Christie

Did Perreiro not make up 30 odd min. in one day just like Landis? He lost big time on the first mountain stage and then rode at the front of the bunch during all the other mountain stages. How does his first and second TT performances compare? Enough to cast a bit of doubt?

The current craze for carbon is partly feulled by the industry to sell more bikes. Yes, it is strong and light and has a great fatigue life, but in some cases (like cranks) carbon is not such a great idea - the hollowgram si alu crank is lighter and stiffer than the carbon one. Every couple of years they come up with something new to make older bikes seem old, and carbon must be one of the biggest booms in a long time. I still love my steel Colnago, and ride it more often than my CR1. I vote for metal!

Could work, on a MTB. For a season, untill cammo look goes out of fasion

Agree, if anybody needs to dope to race well in SA in any cat, you have to think about finding another sport.

Hit by car on Boschop road east of Pta at 05:30 one morning. Sand truck in opposite lane, $%^$%# motorist tried to squeeze in between me & truck. Only trafic for miles, but he could not wait 5 seconds. Some nasty roasties. Riding buddy's bike hit on Lynwood road. Taxi overtook other traffic into our side of the road, speeding down on us. Buddy riding behind me lost control of his bike trying to ride as far left as possible, and fell over into the road. He got up and dived out of the road, but the taxi smashed into the bike without even braking - driver was looking to his left for a gap in the 6 or 7 cars he was overtaking, so did not even see what was going on in front of him. Lucky only a Giant got killed.

I bought a set of zeros three years ago. After getting used to the different feel of free float (it felt a bit strange in the first week), I am now a believer! Changed my other bike over to them as well. I would recomend getting some cleat covers, the metal on the underside of the pic is aluminium, and wears away badly if walked on.

I heard some raleigh carbon frameshad structural problems. Agree with R2S2 about performance: new bike+same training=same performance, but on the subjective side, a new bike makes you feel better about same performance.

So Spoon, to summarize the whole thing: I think Oom H (& the kid) is trying to say you should go for the R3 because it is cheaper. smileys/smiley2.gif

SLC by a long way if you are a racing snake. Extra mass of SLC wont be noticable. Can build it to 6.8kg in any case with the right spec wheels etc. Aero will make more of a noticable difference. I would expect the SCL to be more stiff & snappy due to the size of the tubes. Check out huge, massive bb lump: http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/tech/cervelo/cervsolobb.jpg Full review from Pez: http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=4070 R3 if you want a more comfortable ride, like 'Dale Synapse and second in range Giant carbon. BTW, seems some Cervelos get delivered with differenf forks, alpha-Q (like used by CSC, cervelo's own fork and some with Easton. Wonder why? Christie38880.6962384259

1. Send a PM to BikeMax, or go to www.bikemax.co.za Best SA option imo. 2. The strongest rider in our team is coached by Carol Austin www.activeworx.co.za (their services are said to be expensive) My other team mates and I have had experience with coaching from some of the old riders & ex pro's. I would not recommend most of the ones I know about in Gauteng as a coach. I've found that they have a standard program with your name pasted at the top. No great efforts are made to tailor to your specific needs.

Boras are good, but expensive! After much research and talking to riders, I bought Reynolds Stratus. At the recent vets tour, I hit the same HUGE pot hole as a team mate. My wheels took the hit, no problem. He cracked his rear Zipp 404. Look at this review: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=32909 I think the 404's handle crosswinds better.

A powermeter is just another gadget without a good coach imo.

Saw an article about the new top of the range frame from Cannondale on cyclingnews.com. http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/?id=2006/features/cannondale _system_six Looks like they've given up on using alu lugs, front end is full carbon but are staying with an alu rear triangle.

Cool! but how can that be comfy? A team mate rides a Selle San Marco Aspide - basicaly a hard little carbon plank with 2 rails. He's never had problems with it before, but at the recent vets tour he started complaining a bit. Rather him than me!

Arione is nice. Not soft, much like the Flite, but more comfy shape. I use one on my training bike for high milage. For very plush, Selle Italia pro-link lite.

Saw it on cyclingnews: http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/tech/news/05-12/Y6B96I55TP_ViaNirone7tn.jpg Sounds like all campy cranks will look like this soon, read the full article on http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2006/news/05-12

I don't think there will be much of a noticalbe difference between the top frames like Scott CR1, Giant TCR, 6-13, Trek, Cervelo R3 & Soloist, Bianci's etc. They are all very good. Yes, there is a difference in weight, as much as 100 or 200 grams, and in a lab the difference in stiffness can be measured, but you won't notice it on the bike, and it wont make a difference to your time in any race in SA! Therfore imo the best choice is the frame which 1. Fits your body best 2. You like the most!

If you buy new, the Giant TCR offers the best value for money, all things considered. I've been quoted R11 to R12k last time I looked. The Scott CR1 and Cervelo R3 is a bit more expensive at R14 to 15k, also very nice. Don't know the BMC's price, but it is also a top choice. Also consider the Merida carbon. It is very nice looking, and sells for R9k new. 2 team mates ride them, and a third is going to buy one as well - they like them very much.

Well, a new bike as a reward for losing 5kg sounds like great motivation.

Interesting info Worchester. Where did it come from? I think of the current frames, The BMC SLC would compare well with the Cervelo R3 as far as BB stifness goes. I would guess the integrated seatpost Giant won't be much more stiff than the previous one. Lateral stiffness is very dependant on down tube, bottom part of the seat tube and chainstay design, and their interface at the bb. My opinion on the Cervelo's: Great to see a new company making waves in the bike business. The R3 is not a pretty frame imo. The square down tube, oversize chain stays and tiny seat stays borders on ugly! I prefer the looks of the Soloist carbon. The Giant frame is a beaty, and the integrated seat tube looks very nice. The LBS said that they can't get Cervelo frames, there is some problem getting stock. So if are set on getting one, perhaps you'll need some patience? Christie38817.3752430556

Pic? Clincher's or tubbies? There are Mavic Cosmics for sale on chainwheel for R5500 and Zipp 404's for R7500.

The 2006 TCR looks very nice. The seat post design has got advantages - it will keep out water much better, wont seize or slide. I wonder how the BH and the Giant compares? Top of the range BH looks similar to the Giant from the outside. For the Giant I got a good quote from Bruce in Pta. A friend his best quote from Cajees, but only after hard bargaining. For the Scott, best quote was from Omega cycles in Delmas, if I remember correctly.

I went through the frame selection process last year. A minimum requirement for me, it had to be a frame used by a pro team. This was just my way of imposing some sort of quality filter. Best value vs. performance was the Giant TCR and the Scott CR1. Both great frames. I went for the Scott because a. I did not like last year's TCR colour (I also don't like the yellow CR1's, but I could get one with silver lettering) b. I got the CR1 for cheaper c. I see masses of Giants where I ride, I wanted a more unique bike. I'm not a fan of this year's continious seat post designs from Giant and BH. It limits resell options, and also experimenting with seat height - once it is cut, that's it! What idf you want to change to a different saddle?

I saw it on Totalcycling.com for R9k something. Add 14% vat and R300 shipping. Or get the Silverback. But then again, you can get a top of the range Giant TCR like DG & Jan Ulrich rides for almost the same price local. All bike maufacturers have to climb on the carbon wagon. Unlike the freeride fad in mtb's a couple of years ago, I think carbon frames are here to stay.