Zaskar

Thanks epoh, i cant wait to see those pics.... First lap was with IanJ and Sonic, and second time round was just the 2 of us. Nice riding, but it was a bit windy. And damn it got hot! Foolishly forgot to put on sunscreen, wait for the pics! So Sat was 116km, and yesterday the ride was rained out, so did 50km on the rollers. Pictures from Sat: After lap 1... epoh checking his messages... and me with my bike..

Heading over to Thailand with my brother and a mate, and we are gonna party all night long on a beach in Koh Phangan!! Then spend the next few days diving to get rid of the hangover! 3 weeks of island hopping and backpacking here I come! Off on thursday!! only 3 more days... And resolutions ... try get in at least 12000km of road riding / racing, and 3000km of mountain biking next year.

Hey Big H I used the Hope M4's for a few years while living in the UK, and always had some pad rub on the rotor. All the disc i have ever used did this, (Maguras Louise FR, Hayes Mags and the Hopes)I think that every rotor will have a slight wobble to it, as they distort and bend due to the heat generated while braking. It never was a serious thing, just used to make a slight humming noise when i was riding. I never experienced any drag or any noticable performance decrease from this. The rubbing is so slight, and the pads will quickly wear on the spot where the rotor rubs up against it. If you hit the rotor on a rock or something and get a serious bend in it, then you will need to replace it, but i think what you are describing is normal with disc brakes. It doesnt sound like it will cause any problems. Enjoy riding the new brakes. From what i have seen and heard they look pretty awesome! Hows about a few pics of the upgraded tandem??

Bored Girl, if you are in Rosebank / Sandton area, try Morningside Cycles SlipStream Mikes Bikes Dunkeld Cyles Illovo Cycles Or even Tony Impey in Bedfordview, Johnsons Cycles in Edenvale, or Cajees Park Meadows. I know no-one in that shop cycles, and their service is bad, but its worth a try. Try to deal with Kevin, he is really helpful, and will call you back and try get things done for you. Good luck!!

Yeah I did, in fact I was in the store just before the incident happened, and as usual their service was great. <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> I don?t agree with the way it turned out, but we don?t know the whole story, so I don?t think it?s fair to judge them based on that. There are lots of good bike shops out there, and it?s your money, so spend it where you feel happiest!

Can?t hurt to ask for a discount. Tell them you can get the bike cheaper elsewhere, and if they aren?t prepared to come down on price, ask them if they will throw in a few accessories, maybe to the value of the price difference. <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> But R200 isn?t that much. If its going to be the start of a long and good relationship, its worth it. esp if you have warrantee issues or what ever int the future. They will probably go out of their way to help you out. As for Cycle Tech, i really would try them. Judge them for yourself. See how good their service really is and how knowledgeable they are, and I promise you will go back!

Gleneagles Road in Greenside / Emmarentia. Its next to Canoe Junxion. Phone number: 888 8868 or Mike's cell 082 777 6378 See the topic - https://www.bikehub.co.za/forum_posts.asp?TID=8516

I went past Mikes Bikes the other day after work, and we chatted about wheels and disc brakes for ages. He is a really freindly and knowledgeable guy, and ill defo go back there to buy my wheels. In fact I think he will see a lot of business from me in the new year! Im gonna get a lot more serious with mountain biking in 2007.

When i was doing research for new wheels, the Eastons were on my short list. I went for the Zipps, but from what i saw the Eastons are great wheels. The hubs are awesome, and with the spokes threaded into the hub the wheel is very stiff, and stays true for longer. In fact im going to buy myself a pair of the Easton MTB wheels in the very near furure. Same technology and very well priced. As for the Rolfs I cannot comment. I have hever tried them. The Eastons / Ksyriums / DT Swiss etc out performed them in all the reviews i read.

Nope, not the same guy...

What time was this? EPOH and i just did a 40 odd km ride with some guys from the Total garage in Oxford Rd @ Thrupps in Illovo, and there was a guy on a Colnago (C50). What kit was he wearing? To be totally honest these guys this morning were riding really badly. Jumping the lights, and not paying much attention to the traffic. As you say its guys like these that give us a bad name!!

Im seriously considering getting a pair of the <?:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Easton wheels, but was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them? Ive done searches and read the MTBR & CRC reviews, but there isn?t much written about them yet. <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> So I was wondering has anyone on the hub used them, or own a pair and what feedback could you give on them. I have read is that there have been problems with the bearings on the XC1 wheels, so I was leaning more towards the Havoc wheel-set. As the bike I have is more for having fun and messing around on, rather than XC racing, im not too concerned about the weight, and the 20mm front hub gives me some flexibility in the future. Any other wheel sets you guys could recommend? They would have to be disc compatible (6 bolt int.), and tubeless would be nice, but it?s not too serious. Also looked at the CrossMax SL?s 2006, and the DT XR 1540?s. But they cost a lot more! Any custom builds you could recommend? Thanks!

I went in yesterday to drop my bike off for a service at around 10h30. Marco was very freindly, and didnt seem to be in a bad mood at all. What did happen though while I was in the shop was that a customer came in to pick up his bike after it had been serviced, and the bike wasnt there! It had been collected by another chap about half an hour before. (i think the person that picked it up did it on behalf of someone else, and didnt know what the bike looked like, so he just took what ever the guy from the workshop gave him). Seems that there was a misunderstanding and the wrong bike was given to the customer! This guy was pretty pissed, but Marco was doing everyhting he could to sort it out! He was on the phone the whole time and by the time i left i think it was sorted out. i dont know if it was related at all to the the incident that is desribed above, but there was no swearing and no punches were being thrown! It does seem a bit ridiclous to me though that he would ever go that far??

Thanks, i just gave him a call, and will pop round after work!

Does anybody have the phone number and / or address for this shop? I gave Alan @ International Trade a call (Thanks Big H!!) and he said this is one of the shops in JHB that has the Hope products in stock. I want to go past and have a look. Any info would be great. Thanks.

I also have a TacX Flow and i love it!! Just get yourself the orange conti training tire. It makes a huge difference. As for rollers i think i actually prefer them to the trainer. They are quick to set up and fun to ride on. But there is no real resistance. The only problem i have is that you cannot stand on rollers. Well maybe some of you can, but i cant. Tried it once and came off, and went flying across the lounge -not pretty! It just gets a bit tiring sitting for the entire workout. But you can always stop for a few seconds to relax. I think the Flow goes for about R2800, and a nice set of rollers will cost about R1000. Most cycle shops will have them. Im in Bedfordview, and i know Tony Impey stocks some of the TacX trainers (he has that cool VR trainer on permanent display) and Cajees at Park Meadows has quite a few to choose from (TacX, Elite, Giant, Raleigh....) Also they will prob give you the best price!

Last weekend when I cycled the 94.7 twice I ended up with a total of 209km for the days riding, so it?s similar to the DC distance.<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> I had Pro Nutro for breakfast (with COLD milk), and a cup of strong coffee. Had some jelly babies and a USN Protein bar on route to the race, as well as some energade to sip. For the race I took with me: ? 5 x GU?s (ended up only using 3 as I decided to not take it too seriously after my punctures) ? 2 full water bottles (one with water / one with Energade). Refilled the energade bottle once. Water lasted me to the end. ? 1 x USN Protein Bar ? 1 x packet of Jelly Tots ? 1 x Boost Bar that I got from a mate on the second lap. That really saved me!! And that got me to the end with no problems. 7 and a half hours in the saddle and I felt fine afterwards. Hope that helps! And good luck to everyone that?s racing. Hopefully see you there next year!

I ride them the other way around! 11-23 on my Zipps for general racing, and 12-25 on my Ksyriums for training / hilly rides!

My current bike...

81km/h in the wet / rain on the Jan Smuts downhill past Hyde Park.

C Bunch Start - anything under 2:32:21 (Last years time, also C group!)

Not too bad actually. They seem to be getting more comfortable each time i ride them. (If you can take my word from the 3 times ive worn them!) The shammy did seem to be a little hard on the first ride , but its softened up a bit. I just wish they were bib shorts, they fit so much better than draw string pants. My verdict would be that for R350 you cant really go wrong with them & im glad i bought them. Oh and as for the shirts they have a nice long zipper and are really comfortable!

Thanks Crux, As always very cool pictures!!

Hey i also work across the road from Illovo Cycles! Used them once to replace the bearings in my Ksyriums, and they did a pretty good job at a really good price. Seems a few of us work across the road from this shop! I know DR does, ive met him a few times, i wonder who else works acroos the road here in Illovo? Maybe we should organiase a mid week traing ride from the office?