JJDT

Each sport does have another type fitness and basically can not compare them. In school I was a good middle distance runner very good in 800m and 1500m. At the end of the season beginning with the rugby season I was somewhat exhausted in training because it involved differant type of exercises. After school I did road running was also pretty good could manage sub 4min/km easily for distances up to 42km. One day I was invited by a person in the running club to compete in duathlon event. It consisted of 5km run 40km cycle and then a final 5km run. At that stage I had a personal best time on the 4km of 13:48. A road bike was organised and I was ready for this event, with the 1st run I was about 5th and started the cycling leg....I was passed by about everyone and the last running leg was so difficult...and that was the end of duathlon. Differant skill and fitness level and respect must be mutual for all sports.

Bought one of these Hyperama Specials way back. Fitted slicks and did quite a few races. One of these races the nut that should keep the crank arm secured to the crank came loose, stopped every few km's to tightened it by hand. One stage used a brick on the side of the road to hammer the arm further onto the crank just to finish the race. 2 years later bought my first Merida road bike.

Riding in a group is easier but this needs some practise and on a race day you need some basic skills and you do not want to experiment this idea. You will be able to do the full distance, there are a lot of people who will encourage you. Try to find a few guys who rides the same pace and stay with them and this will aid you in finishing the race. Do some research on group riding and find some guys to ride with in order to practise this skill. Again no experimenting on race day this will have a nasty experience. Water imo will not give you the energy to last. For starters try maybe Energade or Powerade and on your training start experimenting with gels and energy drinks. As for food the same apply for above no experimenting. A good neutral food is a banana and maybe try an energy bar. There is some nice topics in Training & Nutrition and food has been discussed, on your training ride experiment with the various food sources to verify which works best. Good luck with the race and may you have a good one.

Need some help with spokes. My son had a broken spoke on his rear wheel, took the wheel in for the replacement of said spoke. The wheel in question is Shimano wheels (do not know the model) and do have flat spokes about 2mm wide. The wheel is with West Rand Cycles and apparently there is no stock with Shimano in SA and these need to be imported again. West Rand Cycles gave us a loan wheel because the ETA is the end of the month. It is all good but my son and I intend to ride the Tour of Durban and would really like to have the same wheels on the bike. I went to Cycle Lab Little Falls, Cajees and Wesdene cycles to find out if they do have the spokes in stock but these shops do not have. Anyone know where can I source some of these spokes? It feels like your car's spare wheel that is a steelie whereas the other are normal mag wheels, it does not look right. Pics of wheel.

Yes some of climbs are single track and although there a places that you can pass one or two riders it will not be much of a gain because it is long and if one person is of the bike...the rest is history. Best is to be in front in order to ride it to the top without getting of the bike.

Also struggled and eventually phoned them and they forwarded me an invoice for payment.

Whats up with the communication of this race. Normally we would've had all the info starting times, seeding etc. This is Friday morning still nothing

Thinking of doing this race but accommodation around DBN is way over priced or fully booked. The question now is how "safe" is it to stay in Durban these days (if available and not to overpriced)? Thanks

IMO it is with the recent lawlessness of everybody these days, that every person thinks that although he breaks the law it is fine. Laws are there for the protection of its citizens. Now just to clear the debate of the e-toll law (the aim of the law is to justify the income and this whole saga is another debate which is also currently on). We spoke of taxi's, will not go there. As a matter of interest of breaking the law while doing it safely. Take this example that I see everyday; peak hour traffic on the N14 towards PTA and with recent time the one onramp to the freeway is congested. This is a dual lane road with a fairly wide "yellow lane" shoulder. You are in the car slowly moving forward in the left lane and as you wait there are many cars passing you slowly in the yellow lane with their hazards flashing. Ok so traffic is basically crawling along at 10km/h and the persons in the yellow lane thinks that it is safe because at the front somebody will give a gap so why do I have to wait the extra 10mins, I'm driving slowly and with my speed I can stop easily so no danger. Now this law breaking convenience started to be a right it is the right to do. Our actions dictate what other people will do in the end, it takes a few people to see and witness and then everybody jumps on the wagon and justify (with very valid reasons on why) it should be done. IMO it is not just a case of "If" but "When" just to many factors that could possibly go wrong.

Still in the learning stage regarding bike parts etc. Couple of questions regarding chains: 1. What is the difference between a sram chain and a shimano chain? 2. Quick links are they generic or make specific? 3. MTB vs Road bike chains differance on a MTB will get Deore, XT etc. and on a Road Bike Tiagra, Ultegra etc.? 4. My son's road bike is equipped with an ultegra groupset(10spd) but on Saturday broke his chain and on closer inspection of the chain I have noted that it is on its way out, saw a few of the links at the pin side that there are some cracks. Now for the question what chain? Saw that CWC sells the Tiagra chain @ R299 (also know that Tiagra is mid range and Ultegra way above) and then there is this chain Shimano SLX HG75 or should I obtain an ultegra chain? Shimano SLX HG75 Shimano SLX HG75

Had the same problem. Solution: https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/136177-shifting-problem/

Not only Cycle Lab. Saw something similar @ a Sportsmans Warehouse store also selling the differences in riding of 26'er and a 29'er more on the basis of technical stuff. Most people believe it is the bike but I have formed my own opinion it is 20% bike and 80% human. I'm an average rider mostly finishing in the middle of the pack. If I for example took the bike of the late Burry Stander and I give a 8spd bike to one of the top 10 ladies, they will still ride the crap out of me because it is about the person. On the flip of the coin if they choose this marketing direction no one will buy a bike, because most people buy a bike which is associated with a well know rider.

Used for timing purposes only and the number board can be used over again, no more event specific boards.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the show...

Is there any specific MTB training program? My son is 16 and rides at fairly decent pace, he does not really train that hard as he only rides with me(mostly on weekends only). I'm a recreational rider just to keep in shape and I'm holding him back if he rides with me. With the Berge en Dale road race (55km)this past weekend he did a 1:56 on his MTB as I could only manage 2:08 on my road bike. I would like to put him a training program that would benefit him in order to improve on his times. His current fitness is basically just hockey fitness and riding his bike to practice and back. His first MTB race for the year will the 30km USN this weekend.

Thanks for all the advice given my problem is sorted. Last night opened the shifter to see if there might be a problem, noted nothing strange. There was no excessive dirt but cleaned it and added some oil. Removed the "old new cable" and the cable housings and fitted the new cable and also shortened the housings as cpt armpies mayhem suggested. First shifted without the wheel on and no problem. Fitted the wheel back on and also the shifting was smooth no force. Will go for a short ride tonight to test.

@gkp limit screws are correct @Mojoman can feel the cable move shifting fine @LeTurbo will check that out @Tumbleweed just the angle of the pic

I do have a shifting problem on my bike. It is extremely difficult to do up-shifts, I takes a huge amount of effort just to shift up. You need all the power in your fingers just to push brute force. Even without the wheel on just trying to shift the same problem. What I have done for trouble shooting: 1. Checked the cable housings for any obstruction = nothing moving freely 2. Checked the rear derailleur spring = no extreme tension, derailleur clean of mud or any debris, the derailleur is only i year old do not do much riding. 3. Made a longer cable housing from the seat stay to the derailleur, thinking it maybe to short = no change. (see pic) 4. New shift cable was fitted in January. 5. Loosen the cable at the derailleur and shifting the cable moves. Down shift no problems. Components: Deore LX Shifters 9spd and Deore 9spd rear derailleur Bought this morning a new cable and cable housing. Shifter problem?

No man that hill is not that bad it looks scary but it is not. The real hill start at the entrance of the casino traffic lights and just about halfway up as you go around the bend then it slowly starts to smooth out and then the last 150m or so just before the turn off the hill starts again. Basically more or less 500m of real climbing. I'm nowhere near the pace of some of these riders here on the hub but I can average 11 - 12 km on these climbs.

Agree 100%. During the December holiday my son had a small sidewall cut and the sealant could not seal. Took off the tire and cleaned the inside, took a patch (thicker one from these patch kits as opposed to the normal "thinner patch") some super glue and glued it on the inside. Refitted the tyre filled with sealant again and no leaks since.

Can not believe that the 30km reached its limit so quickly. Wanted to enter my son for the 30km only to see entry limit reached. As for the route profile there are two routes and both are easy not much climbing and not to technical.

Changed both batteries in the computer and sender unit. Nothing works now took out the batteries and did the reset still nothing...do I miss something

Old Yellow chip will still work

@V12man I can still feel the pain especially when walking but it is slighty better than yesterday. Not numb.

Yesterday afternoon my son and I when for a ride in the cradle with our roadbikes. We did a 67km loop and with my fitness level managed an avg of 23.8km/h. During the last few km's my feet felt numb unclip during the ride wriggled my toes and just let the leg hang for a few seconds. After the ride when I changed into my tekkies for driving home my left foot was extremely painfull especially on the outside close to the small toe that I could not walk properly. Could this be a result of improper cleat positioning?