RodTi

When removing anything involving bearings, work over an old towel - or expect to spend several hours on your hands and knees looking for them...

The size of the QR skewer/thru-axle, I think...

Mr. Bornman is a great advocate of the foreign (aluminium) beer can shim... He's popped up a few posts on how best to do it... Will remain an option should I choose to drop down to the 27,0mm - and then shim it - but as mentioned, hopefully my problem has now disappeared! Ps - will keep a look out the next time I pass a CC store - thanks for the tip!

But well done on everyone it getting things this far - let's rather celebrate the practical steps that are being taken to apprehend this scum! Big Up to those Hubbers and the Community Safety people/SAPS!

But just to bring this whole thread back on track - good advice offered here - service times depends on the type of riding you do, and the terrain you do it in... 50hrs for dry weather appears to be standard - but that will fall quickly if you're into muddy conditions. Of course - regardless of the prescribed time, give the fork the once over after every ride - you will soon get to know what it usually looks like, and when something out-of-the-ordinary starts happening, which will require attention... Lastly - if it's a high-end fork - then it stands to reason you would be kind of silly not to maintain it... Do that regularly and properly, and you would be able to resell it in 7 years time with a good conscience... Don't do it regularly, well then - after 7 years, it might still be working - but pity the soul who eventually buys it and opens it up for the first time...

Fortunately, this has been covered by your fellow Hubbers... Just know this - Windhoek Lager and Louis Gosset Jnr got their whole "he is watching you - always", from Johan Bornman... As for time in the saddle vs time cycling - my wife is always having a go at me that I spend more time 'tuning my bike' ["howzit bike" than what I do riding it... She might have a point there... Which I will deny to my dying day, of course... Now, just need to find a pair of bricks to replace my workstand...

Oh wait... With this being said... Now to my present dilemma... What's that Afrikaans saying about "met genoug geweld kan jy jou eie vinger in..."? Well - clearly, I'm not using enough force... Took it in to the LBS this morning... Techie looked at me like I was slightly mad... He simply said - if it's a 27,2mm tube, then a 27,2 post will fit. He took another standard 27,2mm - and slid it in... It did appear to go in easier than the Thomson - I'm beginning to be convinced that not all Thomsons are equal He made me put the saddle back on - one doesn't appreciate how much difference using the saddle for leverage on the seatpost actually makes... Would also explain why trying to force the plain seatpost (sans saddle) in, was so difficult... He greased it up - but it still took a fair amount of elbow grease.... But it's in... He's convinced I'll be able to get it back out, albeit with a bit more effort than my previous one... I won't necessarily be making adjustments on the fly initially, but maybe it will improve over time, possibly as the tube takes up the new flex?... Will see how this pans out. It's in like a glove - and quite clearly is meant to go in, since you don't get a 27,195mm seatpost... But will report back here when the bike is assembled - and give you an indication of how tight it is in comparison to my other bike... Guess the bottom line is, it really depends?

Difficult to convey in words what constitutes 'relatively easy'... But allow me to go roundabout in an attempt to formulate an answer... In my 27,0mm seatpost frame, given the difficulty in sourcing that size, I was running a 26,8mm post... I was young ( ), and didn't think much of it... had quite a lot of slippage on the post though, during the course of a ride... LBS put things into perspective upon inspecting the seat clamp, when he pointed out how flexed the lips on the sides of the seatpost slot were, as the clamp was in effect forcig the lips to close around the post... He maintained that were mine an Alu frame, it might have cracked already... Which saw me order a 27,0mm through CRC... It would not go in. Rather, with much cursing, it went it - but then no amount of cursing saw it come out again... Picture a plank, some bolts, a bike with everything removed save the cranks, an insane amount of twisting, pulling and swearing - and a badly scratched Thomson post back in the hand... Plenty of sanding later - and it now fits. It might have something to do with me having had something too small on there before, which result in the opening of the tube being mishapen? I don't know... It now still requires twisting and a bit of elbow grease - but nothing serious. There is no slippage - but it moves freely enough that that when I am mid-ride, I can hop off, undo the clamp - and quickly drop the height for those tricky ST sections... Once through, hop off and raise again - no problems. I also use plenty of Q20 - but to give you an idea, if I undid the clamp, and turned the bike over - I don't think the weight of the saddle would pull the post out - I'd probably need to give a light twist - and then it would probably drop... Hope this helps!

There's a warranty period?

What fork you running? Oh, btw - expect to be corrected soon... The front one is referred to as a "fork", and the back one (on full-suspension bikes) is referred to as the "shock"... Welcome to the Hub!

Thanks JB - dropped him an email already - and will have a chat with him in the morning... Here's hoping he can clean my pipes. No wait. That's wrong.

Cable ties? Surely you would simply "fix" the RD in place, so as to not allow it move/change gear? I don't know... going to shut up now, and wait for someone who's actually had to do it!

Whilst I share your sentiments and frustration, as aimed at the culprits - the simple truth is that Kayamandi is also home to thousands of hard-working, honest and innocent men, women and children - young and old... So I for one would not like to see Kayamandi burn down.

Bought it off CRC - since the suppliers don't stock silver ones in RSA. Might end up doing that - will chat to the shop. Eitherways, if I decide on the 27,0mm option, will again have to go via CRC...

Agreed in not wanting to take a dremel to it... as it is, that tube doesn't appear to be particularly thick! Sanding the post remains the quickest option... but the more I think about it, the more I'm a bit concerned... The black post that I sanded down to get in to the 27,0mm - was, well, painted black. The sanding I did virtually only removed the paint/anodizing(?), as it were, and appeared to take very little (if any) off the actual post... With this post being silver - I presume it to be the natural colour of the metal used, possibly with a thin layer of protective coating(?) - so sanding it down will take more (presumably) off the actual post... I guess the safest option would be to shim up... By sanding, I'm not only potentially weakening the post - but I might need to take more off than I think in order to make it fit... Will take the frame into the LBS that I bought it from, and get their views... Expect to see a Thomson Elite Inline 27,2mm x 410mm Silver seatpost up for sale soonish...

I have contacted them before - usually takes about 4-6 weeks for an email reply... so would rather take my chances this side!

LL - must agree - in spite of the schlep, you have to report this incident... It's only when SAPS are 'aware' of how many incidents there have been, that the right sort of political noises can be made!

It should, yes... Pop over to mtbr.com, they have stacks of reviews about both versions... Just keep in mind that they have rider-weight restrictions on them!

The dremel would be to simply clean up the tube, and not necessarily to take off mm's? It still feels smooth - no ridges etc... It probably could go beyond the welds, but as mentioned - elbow grease would be required... To be honest, think the sanding route will do the trick - but then I'm ruining a perfectly good post... Which makes the shim over the 27,0mm post option more appealing... Pah.

LL - glad you're ok! This is ridiculous. I'm going to try and place a few calls, and see what comes of it.... How old were the two? Did you get a look at them? Teens/20s/30s/older?

The pic has done no favours to that chainstay - it's perfectly reasonably normal in real life... Yes - the vernier.... I've yet to come across a LBS that actually has one - and schlepping the frame off to Midas to quickly use theirs, is probably an option - but I'm not sure it will help much... Put simply - it's supposed to be a 27,2 - and it's not a 27,0. There are no options in between as far as seatposts are concerned (AFAIK), so I either do my bit to it at home, or 'shim-up' from a 27,0mm....

Tjop!

Hey CF - don't know if you searched for Harkerville threads, but here was one I put up some time back... Have a read here, might be helpful? Regarding the little ones... Ja, might be a bit tricksy - especially if things are wet... Quite a distance as well... Having said that - if you have the time, and pack food etc - taking it slow will probably be fine... You can always walk the few spots that particularly steep/rooty etc... Also - don't forget the yellow/orange/green(?) routes... They are shorter, and presumably - less technical. Just check in advance that they are open! Enjoy!

Pffftttt. [This appears to have been sorted... I was apparently too timid - and nervous that my mighty arms would snap something... LBS got it in this morning - if you're really bored, read my post on page 2. Thanks for all the suggestions Hubbers! ] A picture tells a thousand words... The 'new' (really old 2nd hand frame) supposedly has a 27,2mm seat post diameter. This is confirmed on all the websites etc, and given that my other 27,0mm slips in way too easily, makes sense. Ordered a post off CRC, since I wanted a silver one. Popped it in tonight. Well, actually, I tried to pop it in... see for yourselves... Now - what are my options? The other Ti frame I have, is old-skool - and as mentioned, takes a 27.0mmm Also bought a Thomson for it... Long story short, it didn't fit. Black one, needed to sand all the paint off on the bottom of it, to get it in. I had a 26,8mm - which was too narrow - but it appears the ideal size would actually have been a 26,95mm Now the same thing has happened again... Just to be clear - it gets in for the first few +/- 5 cm's, but to get it further, then involves serious elbow grease... Did that to the other one - and boy, was it a mission to get it out... I'm not going down that route again... Which has me wondering - either Thomson occasionally gets their sizing wrong - and I'm the unluckiest doormat in the history of mtb'ing, having drawn the two posts in the space of a year that were a bit on the thick side. Yes - unlikely. Or - Titanium shrinks over time... Ja look, I'm grasping at straws here... But the question remains - what to do? a.) Sell the seatpost - I'm sure I'll find a Hubber who wants a silver one. Buy a 27,0mm - and consider shimming it? b.) Take the sandpaper to it again... Your thoughts, as always, will be appreciated...