Red Zone

Well done Roan. Marco, that was the cycling Gods telling you to ride to the forest.

Are doing the Durban trirock? if so speak to your doctor, you dont know what training at high intensity might do, if you are training for a later triathlon then take a week off

Take up running if you can't afford Triathlon

Correct, they decided not to sponsor the series any more, sad for Tri, came around the same time as Specsavers dropping Ironman. Big, big pity as the Energade / BSG series was the starting point for many triathletes

I have never taken vitamins regularly, this year I have decided to try, that being said the only vitamins I hit is 1000 mg of vitamin C daily and I eat either Futalife or Biogen which has has a good load of multivitamins as well, so I get pretty well topped up. I cant say for sure, but I certainly feel that I have had less colds and flu this year. Re the OP's statement that the fitter you get the more prone to illness is not quite right. being fit will boost your immune system and you will get over illness quicker. But when you get run down from hard training you are more vulnerable. You are also more vulnerable to illness directly after a long hard session

Probably correct, but there is a big difference between say a Cannondale and a Giant frame in terms of size and fit. There is only one way to find out, test ride

There is a whole lot of anger over there. Not enough hugs when they were kids probably.

I dont think that you are going to feel a major difference going from scott or tekto brake calipers to 105, better pads will probably give you an improvement. Best thing you can probably do is replace the cables and outers, make sure the brakes are well adjusted and put new pads on.

get a massage and do some stretching

My wife has banned me from riding up the Nek from Hout Bay any time later than 8am, after that its just not safe, particularly with the trucks and taxi's driving like idiots. She is right, that road is just not safe. My recomendation is to head up to newlands avenue, through wynberg and onto Spaanschemat River Road, then over Ok Kaapse or down to Main Road along to Simonstown, around the point (and as per Lucky Luke in the reserve) then head back over Ou Kaapse, Spaanschemat and Wynberg. Otherwise head north go around the City via the IRT route in Saltriver, cruse the Atlantic Seaboard, over Chappies, then head back over Ou Kaapse or you can find lots of nice climbing routes from 20 km to 60 km in the South Pen. Worse roads in my opinion, Constantia Nek from HB side, Main Road Fishhoek, Kommetjie Road near Massie and Main Road St James and Muizenberg. Ovoid these in busy times if possible

Is it much worse than edge designs or black spade or other such companies branding Chinese blanks and selling them as brand bikes? Not everyone knows the origin of these frames.

I have bought quite a bit of stuff on the hub, but never a full bike. I have a few rules. Never trust second hand carbon, it can be patched and repainted, but you never know if the rest of the frame or part has been compromised. Only deal face to face, that means only CT sellers interest me Walk away as soon as the seller starts to move the goal posts. If in doubt take someone more knowledgeable to check out the goods.

Illegal, I am telling the UCI

I came to a staggering conclusion last weekend when I got my fifth bike. With sharing the load between bikes and avoiding the mud on my mtb, my bikes just go on and on without wearing out. That being said, I think you ask an impossible question, I seem to get amazing life out of my components, some guys are just heavier on their equipment or dont look after their bikes and seem to always be replacing. There is also a lot to be said for spec'ing good quality but not super light stuff.

But that stuff is see through, that means the UCI will be able to see Cancellara's Gruber assist

I see the main advantage on full carbon rims as there will be less brake induced (heat) failure. Second benefit is better performance in the wet. I don't really see any other tangible benefit. You all know how you need to hang your weight back when slamming on your rim brakes to stop your back end sliding out and doing an endo, disks are not going to change this so there is not point from a stopping point of view. Disks may be less aero than rim brakes, weigh more, more finicky, probably more weight on the fork and make a road bike look silly, give me rim brakes for sure

Never heard of it what's a Booth Bike?

The difficulty is that the bike could have fallen over and been damaged when services at the LBS, or even just when penned for J2C, a cracked seatpost is not a common bike injury, normally you will see a break at the stress points at the headset or BB

How did he crack the frame, lets start there?

Cycling is a supremely physically demanding sport. When you are required to be trained to peak performance for a few key races each year, getting to that peak on time and staying on that peak when required is an imperfect science. Go a little too hard at the wrong time and fact injury or illness and then your form is gone. With hopefully a cleaner sport, it is more difficult to cope with the demands of training and racing and there will be more guys who just dont have form at the right time.

Should be fine, I am running DA shifters and Ultegra Dérailleurs and brakes and no problems at all.

Its like Tokai on a Saturday morning

Would rather be in the office

I have ridden marathon's, trans baviaans, 24 races etc... on with a Deore deraileur, no problems whatsoever, good precise shifting and easy to adjust. I switched to XT a year ago, when the Deore wore out after about 8 years and don't notice any difference, except the really irritating fact that the XT doesn't have a rear barrel adjuster, so you have to set up your gears at the shifter. XT is much much prettier though.

My old boss had it done, he lost a lot of weight, then some complications set it and he had to reverse the procedure. Ended up putting about double the weight back on, his stomach is now worse than ever, got reflux and all sorts of issues. Did not end well for him. Do you homework, get a specialist opinion, two or three if possible and don't put a whole lot of faith in the Hub Doctors, most of these guys cant grease a BB