Nico van Loggerenberg

I've gone through maybe 6 of these tyres and they have all been difficult to install. The best trick I've found is using one of the smaller Parktool tyre levers (1.2 model) to pull the bead into the right position all the way along the edge. This felt like a magic hack. A second way is to install with a tube and let it sit then remove later and add sealant.

Weird. They should definitely teach this at school or something!

Wait wait - there's a speed limit for cars in South Africa? I certainly haven't seen much evidence for it.

You can hit 80kmh pretty easy on the hills in Gauteng. Good luck if there's a pothole though.

most roads in johannesburg are gravel roads. That's who it's for!

A society that can't even protect its children at the cost of its ego. Truly tragic. Plenty of sad stats out there about how many children are being killed by the new crop of huge cars. Saw one out in the wild today, parked outside a primary school no less. 1.5 metres into the road because it's too big for the sidewalk parking.

I wouldn't worry too much about safety in the rural areas of the WC - your biggest danger zones are in and just outside of major cities. For bike transport, if you want to take a bus, speak to Shaun - Shaun Smeda - shaun@intercape.co.za / 072 190 0345

There are as many opinions on tyres as there are on politics and they are generally equally as wrong and poorly researched. Pretty much every brand offers competitive XC sets these days. Pick a brand and be a dick about it. Bontrager and Pirelli offer great value for money locally and in my opinion look good too. (look at specials on takealot or cheap take-offs on bikehub) Schwalbe and Continental are unbeatable for speed but some feature very light casings and are not cheap locally. (check out bicyclerollingresistance.com for proof) Maxxis, in my opinion, lags behind with XC tyres but they are still completely rideable for 99% of what the average mtb'er wants and you can get them everywhere. (google Nino Schurter Epic 2022 or MVDP Glasgow XCO)

Good idea, can't believe I didn't think of that

Rating system means nothing. Many accounts here with very concerning 1 star ratings that never get flagged.

You do occasionally see high end parts for sale in dodgy Facebook ads. But almost never frames. What happens to those? In many years of scouring dark parts of the online classifieds I have never seen a top end, new mtb frame for sale that looked dodgy, but loads of tyres, brakes, groupsets etc.

They could not care less. Stolen phones, obvious scams, duplicated profiles, zero fs given.

Tip - check in with truecaller on any number you receive. These are marked as scammer.

Loads of riding very close to where you are. Most clubs start either in Rosebank or in Tyrone avenue, Parkview. You can ride out to the south, ride some gravel and back for a nice 100km loop. ICG is probably an easy group to start out with and will show you most of the commonly used routes. You can also take a gravel bike up and down the spruit which is an easy 40km off road depending on your fear level.

The term eco-friendly doesn't mean anything to me. Metrics are endless. I'd still rather have a more natural fibre that lasts a long time and was sourced from well-paid farmers if all other variables are the same.

As far as I know locally sourced merino is processed overseas. Unfortunately. For those complaining about price, have a look at what high quality merino t shirts cost. The mind is boggled. Fortunately you only need one (apparently it doesn't stink - that's what I tell myself when I wear the same one 5 days in a row)

I've succesfully sent a few 780mm MTB bars. Picture my consternation when the Courier Guy employee informed me it was too large. I proceeded to show them how it fit, at an angle, inside the locker. They then proceeded to inform me it needs to fit into the space flat. I then proceeded to put it inside a box that fit inside the locker and the orientation of the object inside remained a mystery. South Africans - really do love a good rule!

Really depends on where you're riding and if it's loaded or not. I'd suggest doing a gear inch / gain ratio calc and figuring out what your minimum desired cadence is at the slopes you normally ride. Personally I find a 1:1 lowest gear to be fine for normal riding, but not ideal for loaded touring.

You should be able to get a Cannondale CAAD for R5k. Those are easy bikes to live with and while not aero or carbon are not going to hold you back for quite a few years if you put decent tyres on. They are easy to get to a light weight and durable.

A few other points: Look for a bike with slightly higher stack (some road models will be more racy, some more endurance oriented - if you have not spent a lot of time bent over like a shrimp I'd aim more for an endurance type fit) I personally wouldn't bother with a gravel bike, if you want to ride road. I would personally get something lightweight, simple, and fast. Plenty of aluminium road bikes can do that for you in the under R10k range. Get good tyres. They make a massive difference. If you can fit 28mm, go there.

I've unfortunately had the same experience. Aramex is proof that you can get away running a company in the most terrible fashion imaginable and stay in business for years. Tons of negative reviews, customer complains, online writeups etc do nothing to help. Hopefully you hear something back from them.

In my experience 11-28 should work with a 105 derailleur?

Safety from drivers at night would be my main concern. I saw 3 accidents this last month involving delivery scooters, and I don't drive a lot. All 3 were grim. South African drivers are bad enough during the day, add night time and loadshedding into the mix? HECTIC bru

Some of the complaints about Garmin (mine, in particular) are not specifically about the cost or warranty cover itself, but about the service and level of communication. Such as an email response taking 28 working days or being expected to bring a device in for an inspection that takes 2-3 weeks when the issue is a known manufacturing defect...