Murrob

I think an important point to note is that it’s not Shimano that does not honour warranties in SA but rather the SA distributors. Same can be said for a lot of SA distributors of products in my experience. If you look at the overseas forums most warranty issues are handled quickly and without fuss. But in SA a completely different story, maybe due to market size and/or proper warranty processes not being in place or costs of shipping back and forth, nett result being a distributor who pushes back hard on claims. I also find it weird that bike shops do not push back harder against the distributors, because these ridiculous warranty processes hurt the relationship with the client at the end of the day. But apparently we are all thieves and liars when it comes to claims.

I’ve gone 12-14 in a bottle, more if I use a 950 bottle, then would take extra 32GI hydrate tablets to add to water along the way. I would also certainly eat some far bars, the more fruity long distance one, and generally if we stop at broodblik or Bronkies would stop at a cafe to eat some solid food as I agree the racepro could get tiring, but it works! Don’t think it means you can’t eat other things if you are using the racepro.

I also had the GP5000 tubeless which perished, that being said I never had any flats that the sealant couldn’t handle, and there were some pretty serious bits of metal etc that I picked up on our delightful roads, but I am pretty religious in making sure to replace/top up sealant. Was pretty annoyed that I was fobbed off in terms of warranty on the GP5000’s. Switched to the Pirelli Zero tubeless 26mm I think they are awesome, no issues, but continue to make sure sealant is fresh. Been using Otoe Seel made by O.B from Epic Sports, works super well in the road tyres.

I’ve run shimano XT m8000 and the m8100 on my bikes for the last few years, faultless in my opinion, with the m8100 being even better, easy to bleed yourself, with less consequences if you mess due to mineral oil. Have been sniffing around for XTR m9100 the last while, but also got lots of reports that it’s very different performance. I’ve now fitted some Hope’s and will see how they go, the Hope’s are gonna need to be very good to beat how happy I was with XT’s though.

Garmin Fenix 6 watch mount, tried to reply with the pic… but it works super well, allows you then mount your watch on the out front mount or handlebar with quarter turn. Luckily it works with the Fenix 7 as well, at least the large mount does with the 7x solar.

Really like how the Garmin light mounts on the out front mount, also can be mounted directly on the handlebar, comes with a couple of options.

I have the mountings on both road and mtb, I find on the trails at dusk and night it works really well, and as stated it buys you that extra bit of riding time when you sneak off late afternoon. Especially how it changes brightness automatically based on your speed. But yes, certainly the combo of the rear and front make great sense on the road bike day or night, especially as the radar light goes brighter when vehicles pass, I’m pretty sure it seems to pull driver attention and motorists do seem to be more aware.

I have been using the Garmin UT800 in conjunction with the rear light with radar RTL515. This is a fantastic combination to see with and be seen. But you will need to take into account limited battery life on the front light. But you buy yourself an extra 1.5 hours for early morning or late afternoon sessions at full power and 3 at medium. The lights link to your Garmin device or watch and you can set it to automatically adjust to conditions and your speed. It’s a game changer with the radar as well giving you a very good sense of where cars are, their speed etc. also mounts super neatly on the out front mount. Longer sessions you would need to look at a light with a larger battery pack.

Agreed, after living with it for the past few months, I am surprised that the touch screen hasn’t featured as much as I thought, but the light, use it super often. Even works if you stayed out to long on the front of the bike with the out front mount with the watch mount bracket. Also, unless I am missing something I thought we were going to see more in terms of mtb dynamics. I.e jump, airtime etc. like the edge, I thought I saw on the forums that it may be in the next firmware update. It was on the watch firmware on the 6 for a bit, but then they removed it with the next update. I am also enjoying the extended battery life and the wrist HR seems better

As I understand it from Mark from 32GI you want to be careful of mixing race/endure and racepro as they can work against each other and cause stomach distress. I have in the past kept a soft pouch of concentrated racepro in my back pocket to increase what I can carry. But also carry bars to supplement.

Sounds like you have a well exercised engine and are not to sensitive to sugar dumps with soft drinks. I am definitely in the weekend warrior category at this stage of my cycling career, with rides 2-3 times a week at best. I also got tested in my youth and my burn rate of glycogen and carbs is very high. Also for me it really is a case of I want to enjoy my riding as much as possible and suffering through a bonk is not fun. So I try to stay fuelled as much as possible, but if I wanted to invest in a massive base block I am sure I could train myself to be more fuel efficient, but being a fair weather weekend cyclist means that’s not really something I want to pursue at this stage.

Yes, work out your required intake requirements and then mix your racepro accordingly. I do keep a bar and gels on hand, sometimes it’s nice to actually chew something. But I’ve found it really keeps me fuelled for longer rides. Races I hit a gel, anti cramp and coffee shot to make sure I can hammer at the end for the last 30-45 minutes. 32GI have videos to explain the process of working out your required intake.

I have always struggled with getting enough nutrition in on the bike and typically have a really hard time eating in the early mornings, best I can do is a protein, fruit and oats smoothy in the morning that I drink on the way to the ride or race. But a revelation for me while riding has been 32GI, so now carry a bottle of race pro mixed to the concentration that you need depending on the length of the ride and the other bottle will be their hydrate tablet added to water. Depending on the ride you can really make the race pro quite thick, it is much easier I find to then take a gulp at intervals throughout the ride and it keeps me fuelled and happy. Now to come across as a 32GI fan boy… Shorter rides 60min or less - 32GI hydrate added to water Shorter to medium 60-120min - 32GI Endure Longer rides 120min + - 32GI Racepro mixed to cover intake requirements for expected ride time, work out what needs to be consumed per hour and mark it out on your bottle. Hydration is then 32GI tablets mixed with water. Haven’t eating properly throughout the day, because life… - Far Bar as a snack before and during ride Break open in case of emergency - 32GI gels, anti cramp and coffee shot (really for the 30min of ride race we you may be hurting) I will concede the above is pretty pricey, so generally wait for 3 for 2 specials on 32GI to then stock up to keep costs down. But it works really well for me and I like the fact that it’s all very clean and free of all the bad stuff and is plant based protein etc, but I am sure you could do other combinations and get on well also. But the trick is the protein carb mix in the Racepro

Do not ride that bar and stem. Even with repairs to the threads the stem is dodgy and the bar is a throw away, carbon is incredibly strong, but also unforgiving when over tightened. I honestly would not risk it, when it fails, you are going to get proper hurt. Just simply not worth the risk.

After running the AXS for a while on a new build, I added a qaurq spider power meter to my mtb recently. I do enjoy data though and now having it all in one place on the AXS app is pretty cool. It’s also allowed for better accuracy for FTP and VO2. While it does use some wizardry to work out left right balance (this was quite important to me as I have been working improving my weaker leg strength and pedalling technique after an ankle injury). I cannot say it made a huge difference while riding, but I do analyse quite a bit post ride. I would agree though, that a dual sided power meter on the road bike it probably makes more sense, so I am now sniffing around for one and presently leaning towards pedal based, if I can get passed the price tag…

Run the Scoop flat on both my mtb and road bikes. I find they work really well for me, I did notice a weird creak where the rails connect into the saddle, but sprayed a bit of silicone release spray and problem gone. But saddles are super personal of course.

I really rate the vittoria cape cobra, barzo on the front and mescal/saguaro on the back. The standard vittoria’s seemed a bit soft, but I have not had a single issue with the cape cobra editions and they have been available in 2.35 which is great. They are a bit heavy, but super reliable and have been the perfect combo for most conditions in gauteng that we ride. I have for ****s and giggles put a set of Schwalbe’s on to try, but right out of the gate had an issue with one of the tyres having an unacceptable amount of wobble on the tread. So waiting for feedback on the warranty for it. But I hear good things in terms of usage, also they were skinwall and I am trying to be fashionable…

I is also confused 🤔

I work in card payments, so can comment, it is against scheme rules and PASA regulations to incentivise or offer better payment terms as compared to card payment (online or physical terminal) they are in contravention of their card acceptance merchant agreement and can be reported to their acquiring bank. It’s pretty rife in SA, but if you wanted to be difficult… As an aside, about 4 years ago when I started cycling again, I was down from JHB and decided to take a drive and check their store out, with the intention of buying a bike. Was super unimpressed with the reception I received and after wondering about for a while being keen on a pretty well specced bike, I walked out of there to never wanting to deal with them ever again. Think I gave them one more shot online and tried the quote system bull**** and am now off them for life.

I am very tempted to spray it to get rid of what I agree is a bit too much branding.

I’m curious at the reason for the decline in the warranty from Coolheat? As someone who is running the GX AXS, I would say go for it, I’m running a Shramano setup and it works super well on a shimano cassette and chain. I have recently upgraded the cage to CSixx and the shifting does seem a bit more precise, bonus is we have replaceable bearings now on the Csixx pulley wheels and a much easier cleaning process of the rear cage as you can remove pulley wheel without the whole cage needing to come apart.

Yup, happened literally just in front of me and was very lucky to pull some manoeuvre out of a hat to not get taken down. But the guys fell very hard as we were going at a fair rate. There was bit of speeding up and slowing down in a pretty big bunch at that stage causing a lot of hard braking, I suspect that a wheels touched and that was it.

Rode SBR for the first time today, what a super ride! Really enjoyed having to be less concerned about cars, with nice challenging climbs. Road condition good with one or two bumpy sections with a couple of patches where sand/stones had washed across the road, took it easy on the down hills and glad I did as I had two near misses. 1. Came round a fast blind corner on the one section to find a woman lying in the middle of the road taking a pic of a lizard/chameleon with her companion also in the middle of the road, words fail me as to why you do something like that and it was a near miss for sure, but for anyone giving it stick there it would have been a problem. 2. The hiking trail crosses the road on a fast down hill and a walker nearly stepped out in front of me and I had to shout to avoid, would be awesome if maybe a sign could be put up warning of the crossing. But otherwise, what a cool spot and will definitely be going again with an attempt at two laps. P.S they have gone cashless at the gates, so no need to draw cash beforehand.

Assuming you are running a hooked rim with the tyres? I find it best seat tyre leaving a bit of space to pour in your sealant. Then with tyre seated but not pumped run a bit of sealant around the inside edge of the rim and on the beading of the tyres. Then pump up to maximum pressure spin and bounce tyres to make sure all sealant is running around. Should make a really nice seal, but do expect to have to pump up the tyres often. I check pressure before each ride.