NC_lurker

Thanks, I'll contact them. I questioned the leg grippers when I tried the bibs on at the shop in Greenpoint prior to purchasing and my concerns were dismissed. The bibs fit really well so I'd like them to last! I'm 185cm, 80kg and took a L in the Pro Speeda

Perhaps things have changed in the last 8yrs with regards to the size of the body fitting into the jacket 😉

I've done about 700km in my Monton bibs so far (Pro Speeda model), including 2 rides of 100km+ and so far they're going well. I purposely bought the model with a thin chamois, I don't enjoy the adult nappy feel of an overly thick pad! However the leg grippers continue to concern me by their total lack of effectiveness. The lower part of the shorts definitely pull up a bit while riding. If the lycra loses some of it's stretch over time then this is definitely going to cause issues. Would I spend over R2500 on another pair at this point, very unlikely.

Maybe try contact this guy, the ad was up for ages probably because of the XL size. If the bike is still available it's a great deal... https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/gravel-bikes/791295/vitus-energy-gravel-bike

Buy the green Titan switch being sold by @ianblack For what is going to be 95% of the time an indoor bike, it's not worth spending over R20k. The stock cable discs on that Switch have been replaced with hydro cable activated discs, they're not as good as full on hydraulic brakes, but they're way better than basic cable mechanical discs.

Awesome, thanks 👍

Thanks for this. Please can you add 5D.

If anyone in CT southern suburbs/south is looking for a cardboard bike box, I've got a used one that is available. Otherwise it'll be heading to the recycling next week. Update: gone to a good home.

Hold on a moment...there seems to be a weird correlation here but I'm struggling to figure out what it could be 😉

Just to add, smallest big ring would be 52T On a previous bike, with a similar old 10sp setup, I swapped to a 11sp 105 compact (50/34). Running 11sp cranks on a 10sp worked, but shifting wasn't ideal. So try to stick with 10sp compact (Tiagra, Claris, GRX-400)

This brings to mind international visa questions.. How does a privateer athlete on a SA passport get a Schengen visa for a long enough duration to cover a season of racing. Not sure if Luke travels on a SA passport? @J Wakefield how does it work for athletes contracted to a team? Assuming the team is registered in Europe does that enable the athlete to be eligible for a sponsored work visa? I'm assuming it's additional complexity that might see a team select a European citizen over a non-european..

Thanks for all the responses. I went to the CT store on Sat, tried on a few styles, then got upsold by the sales guy. Spent a little more than intended on a pair but was promised it was a great buy.. Did a 3hr ride on Sunday and they were great 👍 Fit is a little different to what I'm used to. The fabric of the pair I bought (Pro Speeda) has a very different feel, weirdly quite stiff. The leg grippers don't seem to operate very well on hairy legs but the shorts still didn't ride up so I guess it's working as planned. Potentially better than my Vye bibs leg grippers which snag on every hair, starting at my feet, when trying to get them on 😆

If you don't interact with a seller via a message on the platform then you can't rate them afterwards. But I agreed 100% that the interaction should be cordial including signing off with your actual name.

Cool, sounds good. As you're aware, I'm too lazy to ride for more than 4hrs nowadays so I should be ok.

Yup, plan was to head into the store to try before I buy. I'm happier with a thinner pad so thanks for the heads up on variety 👍