Fujioso

My goodness, that is breathtakingly beautiful.

It is massively disappointing that this stuff was presenet in his sample. But on a practical level he has two choices now. If he doped, come clean, confess, take the ban and still have some career left post ban, more like Frank Schleck rather than the Contador comparison. If he continues to deny any culpability/doping, his career is over as he will not be able to compete until he can conclusively prove he did not dope. To prove accidental consumption is going to be quite a feat given the use and availablity of probenicid.

C59, thank you. That will be the only Colnago I would own, if I had the means.

Way back in 1991, helmets were not compulsory. I crashed and ended up with a severe concussion. A helmet would have prevented this. Since then I have been riding with a helmet. I have crashed many times since then, but no concussion yet. The helmets though bear the scars that would have been on my head.

Gummi, can I use your pic for my FB feed. Please. I have some friends who thinks the worst things of cyclists. This will shut them up proper.

Check out the shimano tech docs on the net. There is a graphic there that shows what the ideal rear derailleur position must be with the correct chain length in a certain gear.

I rode the Argus back in 1991. It was my first. Started in Y group. Did a 03H03. It was a terrible experience. I have since never returned to Cape Town to do this event. I can just imagine how massive of a cluster f><k the event is now! I see my decision not to do it again remains vindicated.

Great kit! I would love to "upgrade" to the new 11sp Shim. The ultegra is great value. I am just concerned about the angle of the cable at the rear der when running on the smaller cogs. Is it rubbing against the guide there, Gummi? I currently ride DA 7800 and the smooth accurate shifting still more than makes up for the exposed cable look.

Shees, are you people on a diet? Hell, I eat. I use wedgewood nougat race bars. They work very well for me, but I have to do something salty. My local grocer does very nice venison dry wors. Works a treat on long rides 2h+. When training solo I will also pack a Lays lightly salted. I also love bananas and something nutty. Mini rolls with peanut butter and jam. My moms biscuits (soetkoekies) also works a treat. I also enjoy potatoes on the bike, but that is too much prep. That is why I love the DC. I just take something of everything. The dark choc jungle oats bars are also great. Anything goes while I am out training. But then I just carry water. For racing I will take race nougat and water and one bottle of Game(for when the hammer is down).

I can only relate to my last 20-thousand km with Dura-Ace 7800. Yeah, I know it is the older of the lot, but faultless it has been. The ease of use and the intiutive shift feel is something I value. I use Ultegra chains and casettes and have just replaced a casette and chain. Roughly 6000 km on the chain and double that on the casette. Good value for money in my books. After having a look at the new DA 9000. Shimano has once again stepped up. It is beautiful and I would love to give it a test ride some time soon. I like Campagnolo as I still remember seeing C Record for the first time in 1990 on a Columbus SLX Pinarello in black chrome. It was and still is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The quality of Campag is without question. The only thing I do not like is the thumb shiftlever (and the price). The shift operation of SRAM is not to my liking. A tired hand (i am not a climber, i get very tired sometimes) will battle with the upshifts I think. But I have had a very limited time on a Sram equiped bike. Some of my lady friends do not like SRAM, especially the front shifting. Oh and two of my friends have broken the shift lever right off while riding!!!!! Now that is not amusing. So to answer the question. I will blow my money on DA.

I have done more than 20K km on my Dura-Ace 7800, which I bought 2nd hand. They work just as well as the day I bought them even after two heavy crashes and being caught in the rain a few times. I cannot say anything about the standing-idle-then-breaking-bit as I ride often.

I watched the Dauphine. Evans, I suspect, was sandbagging ever so slightly. He definitely has his sights set on a second Maillot Jaune and there is a lot of experience in the BMC team, despite losing Hushovd. Phillipe Gilbert needs to repay the faith placed in him and he will be devasting in the early parts of the long climbs, pushing the tempo really hard. Just watch him. Sky will do well to keep an eye on Gilbert. He might eye a stage win. The Sky team is by far the strongest and best drilled unit, but in the end only Froome has the engine to go with Wiggins in the Big mountains. But that is where he failed in Spain, and I suspect he will struggle again in the last week of the Tour. Cadel Evans for the win.

With Sagan in such prolific form, a great TdF is on hand. He will have a go at Cav and Greipel. The prospect leaves me salivating.

One of my all time favourites. Great racer, great guy.

My bike just clicked over to 20k km. So that equates to less than R1 per km, including all the money spent on it, kit included over the past two years. The good news is that I do a lot of km per annum, so I can buy an expensive bike next time round and will still work out quite cheap. Nice.

Warranty is all good, when you are at home. It sucks big time if you are 60km from home with a cat1 climb between you and home. I am a shimano man and I admire Sram for how they have pushed the envelope. But I think an extra 50 grams to beef up the Sram shifters is quite a good idea. Breakages like these will put me of the brand. And I love the silky smooth shifting of the Dura-Ace 7800. Properly set up it cannot be faulted and remains top notch after all these years.

Yeah, I bought them locally. I had a set on my bike which got damaged during a fall. They were then replaced by my local LBS. Cane Creek does not produce road wheels anymore so stock availability might be an issue. And they are very durable.

I ride a set of Cane Creek Volos.They tickle the scale at 1600g, cane creek skewers and rim tape included. What makes them rock is the sealed three bearing hubs. Rollin' smooth.

A set of Conti Supersonics for my race wheels (cane creek volos). Probably as close to a tubby feel you are going to get with a clincher set-up. It is amazing how they roll and how much weight you drop over standard wire beaded tyres. I ran a set of Serfas tyres before this, and boy oh boy, what a difference.

The carbon wheel riders must be happy to see this development. Arch calipers play havoc with the carbon brake surfaces, especially on the clinchers. And wet weather braking on a set of carbon hoops...........disconcerting. But the set-up looks heavy. A close up of the brake levers will also be good. I would like to see how it is done.

Great and congrats to Robbie. It was a tough course. Would have loved to see JLA take the win, but I think the guy in best form took it.

I will spend money there again. No need to say more.

Thank you Ertjies for making me turn to cycling. RIP

Nice piece about Ertjies. You can feel the presence of the man through the writing. Watching these guys duke it out in the Rapport tour is what ignited my love for cycling. I remember how I drooled over those Vitus frames. Aluminium man!!!! How things have changed.

The Peleton is doped up, but I still enjoy the spectacle. I cannot wait for the TdF to start.