike recently and was very interested in the Pyga stage. I contacted Pyga to see if it was possible to visit their Howick factory at any point and try out a Pyga Stage. I was advised by them that it was not. Not only did they not have any bike that I could try (i.e. not even get on and ride around the car park) but they advised me that they have no intention of getting any more demo bikes, and they would be selling all their Stage models as new stock. I asked if this was because the Mobu is forthcoming and the Stage was being phased out. They said the Mobu is nowhere close to being released and they would be selling the Stage at least for another 2 years. They had no demo bikes anywhere in KZN that I could try and nor could they arrange one for me to try. Despite being local and wanting to support local, I found them to be arrogant and their service to be poor. Their attitude was effectively if I wanted to try a Stage I would need to buy a new one and then I could get to try it. Having been disappointed with them, I went with a large tried-and-tested international brand and I managed to get a high-end bike for a great price. The retailer also allowed me to try out the bike first, threw in a bunch of extras and their customer service has been phenomenal. I am very happy with my purchase. I believe Pyga is now focusing on the (much larger) international market, which makes sense. But they seem to have forgotten about being good to the local market. -- See follow up post here: https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/187015-pyga-arrogance-bad-service/?p=3720941

As the OP I must give feedback on the great service I have received from Ciovita since getting in touch with them. They explained that because their garments are hand sown, it is possible that from time to time there might be an anomaly with the fit of a particular garment. Fair enough. They uplifted the incorrectly sized garment at their expense and replaced it with a very nice long sleeve top, which I am completely impressed and satisfied with. In addition, we had mentioned that one of my other tops (the Olivia) had two holes in it following a fall on some gravel (my fault). Ciovita offered to repair it and they have done so at their expense, including the necessary courier charges. It is rare these days to get such brilliant customer service, so I must commend them for that! They have gone above and beyond what I expected. I will have confidence buying from them in future, knowing that any issues will be sorted out.

My lady uses Castelli and prefers them to the other brands she has tried. She has not tried Assos yet (my favourite by far - R1999 S7 Mille is way better than R1500 from Castelli/Ciovita etc)

I also run a 34t. Gives me plenty if gears at both ends.

If you shop around you can get XT 1x12, which is what I run, for R4500.

Extreme Lights. End of discussion

Bought a Ciovita large olivia long sleeve jersey. It fits me perfectly. Was so impressed I bought the luna long sleeve in large. It has exactly the same size guide and looks exactly the same but for the colour. It is too small, despite me having actually lost 5kg in the last month. Annoyingly the top is short and pulls up towards my belly button. I am only 1.79m and in good shape. Why are their sizes / QC so inconsistent? I am going to contact them to process a return but I am disappointed having waited a whole week for online delivery. Be aware that they seem to have consistency issues. And they are not cheap.

Don't get either of those Scotts you posted from Bikemarket and Bike Addict. I suggest you have some patience and decide exactly what you want first. Then watch the classifieds closely for 2 weeks and be ready to pounce. I got my bike for a steal 15 mins after it was posted. 3 guys were begging for it from the seller after I did the deal. I had thought about what I wanted and did not hesitate after finding out what I needed to know from the seller regarding the condition of the bike (really good pics were posted). The best deals sell fast. Good luck and beware of scammers. I am generally suspicious of new members who have no history of adverts / posts.

I had Crest Mk3s. I am 89kg. I tore up my rear rim within 6 months. Have replaced it with an Arch. Solid. No issues. Still have a Crest on the front.

Thanks man. That's really helpful. There I was thinking I needed to drop R10k I don't have on a dynamo setup. I will look into a 10 000 mAh powerbank as suggested and do a couple of test rides.

Thanks for the clarity. Much appreciated. How big was your powerbank and how often did you need to charge it? What gps did you use and how long did it last? I am in Durban so mini munga rides are not an option. I will need to plot a route here.

Thanks. No I mean for the actual event in October. Trying to figure out how to power my garmin 520 edge. I know it will last with an external battery unless I have to navigate via gps.

Can anyone confirm if I would need to use my gps to navigate the Munga Grit or would the turns be marked with signs? I know for the full Munga gps navigation is required.