Mojoman

Keep your maintenance regular and check things when you do other things (i.e if you take your chain off to clean, check how the crank is spinning, are the jockey wheels moving freely and is the rear wheel running smooth and true, clean and check pedals...etc) and when you service wheel bearings, pivot bearings etc just make a note of when you did them. If you take something apart and its the first time, make some notes or take some pictures. Make sure you have your greases and oils available before you start something. And a load of old rags is never a waste! When you have done something remember to have another good look at what you have done afterwards (or sometimes during) a ride, best to find out early if the wheel bearings have come loose after a service or you havent tightened up that bolt holding the suspension! Its actually pretty easy to look after a bike, if you have the time and dont mind a bit of grime under your nails! But if in any doubt with something then rather let a pro take a look. A well looked after bike should never let you down on the trail (nor squeek and creak and drive you nuts!).

DIY in future....

Double post

I almost wound up here as a kid...!I took this pic yesterday as I made my way around to visit a dog that lives at the bottom of the hill, took him some Beenos and a bit of attention. You can barely see the bike lurking on the sign...!

I have used a couple of bottles, its a good buy over Squirt, about R150 for 500ml compared to Squirts little bottle at about R100. But it still has the same wax build up as Squirt.

I check and do the wheel bearings every couple of months so its not that long for a thorough clean in solvent for the cassette. But the cassette actually gets 'cleaned' everytime I take the chain off, I have an old spoke which I bent and flattened the one end of so I can get inbetween the gears and fish out grass and muck etc. However since I stopped using a wax lube I no longer seem to get a build up of muck everywhere.

Do the guys ride the routes during a race and then later on just go where they want, when they want! Or are there still route markers left from races that people just follow? We have had races in the Magalies area that make use of painted arrows on rocks (and they last a long, long time!) etc so you cant really blame a rider for just following what they may perceive to be a legitimate route? Its not only unsightly but does lead to trespassing issues and landowners gettting annoyed.

Using oil on a chain need not be a dirty affair, this is my chain, I will clean the cassette when I next do the wheel bearings. I use gear oil on each link, wipe down, and wipe again after a ride. I wash the chain in paraffin every 3-4 rides.

Someone told me those taxis are 4x4 as well?

I asked Stilwater last week and this was the answer: The cut-off time is at the discretion of the race director (this will be based on the safety of the athletes etc), but there is no official cut off time.

From FB: Please note we are closed for the winter season. Sorry for the inconvenience. We will use twitter and fb to announce our new open. Safe cycling and running https://www.facebook.com/pages/KingsKloof-MTB-trail/137521609597803?fref=nf

Sometimes you have to do what you can do. Most people would have just left that dog. Here is one I see regularly on my rides, he lives at the bottom of the dirt road that runs down past Mount Grace so if anyone is riding in this area and has an old sarmie in their pocket please give it to this dog, I am taking a checkers bag of dog food (tied on my bike!) up there this afternoon and always take him Beenos when I am going that way. It makes me pretty sad when I see this dog and he is standing waiting for me wagging his tail, if I didnt have 7 at home I would have just taken him! The picture looks bad but at least he always has water and some scraps of food and I convinced the owner (Staff at Boys Town) he needed to build/make a kennel for the dog (he wants it for security but the dog sleeps outside some distance away from the owner, proper duh there!). And there is an old bit of blanket in there, I will try and buy a cheap blanket from Pep this month for the dog (after cutting it up so it doesnt end up going somewhere else!).

Here is some more of Robs utter madness http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-132504/Zimbabwe-white-farmers-fight-flee.html#ixzz31m7OoPOr

I am not sure about the service intervals for a DT Swiss shock but on my Trance I have a RP23. I deflate and remove this from the bike every month or so to do its aircan service and with the shock and rear wheel removed you should be able to run your rear triangle section though its range of motion and listen as well as 'feel' if there is any 'crunching' sounds (like sand) in the bearing or if any have seized etc. On the bearings on the Trance you can gently remove the seal from the bearing and clean and regrease them. I have also read that suspension bearings need to be 'rotated' periodically so they dont form flat spots as the bearing doesnt actually do a full 360 degree rotation when in use (the same applies to your headset as well apparently).

I have a basic bench for pressing, flyes and dips and some dumbells for curls, shoulder presses, tricep extentions etc. I also do deadlifts and squats. I keep weights lightish and go quick with the rep but still keeping good form. Have a look at a pilates video and do some of the moves as well. I usually do about 15-20 minutes of mixed up stuff twice a week after a ride. I also have 4 collie dogs that I race around the garden with and have one very developed shoulder from throwing their ball around!

I have not used Smoove but when I was using Squirt and a wax product Go (from Bearing Man) I used to use hot water and sunlight liquid to clean the chain. Leave it to soak for 10 minutes then a couple of hot rinses!

I had 2 in less than a year, both broke on the lower swing arm/chainstay. I quite liked the bikes though. There were no issues with having a warranty claim on the frame (5 years I think is the warranty period) but after the second one broke i kinda of lost heart with the brand.

This is where the train station in Magalies will hopefully come into play. At the meeting last night it seemed quite positive that the MDI may be able to secure a lease on the station from Transnet, if this happens then the station would be upgraded to included a small restaurant, shops, outside stalls, toilets, and a small area for the MMBC (and prehaps a bike wash manned by locals but everything comes down to rental cost) etc. Secure and ample parking would also be available as well as picnic spots and walks for families etc. It would therefore be a lot more attractive and secure for our visitors to the area and serve as a central start point for cyclists as well as visitors looking to explore the area. Currently its a mess and a eyesore of note but at least the squatters that were there have been removed. However all of this will still take some time but its looking more positive than way back in Dec when the MDI started with all of this. Below is the general idea of the project (dont know why it looks so stretched!).

We wouldnt really be going over the Magalies mountains (to begin with any way), we would be more focused on the Magaliesburg village and the surrounding areas, there are some tough routes here as well as some lovely river routes and lots of stunning views, if you know where to go and have permission (After living here for 20 odd years you tend to either know most people or most people know you!). But Its not just about the cycling but also promoting Magaliesburg as a tourism destination, prehaps this weekend you go on a MTB trail but because you enjoyed the area and your time here you might end up booking accommodation at a local venue in the future. We want to try and make use of local businesses for lunches, breakfast, cold drinks etc and you make a day of exploring the area as opposed to just clocking up the KM's as fast as you can and then heading home.

Ja, I stop there occasionally after a hectic Magalies-Rusties trip!

Thanks, will do and thanks to everyone who responded.

Not sure how much you want to spend but Giant has a nice puller/press set for around R1300 I think it was. http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/gear/product/giant.sixpack.maestro.bearing.tool.kit/589/39118/

Would anyone else want to make a comment or complete the poll? The MDI (Magaliesburg Development Initiative) is having a meeting this afternoon about the upgrading of our train station so I can have a chat to a couple of the guys involved and locals etc to see if we have a future with this. After some emailing this morning it looks as though most venue owners and tourism bodies in the area are keen to support this, if its managed correctly it can only benefit Magalies in the long term!

One of our challenges in getting the trails going is convincing the landowners that we can ride through properties without damaging the area or causing veld fires (one of the issues that was brought up as someone saw a cyclist smoking once!) and littering etc. Then of course there is the endless issue of riders just going where they want which seems to be a common denominator with all landowners!

The idea is the try and get our Magaliesburg trails going one way or another (!) and hopefully in the future to be able to take a couple of locals and get them involved and interested not only in cycling but also caring for the environment and taking pride in doing something worthwhile to promote the area. Magalies is based on tourism and the more people we can encourge to visit the area then the greater the odds are of making a few more jobs for locals.