Red Zone

28 x 34 would be fine it is the 32 x 34 that I was worried about. 32/44 rings would be groovy, are you running a long cage road FD?

The two ring setup is easy to do, but I need some more teeth on the rear cluster to compensate, and the XT derailleur wont cope with more than 34 teeth

Has anyone ridden the new SRAM XX groupset? It looks awesome with a double chainring setup and basically the same ratios as a normal 3x9 setup. If it wasnt for the price tag I would go this way tomorrow.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrong-ninth-in-the-cape-argus-ride

My time was spot on, always has been. The race starts when the gun goes off for your start group and ends when you cross the finish line. Some people start their stopwatches when they hit the start mats, it can take some time to get there which will throw your time off.

Lance did bring more people onto the route, but I thought that there would have been far more. But standing for hours in the pomping south easter isnt much fun. I think we should thank those that did get out to support.

You are kidding I loved that move, Simeoni asked for it IMO

But he did start it, and my dad is a fighter pilot

You call Lance a prick. Have you got any idea what that man had done for cycling, sport in general, and in particular something which is very close to me, Cancer. You may not approve of his attitude but the man is a hero. He has a very full schedule he simply cannot take 30 seconds for a photo with everyone at these events, get real dude, get a life. Why dont you pop onto the livestrong site and buy something for the 16 year old, that way everyone wins, you, the teenager and the fight against Cancer

Thats the guy Francois Du Toit, I spoke to him some time ago about some frame problems and he was a great help

I would speak to a frame builder, ask around at your lbs, I know that there is someone in Belville, but forget his name

I service my bikes myself, but take my own mechanic (shared with a few mates) to stage races. There is no way that you want to or can do a competent job in repairing or maintaining your whip after a long hard day in the saddle. I have always stayed away from the big service plans offered for these races because at the end of a bike breaking stage the queue is always out the door and you will wait. spares also run out, the grease monkey are buggered and gatvot and have to work in a little tent with bad light. next time go to your LBS and ask your friendly mechanic to take a paid "holiday"

A good range of DIY bits such as cables, housings, brake pads, bearings, and assorted nuts & bolts. A selection of good tools is also important

Where did you get your list Homer? The start groups on the Cycletour website are as follows: A at 6:24, VA at 6:27, VB at 6:31, VM and B at 6:34, then each group at 3 min gaps.

Does anyone agree that the start groups are too close together. The organsers are trying to get everyone on the road sooner, but with the VA group only 3 mins behind the A group, there is a good chance that they will come together. B group also has a good chance of catching VB with such a small gap. Last year there were 5 minute gaps. In 07 we (B group) caught VB before Smits with a 5 min gap, we were stuck behind the toppies for ages.

Boyes is nicely broken into three climbing sections, the first you hit from the Main Road starts gently and gets pretty steep, but you should be fresh and manage it easily. The second is a short sharp hit about 1.5 km later, it is pretty steep but you will hit it fast and can get over in the Big Blade. The last climbing section is the longest section, it starts with a short steep section, then becomes a very manageable gradient, it does have a bit of a false summit, but then it is twisty and predominatly downhill to the end, big blade all the way. I estimate it is 2 mins slower than main road point to point, but could add 5 mins to your time due to added fatigue. (all based on a 3 hr argus / rider)

I can't recomend a specific taper, but if you reduce your training time by 25 % per week, lower your intensity and cut out intervals and hill sessions in the last week you should be fine.

I bought a pair of cable cutters from the LBS for about R180 was a great buy, side cutters were like riding in flip-flops, you can do it but you wouldnt realy want to.

Colonel has already entered

As long as you dont try cranking out big out of the saddle sprints I dont think you put any more stress on the bike than normal riding, remember that the frame doesnt take any of the normal knocks from our well maintained roads.

With a nic like Mclovin, I dont think its about the watts, its about love in the peleton, you sure will get plenty in a one piece, hope you going with one of Cipo's anatomic suits. Ask Holy Roller, I think he rocks one.

Most get caught A and B sample Positive and still denies ever taking drugs... "I thought the sirringe the team doc gave me were vitamins" Thats the basis of this - some admit and tell all. others don't bother. 2 kinds of dopers / cheaters / criminals. Ones who can rehabilitate ' date=' show remorse and confess, others that sit the time denying it and pan their next cheat. One has to cater for both - its only human to be fair [/quote'] And deny the good results to a rider who is clean but can't achieve them because he is beaten by a "remorseful" doper? If you are a doper you are a doper! So once a criminal always `n criminal ? Why do we have prisons then ? (Talking in general not SA only.) Why not just kill young criminals with the first offense, because rehab is a joke and a cover up for corrupt people ? We don't want these people in society so why give them the chance to proof us wrong ? If the same happened to Nelson Mandela then it was tickets for him as well. Dude stoppit, that hole is going to be too big to get out of soon.

Astana, a pro rider is debating whether to dope or not. Now he knows that if he co-operates and sheds a tear or two he is only going down for 18 months. That could make it worth the risk for a underperforming rider knowing that if he doesn't dope he wont be making it into the big league