Murrob

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…

This is terrible, when I started cycling again a few years ago after a long hiatus I bought a bike from him. I remember it being a good easy experience. Still have the bike which my wife now uses. Hope he can recover from this.

You wouldn’t need loadshedding to have a power surge, the fluctuations in our power is quite something to see, if you care to monitor it with the right tools. I would also try claiming from insurance.

Looking online and for ease of reference From Wikipedia ‘The puff adder (Bitis arietans) is a viperspecies found in savannahs and grasslands from Morocco and western Arabia throughout Africaexcept for the Sahara and rainforest regions.[3] It is responsible for causing the most snakebite fatalities in Africa owing to various factors, such as its wide distribution, frequent occurrence in highly populated regions, and aggressive disposition.[4][5] Like all other vipers, it is venomous. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspeciesdescribed here.[6] German naturalist Blasius Merrem described the puff adder in 1820. The word arietans means "striking violently" and is derived from the Latin arieto.[11] The type locality given is "Promontorio bonae spei" (Cape of Good Hope), South Africa.[2] Normally a sluggish species, the puff adder relies on camouflage for protection. Locomotion is primarily rectilinear, using the broad ventral scales in a caterpillar fashion and aided by its own weight for traction. When agitated, it can resort to a typical serpentine movement of surprising speed.[4][12] Although mainly terrestrial, these snakes are good swimmers and can also climb with ease; often they are found basking in low bushes. One specimen was found 4.6 m above the ground in a densely branched tree.[4] If disturbed, they hiss loudly and continuously, adopting a tightly coiled defensive posture with the forepart of their body held in a taut "S" shape. At the same time, they may attempt to back away from the threat towards cover. They may strike suddenly and fast, to the side as easily as forwards, before returning quickly to the defensive position, ready to strike again. During a strike, the force of the impact is so strong, and the long fangs penetrate so deeply, that prey items are often killed by the physical trauma alone. The fangs apparently can penetrate soft leather.[4][12] They can strike to a distance of about one-third of their body length, but juveniles can launch their entire bodies forwards in the process. These snakes rarely grip their victims, but instead release quickly to return to the striking position.[4]‘ The above certainly increases the nope rope status for me…

So my wife nearly stepped on this Puff Adder at Boschendal on Sunday while trail running up the mountain side. Super big fat lazy guy, he raised up and all with the normal warning signs, at which point she rapidly backed away and took this video. Strange was that this was well past mid day, perhaps because it was a bit cooler (23 degrees) it was out longer in the sun. Fair warning, there is some swearing! IMG_8017.MOV

Yup, also keen to try running a dropper, but am not convinced of the benefits, they seem super heavy as well. Not keen on crowding up the cockpit again. I see you can also run the Fox remote inverted on the right side to free up space on the left side.

The things you learn I bought a new FOX 120mm SC remote lockout - as one of the final pieces for my MTB build a few months ago, when assembling it, I soon realised that it was push to lock and my rear shock was push to unlock.I had asked the salesman at the time and was assured it was standard lockout, on further reading I found that FOX had indeed changed it up for the 2022-3 forks. This resulted in me setting up two lockout levers, which looked terrible and crowded up the handlebars of course. I then started making enquires at a number of shops, some had no suggestions and others had very costly ones, the one that stuck out was to replace the entire damper setup at a cost of R4,500, this seemed excessive. Come service time and with me now being based in the Cape, I eventually found myself at Knipe Racing, Louis saw the two lockout lever setup, offered a solution for R950 and hey presto, sorted. So now you know... you can in fact rather cost effectively change the fork from PTL to PTU. Also, as an aside Fox does recommend 125h service intervals on the newer forks and shocks. It would seem our SA conditions require more regular servicing though. So good to get your servicing guys to check suspension and forks at the "normal" intervals.

Over the years I have tried virtually all platforms, and always go back to Shimano XT. I do replace the cleats every now and then to prevent play and also run them quite tight and the rubber treads on my shoes are also generally good to make sure there is nice engagement. XTR the seals keep on backing out, so not a fan. So not sure why you would be having such a different experience as my XT’s are great! By far better than the other options I’ve tried and bomb proof as well.

Thank you. Much appreciated, coffee on me if we ever meet. Cheers M

Hey, from the big smoke and keen to understand this detour, as we want to ride the route this weekend, did look on the map to try figure it out, but not getting it. Could you elaborate or better yet, draw a picture for us geographically challenged folks please, would be most grateful.

I was based in Gauteng when CBR Durbanville assisted. Couple of emails up and down to confirm design and one postnet later I had my three colour variations.

Yup, super service from them, selected my option and got colour options to match my frame.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery! I hope the bike is covered and you can get it sorted/new one. I was looking at the new Varia radar with the camera that records what comes from behind, thinking that I would not think there is too much use for it. Guess this would be the use case that justifies it.

I had something very similar, ignored it initially which made it much worse over longer term. It’s now taken significant effort to rehab and get strength back. It’s worth a few visits to a good physio and get them to loosen whatever has tightened up to protect the shoulder. Then a combination of exercises and stretching has seen me make great progress, nothing crazy, couple of stretches daily after shower and some normal exercises after activating the shoulder with stretch bands.

I understand that Carbon Bike Repair can do cosmetic repairs of groupsets. I remember seeing a pic of a derailleur they had redone. https://carbonbikerepair.co.za

Went GX AXS in October with a new build, at the time simply could not justify added expense of XX1, didn’t see xo1 available, had a wet ride and the pulley wheels seized (did service the bearings, but any reason to upgrade…), so just replaced with Csixx cage and pulley wheels, which are now easier to service with the cage being lighter as well (if you are in the that kind of thing). From what I hear guys have been breaking the carbon cages on xx1, so Csixx for the win. Shifting has been faultless, but I have needed to tweak on occasion, which I would expect with normal wear etc.

I have been trying out the Schwalbe’s for the last while, started with the Ray 2.35 on both front and rear and really liked it. I’m running 30mm ID rims so really like the extra volume and lower pressure. Then I stuck a Ralph 2.25 on the back and must say that while it grips and does what it’s supposed to, I am tempted to put the Ray on the back again, as the Ralph makes the rear end feel a bit loose, but that could also be tyre pressure. So far super reliable over mixed terrain and conditions, run the Stans race sealant which seem to perform really well. But I am a stickler for replacing sealant every 3 months (Hubtiger for the win). I am also very keen to try the Pirelli’s, but stock seems to be in short supply of the xc pro wall versions. However the Pirelli rear specific tyre might be a bit narrow for 30mm ID at 2.2

Bike shield for the win, easy to apply and remove when you need to, and thick enough that it really does protect and nicely mouldable with a bit of heat from a hairdryer. Used it to enhance protection and cover the typical areas that get whacked, rubbed, scratched. Rather get the big sheet if you can find it and spend a bit of time cutting sizes and fitting rather than the precut kits.