Nico van Loggerenberg

Was looking for this myself recently. Unfortunately it seems that the technology to produce fine textiles from Merino is only available in China, so whatever we produce gets processed there regardless. Core makes a few nice things but it is not cheap. Icebreaker is another brand that makes Merino stuff, not local.

I was just tugging your chain a bit (as one is obligated to on this forum). While this might be useful, I'd say it probably goes into the massive box labelled "useful ideas the mods will ignore"

Why don't you just list everybody who is getting coal for Christmas here by name?

My 2 cents is that a 2.1" 650b tyre won't have the grip you'd ideally want for the kind of trail riding you seem to enjoy. So I'd rather stick to 26". Seems like you love the bike and that it works well for you, so why change?

South African Gravel

Pirelli Cinturato. Have had zero problems with them tubeless and they are a really good compromise training tyre.

My friends, what a ride this thread has been! We've learned, we've loved, we've lost, we made spelling mistakes. Some new friends were made along the way - and perhaps some enemies. We've been schooled in law, ethics, and economics, by the greatest scholars on the hub. We've attracted the attention of the mods, and been blessed by their insouciance. We've gone hunting for new deals, new opportunities, new rides, far beyond our wildest imaginations. We've learned that there are some on the hub who believe cash in hand is king, and some who believe that their word is their bond. We attracted the interest, ire, and ridicule of hub legends, somehow tempted away from the Classifieds Comments threads, casting their rods in our tiny pool. We had visitors, taking their time to complain about our complaints and wasting their time to say we shouldn't waste our time. There were moments of angst, where we wondered - was I the bad guy all along, and not helping Frodo carry the ring like I thought I was? Was I... Boromir? We've learned that whenever dealing on the hub, one must communicate clearly. You should also, ideally, consult the various lawyers, law experts, and law adjacent individuals on the most suitable punishment clauses should the deal go awry. You should do your priors and make sure the hubber you're buying from is in impeccable standing, yet also, pay an immediate deposit and never waver or dilly dally - this is a sign of weakness and sure to ensure you lose your great deal. If a deal goes bad, the official position is that your only weapon is the rating system - yet we also learned that it is never to be used, not even when the seller agrees that 'yes we had a deal'. We bantered and bickered about bicycles while the country burned, and we were scolded for doing so, and yet, we persisted, insistent that our honour and desire to be correct on the internet was more important than any civil unrest. In short, we lived, truly, harrowingly, with the near death ecstasy only a cyclist who daily cheats death and flirts with taxis can understand. I salute you all, and hope I can do deals in the future with roughly 34% of you.

Sure, provided the hubber has over 100 x 5 star reviews and has never said a bad word in their life ???? Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Some good ones here, I'm going to take a break from bike hunting for a week or two though.

I agree, we should all only care about the things you decide are important to care about! Please send a list so I can use my energy in the appropriate manner.

Thanks, appreciate the gesture and the engagement in good faith, as much fun as teasing strangers on the internet is. I did have a look at it - might be a bit too much travel for my requirements at this stage, with 160mm, but it's hot.

I was waiting for that correction! Fortunately I didn't try spell "mouthbreether" or I would've had one of the 3 horsemen of the forum on my case for that

Keywords are crucial, thanks for respecting them.

Yes, you get it. I'm not stating that there is a universal way all deals need to run, but if we agree, one on one, I expect that to be honoured. No issue with smaller wheel sizes, happy to look around. Going to take some other advice and advertise a wanted ad I think.

100% with you. Large or maybe medium trail bike, sub R30k, aka hen's teeth.

I've been very relaxed since I phoned the seller directly after this happened and shat him out for a good long while. I didn't start this thread to change the minds of people who worship at the altar of the market, but to raise a tiny bit of awareness, and I'm glad to have engaged with Matt, even if it was essentially "It sucks but we don't really want to change it" Other than that, I've said my peace on this. If you don't understand the fundamental requirement of open, clear, and truthful communication, good luck to you. As I said before, first come first served is fine, if that is made clear. This is about communication, and sticking to your word when you make a promise. Wishing all the knuckledraggers many frustrating buying and selling purchases. May your hernias ever increase and cash in hand remain king!

I'd love to believe that this works, but my experience with lawyers and the law in general suggests that even with a signed contract in place, you're wasting your time. Besides, it's killing a mosquito with a handgun. Texts on whatsapp are not hearsay, they are considered documents. Good for you! Do these recalcitrant buyers have 40 plus 5 star reviews on their profiles?

Any seller is very free to operate on a first come first serve basis. I have no problem with that. The problem comes when a "dibs" / holding arrangement is made and agreed to, and then he decides to change to first come first served. Capeesh?

Doesn't need to be regulated? Weird, it seems most people don't want child porn, drugs, or stolen goods listed, so clearly some regulation is necessary and good. This weird obsession with the idea that a marketplace is best without any regulation is so juvenile I truly can't understand it. The question is about the details of the rules, and the kind of community (or rather, marketplace) they create. I'm not losing any sleep about it. I've processed it and created a series of clear suggestions to make this place we all use better. It's up to the admins what they do with those, but it remains worthwhile engaging with it.

I'm a strong believer in expressing and acting on anger, rather than suppressing it. Taking shots at poorly conceived arguments is just a side hobby for me - that's fun.

Not surprised that a quagga doesn't have the imagination to think of a better system. Rules are man made and we can change them.

Nothing wrong with this in principle, but have a look through the classified comments thread for an idea of what kind of **** happens. I don't want to be stuck up **** creek with no recourse if I go look at the bike and it has hidden damage, and the seller no decides not to return a deposit. I've rocked up to a bike before that was very strategically photographed to hide all the damage.

Totally with you, I think you hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, I'm in the market for a bike, and this is a place to buy them - I'm not engaging just because I like riling myself up, but because I want to buy and ride something. Re: your last sentence, someone once said "don't turn my leisure activity into a business activity" and that's how it oftentimes feels.

Anybody getting a 1 star review should immediately raise some kind of process. That should be an immediate warning sign. There is unfortunately at the moment no way to get the attention of an admin, so there is no way to flag repeat offenders.

????

Have a look through a few reseller profiles and see the 1 star reviews and what they claim I understand your position on this and appreciate the engagement. Completely agree that a minimum post count or similar would not work on bikehub (AVForum takes quite a bit of work to actually get active on). I would still recommend some form of reporting or conflict resolution (warning system with one or two strikes, or temporary ban on the account / temporary stay on being able to access the website). This requires a more clear set of rules - for example, what happens if someone offers a higher number to a seller when a deal has been agreed on? Clarity of rules should really help this, and knowing that there is some recourse if you've been shafted. Secondly, it would be my recommendation that resellers are charged more for listing, and are kept to a stricter standard in terms of after-sales service. The fee goes towards helping run the conflict resolution system. I regularly see resellers charging three times what they paid for a bike. They can afford it. Remember, most of the people buying from resellers are first time buyers. They often don't know what to look for, and I have seen them taken for a ride first hand. The old hands would generally not go for those bikes anyway. In addition, like on carbonite, resellers often offer some kind of after-sales service or short warranty. In this way, there is an extra benefit to buying from a reseller, and they start running something more like a legitimate business rather than the scalping of prices that most of them currently do. If I'm getting some peace of mind, then perhaps the extra price is worth it. This is something Bikemarket does well, for example. In short, you guys as the team need to decide what kind of environment you want this website to have. If it's just a marketplace, you will eventually lose out to the Mad Max world that is Facebook Marketplace. At the moment, buying a bicycle feels like a cutthroat and treacherous experience. It doesn't need to be. It's all down to the exact details of the rules and how they are applied. It's not a given of a market system that it has to operate like it currently does. When I see something I want on carbonite, I check the reseller or sellers rating, and if it's good, I buy it sight unseen, without a worry, and I have never had a single issue.