Never too many bikes

Brilliant!, I am amazed at your skills. No way i could have done something like this, particularly out of carbon fibre

Is that Hector Norris park? (may have changed name by now I suppose) If so, that really brings back memories. I used to ride my road bike from Bryanston to there, do a few laps and ride back. Would'nt try it nowadays though.

Hi Charl, I had both hips done at the same time a few years back. My key lessons were to see a biokinetecist sooner rather than later. I had listened to the surgeon very carefully (fear) and had not started strength excercises soon enough, ending up with a strange gait and having to learn how to walk like a human being again. I started cycling pretty soon afterwards +- 3 months, but was very unsure of myself so just used the bike to get motion into the hips, nice and light, no long distances, no hills etc. it felt really odd at first! Key thing is to be able to prevent yourself from falling on the hip, so careful with toeclips and clipless pedals - i had limited sideways movement without some pain so rode on flat pedals for a while. After a fairly long road of recovery my performance on the bike (not at the levels of the guys on this forum) was much better than pre the operation - no friction! best of luck!!!

I agree that you should try different size tyres already mounted on a wheel. 25 would be a little light for commuting and so if you can go bigger do so, the other advice about 28 being so much better is correct, I have found that the back of the clamp for the front changer (on the downtube) also rubs, but on the old frames with horizontal rear drop outs you can move the wheel backwards a fair degree. I run 28 on an old Le Turbo (same era as the Hansom - did 2017 Léroica - no punctures or wheel damage) and manage a 34 on a Le Jeune - its a bit "over-tyred" though. I bought it that way and intended it for Léroica and just never downscaled it. Its great on broken tarmac, gravel etc.

Yep, fellow cyclist felt the need to berate me for riding inside the very narrow yellow lane on the road instead of the cycle path between Melkbos and Blaawberg. I guess everyone is entitled to an opinion so I just ignored him, but he was pretty obnoxious. I hear the lower use as a result of Covid dea, but what is odd for me is that between Melkbos and Blaawberg you find maybe 2 or 3 patches of glass in the road, but literally you find only 200 m of cycle path free of glass. So how does all this glass end up in the cycle lane and not the road? - especially as there is a cement barrier between the two so its not being washed off the road by rain or scattered by car tyres to the side of the road and onto the cycle path. Its crossed my mind that its an attempt to stop cyclists for some reason. I've almost given up riding the cycle path now between the muggings and puncture repair practice i've been blessed with.

Yep, I have noticed a very marked deterioration in the cycle path all the way from Paardeneiland to Melkbos. Its littered with glass without break for almost the entire distance. In fact its so bad that I am averaging 1 puncture per 100km at the moment - on a brand new gravel bike with 600km on teh clock - so good new tyres - even fitted with tyre liners. I have found the road alongside the Blaawberg / Melkbos section to be almost spotless in comparison, just run the risk of being hit by a car (or shouted at by a fellow cyclist for not using the cycle path!) so it looks very much like the cycle path is deliberately being spoilt.

Heal well!! I had both hips done at the same time and although the recovery was a long journey my cycling improved a lot - suddenly it did'nt feel like i was riding with soft wheels - less friction with ceramic joints!!

Yep, a puffy. Must have been going somewhere as they are normally curled up in the road. Beautiful little critters and really fast, don't be fooled by the size. Nasty bite!

With respect and apologies to the purists, its your bike, follow your heart and do what you want as long as you enjoy it and use it. Pretty much anything can be undone. I am part of a vintage jeep community and the prevailing advice is to use the vehicle before you tear into it as the rebuild can be long and expensive. if you've used it a bit you have a connection with it and are more likely to make it through the whole rebuild (granted that a jeep rebuild is going to be more difficult and expensive than a bicycle rebuild) my 2 cents worth!

You probably won't believe it, but mine is a 1989! Its an in-house build by the old Deale & Huth in JHB in reynolds tubing (probably mostly carbon steel) . I worked for them at the time and paid less than a grand for it. Since then its only had tyres (2 sets) and tubes and couple of new bearings and I think I changed some wheel cones a few years back. Chain is still original silver Sedisport. Shimano biopace - the first generation to come out on a MTB. Its proper vintage, like the pilot!

Cheers!

Been riding to and from Koeberg this week and not seen anyone going in or out. Normally you see the guys coming out on their way back to Melkbos. Next time i'm down there i'll ask at the gate.

Well each to their own opinion. Diversity is what makes the world go round. I have a Lejeune, Le Turbo and Du Toit track bike. I raced the Le Turbo for many years, lost count at about 65,000km, then took it out of the rafters 30 years later, changed only tyres, tubes and bearings and then did Eroica in a very decent time on it. Still no issues. Recently purchased the Lejeune from Nils at Woodstook for (R3k!), its got campy drop outs and is made from Reynolds tubing (can't recall exactly which) and is my preferred daily bike. I have a Bianchi, Scott, Giant and Momsen to choose from in addition to those mentioned. Thus the SA made steel cant be all bad.

Yep, exactly! I have a red one from the era.

Anyone know how the cyclist is doing?

I truly pray the cyclist is okay. I actually noticed the helicopter flying south whilst I was on the cycle path heading towards Melkbos. Whilst some motorists do not treat cyclists well, the R27 is normally okay as there is a nice broad yellow lane. But vehicles use this lane as the road has become a rat run, with high speeds and lots of heavy trucks. I used to use it a lot before the cycle lane was opened. I would second the earlier comment regarding cyclist behaviour. The number of times, on the cycle path, I have had guys ride on the wrong side of the path directly head on at me and refuse to move over to the correct side, then curse me is ridiculous.

I took the old rim tape off when I replaced the tube as there were indentations at each spoke hole and a little slit running through each spoke area. LBS recommended a couple of layers of electrical tape, which i have done. It all feels smooth and clean. Third tube fitted also punctured! - but this time a tube fault - a small leak where valve connects to the tube, so i'm hoping the LBS will replace the tube as i have proof of purchase from a couple of weeks back and the tube is clearly brand new. Also looked closely at both split tubes in the sunlight - both have a set of 2 lines (like a railway track) running the entire inner circumference of the tubes. This is made by the little lines (almost like the teeth of comb) which run inside the beading on the tyre - where it sits against the rim. Both splits are along this line. So i reckon the original response from Fat Boab was right. The tyre is too big for the narrow rim. I'm going to try 28mm as I have some already and see if the problem disapears. Strange that the back wheel is fine though???

Hi Barry, thanks for your response. I've checked the inside of the rim wall and the tyre. No issues that I can see and both punctures have been in different places - with tube valve in hole and tyre branding at valve stem in both cases, I've looked at where the punctures occured - one at 11'o clock the other at 3 o'clock. LBS said it was just bad luck and that I should try again, but this time put some baby powder in the tyre to help the tube settle. So I've tried again, its getting expensive - so far i've used 3 tubes to do 164km!

Bikebloke - thank you for your response. Not sure if i insulted you somehow and thus caused you to remove your post. If so, i do apologise, was'nt anything intentional.

Thanks for the responses guys- Tyre: 700 X 35c Tube 1 (Came fitted on the bike when purchased from LBS): 700 x 28/32c Tube 2 (which I fitted): 700 x 35/45c Tubes partially inflated when fitted, so nicely tucked into the tyre. Fitted by hand ( tyre is big on rim and just slips over). Both sidewalls checked manually all the way around to ensure no sight of tube. Inflate to correct pressure. Ride Tube split

Thanks Fat Boab - you're right a pinch would be small holes, kinda in a "V" shape often. so calling it a pinch flat probably did'nt help. when I got the first flat I had thought that it was a faulty tube and hence just replaced the tube. But the second, which looks also like a slit along the inside of the tube, seems too much like a coincidence to me. The tyres are being run at their max pressure - 85 and I'm not sure about the casing rolling on corners. The second flat was on the R27 cycle path today, straight and flat - tube let go within 2 or 3 revolutions of the wheel. The response from Bikebloke makes me think - I had noticed the first flat coincided with a strange ridge on the inside of the tube -almost like it had been folded lengthwise for a section by mistake and then inflated - in fact as I had'nt fitted the tube I had put it down to a poor installation, or tube fault, which led to a premature failure. The slit was along the edge of the ridge. Now that i think about Bikebloke's response I wonder if the narrow rim and the large tyre casings / sidewall / bead are leaving a small gap against the rim, which the tube is pushing into when inflated fully, leading to the strange ridge on the inside and the slit along the ridge? Looking at in cross section, the tyre sidewalls sort of push inwards towards one another, leaving a small inner void, which the tube expands into, causing premature failure along the edge of the void? In other words, normally the tube is round when inflated and nicely seated against the rim, but because of the large tyre has almost a figure of 8 in cross section instead of a circle. The split occuring at the shouder of the lower circle? When I put the second tube in I partially inflated it so that it has a shape and fits nice and even all the way around (to avoid pinching it on the rim when I put the other side of the tyre on), so i'm more comfortable that the second tube was put in correctly. If the tyre is too big, which makes sense, why is the rear not having the same issues? or perhaps they're still on the way!

Hi Guys I'm stumped and need some input please. I bought an old Le Jeune road bike for Eroica next year and have just finished the rebuild. The bike is running Kenda 700c 35mm tyres on vintage Wolber TX 700c rims. The tyres and tubes are new and the wheels are in great shape, run true and have no issues. Spokes are flush with nipple head on inside of rim and deeply recessed within an "aero rim" / deeper dish profile. In other words the spokes are not too long and thus projecting inside the rim. Day 1 - rode around the block and had a flat on the front wheel. Took the tube out to find what looked like a pinch flat - on the rim side (ie. inside of tube) not the tyre side. So i examined the rim tape - looked okay, but at each spoke hole there was a slight indentation and split. LBS did'nt have rim tape (said it was'nt really in demand any more) so suggested a couple of layers of electrical tape, which i did (3 to 4 layers). Fitted another brand new tube (correct size and volume 700c 35 -42mm)and re-fitted tyre. Just reached 164km since then only to have the front tube let go again - same thing - inside of tube, next to rim, what looks like a pinch flat - in other words long slit running lengthwise on tube. Different place to first puncture. Strange thing is the rear wheel is same rim, same tyre, same tube and no issues (so far). Any bright ideas as to what is going on?

Hi, Yep its safe t that time, avoid after dark! Use your common sense, stay alert and avoid groups of people / pedestrians. If necessary ride on the bus lane, but keep a close eye on busses behind you. I often ride against the traffic on Marine in the yellow lane and then cut onto the bike lane at the harbour. alternately come up the service road parrallel Marine drive, but there is no run off and its a bit of a rat run so lots of speeding cars - I would'nt recommend at this time of the day.