firewalker

I have a few, I have put them so far on every commuter bike I own, they are life changing.!

Damn, and I've been watching these posts, ready to join this evening, am away for next week but from then on the firewalker would love to be in. Thanks for starting this thread

My first race, and apparently its pretty tough, so look out for a black Santa Cruz coming flying past you on the downhill, and me sliding along right behind it...

Lion Man is my first race, so i'm also watching this topic. but must agree with Zula, been going to that area forever, and most definitely loads of thorns and dry sandy conditions, so tubeless and spares, probably very little chance of muddy conditions, even if there has been rain the ground is very compacted. My mountain kings might be overkill. ?

It looks to me, may be the photo though, that one side has a 9mm opening and the other a 15mm...? Impossible?

Civilization. Looks fun.

you can give Gail at Mikes Bikes a call, I think she wants to sell a set of pink brakes, possibly hopes, i cant remember, and she has quite a bit of pink stuff around. there's even a set of pink chris King hubs floating around...

nah pedals are for woeses, i ride pedal-less, its all the rage now! they're on now weight-weenie, some trusty old crank bros eggbeaters. bike rides awesome.

dont ask. Fizik Zeak. weighs like a ton, but has a skull on it! And super comfy

My first couch and bike combo pic. Just picked this little lady up this afternoon, her parts have been coming in for weeks, now she is complete. So first pic while still clean.

How does one person stir so much in such a short time, ? Just last week everybody was putting on SA flag 'ears' on their cars, flags, it was about to be world cup time, everything felt great, and then one douche bag, and he really is that, manages to duff everything up for so many people. So unfortunate, and he is such a nothing in the greater scheme of time, it makes me crazy sad. One fat self absorbed non too bright has the power to change events. The age old butterfly effect, just this time a worm. tsk tsk world. Franz Ferdinand all over again. We're all definitely bigger than this I am certain. Just hope it all blows over soon. 'orrible

Going to Zimbabwe for advice for is like visiting a man dying from a myriad sexually transmitted diseases who lies with his whole family, also afflicted, in a dark room, and high-fiving him, going "My man, you are the legend, you were rocking the ladies your whole life, how do I do it, I want your advice so I can do the same., My man!, Oh sorry, here's your nose that just fell off. You legend. My man! "

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/01/africa-illegal-money-lost

Damn, the love making was quicker than expected, DVD player didnt work cos power is out, and couldnt make the meal as someone stole the vegetables out of the garden, so I'm back I also like it here, alot, and I really only voiced that as an optimistic idea that perhaps there are some genius spin doctors at work out there who are setting up appointments and cameras to show Julius smiling next to Bob, discussing nationalisation, appeasing the masses for the time being. I dont recall Bob having photo-ops with other world dictators whilst picking their brains, he just went ahead and did it. Julius has no clout to make any motions without the backing of the ANC, and so far they seem to just be giving him a very long, and visible, leash. I'm no political major so I most definitely wont get into any heavy discussions about this, I'll definitely be outwitted by alot of you, but it seems to be to address the possibility of something good coming out of a whole heap of rubbish at the moment is healthier than the slam dunk the forum was on its way towards. Go ahead IanC

Here's a possible spanner in the works. A discussion at a dinner on Friday with a pretty well connected gal friend of mine brought this out. The ANC government are not nearly as un-sussed as we all like to believe. The big brains that are trying to keep the ship afloat are very aware of a growing resentment in the lower classes of what they, incorrectly or not, perceive as the cause of all their woes, and that is the white upper class. So to contain what could become a very volatile situation, Malema has been purposely given to them as a vent. As long as they are chanting and vocalising their fears, they are able to contain the situation. If there is a perception that they have no voice in the ANC and their concerns are not being addressed things can only go pear. So in effect Julius is there to maintain the growth, and to protect the ever growing middle class, (all racial groups accounted for there), which the government and Zuma, contrary to popular belief, would most probably like to see stay. Fatcats they may be, but I think they probably like their lifestyles and want the country to grow. I would imagine whats happening up there is far more complex than any one person can imagine. So maybe there is a place for Julius, and it may just serve us in the end, its a concept I am willing to explore. In this way he remains the puppet, there to serve the greater good. And this morning's murder may just highlight one thing, that we have a crime problem, and not much more. I dont think more than that is at play. Well those are my morning thoughts, now I'm going to go watch some Collective DVD's, eat a good meal, make love to my wife. I'll leave the fighting to the puppets, its a good life with no strings attached. It might just all pan out. Stranger things have happened.

I just came back from a beautiful long ride, through some parks where a homeless middle age man who will never, due to circumstances beyond his control in his youth, ever even hold the amount of money that my stupid bike is worth, and he smiles and waves at me. Him and numerous others, who step off the path balancing bags of staple food on their heads, and do it with a smile. Everybody has this all wrong. Our country is, miraculously, no longer divided by colour, it is divided by good and bad. As simple as that. Bad are ignorant, as with anywhere in the world, good are exposed to value systems outside of themselves. So there is no need for anybody anymore to use racial slurs that generalise by colour, thats redundant and beneath anyone who has had the good fortune to be exposed to values outside of themselves. I'm all for a new form of slander, lets base it on actions, maybe a new forum to find the ultimate new insult which encapsulates: a non-denominational, non-gender, non-sexual preference, non-racial, bias, but singles out the bunch of people on the earth resistant to positive change. I call them ...geegasobs. One day that too may be banned, but for now it works.

hey pedal pusher. i've just done my third purchase from them in quite a short time and so far it has worked the same each time. you can give your home address as the delivery address, there are three different shipping options, i've chosen the fastest one each time, (also most expensive but i figured safest so i went for it). your package will be delivered to your door, you need to sign for it so if you are not home they will leave a message. the customs thing with my orders was pretty painless i fugure because my shipments got here within a week. you will pay about 4-500 rand customs and tax on the order, maybe slightly less? and they usually only take cheques or eft's, they dont seem to work in cash. its a very painless process and i was blown away each time by how soon the shipment arrived. i am sure there have been other stories, apparently customs are a bit heavy with things like wheels and some clothing, but so far touch wood i have only had great experiences, and with the pound at just over 11 its been a wicked time to buy. you can also track the full process of each stage of your order online to see if there are any snags. hope that answers some of your questions. and good luck.

go santa cruz. ! awesome bikes, the lbs (same one, i would imagine) rocks. really cool brand.

"Soweto dicers and multiple cyclist killer get life" there's a huge difference between negligence and an accident. accident from latin "fall upon, befall, happen, chance". this situation did not happen upon him, he took negligent steps that resulted in the end of three innocent peoples lives. for them it was an accident, it did fall upon, befall, happen, chance. he overtook in haste without having visibility. the two pieces of gutter rubbish that were dicing yesterday and killed those four children could also claim the same defence, they didnt set out to murder. for these reasons we have the term manslaughter, culpable homicide. these laws are in place to prevent rash decisions that result in other peoples deaths. the law demands that some people are 'martyred' to dissuade others in the future from repeating said 'accident'. i would call for all three of yesterdays slaughterers to be hung from public spaces and flogged to deter a repeat of what occured. i think the sooner we metaphorically publicly tar and feather people who cause harm to others, the sooner the rest of the population will realise that we are accountable! for our actions, accountable! for our negligence, accountable! for our stupid decisions, and we can start moving forward as a civilized society. i would demand the same treatment for myself if my actions were incorrect and befell an innocent person. and i agree, his own personal hell is probably far more awful right now than anyone can imagine, i dont doubt that he has a lifetime of remorse to look forward to, but unfortunately like children in a classroom, the law needs to make examples constantly and without prejudice to maintain the fragile order that we are incapable of maintaining ourselves without consistency. i dont think personal remorse is yet a substitute for legal implications. the best thing that could happen to this countries roads right now is this headline tomorrow " Soweto dicers and mass cyclist killer get life" three people made an example of. and their tally still doesnt match even half of the one days death toll. go ahead and publicly lambast me but thats my opinion

and wasnt dear Jub Jub already being investigated for supporting a non existent charity, one belonging to his mother, on Survivor....? His presence in our world would be sorely missed if he were to go away.

yup the raping of the paramedics left me too with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, safe in the knowledge that it is all going to be alright and we have no reason to be alarmed. that and a burning desire to pay Jub Jub a little visit with some pliers and a blowtorch... firewalker2010-03-09 00:21:03

the armbands are a symbolic gesture of solidarity, i think its beautiful. the measures to be taken later are the next chapter and im in full agreement that that should be the next vital step. the sad thing always is that we all tend to lose the impetus to act once the initial emotions subside. i will start an action thread tomorrow that actually puts points of action into place, that way we continue the momentum. something really needs to be done firewalker2010-03-08 16:32:32

this thought has been bothering me for ages. the United States lost 58000 odd soldiers in a roughly ten year period in the Vietnam war. thats 5800 a year averaged. in South Africa, according to arrive alive stats, we lose on average 9900 people a year on the roads... [ nearly twice the amount of great britian, 6 times australia, and just less than japan! ] im sure my figures could be slightly disputed, but the point is glaringly obvious, we have a total disregard for human life shown by our actions on our roads. to struggle so far to reach a point in our beautiful country where humanity is celebrated, only to destroy ourselves daily. and the governments response is to create a metro police organisation that is corrupt, inefficient, and frankly laughable... i'm glad that the lives of all this countries people matter so. somebody should be very very ashamed. firewalker2010-03-08 16:12:34

fully agreed kaizen. i wont try combo pedals, will stick with clipless, but just switch from my eggbeaters to the shimano with a bit of a cage around the clip, with the egg beaters you absolutely cannot take your feet out of the clips because there is nothing to hang onto. those shimanos look like you may be able to still hold fast a bit without being clipped in at times