rudi-h

only back in 2014... good luck and enjoy the experience!

and so does smoking, drinking, being fat, having a stressful job etc. that are not against the law. every single one of us do things on a daily basis that we shouldn't be doing. it's just that some things that are okay for you, aren't for others, hence this debate in the first place. i for one think its a lot more costly to the medical aid, environment, society, health and safety in general. to smoke in a building than it is to ride all by yourself in the open without a helmet, yet we don't post pictures and name and shame every **** lighting a cigarette? it would be great if everybody were saints, but damn do we need to point fingers at every bloke who does something stupid? but just to be clear. I am all for obeying the rules of the place where you go have your fun, so wear a helmet at groenkloof dammit!

i agree that riding there is subject to wearing a helmet by the rules of the reserve. however all the guys suggesting that he's gonna fall and spill his grey matter all over the trail... that's a bit OTT there's riding and there's riding. if you take a rustige chill ride with the girlfriend, missing all the technical bits, its probably a LOT safer to ride without a helmet than trying to do jumps and crazy fast downhills with one... I think the cycling community should be more concerned about guys littering their gu sachets in the reserves. chances of them closing it down due to litter is greater than some oke with a concussion.

1) Yes, you can compete in all triathlon events except for IM and 70.3 with a MTB as far as I know 2) Sprint triathlons are few and far between. After the BSG series, its only Joburg city tri's, Buffelspoort Xterra, BSG ultra that I know of have sprint distance options on the calendar for the second half of the season. 3) No, don't register unless you are serious about provincial champs 4) Just show up and don't get too stressed with all the people in the water. It's okay to get kicked or to get an arm in the face, just relax and swim your own pace! Enjoy, its one hell of a sport, and be sure NOT to miss Xterra, seeing that you have a MTB. Its a seriously awesome event.

i'd check the running times for the age group winners on IM or 70.3. That should give you a good idea what to aim for

i think it's good in the sense that hopefully Wiggo will lose his attitude when the likes of Contador, El Purrito, Hesjedal, Froome etc. crack him in the mountains. Last year the route suited him too much and he didn't have the toughest competition. This year will be a completely different story

So i just vomited in my throat when I got the quote... R3400 odd for the fork of which 2/3rd are for a new "fork crown assembly". Is there perhaps a Fox part store where one can buy these components?

Allways take your bike!!! Buy a solid lifting chain at your hardware store and a moer big lock so that you can put it through all the wheels, frame etc.

Agreed, I won't mind at all if Hesjedal, Froom, Nibali, Contador, El Purito or even Andy rips him apart on the steep slopes in 2013. Also hope Cancellara can get back in form to p!ss on Wiggo in the timetrails. A lot of good riders did not come to their rights in 2012, hope we see the big guns back in action next year!

what happened to Attakwas?

Normal "professional" jobs are the same. If CA's, Lawyers/Attorneys, Pr.Engineers etc. are found guilty of misconduct then you get stripped of you professional title by the applicable governing body that your profession subscribes to. It does not mean that you can never ever be employed again, but your "professional career" is over. Nothing stops DG to do any other normal dayjob.

Technically you might be right, but if you cheat your way to prize money etc... How can that not be criminal? That is stealing money from somebody else who didn't dope, don't see how its not a crime. It's IMO exactly the same as a businessman giving a bribe to get a contract. Do something illegal for your own benefit, not?

Don't get the point. Yes he's confessed and he's got to live with the sentence, so what consequences are we overlooking? The point is that most of us are sick and tired of cheats / dopers / criminals on the top steps of the podiums and we want to see cycling being a clean and fair sport. The 2 year maximum sentence has been going on for more than a decade and clearly isn't enough of a demotivator for dopers. Hence the call for greater sentences, I don't see anything wrong with that.

voted maxxis crossmark UST for all three... I know its a shyte tire for mud and i guess its not the lightest of the fastest; neither does it have the most grip nor least rolling resistance. So you might ask then WTF do I vote for it? Simple reason. Been running these tyres for 6 years with 0 flats and since 2012 I haven't even been running tubeless anymore. I'd much rather be 5 min slower on a ride/race and have fun as opposed to sitting in the mud with tyre levers changing tubes!

I don't like him. Cannot give a reason but I just don't dig the bloke. I really don't care too much about the UCI president, cause I think their role is administrative of nature. I think the riders and team bosses are the ones that matter. I think one spectacular win of a clean rider (like I hope Cancellara) does 50 times more to the image and public interest of cycling than the president of the UCI can do in a 4 year career.

Hi Johan Sounds great and I would love to join. I might be tied up at work depending on how things go this week, but I'll check to see where and when's and let you know as soon as you post the details.

Thanks for the feedback. I hoped there might be some baseline figures on the lifespan of shocks/forks, but it seems that it doesn't work that way. I should get the quote later today or tomorrow, so might ask for more advice once I see the pricetag.

i get that. all i'm asking is whether a shock with that type of service life (5 years / 10000km) is worth "fixing", or should I rather replace?

I like the Rohloff. Shifting is immediate and perfect every time and you can skip any amount of gears in a fraction of a second without moving the cranks. Maintenance is virtually non-existent so from that point of view its a sure winner. The downside is being heavy and as a result of the seals etc. it has a bit more running friction than any normal setup. If you are a serious racing snake then its definitely not the answer, but for somebody I'm a happy customer. You might want to try it out, so give me a buzz if you want to take my bike for a spin somewhere over the holidays, I'm next to emmarentia and delta park. You can get it from Bruce Reyneke in Pretoria if you want to find out pricing etc.

Firstly, there are vast differences between car maintenance and bike maintenance: People use cars to make a living. If your car breaks, then your life stops for a few days and businesses with fleets of vehicles lose craploads of money. Therefore the car maintenance issue is very clearly defined, understood and regulated. Bikes on the other hand are stuff that people (often with too much money) keep for their pleasure and nothing happens to your life if your bike breaks down for a few days. The bike shop owners suggest the service intervals that are often excessive, because the shops make money from people like you and me that service shocks every 6 months as opposed to maybe 9, 12 or even 24 months. So the analogy is this: If i drive a car with 300000km on the clock and the engine starts to use oil, I won't bother to try and fix it, cause its a lost case and we all know that. If the gearbox would leak oil at the seal on the same car, I can replace the seal and it will very likely go another 300000km without issues. Hope this explains what I'm trying to get to

i know i gotta do something... Just asking if they'll be as good as new after a proper service or if shocks/forks have a limited life?

had a seal replaced on the "air side" of my fork i think two years ago, but generally I'm not big on maintenance. I run a Rohloff hub so that I don't have to replace chains, casettes, cables etc. so my bike has been going like it is now since mid 2010 without any service / maintenance. I only wash and lube it every now and then.

I was riding behind some oke with a short cycle pant on the 94.7. As a result I cycled so fast in the mid-section to spare myself the view that I blew after the N14. They don't sell it because a guy in a short tight pant is f@#$%# horrible sight, thats why.

For the last while my rear shock loses pressure and my fork leaks oil on the rebound side. I took it in for a shock service yesterday and indications are it wont come cheap. The stantions are still looking good, so I hope its only seals etc. Are shocks and suspension forks "like new" after a proper service or do these things have a limited life? I guess the real question: Is it worthwhile to spend R2k on servicing these items? The bike was bought in early 2008 and has a Fox R2 (I think) shock and a Fox F100R suspension fork. Done approx 10000km I would guess

Thanks for the insight! I've been told by numerous bike shops that the pro's using top end chains use them (on MTB) around 500-800 km's... But I guess that's because they are sponsored and not necessarily a good reflection of the chain itself.