Ryinc

You need tubeless tyres. Hutchinson make some but they are not cheap. I have also found tubeless wheels (ultegra) tough to get tyre off rim. You would normally be able to run the wheels with standard tyres and tubes. But in general (may be exceptions) dont think standard tubes will be ready. Also if you run tubeless be careful to research what sealant to use - there are some stories of corrosion from some sealants in road wheels.

I have a Bianchi frame and one of the cable stops that clips into the frame for the internal cable routing went missing. Sybrie from J&J cycling was kind enough to find a replacement part which they stripped off an old frame and didn't even charge me. Unfortunately the part was not the correct one. Contacted Sybrie again to try help me again find the right one and has just let me know that they have found one. Great businesses give fantastic service despite when it is more a hassle and there is little/no money to be made on the deal. Thank you J&J cycling for great help and service. I hope i get to directly or indirectly support their business in future.

@jcza i had the same issue -think its a browser issue, opened site in google chrome and then it was fine

As the owner of goods surely you have free choice to sell to whoever you see fit? As long as you have not committed to a particular buyer that they can have item and then sell it to someone else i see no issue. Questioning someones integrity based on that they did not check the hub for pm...sorry I simply cannot agree. Even if they did check PM there are various reasons why you might choose one seller over another other than first come first serve...e.g. location, security of sale etc.

I suspect the people saying that this is a soft jock have not ridden the roads on this years oute. I reckon this route easily as difficult as normal route. There is at least 1 tough climb on every stage not to mention slow but long uphill grinds and some rolling sections. I will say boulders has some steeper sections than any of the climbs on this years route.

Ok the small number (e.g. 11,12,13) refers to the number of teeth on the smallest sprocket of the cassette. The lower the number the more "top-end" speed you will be able to generate (i.e. in the gear combination you find yourself in going down hills). Count the number of teeth on your current cassette - do you find that you sometimes want more speed in such a situation, i.e. you wish there was a "harder" gear to push ? If yes, you might want to consider getting a cassette with a lower number than your current cassette. If current cassette is just right in this regard then get a cassette with the same number, if you never get into the hardest gear, you might consider being willing to get a cassette with a slighter higher number of teeth on the small sprocket (e.g. 12 instead of 11) - i.e. giving up top-end speed that you never use anyway. Now the second number (e.g. the 23, 25 etc) refers to the number of teeth on the largest sprocket. The higher the number the "easier" the gear. E.g. a 25 will have a slightly easier climbing gear to a 23. Again look at your current cassette set-up and ask, relative to what i currently have do i want another gear, or the same max climbing gear or can I give up a climbing gear? Ok so now you may be asking - well surely choosing a cassette with the lowest number of teeth on the small sprocket, and the largest number on the large sprocket will be the best as it will give me the widest gear range? Correct, BUT remember that there will also be a bigger "gap" in the gears if the overall range is wider. However given that you are going from 9 speed to 10 speed that may not even be really noticeable for you because the 10 speed will "narrow" the gaps between gear combinations anyway. Some final considerations: - Be careful to go for a cassette which is very different from current setup. In particular taking a 28 or 29 on the high side you might find your deraileur is not compatible or chain is not long enough. - Make sure your entire drive train (i.e. derailleurs, shifters, cranks, chain etc) are 10 speed compatible - i know you said you read they are, but double check if you want to be sure. - If you are replacing cassette, it is usually worthwhile to replace the chain when you replace the cassette at the same time as a worn chain on a new cassette will wear out the cassette very quickly (i.e. waste money). - If it was me, i would go for the 11-25, or if that was out of stock the 12-25.

Agree that 7-9k seems too high. dracs' suggested offer of 4-5k sounds more reasonable to me. Think about what the components would cost seperately secondhand. Used 105 group in good condition - maybe R2-R2.5k frameset R1k, wheels maybe R1k. Plus a little bit more for the other odds and ends. Look through the classifieds to see prices of bikes with similar specs to get an idea. Dracs' point on the size is spot on, make sure you are tall enough for 60cm.

Welcome to the hub nat ryan s

Hi SantaReynolds - is there any reason why the routes do not run in the opposite direction? Would have made more sense to me for two reasons: 1 - Gets the part of the route with busy roads done earlier before traffic 2 - Anti-clockwise results in more left turns which is a smaller impact on traffic and safer for cyclists than right turns.

I would go with the tiagra if u plan to use road derailleurs. if u use the slx fd might work (although not perfect) rd will probably not work and u will need to buy mtb rd. You could also look at microshift flatbar shifters if u prepared to import

Hi Jay I did this with an old bike of my mine to create a set-up for my wife who favoured the mtb bars. I had to: - Replace drop bars to mtb bars - Replace sti shifters to 10 speed mtb shifters and flat bar brakes - Replaced rear deraileur (initially i tried to keep the original ultegra 10 speed road derailleur but shifting performance was very poor). Everything new the additional components to create the set up probably cost in the region of R1-R1.5k. The front 2 speed ultegra (i.e. road) derailleur worked fine on my conversion but i believe it is possible that this could cause problems. There are flat road bar specific components (i think shimano R550 or R770) or Microshift components which you could import if you wanted "the right tools for the job"

Thanks guys Would be great if you could send them to ryanswitala@gmail.com; Otherwise you could start attach files to your post so everybody has access?

Hi Does anybody have a link to the routes (garmin connect) for the various stages of the panorama tour? Thanks

Hi Bigbatman Welcome to the hub and to mtbing. There are plenty guys on here that have much more experience and knowledge than me...but here is my 2c worth: You could do better than the bike that you have listed. My advice would be to buy a second hand bicycle. I think you will be able to get a better, frame, wheels and spec for around R3.5k-R4k 2nd hand than the advert you listed. You will then still have some money left over to further upgrade/replace one or two parts which may be worn out and for other bits and bobs. It has the further advantage that if you decide MTBing is not for you or if you would like to buy a more expensive bike you will not lose as much on resale as you would if you bought new. There are also a lot of close to new bikes which get sold because either the previous owner did not get into it or because the owner wants a new bike (e.g. wants a new 29er). You may also get a couple of bits and bobs thrown in with the deal(e.g. helmet, cycle computer etc). The classifieds section of this sight is a great place to start, otherwise junkmail or gumtree are options (although be careful there are loads of scammers on those sights). I guess the main disadvantages of buying second hand are: - Some parts may be worn out and need to be replaced - You have to wait to find the right bike - You don't get quite the same excitement as buying new If you buy 2nd hand it would be worthwhile to take someone along who is knowledgeable to ensure that the bike you buy is in fair condition and to help you make sure that you don't end up buying a bike which is not the right size. If your heart is set on buying new i would still advise against purchasing the bike you listed. I would stick to one of the following brands for the frame - Scott, Silverback, Giant, Merida, Schwinn, Trek, Raleigh (one from a proper bike shop not Makro etc), GT, Specialized (might be one or two others i have left out). Most of these brands have a bike in or below your budget. If you are prepared to take a 2011 or 2010 model you may get lucky with a good deal. The wheels and components are important in the bike's performance and the codes you listed for the spec seem to be Shimino "Alivio". My opinion is that for a nice reliable ride the least that you want is Shimano Deore which is better than the Shimano Alivio or Acera - especially on the shifters and derailleurs (i.e. gear chaning mechanisms). You could also look at SRAM components most of which are decent. If you buy 2nd hand you may get a decent set of wheels with the bike, if you buy new it will probably not be great but probably as lease as good as the spec you have mentioned. If you plan to buy new, do not buy from Makro, Sportsman's warehouse etc. Rather go to a proper bikeshop. They will make sure you get the right size and the bike comes with a free service plan of sorts. To get a feel for what you can get new you can have a look at the bike buyers guide on www.bicycling.co.za. Will give you a broad idea of what you can get for your money. Anyway welcome again and many happy hours of riding.

Hi guys Thanks for the positive feedback, it is great to know that guys are willing to help. I have spoken to Chowder and he is going to help me (he replied first so i contacted him). Iron, thanks so much for being willing to share your knowledge. If for some reason Chowder and my schedules cant work, i might still contact you. Choppie, if you send me your email address via pm, i will let you know when i schedule the build with Chowder. I have already spoken to him and he does not seem to mind if other guys join in, i don't mind either.

Hi guys Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated. Sorry for only replying now - things a bit busy at work. Gongmech, thanks so much for the offer but unfortunately i am in Johannesburg - sounds like it would have been perfect arrangement and would have been fun to do it with a few guys. Malwyn, thanks i have looked at and use bicycletutor - agree that it is very good. however does not cover all the topics e.g. sti installation does not seem to be covered. Also sense that somebody actually teaching you in person may just be that much more educational. Humming bird, I am in Johannesburg (near Randburg but obviously happy to travel to surrounding areas), thanks for pointing this out. Thanks again guys

So a couple of months ago, i decided that i would like to go through the experience of learning how to build up a bike. I realised i knew very little about the mechanics of the bike and that the best way to learn would be to do a build project. I saved where i could and picked up the bits and pieces month by month, as well as a basic tool kit. I am now at the stage where i think i have everything that i need to put the bike together. However i am a bit nervous to try and do the thing on my own, some parts seem easy but installing STIs etc looks a bit tricky and would not like to cock it up. So Is there anybody who has good knowledge of how to build up a bike who would be willing to teach me? The budget has now been spent on the all the parts so i can't really offer to pay you for your knowledge but my experience has been that teaching somebody something you are passionate about is its own reward...but just in case thats not sufficient i will be sure to throw in a case of beers to whoever is prepared to teach me If this sounds like something you would be willing to do you can send me a PM or contact me on 072 437 1255 Regards Ryan

Thanks guys... Been to two LBSs both gave the answer "a standard part of the frame, don't have any spares". Clamp on will not work - the shape of tubing will only allow braze on. Think i may have found some help from somebody in the states. Thanks for your comments though

The trek madone frame that i purchased does not have the bracket that a front derailleur would attach to. Does anybody know where i can source this part?

What you guys are doing here is really awesome. Someone is going to remember this christmas for the rest of his/her life....

Aaaah, this makes sense now. I thought i rode in the top 20% of C but then the results suggested otherwise...but it must be due to a number of these 70km riders. With regards to seeding. How do they actually calculate. I know the cyclelab superseeding system bases your results off the winning time (as in the overall winner, not just the winner of the bacth). With this calculation method the guys who did the 70km route instead of the 103km improve their own seeding but they don't do anything material to everybody else's seeding. Does anybody know if the Racetec seeding system is the same - i.e. seeding calculated off the winning time? Obviously this only impacts the seeding - it's still wrong if you came first in the C batch but were not credited for it.

Stumbled onto this website which is quite cool for mapping rides and monitoring training if you do not have garmin. Fairly user friendly and quite a lot of functionality even if you choose to be a non-paying member. www.mapmyride.com Apologies if other hubbers have already posted info about this site.