Headshot

I have always liked the elegant engineering that is Thule and bought a nearly new 3 bike tow bar mount rack from Load and Go a year or so back. The std variety with two arms and three sets of rubber mounts for your bikes top tubes. Mine is one of the older ones with the lock mount. Moved my tow bar up on the mounting to ensure the lever does not impact the ground. The lock failed not so long ago and the cost for a new one - over R200 if memory serves. Thats a third of what I paid for the entire rack and a complete rip off. Apparently it happens quite often. Fail. I do not believe these racks are up to SA conditions and dirt road driving in particular. The movable arm mounts have worn resulting in the bikes hanging off the back at an angle. I assume this is because the plastic has worn from vibration and the weight of the bikes. Last weekend, we almost lost a bike off the back of the rack. One of the rubber mounts decided to slide backwards and managed to pop the plastic cap off the end of the tube. The front one stayed put so it was only the back wheel that enddd up bouncing off the tar. One trashed Maxxis X mark but luckily no other damage because heard the noise in time.. We had to stope several times to resecure the bike as even with cable ties around the rubber rack mounts they still slipped backwards. Now some of this may well have been due to bad bike packing, however, I used the same method I always have without problems. Bottom line I dont think these racks are durable or strong enough for local conditions. Perhaps in Sweden the dirt roads are manicured and the speed limit under 100km/h but over here we need something a bit more durable. Now I wonder if my rack will handle the 80km of dirt I am driving tomorrow... Amyone else had problems like this - suggestions for an alternative?

lagosloonie - ignore the undeucated comments of some commentators. I think its a simple case of LS passing the buck. Fight back - take it to MTBR forums and post a thread there. There are probably a stack of victims of the poor design in the US - come to think of it why not google it. I weigh 85kg and hammer my ali raleigh RDS into rocks and drops and have done so for 5 years - sure it aint Ti, but you pay top dollar for light and strong, not just light, so yours should ahve been up to it too. I would be seeing red with these guys - they deserve some negative publicity in the states too. Plonkers.

Had one come apart on me in a mtb race - slow speed bumpy corner - lost some of the bits and had to remove a few links and rejoin the chain using the old method. Always carry a chain tool - they are light and save you a walk in such situations...

The RAF only compensates where a car is involved - at least thats how it used to be. This is not a public road and no car involved. The ditch looks like soil erosion. If it's Gauteng - then you should have been exepcting it. You didnt have to brake - just bunnyhop over it or at least raise your front wheel. You were on a MTB riding off road. If it was a commuter cycle track and maintained by the city then you may have a claim against them because they failed to maintain the path. It would be a bit like the missing man hole cover on the pavement situation. all in I think you have little or no prospect of claiming anything from anybody.

Agree - lack of goody bag was a disappointment - things have changed. Must say tho I never expected bargains at the Road Argus Expo but enjoyed the show and new produts on display. best deals are to be had from the LBS, last years models and such like and those never make it to the expo.

no tv coverage on SABC

The terrain and flora are different from place to place. In the E cape and further north thorn trees are a problem - nothing stops those big white babies. Kzn has a few of them too but overall, its smooth almost rock free riding compared to CT. You couild ride the Sani on any tyres you liked. Those who have survived the Epic on RK's have done well. If you are a heavier rider and like to push the d/h stuff at speed they will be found wanting eventually. If you are more careful and protect them a bit they are great tyres from a grip and rolling resistance point of view. If you do flat and have to pump one on the trail even on a UST rim, they do not inflate that easily. On a long stage race you want reliability and ease of maintennace if things do go wrong - that means a heavier tighter fitting UST tyre IMO.

If you want tough tyres that will survive the Cape terain and especially if you tend to ride hard through rock gardens, do not use the Race Kings or similar weight UST tyres. They are (or were - a new version out yet?) only marginally tougher than a std tyre. Maxxis USTs are far tougher (and heavier)and refit more easily if you do manage to lose air. The RK's and such like are so floppy they are hard to pump even on a proper UST rim. Try and avoid using a stans or other converted set up. You'll struggle to reinflate after a flat and the co2 bomb trick dries up the sealant so you'll have more work back at the finish. Can't stress enough how much better proper UST rims are than converted tubeless systems.

B - RK's work well front and back especially in dry conditions. I found them to wear well - the knobs go down and retain their sharp edges, unlike much of the other rubbish out there. They are not that strong or didnt used to be and are nowehere near as tough as Maxxis UST's but are lighter. I managed to pinch flat and hole the tread 2 RK's.

Smack into the side of Hyundai and flying through the air doing a full 360 in the process

what bike is it on - the suspension design makes adifference too?

Metal pads dont cause vibration in my experience but can get nosiy when hot - ie after a long descent. if yours make a noise from the word go (and its the back and less used brake)its gotta eb something else - Sorry wrote this before reading your fix, which I am happy bears out my comments

Theres a place for a hardtail - in a museum! Seriously, theres a time and place for both but if your thing is having fun on a bike then go dual. More forgiving in the ultra rough stuff and less punsihing on the body. I'll never go back... Enjoy the Spark. Wish my dual weighed that little...

By Mike - or whatever your real name is. See you at the next fun ride, not!

If you want strength ignore the conti's unless they've strengthened them this year. Great tyres but a far cry in sidewall strenth to Maxxis tubeless. Im running a Xmark 2.2 at the back and a Maxxis Ignitor 2.35 on the front. So far so good but a heavier set up than the Conti's.

Okay, so you have no clue as to whether he was cormering well or badly. The poor cornering comment was just some exaggeration from your side to add to the general hysteria about the plonker?

So now you are the expert on car cornering - thought you'd never speed or drive dangerously? Pray tell how he should have handled those twisties?

Okay, will listen again. Not at all - in fact the average speed on Rhodes is either 60 or less and its often packed with cars so I'd suggest somehwere else. Its also too narrow and has no run off areas and deep rain gutters at the side which make both driving and riding a bike hazardous. I ride my mtb on the gravel at the side - may have been hit by trucks by now if i hadn't. By all means go to a track or do an advanced driving course to learn what you and your car can do. As I said less hysteria about one oke - he isnt the devil, just one of many we face.

Mike and Woofie...

One hand on the wheel the other holding the Kodak? - what a moment...

Mike, I'm not arguing with the illegality of this twits actions. Thing is we take our lives in our hands every time we drive or ride. The vast majority of accidents are not caused by blokes like this but by slack non concentrating people who belive a car is solely a conveyance and havent the first idea about how to drive or the laws of physics that govern the process. Rhodes drive has the odd jogger but its no pedestrian thoroughfare. I couldnt hear tyre noise in the corners so chances are he wasnt anyhwere near track speed on the bends. 180 on a near deserted straight with a perfect tar surface - crazy illegal speed but not nearly as dangerous as you claim - its also an uphill. Worn tyres - you make much of that and seem to read in that he was driving treadless tyres with steel showing. I wonder. My 2c - less hysteria and indignation at one tjop and more realism required.

Lets assume this guy is a car fanatic road racer type. Judging by what I have seen it looks as if he does spend time on the track and for all we know hemay even be a good driver. I drive Rhodes Drive and ride on parts of it quite regularly. I've never seen him blasting around there, so your supposed reason 'to warn cyclists" is probably a waste of time. Whats far more dangerous on that raod are the ever so slow moving wide busses and trucks and taxis drivers who are half asleep and who just don't give a ****. In my experience, as a driver, the faster I go the harder I concentrate, so I argue that this fool is probably the last person you need to worry about hitting someone...The person who knocked me off my bike was an innexperienced student. The bloke who almost T boned me just below Rhodes drive when out in my car was driving a bakkie and just didnt look. A maniac and illegal yes, but the person you need to warn everyone about - not even close.

Removed one of these from my girlfriends Schwinn and put on my old F100. She is very grateful - the bike weighs nearly 1 kg less and the fork - altho 5 years old and abit worn is 1000% better. Those things are real boat anchors and stiction is huge. The problem is they have no lube system like fox and RS forks but are built to look like them ie no dust boots. If they had those, they'd stay stiction free for longer but in my experience, even if you use some fork oil on the seals, stiction builds up fast. Greasing the insides will prolly help - but the weight - its huge! Anyone want the old Suntour fork by the way - minimal use, a few scratches and lots of stiction. Offers?

Check hanger - this is typical bent hanger stuff. Replace cable - do the one piece outer conversion - its easy and you never have to worry about poor shifing due to gungy cables again.. Outside chance - rear wheel not aligned properly in dropouts - that puts the casette at the wrong ange to chain. It does happen - had to sort my g/f's shifting and no adjustment would work until I reset the wheel.