Stretched@Birth

Unfortunately, the lap riding for tonight will not be happening, there will still be a night trail ride though for those who have packed their bikes and lights, and are ready to ride. Will update if/when the lap riding will happen.

To find motivation to ride through the cold and dark winter months, we are planning a night series at Thaba Trails. The plan is to ride an hour plus a lap, laps of about 3.5km, not overly technical, as it is night riding. Collect a bottle cap per lap that you complete. End of the night, he/she with the most caps wins. No prizes, just bragging rights, maybe a prize at the end of the series in August. R60 entry fee buys you trail access, a boerrie roll and a coffee or beer at the finish. Dates are the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month: 5 June 19 June 3 July 17 July 7 August 21 August Riding starts at 18:30. Bring your lights, something warm and your helmet and lets have some night time fun!

Lucky to have this just down the road from home. Lots of hike a bike this morning, but nice to be out!

Nice!

https://youtu.be/6SP2qR4zD0o

Wish I had the little guy’s skills! https://youtu.be/jbJhNuAg4R0

Maybe PM Nerd, he knows of a Wadkin table saw available for sale, old machines, but solid.

That’s a bit of a generalization, my aunt had a tobacco and sweet shop in Vlaardingen (just outside Rotterdam), she’d chat with people for ages in the shop when they came in for a packet of smokes, but for her, the shop wasn’t about business, more about a social hub in the neighborhood!

Chris, it’s Tuesday, whoop whoop!

I ground off the 4 stubs where the small ring bolts on to. My sons chain sometimes drops (need a clutch derailleur), then the chain gets stuck between the bb axle and the stub, resulting in me having to remove the crank to get it out.

Ok

I visited the Leroy Merlin shop in Edenvale today, they had this table saw on special for R2960, seems to be good value for money! https://leroymerlin.co.za/table-saw-einhell-tc-ts-2025-1-u-81432511

My carbon Ritchey bars were a little short, so I replaced them with nice wide Ragley bars, and I only have Charge Spoon saddles on my bikes, but the rest of the Ritchey bits are lekker...

They may look like something, but they still don’t turn and stop very well...!

I built this using bits and pieces I begged, borrowed and stole. It’s a 26er MTB frame (Giant XTC) with a rigid steel fork (was the most difficult part of the build to source), 29er wheels with 35c tyres, 9 speed and cable disks. Not sure what it cost in the end, but was not a lot...!

There are a few Hubbers that buy from us. Next time you’re here, let me buy you a coffee, ask for Michael...

On a different note, saw this at a customers workshop today, he makes picnic benches, benches and bar stools with these “tractor” seats.

Been doing some shopfitting for the past few weeks. We decided our shop at the factory needed a refresh, and rather than getting contractors in to do the job, we’d use our staff so that they get an understanding of the products they sell every day. Took a bit longer than I’d hoped for, but the outcome is nice. Placed some of our customers’ products too. There’s a lot of screws in that cladding...

https://youtu.be/3eCmfaxIjjc

So, the question remains, what frame, and how much later in the year...? What are you thinking? Hardtail, squish, XC, Enduro, 29er, Plus Size? Depending on how much later in the year, I know of something that will tick most of these boxes, and not break the bank...!

Retro dropper post... It’s a seat post clamp “bolt”, if I remember correctly, there was one on a Carlton that I used to ride.

Did you have a look at the link I PM’d you, lots of detailed info about a CX build? Lots of nice Cafe Racers built on the CX platform:

The hydroponic school project is making progress. Learnt a few lessons along the way, and will be making a few modifications. Main modification is to give each tube its own water feed, rather than cascading from the top down, as now, if a tube gets blocked up, the lower tubes get no water flow, and the upper tubes overflow! The planting medium I’m using falls out of the baskets, floats down the tube and blocks the outflow. Will put a little net around each basket to prevent this. Collected seedlings from Livingseeds on Friday afternoon. Had an interesting tour around the farm, check out their website www.livingseeds.co.za and look them up on Facebook, Sean is very knowledgeable and extremely passionate about organic veggie gardening. We’ve planted a variety of plants in the system, will see what works and what doesn’t. I have a feeling the vertical pipes are going to work well. Time will tell.

Hydroponic system starting to take shape!