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jnsmith

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  1. @Titan Racing Bikes - thanks for the prod, I actually did see some Titans on the web, but my challenge has been finding anywhere with stock of something in my size! I took delivery of a (used, bought here on Bikehub, shoutout to @BarnardM) 2021 Talon E+1 in XL, and I'll say this, it's amazing. Unfortunately it caught me at a time that everyone in the house is sick with colds, so apart from a (really) quick ride around the block, I haven't put it through its paces yet. All in all I'm very satisfied. It looks versatile enough that I can use it to get to the office in the week, and hit the trails on the weekends.
  2. I really liked the Darrvins, I tested both a Crest and an Evolve. It's just that the frames only came up to size L and I really need XL. The dynamics were nice (the motor was similar to the Giant, a bit more peppy if anything, though I thought the Giant was a bit smoother). But I can't get over the size being too small for me. Even with tweaks in the seat height and handlebar stem, I could feel I was on a bike that was too small, and it wouldn't be comfortable. The Giant comes in XL, otherwise I probably wouldn't be considering it. Though this is more of a me problem than a problem with the bike as such. If anyone shorter than me is looking for one, I'd definitely point them to Darrvin to try out. Value for money is pretty great.
  3. So I went to try out a Giant Talon E+ at Olympic Cycles yesterday. I've ridden on Bafang converted bikes before so I have an idea of how the motors work. I found the Giant SyncDrive so much better, that I think it's worth the extra money. I know it's not as fast as a BBSHD, but I don't need ultimate speed, I really like the feel of it! I'm busy doing my sums at the moment, I'm at the point of pulling the trigger and going for that one. Not exactly the ideal commuting bike, I guess, but it's a hard-tail so it's pretty versatile on Cape Town roads. I do wish we had better cycling infrastructure.
  4. Oooh, you are making my life harder. That's a decent price, and I like that it's derestricted. My main reservation with this one is the L size, I'm 193cm so I really prefer an XL, especially if I'm going to spend lots of time in the saddle. How tall is your dad? I'm under the impression that direct-drive motors add resistance when you ride without the electric assist on. Is that true in this case or have Specialized worked some magic? (Regen is nice but not a critical feature for me since I don't really have many nice hills to roll down on my commute)
  5. Good point about the Darrvin, I seem to remember coming across them before but I couldn't remember the name so I couldn't search for it! Thanks! They're here in Cape Town so I think I'll give them a buzz. The pricing on most of their bikes is quite comparable to the Giants that I'm looking at (2nd-hand), and indeed the Chilled Squirrel kits. The Darrvin Cross specifically talks about assist up to 45 km/h which is great, IMO, more than enough. All of them are pretty good-looking too.
  6. Thread hijack (sort of). I am currently using a semi-old XC MTB for my commute. I do have shower facilities at work but it's 20-odd km and I'd appreciate a bit of help with pedalling. I've visited Chilled Squirrel, their kits seem OK, but at the current pricing it's only a little bit more for a secondhand Giant Talon e-MTB here on the classified section, and then you get something that's sort of designed to be an ebike from the get-go. The main disadvantage that I can see with Giant's offering (and most of the other commercial ones) is that the assist cuts out after 25 km/h while with the Bafang DIY stuff, you can keep going until much higher speeds. Does anyone have experience commuting (or general road riding) on a commercial eMTB with this restriction? What's it like? Often I can average above 25 km/h, but with Cape Town winds... my average goes down to like 12 or 13 km/h and then I think about that electric assist really longingly. It's just a large wad of cash so I'm keen to choose judiciously. Anyone who has a commercial eMTB and wishes they'd gone with a conversion instead? Or vice versa?
  7. I rode on both Gatorskins and Hardshells for a few years because on whatever el-cheapo tyres I had previously got lots of punctures. I was young and inexperienced and listened to what a more seasoned friend told me. I got very few punctures and the tyres held up well, especially the hardshells. They survived some nasty stuff (I was commuting on the bike and went places I probably shouldn't have). Grip was OK in the dry, I wasn't terribly brave (still am not). Wet grip was atrocious, as has been mentioned already. I got caught in afternoon thundershowers in Pretoria occasionally, and I had to ride very carefully not to lose grip. I'm currently looking to get my road-bike back on the road, and need new tyres, so I'm interested in what's been suggested. I might shell out for GP5000s as well, if they're as solid as described here.
  8. Hi all, thanks for responses. Didn't see this until now as my notification settings were off... I ended up doing as advised, stripping the bottom of the fork without taking off the top. r.e. the upgrade - I'm enjoying the bike as it is, a friend of mine has an old Rockshox Reba that he wants me to buy from him but the steerer is too short for my bike, so I haven't gone that route. Since I'm a long-time roadie that has only for the last 6 months or so had a mountain bike, once I get a bit more confident I'll upgrade my gear. But servicing the suntour fork was actually pretty easy.
  9. Do you think a simple thing like that will change motorists' bad attitudes towards cyclists?
  10. Yeah - except that (as far as I'm aware) pretty much no "tax" that we pay here gets ring-fenced, it all just goes to the general fiscus and then doled out to departments / provinces / municipalities however Treasury sees fit.
  11. Does anyone use a rear rack and trunk bag? I find that with a backpack on, I get really sweaty. I can shower at work but I'd prefer not to have to.
  12. I really can't understand motorists' attitudes towards cyclists. If they have to move out to overtake for some reason this makes them super angry, as though you've just driven over their dog or dumped refuse in their garden. It's as though they don't understand that if every cyclist were in a car, traffic would be two or three times as bad. I'm sure they wouldn't be happy about that.
  13. This is an interesting proposal, but I'd like to add a few points to the discussion. As has been mentioned, we don't have a "road tax" as such, but we do have fuel levies, vehicle licence fees, etc. None of this money is ring-fenced for road infrastructure but goes into the general fiscus, as does all the VAT on whatever bicycle parts you purchase, etc. The maintenance of the existing roads is affected by the weight of the vehicles that use the roads. Check out roads where there are frequently heavy lorries and you'll often see that the tar warps like someone has sat down on a leather couch and the surface is all wobbly. With that in mind, bicycles contribute effectively zero to road wear-and-tear in comparison with cars. Every person on a bicycle (for commuting anyway, not necessarily training or recreational cycling) is a net win for the maintenance of traffic infrastructure. And since traffic is highly non-linear, if even a few % of motorists commute on a bicycle instead, the general population gets to work considerably quicker. This will save the economy money which would otherwise be wasted sitting in traffic.I therefore propose that cycle commuters receive some sort of subsidy rather than a tax. It may encourage significantly more motorists not to drive, and therefore the roads will need less maintenance - thus saving the fiscus more money than what the subsidy would cost (IMO). The suggestion for cyclists to have some kind of K53 licence is quite reasonable, I can't say I really have much of an opinion on that. I've been out on the road cycling since I was 12 or 13 though, so obviously an entirely different set of rules would need to apply. Perhaps having cyclist education as a subject in schools may help? (In the way that Americans do it with driving.)
  14. So after lurking here for quite a while, I've eventually pulled the trigger, gotten myself a (used) MTB after being a road-biker all my life, and while it's amazing in every way there is one small issue. I'm advised that my shock needs servicing. It's a Suntour XCR 32 coil. There's plenty of info on Youtube on how to do it, but it seems that the tool to remove the caps on top of the stanchions (Suntour part number FAA122) can't be had for love or money commercially in this country. Does anyone have experience servicing a Suntour shock by themselves? Have you made your own tool to remove those caps?
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