Famous Amos

Found a guide I made back in 2020 for the Stratos AL. Stratos AL used the same bolts, bushings and washers with the only difference being that tit doesnt use top hat bushings on the seat stays but uses another washer IGUS bushing install.pdf

Likely considerably cheaper as well. Igus bushings can get stupidly expensive when buying small quantities. R92ea when buying less than 10pcs Heres the bushings used on Sido: https://www.igus.co.za/product?artNr=WFM-1012-06

Always happy to help

Glad to offer some guidance here. The kit should come with 6 of those top hat bushings. You need 4 for the linkage and 2 for the seat stays. The metal washers act as spacers between the linkage and the shock. Only some bikes required this to prevent side to side slop. Silverback includes it in the kit to cater for all bikes. The large diameter thrust washers go between the top of the linkage and the frame indicated by number 26 in this image. I see Silverbacks numbering does not line up with the diagram. I'll be sure to let them know. There are 3 bolt types that came with that frame. M4 bolts - don't tighten this more than 2nm M5 bolts - safe up to 6nm M8 bolts - This is the latest variant and can be torqued considerably, but 8nm is sufficient. On the main pivot, considering you're replacing it, the threads tend to seize up over time, causing the tear drop to spin when loosening and crunching into the frame. A Parktool BBT-22 fits quite nicely in the tear drop side of the main pivot (hammered in) and will prevent it from spinning. Bit of a hack but it works. Lastly, Igus bushings are self lubricating. Adding grease will only attract dirt and accelerate wear on, so try keep grease off of them. Hope the above helps

For a moment I thought that was a premium adjustment notification

Check out the Marvel line up from Cycle Lab, they also just got some new colours in, I dont think its on their site yet. They also have a program where you get 2 free services and can trade the bike in and get the next size up when its time to upgrade. The bikes are also spec'd quite well. 1 x 7 Tourney if I'm not mistaken and hydraulic brakes, also nice 2.6" tyres. We're going to put our niece on one of their 20" bikes soon, she's had the 16". https://www.cyclelab.com/marvel-kids-club

Having never ridden a 3spd, I cant really comment. @ChrisF perhaps you can comment in your experience?

Sprocket is a sub brand of Titan. Good bike and backed by the awesome Titan team. Only thing I have against it is Im not a fan of internal gearing components as these can be expensive to maintain, if I recall correctly, I stand to be corrected.

So on Scott, the bulk of the money you're paying is going to that name on the downtube and that the frame is a lightweight design. Other brands that are good options are Silverback, Marvel, Titan, Zini and Avalanche, at least those I have experience with. Silverback and Marvel are backed by Cycle Lab as they're the importers. Zini is an in house brand of Omnico and locally backed, and Avalanche is also local through Dragons. On all of these 'cheapie' brands, you cant really go wrong Personally, I prefer Marvel due to spec and price point, the frame is however heavier. Silverback and Titan are slightly lower spec in terms of brakes, but the frames are flippen cool. Check the new Titan Players that recently hit South Africa. Silverback has also started to push a planet earth pledge where they are going eco-friendly which I know is a deciding factor for many people. Zini's new bikes also look nice and premium, with the bikes being designed with kids in mind. Check the 16" that has different colour brake levers purely to help teach the little ones what brakes to pull.

Cant go wrong with Scott, really solid bike and solid brand. Scott does carry a premium for its name which is why its more expensive than most kiddies bikes currently available. If I'm not mistaken, their kiddies frames are also more geared towards being lightweight which lends to the higher price

On the kids range, have a look at the Marvel offering from Cycle Lab. They come with a Shimano drivetrain with trigger shift, and hydraulic brakes, plus they have a buy back program when your kids grow up, offering a large discount on a bigger bike plus free services. https://www.cyclelab.com/marvel-kids-club Silverback is also a really good option, most of their bikes are now coming out with Shimano drivetrains while most other brands are sticking with Microshift.

I've only seen 1 cracked Stride frame, and I handled their warranties, local and internationally, for a few years. Anything above 120mm travel will void the frames warranty. The frame was designed for ideally 100mm travel, but can take up to 120mm.

It unfortunately happens fairly often in the customer service industry, whether a restaurant, clothing store or any retail outlet for that matter. I've personally been on the receiving end of screaming, belittling, and sometimes even threats. A rule thats good to apply when you're about to lose it is "would I want to be treated like this?" or "would I want my son or my daughter to be treated like this?".

On the insurance topic, as many have said, a good broker is a game changer. My bike, cycling computer, etc, is all through my house insurance under all risk with Renasa. I have never had a single issue claiming from them from my carrier that got damaged when a taxi rear ended me, to my Elemnt Roam that failed outside warranty, they covered in full each time (less the excess, which was very little). I've dealt numerous times with bike specific brokers, insurers and assessors, and it scares me how these people lie to their customers and get away with it. More recently, a well known assessor and repairer told a customer that they are an authorized repairer for the brand (they were not) and that the repair (a complete cracked through chain and seat stay) will have no impact on their life time warranty of the frame. This failure is typically an entire write off of the frame. Further to the above, the chaps rear wheel took a hard knock in the accident, which caused some noticeable delamination of the carbon layers. You could pop the carbon in and out. The repairer said this is perfectly safe to continue riding on, and redid the decals. A couple weeks later, the chaps Di2 shifters started to fail because said repairer quoted to replace, but never did, instead did some MacGyvering to repair the chaps shifters.

10/10 would recommend the Orbea. I ride an Orca and its amazing. After-sales is also great from Orbea. Their warranty is also world wide and not region locked like some other brands, you would just need to go to an Orbea retailer.

As a licensed firearm holder, having encountered several moments where I was all most knocked off intentionally, grabbed, forced off the road by a taxi driver, etc. Carrying a firearm is a big no for me. First of all, printing, no way to conceal a firearm effectively UNLESS you are commuting and can put it in your backpack. Even then, this is a massive risk. If you get knocked over and unconscious, we live in a society where nobody will stop and help while your possessions get ransacked, therefore, you will lose your firearm. Secondly, should you decide to use a firearm designed holster for cyclists, thats just a massive ad and screams "LOOK, I GOT A GUN", which paints a moerse target on you for would be opportunists. Granted, carrying like this is legal, however extremely stupid. On a bike, you're an easy target, 1 swerve from a car and its game over. I want to lower my chances as much as possible of getting hit. If safety is a concern, change routes and insure your gear. Most thieves just want the bike, computer and cellphone. If they get caught, its a light slap on the wrist and they'll be free due to how congested the courts are. They dont want to murder you, thats a long jail sentence and they dont want that.

If you haven't already done so, I recommend reporting it to the team at Cycle Lab. They take these complaints very seriously and don't just shrug it off.

Cycle Lab are the Fizik agents.

Being fairly experienced in cycling warranties, having managed a brands warranties for a number of years, and even having written some policies myself, I can not stress the importance enough of reading and understanding warranty policies BEFORE buying a product. There are many brands out there, if not most, that pretty much have a no questions asked warranty policy, their goal is to keep the customer happy and riding their brand. I can only assume that Scott has enforced this blanket policy due to past experience, likely from seized bearings. On that, this is an important record to keep, even a proof of purchase for some bearings, just to prove that they're services / replaced regularly. Most brands will also allow you to service the bike by where ever you want, some big brands even provide their service manuals to the public. Take Orbea and their blue papers as an example, which even offer tips and tricks on certain assemblies. Nevertheless. Step 1: Read and understand the policy. Understand what your limitations are within the policy. Step 2: Buy bike if you're comfortable with the policy. On the lifetime thing, most brands policy is lifetime of the company and/or user. I have dealt with a brand who reopened a mold on a 15 year old carbon TT frame as the bike was sold with a lifetime warranty. Customer got a fresh replacement out of Europe 1 month after logging the claim.

A criminal investigation first, then the punishment.

Sure, but should this not be tied to a criminal investigation? Putting something out in the open like this without having substantial evidence can open CSA up to being sued, quite heavily in fact. However, should they react by giving a ban in reaction to a criminal proceeding that found him guilty is a completely different story. This is a private entity with 0 criminal investigation experience who have just created a ton of **** for someone and if they can not substantiate their claims, they are in deep ****. I would trust an actual criminal investigation over that of a private entity. In saying this, I do not condone any form of abuse what so ever. Should what has been said about him be true, he should suffer the consequences. I do however think a criminal investigation should've been run.

So a way around it that most EU assemblers follow is to have the frames painted in the EU. This finishing of the frame acts as a loop hole which allows them to consider the frame as made in EU. They are however limited on the amount of alloy frames they can import into the EU due to antidumping policies. I know several brands who do this, having also worked for one of them. Bikes are expensive because many just pay the 15% duty to avoid the **** show that recently happened with SARS against several brands/distributors with the millions of Rands in fines dished out, I've seen and read several of these orders. Ridiculous shipping prices, Transnet delays, a weak Rand, and increasing shipping prices to the EU from Asia have pushed prices up horribly. I'm sure all bike shops will agree that the margins are insanely low, even for the big players, as everyone has been trying to absorb these increasing prices and minimise impact on the customer, hence why there are bikeshops closing weekly, it's just not profitable / worthwhile.

However, EU regulation changed some years ago to allow product that is mostly assembled in the EU to be noted as "Made" in EU, this has then allowed manufacturers to issue EUR1 certificates. What most EU brands do, especially on higher end product, is import parts and assemble in Europe. These are then considered as "Made in EU" to which they are eligible to issue the certificate.

Correct to an extent. Fully assembled bikes out of the EU carry no duty if you supply the previously mentioned documentation. That tariff heading I showed there is for complete bikes Out of Asia, they do not, as Asia fall under "General". Bike parts on the other hand carry no duties, which is why most brands that come from the far east ship their bikes as parts. Fees are FOB times exchange rate at time of arrival in SA + 15% VAT + what ever clearance fee that has been quoted / negotiated with your courier / forwarder.

Contrary to popular belief, there is in fact NO DUTY out of the EU, IF..... the supplier notes their EUR1 details on the invoice and supplies a copy of the EUR1 certificate. This is just to certify that the bike is made / assembled in the EU.