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Hmm, there are idiots in all walks of life. ..........but legally the lady WAS in the wrong, it is PROHIBITED to allow an animal on the street unrestrained and if it happens the owner opens themselves up to legal claims for any accident, damages caused by the animal whilst out on the street. However, even if the animal was the cause of the accident,(a minor fall and a few scratches it seems is all he suffered) it in no way condones such brutish behaviour.! The lady is obviously and rightly upset and I think quite indignant, but honestly, what harm was done? I cant see her getting anywhere with this except upsetting herself all the more, possibly she should just write it off to experience and restrain her dogs in future to prevent any possible further scenarios.

Yah! - remember those.!! Do you still get them or did they die a long slow lingering death?

In my opinion ALL the big tyre brands are the same.I cant believe there is some highly secret, special compound that only one manufacturer knows about which makes their tyre any better than another, there are differant tyres for differant applications, sure - but that dosnt make one better or worse than another. Anyway theres no such thing as a puncture proof tyre (unfortunately) and how many punctures you get / got /will get is really dependant on the terrain you ride on, the weather conditions, tyre inflation, road surface, rim condition, etc and seldom has ANYTHING to do with the brand of tyre you are using. Everybody will advocate the particular tyre brand they use (thats human nature) because everybody likes to feel justified in their decision - but, in fact, thats a poor barometer of a product quality. Its exactly the same with most products YOU will ever buy - the best tyre is SIMPLY the one that suits YOU.! widget2007-10-17 05:46:02

Hmmm, I am not in the least technical, so dont work on anything, but I tend to agree, check what you can do yourself first. Its non cycling, but I deleoped a small crack leak on my Kawasaki radiator top tank, took it to Kawasaki and they said "Holy Moly" this is gonna cost ya, its impossible to fix these radiators (Aluminium) so we have to import you a new one (R2700.00) PLUS this hose plus that thingy, total quote including labour R4500.00 and a 6 week wait for the part.!! Anyway, I rode the bike to work a few days later and was chatting to one of the technicians here and he said "let me have a look" he took the radiator out, had a dekko, told me "its nothing" and welded a small aluminium patch over the crack, pressure tested it, resprayed it, put it all back together again and total cost about R30.00 for the paint (okay he works for me so I pay his wages anyway) - and its been leak free for two years now, and as the radiator is tucked away you cant even see the small patch. Now I always make a point of seeing if a product cant be fixed first, its not always about the money, its just sometimes an interesting excercise. ................Oh and on your problem Maybe PM "Johan Bornman" - if he cant help, I think you are outta luck.

- .and I am very slow, so I guess no problems there, - Okay, so I guess liners are out and I shall just have to live with the puncture issue, thanks for the "heads-up" anyway. - much appreciated.

Hee, Hee, I had a good chuckle over your remarks Johan, - Naaa, I am not a comuter, just maybe not that "hard-core" to enjoy fixing punctures in a downpour, but I feel guilty about that now too - but maybe my bad luck IS over, ......................... but, if I get another puncture today or tomorrow Johan , I am gonna be the m**r-in. One last question though Johan, would they (liners) upset the wheel balance - or is there no actual issue here? - surely there will be some effect that may need compensating for?? You see,.......................... I have this fear of flying down a hill and I get this crazy bounce in the front wheel....................!!!!

sick and tired of punctures in this wet weather, (two again yesterday) that I am now wondering if Tyre liners in my training bikes (road) will help? I guess they are so cheap I could just go and buy a set and try, but I wondered if anybody used them.? ...............and YES before I get the usual comments on "tyres 101", "my tyres are in good condition, with plenty of tread and pumped to the correct pressure".!

Its amazing, here we have someone (Mr Bornman) who actually knows what he is talking about, has facts and figures to back up his statements and most important is prepared to share his experience and information with everyone who is interested, and he gets the hind t*t!!. If you feel threatened by his posts and answers, its simple, dont read them, but for many, me included his information is very interesting and educational, and I agree as Mr Bornman says, one persons views / opinions / experience, are hardly reason to trash a product / condone a product on a public website . In my opinion, many folk here have personal experiences of a product (both good and bad), but tend to put this experience forward as "a conclusive fact that the product is good or bad", when in fact there are so many variables to take into account that it can only remains purely "an opinion".

As I am technically useless and my tool kit consists of a hammer and a bent screwdriver, I usually take my bike to a shop. Over the years I have tried many of them in and around Jhb and found them all to be much of a muchness (ie) give the bike a wash, change cables, set the gears etc. Probably the best shop I have used as far as servicing gos is TDF cycles in Boksburg, I have taken my bike there a few times now and they have so far always done a sterling job, often checking / changing things like wheel bearings which I would never have thought of. I recently also had an annoying "pinging" sound on the bike Ian J, and dropped it off there one morning on my travels, 10 minutes later it was fixed (a looseish spoke I believe) they quickly checked the trueing etc and waved me off with a "have a good day" when I wanted to pay. Some folk here have also given Mikes bike shop a good report, but I personally havent tried them - maybe next time?

Hmm, Buckstopper, dont you maybe think that opinions posted here are a microcosm of the industry in general? Certainly I would say that posts here reflect a general trend, thought pattern, opinion of the average recreational cyclist. I am not naive enough to believe posts here (or any board for that matter) will influence any decision, but I would guess as a rule of thumb, its certainly a place to express, displeasure, interest or commend decisions for the recreational majority who possibly arnt really interested in the politics of the sport but who ARE effected by any national decision.

After re-reading my post three times, I simply cant see where I said "tennis players dont dope" I also fail to see any referance to the Williams sisters, (who as a matter of interest I believe have probably taken growth hormones as well). I fail to see the relevance of your post, except to perhaps make a snide remark about my initial post and "me" ultimately.

You may just be genetically prone to cramping. Simple, and not much you can do about it. There is no single reason for the cause of cramps in any individual, and some people are just more prone to cramping than others. Many folk just put it down to a lack of training or a lack of race training intensity - but although its a possible cause its very simplistic. Certain medications like "Lipitor" will definately cause cramping in any athlete, low salt intake is also a suspect, iron and magnesium deficencies, blood flow (ie) your blood may be a little thick, to name a few, and of course,just genetically prone to cramping. It may be worth while to take a blood analysis test and check with your doc if you fall within a "normal" range,then eliminate possible causes one at a time until you find your particular cause or reason.

The point that interested me regarding Jones, is not that she doped ( a physique like hers isnt built on a few kelp and liver tablets) - I think doping was a given, but that she sued the chairman of Balco after he blew the whistle on her doping, I mean honestly, - what sort of people are these who live with such bald faced lies and deception. Now in her 30 s she faces a jail term for her lying and deception, what a waste of a great talent who could have been so much more. Just how the mighty fall,.......... she commanded millions in her prime just for an interview, now says she has assets worth less than $2000.00 and as it appears her "get out of jail card" is a fine of $250,000.00, I guess she better start getting used to wearing orange. I wont miss her.

Hmm, C/Crusaders are definately a link in the distribution of stolen product. My company had goods stolen about two years back and we found some of it at a C/Crusaders still in its original sealed packaging. We took the police around and got the relevant info of the person who sold it to them, which they had on file, but when the police confronted him, he said he was selling it for his friend who emigrated and he knows nothing about where it came from? So he got away with it.! Go figure that one. I think they firstly need to ensure the staff are briefed to look for suspicious behaviour, as someone said, a vagrant with a 50k bike is suspicious indeed, and if they buy it in the knowledge that it is in all liklehood stolen,just because they see a huge profit and little chance of been caught, they become part of the problem and should be held accountable. I would say in general the vast majority of their customers are law abiding citizens, and Cash Crusaders offers a means to an end for them, its sad that so many issues are raised and situations created because of the small percentage of thugs.

"PM" Johan Bornman and get the right info. Or go to his website and read up on it. You cant just say "a chain gets XYZ milage" there are other criteria like hygiene etc, but check with Johan first.

The best bike on the market is........................ ...................THE ONE YOU LIKE.!! Buy what tickles YOUR fancy, after all you will be the one riding it, not your mate, your uncle, your work bud, and nobody here......... its gonna be you and you alone - so, keep your hand firmly on your wallet and go look around, base your purchase on your criteria and dont worry what anybody else says.!!

All this really proves is that (as everyone will agree I am sure) the cyclists are light years ahead of the doping controls and protocol.

As a stat collecting excercise its hopeless. As in any poll based system there are a lot of people who will either under or over state the required particulars, especially when it comes to monetary values, few folk want to say their bike was a special at Makro and cost R400.00 even if nobody cares or even reads it.

There are lots of ways to cut costs to the cyclist, however no organiser in SA has bothered to make an effort to do this. I lived in the USA for many years and "TARGET" a retailer similar to Pick and Pay used to also sponsor a number of events both running, cycling and my fav, an all wheel event, (ie) you could do the ride (note its a ride not a race) from Miami to Key West on any human powered means, bicycles, roller blades, skate boards, push carts etc - anyway, one of the ways Target makes it almost negligable as a cost to enter is when entering ON LINE, you pay full price, then you take your race entry to any TARGET store, purchase goods to the value of $20.00 or more and recieve a scaled discount on your purchase, (ie) The more you spend the bigger the discount - up to an agreed maximum. Usually you could recover at least 80% of your entry cost and as you would have bought the products anyway............!! Another way they made it easy was by giving everyone a small "stick on soft plastic button" with a fixed number, so every race you entered which was sponsored by TARGET you just used this button, no fetching numbers etc..................!! Theres lots of ways, it just takes some foresight and thought, but why should organisers here hassle, we all just go along and do the thing and nobody complains - a typical SA attitude.!

Yes Ditto, and the same reason I and my training partner didnt enter last year either. To be honest, time is also a factor, and niether of us could be bothered to waste four hours driving to Durban from Pietermaritzburg and back just to see a hodge podge of raggedy retailers selling tyres, gels and tubes at elevated prices.

You can never just look at an ENTRY FEE as your actual cost - there are a whole host of EXTRAS the organisers would rather you forgot about as Sammajoor has pointed out, a big one now been the extra cost of collecting your number, some folk end up driving 40 -50 kms to do so and the waste of time and extra effort is unacceptable. The committee I sat on once did a cost amortisation and it was estimated the cost to a cyclist travelling 50km to a race and back, was in the region of R400.00 including an entry fee of R150.00 - thats for one person.! Now think of the cost to a cyclist travelling 800 KMS or more to a race and back, and perhaps overnighting. So, obviously, the problem is a price point issue (ie) Organisers know the cyclist will pay XYZ to do the event, and raising the cost will probably reduce entries, so its a constant battle to keep the cost within a certain price range, and inevitably, somewhere costs have to be cut or cross subsidisation occurs.

Yes HR, I hear you, and to be honest, I dont have an answer. Obviously there are costs to run a kiddies race, especially if there are medals etc involved, but, yes, I think there is a certain amount of cross subsidisation going on.

There is obviously two camps of opinion here on the license issue, and we all just go round and round in circles, so I wont even go there, but as far as race entries go (price wise) after sitting on the organising committee of the third largest event in SA for over 5 years I can probably say, with all conviction, - few people make any money from road races - obviously I cant speak for ALL races and I am generalising from my experience. It depends on the the work involved and some major events are organised and run by commercial companies and of course they are paid relevant fees for their work, however most races are organised by clubs, the work is done by club members at no cost, sometimes the club will hope to take a small fee if possible, but most of what remains after everything is paid is donated to charity. I have never heard of anyone person enriching themselves from a bicycle race, I would have no problem with it, but there just is usually not sufficient money left.