Murrob

Paarl mountain yesterday evening from up at the top and then on the way down catching the town lights.

Super odd that you are struggling with your bibs. I have had nothing but joy with mine and find the quality for the many pairs of bibs that I have to be really good. I’ve even still got some super old purple chamois ones that are in really good nick after many machine washes. As an aside, does anyone have tips for washing the summer baselayers, mine are starting to get marks and discolour a bit, assume from all the sunscreen, I’ve tried some Vanish, and use the assos wash as directed. But before I choose violence and go with a hot wash, thought I would check.

I would hope it should now be pretty straightforward to point saps in this guys direction and he needs to explain where the bike came from and who he sold it to so that it can be recovered?

Unfortunately, even with a proper functioning SAPS (which it’s not). It is impossible for any police service to protect citizens, there just simply is not enough police officers. In SA in particular, it’s only going to be a combination of community police forums, private security and ordinary citizens that can make any kind of difference. In Gauteng the private security guys really seem to enjoy setting up a good sting operation. Also I suspect if we are talking about Helshoogte specifically, the attackers are hiding or even living in the bush there. So maybe some nature conservation patrols to find where they are and get them out. Police need to crack who is buying these bikes and kit though. Must be well known buyer in the community as Stellenbosch does seem to have a significant bike theft problem. But is there willingness/capacity to do this? Probably not, hence asking where PPA and CSA is in this, to apply pressure to stakeholders, perhaps we can get another super effective arrive alive convoy through Stellenbosch with police escorts like they did in Wellington not so long ago…

A thought I have regularly whenever I see the news reports of robberies/hijacks of cyclists. Where is CSA and PPA in all of this? Is it not in ambit of these organisations to try and liaise with relevant stakeholder's, help fund/fund raise to fund for private security efforts to patrol and provide assistance to saps, rapid response to assist in hotspots etc etc. I for one would be happy to donate to such actions to try see if we can at least push back a bit for all our sakes.

I have always worn ‘Road’ helmets on my mtb. Never liked the look of the peaked or in my view more enduro helmet. Can’t say anyone has ever commented on it. The only comment I’ve ever had was from and enduro bro talking about my tight lycra…I thought I looked sleek and svelte… 😜

I’ve got that exact one and it certainly gets the job done.

They ran out of water and carb mix at Wellington Trail Seeker as well. Thought they would have learned their lesson, guess not. It’s soul destroying getting to a water point (in our case in 42 degree heat) and you have no water in your bottles and there is no water. Guys were abandoning big time.

This sounds very familiar.

Could you post a pic please, would love to get some as it really pains me to to do the pins.

Not really, having worked in retail and then sales just about my entire working life. There comes a time when you just need to accept that some people are not going to work well with you and others are. ‘The customer is always right’ quote that we all seem to blindly pursue is simply not correct. You are never going to please everyone and pursuing it to the ends of the earth is emotionally draining and ultimately not as productive/profitable as we might like to think. Just like you don’t have to buy from me, I don’t have to sell to you either. The trick is managing the middle and keeping it as large as possible in terms of happy clients, but there will always be extremes on the positive side, great! On the negative, not great of course, but if you can honestly say that you have provided your best service, part company and take the learnings, if any, and move on.

Had those as well, run super well on all types of terrain, but the sidewalls are crazy hard and of course heavy, but bomb proof.

Nice! Where did you find stock?

With that internal dimension the 2.2 are going to handle terribly, would definitely go for the 2.4, more comfortable with the lower pressure you can run. Plus better fitting tyre on the rim with sidewall to protect rim. Also I cannot imagine wheel manufacturer would recommend anything smaller than 2.25-35 anyway.

Terrible this! I’ve never met you, but have always enjoyed your pics and riding spirit that comes through in your posts. Wishing you a speedy recovery. Hope to see you back at it soon!

Keen to know why the apparent value of the bikes makes any kind of difference? Not sure if you live in Paarl or were just passing through. As a fairly new addition to Paarl, I have found there are certain sections of Paarl main road where one simply has to take up space to prevent bring doored, people pulling out in front of you or trying to squeeze past pushing into the kerb or parked vehicle etc. Glass on a Saturday or Sunday morning after the previous nights revelling is a big problem, I’ve cut 3 sets of tyres beyond repair…Also you’re just as likely to get stuck behind a slow driver or truck/tractor, of which there are many, particularly on a weekend, so what do you do then? Obviously one doesn’t want to create unnecessary animosity and of course everyone needs to follow the rules of the road.

I would think the 2.2 are a bit lighter and hence easier to maintain speed due to lower rotational weight. But no data to support this other than the running of the 2.4’s. Gotta say though, they run super fast on tar and jeep track descents, like I hit 79kph on taal monument tar road down, where other tyres have felt like they top out.

What is the ID of your rims? Why are you keen on the 2.2 vs 2.4?

My 2c. That’s just the thing, the Pirelli’s are super tough despite being light. With 120tpi casing, so to me it would talk to tyre ID and the pressure you run. If you are too low on pressure, snake bites will be an issue regardless of tyre unless you go super heavy sidewall. The sram tyre pressure app works well to get the pressure settings right, I tend to use their recommended pressure for wet conditions, but you may run the dry conditions pressure to be safer, and riding style dependent as well.

They are super, right? And really light compared to others out there, was running vittoria Barzo front and mezcal rear, which perform great, but 400 grams lighter for the set really helps, rotational weight and all.

Ah, yes, forgot to mention 2.4.

I bleat about them often. I am running the Pirelli scorpion xc rc lite tyres front and rear. Very light, but surprisingly very reliable and grip very well across all conditions. But, a bit soft, so not gonna last super long. But I will trade grip for wear any day.

I wound up with Mucoff sealant on my kit a while back. The best is to remember to not let it dry, so get the bibs/clothing under a tap or pour water on to dilute before it dries. Which I now know to do. The other was a combination of a strong mixture of Ecologic cleaner, agitating and washing, then I used the Mucoff sealant remover spray and also let it soak and agitate it. Seemed that worked the best, can hardly see any marks now.

They definitely have been taken into account, otherwise I would be way back in seeding.

Just got my seeding email 10 minutes ago after doing tour de ppa this past weekend. Seeding email matched what was on the racetec site 2 days ago