Murrob

Is a closed forum where members post comments on various topics social media though? I don’t think so, this was not the Twitter mob unleashed by this post, but rather a post within the cycling community. Good on the chaps who went out to resolve the problem.

Yeah, it’s useful to buy an extra 1-2 hours in the morning and evenings. But as above it really comes into its own working in conjunction with a garmin head unit to auto adjust to the different modes, auto adjust brightness, day flash, etc. I have both the varia rear light and front, works super well in all the modes to see and probably more important, be seen. Swapping between bikes is super quick with the double sided out front mount. The lights front and a rear with the modes and side visibility work really well at pulling motorists brains out of their thoughts to see you on the side of the road.

I feel like we would all be better off if we were honest about what we ride and what we would like to ride and then look at frame geometry for fit and characteristics. Then look at components and value as a total package… I would definitely be in for the Titan. Their new road and mtb offering look super. Then throw the above all out the window and buy what you makes you happy. I’ll say again, the Titan in the current market present really great value in terms of the total package. But if it doesn’t make you want to turn around and look at it again after walking past it for whatever reason, then buy whatever you believe to be better. Its good to hear about the after sales service and warranty, that’s ultimately where it starts and stops, your boutique unobtanium bike is useless if you can’t get after sales service or spares for it. And that then it really just talking about the frame I suppose, the rest is down to the components manufacturers/distributors and their willingness to back their products or not (cold hot anyone?!)

I think you and I chatted a bit, I was in the NASA top with blue helmet. Also hit the wall like I was angry with it. Slow suffer to the finish. In terms of the event, I was also a late entry, decided on Friday to participate, super impressed with the organisation and marshalling of the event. And being an ex Gautie, was very happy with the roads, and the views! Just super! Wind was not much of a factor, just a bit of a head wind for about 10-15km worth with a light cross elsewhere, but if you started a bit later you might have had a tougher time. Guys in F (which I thought would be a chilled ride) went out proper hard in the beginning, the group got split right after the neutral, tried to play a bit of catch with the split and ultimately paid for it. All those Christmas fruit mince pies and only mtb riding…

P.S I think the Titan is fantastic value and spec compared to what else is on the market at the moment. But I do think there is a correction coming.

Agreed that the performance gains are minimal, unless, as you pointed out it’s rotational weight, which would make a pretty big difference. In terms of cycling attracting those that want to show off. I think that’s just human nature isn’t it? Doesn’t matter the activity or context, there will always be people who would spend less or more on something. Be it cars, hobbies or sports. I personally don’t care what bike you are riding, as long as you’re riding. You do you, why does anyone have to justify to anyone else they buy or like. We all have our contexts, some guys like watches, whiskies, etc. Have you seen what the 4 by 4 crowd spend on their rigs? As the song says -if it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad 😀

P.S great combo, can't go wrong

I’ve found them to be good at most things and places from all gauteng bike parks to down in the cape, the mezcal just runs a bit more efficiently and both have held up well, not had a single puncture across different conditions and varied terrain, but I am religious about keeping my sealant topped up and fresh. At a stage they were also super bang for buck, less so now, but still great performing. The Barzo does grip more of course, but at the expense of some extra pedalling. I have heard of guys running mezcal front and rear with no issues. All my mates swear by the vittoria’s.

I’m a 100% certain. I’ve spent quite a bit of time there recently and not had any question me. Must just be lucky…

An absolute all scenarios covered set of tyres is the Vittoria Barzo on the front and Mezcal on the back. Depending on you inner dimension of your rim, and space on your frame and fork, the 2.35 are great. Alternatively, I am really enjoying the Pirelli’s at the moment, their XC Mixed on the front and the Hardpack on on the rear is a great combo.

I have really been enjoying the Pirelli XC Hardpack tyre. Was on special from Evo, super tyres though and in 2.2 they would be super fast while still being decent for most conditions.

I had a similar issue a while back, a stiffer shoe with a proper shoe insert to cater for my foot (Specialized blue insert) solved it for me.

Ok, I see where this comes from now @leon_pro. There seems to conflicting info out there as per the pic of the trails website

As I read it it does include polkadraai, or have you heard different from them?

Hey Hubbers Please let me know if anyone maybe has spares of the Sidi “techno 3 push single” fastening mechanism for the Sidi Drako mtb shoes, that they are prepared to part with or know of a shop that might have stock. Maybe an ‘ordered for a client and never arrived to collect kind of thing’ Tried my luck at a number of usual suspects - CWC, Cyclelab (taken over from ASG), some LBS’s found the side one, but not the middle one as per screenshot, with orders only possible in the new year. Ordering directly from Sidi also going to be a trick as they won’t even allow you order let alone deliver to SA. So hoping someone has spares ,even in white that I can buy. Otherwise I’m going to have to ask an expat mate for a favour or Macguyver, or new mtb shoes for December. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks M

I have had the latest one for the last six months, I was running the FOX 100 Factory on my Giant, and then initially started with a 100mm Rockshox WC on my new bike and then upgraded to the 120mm SC. Gotta say it's a bit difficult to pin down fork vs different geometry on a bike vs changes due to the extra 20mm. But I do note it is a super stiff very progressive fork (I recently took out the token as I was finding it super hard and I was not using all of the travel). Not a straight up comparison, but I do agree with the above that it is a super confidence inspiring fork and I am riding bigger technical features and feeling very comfortable. Happy with the upgrade for sure, but it did take a bit of fiddling to get setup right probably because I had this expectation of it going to be super soft/plush ride. But once you start hitting more technical stuff it really shines!

Yeah, got to say, 4 years ago I was in Cape Town down on holiday and keen on a bike I understood they had stock of. Was ready to buy and all, was so underwhelmed by the reception and attitude I walked out not buying anything. Culture is super important and usually driven top down and apparently not much has changed.

@eddyRight, not sure how asking a question as it related to the topic was an attack, or perish the thought, of golden showers directed towards@Jewbacca. The key word for me was - sell. Which I will expand on below. @Jewbacca, you had mentioned that you could sell the items for more, I was simply enquiring as to where? Your question was not, as I had it, and I am paraphrasing here... - "when I give stuff away for free what are the expectations with shipping. But rather, "if I sell something what are the expectations around shipping and who is responsible" I then provided my opinion in my answer for the selling bit only. The fact that you give stuff away or help people with bits and pieces and complete bikes didn't feature. I suppose heavily discounting something as a kindness is another potential avenue to discuss shipping expectations on. I too, do cupboard clear outs every so often and it makes its way to the development cyclists bin in my LBS, and help fellow cyclists wherever I can, since we are FYI'ing...Still owe you the beer if ever meet.

So, hypothetically, where is this place that you could get a better price for things? The nature of second hand items is that they are only worth what someone is prepared to pay for them, and for the most part (comments on ads aside) the platform self regulates to a degree as we as cyclists perceive the value. Which brings me to my point, I doubt anyone sells stuff on here out of a sense of altruism, but rather because we wish to get some funds back on items that are not useful to us or we have no need for so that we can plug it into the next purchase or item, generally speaking, dealers are another discussion of course. For me personally, I am always clear on the terms to in advance and will happily package something for collection or drop it off at postnet, I want to sell it after all. But would agree that if pushed too hard on time frame or price for that matter, no dice… willing buyer and seller and all that. But the word reasonable comes into it, which can hide all sorts of sins as my reasonable and another persons reasonable may differ, but I have had a very good run so far.

Local distributors don’t necessarily guarantee availability of spares either. I have just been through a case where I could have ordered from Europe and had it here in 4-5 days vs waiting for the local distributor messing me about for more than a month. Maybe pre empt and order the components and have them in hand. I can’t imagine that it would be more expensive than what it would have cost to source locally if it was available. At some point you would decide that the frame has served you well and upgrade the frame.

I would think that could be handled by the head unit, the edge and some watches already have it for incident detection, flow and grit measures etc.

Right, sourced a dropper for a good price and have been testing for the last 4-5 rides. Now that I am getting used to where and when to use it, it is absolutely turning out to be a game changer, like you said, not sure why I took so long to try it. I changed to 2.4 tyres and the combo of getting weight lower on the bike with ease of moving the bike around and better grip is super confidence inspiring. Really enjoying the setup. So thanks for the nudge!

I can only speak from the varia perspective, it’s been a game changer for me and it’s tremendously valuable to give you good idea where the cars are and how close/fast they are coming. It also changes flash modes when cars are approaching and I am convinced this helps to draw motorists attention to you. Tried and tested, really like the auto adjusting when linked to my Garmin head unit. While I don’t know anything about your other option, I can highly recommend the Garmin varia. Pair it with the Garmin front light and it really works together to keep you safer and visible on the road.

I also fairly recently moved down to Paarl from Gauteng. Gotta say I dramatically underestimated the process of finding new ‘guys’ for bikes and life in general. I’m a big believer in having a good relationship with anyone that I make use of, be it a tyre place for my cars, barber, lawyer, doctor. Really struggling with bike shops and have settled on Knipe Racing (long drive…) for servicing that I cannot do and online for the rest. I also got a vibe from Specialized Paarl that I did not enjoy, all other options have been disappointing or just not on a level that I feel I want make use of after a couple of attempts to go in and buy items and or make use of servicing. As a general comment, there is a definite difference in service levels, be it the alarm people or a plumber. I even resorted to using solar guys from Durbanville who were fantastic, but we also needed to get to know each other a bit. I agree to an extent that it’s also how you behave that makes a difference, but also feel that staff need to be trained, your most difficult clients can also be your most profitable. But I cannot abide by this maybe I come today or tomorrow or maybe not at all thing, with multiple flow ups. So I feel you Paul! Also enjoyed dealing with Mellow Velo and Josh. Anyway, off to go find a tyre place for balance and rotate on a Friday…