rudi-h

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.

Just a general comment: Most bike shops advise you to get a new chain & cassette way earlier than it is really required, cause they make profit from it. I ride a chain / cassette until a) the chain breaks or b ) the gears start to jump. I have had my roadbike with Tiagra components since 2006. Have done very many 1000's of km's on it and not even thinking about replacing the chain yet. I think it must have at least 8000+km on the clock Then if you have to do replace it: Expensive chains are lighter, thus they have less steel in them = not as durable. As many have said, cheap chains work a dream and are just as good. Regarding the lubes, you can search for chain lube and there will be many threads with tonnes of info. I'm a wetlube guy though (slippery is allways better!)

20 mins on "slightly more than comfortable" pace - say 12km/h (that is the base speed) First interval: 3 mins on base speed +0.5km/hr, followed by 2 mins on base speed -0.5km/hr Second interval: 3 mins on base +1km/hr, followed by 2 mins on base -0.5km/hr Third interval 3 mins on base +1.5km/hr, followed by 2 mins on base -0.5km/hr etc.. (until you had enough or can no longer continue) So your third interval will be 3 mins on 13.5km/hr with a 2 min recovery on 10.5km/hr. If this is too easy, you can add +1km/hr every time, or increase your base speed, or just carry on for longer.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t3#/video/world/2012/11/27/pleitgen-green-cardboard-bike.cnn

Whatever you do, don't make an irreversible change... I think you might one day want a FS again and secondly you will never ever be able to sell the bike.

i think its possible. argus has like 5 significant climbs and the rest is super fast in the bunch. If you regularly train multiple 2km hill repeats, you will be able to stay with the fast guys on the hills and you wont lose them on the downhills and flats. However I think it is a tall order if you're not at least seeded in E I did a 3:07 argus in 2010 coming off a 3:01 94.7, starting in F, and my training wasn't too special. Good luck!

doping is similar to cheating on your girlfriend / wife. In essence it is selfish, unfair and just downright f*#-up, but still many people that you know do it and will keep on doing it. not long ago i've heard of a guy that went so far he even injected his racing pigeons with pigeon steroids in order to win a competition. I mean seriously!!!