W@nted

Have you looked on markplaats.nl?

Ryan Gibbons is riding for trek lidl. Think I saw Reinardt jv Rensburg at the chinese team that Willie Smit was riding for in 2023z Other than than that I do not know of more riding world tour

So on a local front (from social media): Tristan Nortje (Toyota Spez) and Marc Pritzen (EF Education feeder) to Honeycomb for 2024. Pieter du Toit (Imbuko Giant) back to Pyga for 2024. Alex Millar (Pyga) to Toyota Spez for 2024 Imbuko Giant now Imbuko ride Spez for 2024 Matthys Beukes riding for Titan for 2024 First big battle of the mtb pros tomorrow at Attakwas

Middelburg, Zeeland

I am pretty sure this has been asked before, but please advise on a grinder and machine that I should consider that can replace my barista express? I sold the barista express before moving, now want to get a machine again. Tired of all these restaurant bean to cup coffees in NL... Or should I just look for another barista express/sage machine here? The second hand market is ok, but I am not sure what to look for. I was happy with the barista express, but I would like to upgrade a bit without breaking the bank.

Go slower than moderate pace the first 80km. Fill up your bottles and camelback at waterpoints. You do not want to be caught between waterpoints without water. At these predicted temperatures the kloof feels like an oven. Expect temps close to 50 degrees C there. Also, when walking and pushing your bike on the climbs through the kloof, it takes forever to tick off the km's. Cool off as much as possible where possible, it is going to be a thriller.

I am truly shocked by the amount of bean to cup coffee machines used in restaurants and coffee shops here in the Netherlands. So disappointing!

Great tips, thanks Sydd! I am also a newbie here with this winter thing. I did see the white specs on the walkways and bike paths today (aka salt 😁). Our car was delivered on friday, so I chickened out this morning and dropped the kids off at school. Did not want to let them cycle 4km in this cold. At work there were some frozen puddles that were marked with traffic cones. my commute is only 1.5km, so the cold was bearable for me on the bicycle.

Proper cold here today. Freezing! Watch the ice on the side of the roads... Lovely -11 deg C here in middelburg with the wind chill factor. What gets me about this cold is that it does not warm up during the day. Max is -1 deg C. Zwift for the win!

+1 on going to the local bike shop specialising in the commuter bikes. I see mostly schwalbe tires fitted. Even on my commuter. But as said, the shop will help with the sizing. I see this morning they started to gooi salt on most cycle paths. Remember to rinse your bike regularly...

Welcome to NL! Yip and when the sun eventually comes out you have to grab the bike and ride! oh, and stay away from markplaats.nl if you want to stay within your budget…just bought a set of favero power pedals for 250 euros 🤯

Not a comparison, sorry, but I loved my barista express. Great quality and a great way to dive into the barista rabbit hole. I bought mine second hand for R6k, so that made it a no brainer for me.

Thanks for this! My travelling is a bit easier since I am staying in the Netherlands

This looks awesome. Need to commit to this or amateur Paris Roubaix.

Haha the bridge is 10km away from where we are. Wind was hectic! Even here in Middelburg I have seen flags waving in different directions. Feels like the gusts hit you from all directions. These dutch are crazy people. Saw on Strava guys doing a casual 90km ride during yesterday’s winds

I arrived in NL 3 weeks ago. Bought a commuter (stadsfiets) to commute to work. I sold my mtb in sa and brought my road bike on the plane. Commuter bikes are super cheap here. We bought second hand bikes for between 80 and 150 euros each. All equipped with shimano 7 speed rear hub and dynamo in the front hub for the front light. i am however struggling to gel with the stadsfiets setup. Way too upright. Especially in the wind. I think I might be selling the commuter soon and buy a cheapish gravel bike… Just fit some mudguards and rear rack if required for shopping. I have seen some nice grave bikes used as commuters, just make sure it is parked out of sight and locked. All the commuter bicycles are equipped with a lock around the rear wheel, but you can just pick the bike up and carry it away. in short, I would buy a second hand gravel bike here for commuting… I am enjoying the road and gravel riding on the bicycle lanes! Good luck with the last admin and more admin when you arrive. Welcome to pm me for any info, as we are going through the process…

Oh and I am using the paraffin wax and ptfe mixture.

250km on the MTB. Road bike (mix of trainer and road) I get about 300km before the drivetrain gets a bit noisy. Note the mtb km are dry and dusty, no mud.

I am getting around 230km per wax treatment. I must say, it is a bit of a hassle, but I enjoy the absence of any chain degreaser and scrubbing the chain when washing the bike. I just remove the chain, pour boiling water over it and dunk it in the melted wax.

This is a good suggestion. However, how sustainable it is I do not know. Maintaining a public road costs a lot of money. Especially longer distances. Also, out of experience, fixing potholes with bags of ready mix tar does not last. Especially when sharing the road with trucks. It is a losing battle.

Gravel racing is the future. (At least outside of WC province). Public roads are getting worse by the day.

Where on dstv can we watch the short track race?? edit, I am too early

Check the road bar tape on rapide website… Thank me later.😁

On my last kmc x11 chain on my road bike, I replaced it after 15k km (0.5 wear on parktool checker)… using smoove lube… Many of those km were on the idt though, but still, the life of the chain surprised me.

Crash makes sense. Was wondering what was going on with his brake lever in the first pic.