RossTopher

@Chadvdw67 what is your price range? i presume you're coming from MTB side? if a road bike is a new adventure, there is NOTHING wrong with going rim brake. so many are clouded by the disc brake hype, but they'd have packed in cycling long before discs came out, if they were half as bad as people make them seem in comparison. it also depends where you are. from recent experience, JHB roads need bigger tyres but you wont suffer on 25's in CT. a comfy frame and carbon fork are key. i only recently sold my rim brake road bike and i am permanently on the hub scouring for another, because i dont want to ride my nice disc brake bike in the rain, to the shop, in dodgy areas etc. if you are going rim brake, i'd swerve the fancy carbon wheels, as you dont know how much life the brake track has, and they dont work in the wet. just stick to some nice alloy wheels. and hell, if it is awful, you just pop it back on the hub and you can probably recover your money, then wait until a disc brake option pops up.

agreed, the best tyres money can buy. if you're spending a higher % on the road, switch to the H's, or go to a 40mm. but for offroad, they are the hornets hips!

oh, i was semi-joking. i have no experience. i just recognized the brand name https://chinertown.com/index.php?topic=3926.0

Hopefully that saddle holds up better than their rims. Seatpost suppository

the crux of the matter is this: i give you money, for the product you advertised, at the price you advertised it, and you give me the product in an efficient and timeous manner. we give them far too much leash because of their advertised prices. half of what is online doesnt actually exist in their inventory. the site prices encourage a physical visit, where everything is inflated, and they act like they're doing you a solid to even consider matching the online price. no other shop requires you to order, and then immediately follow your order up with a call (1 if you're lucky, 3 or more is normal). if you dont call, you never get your order. i understand their business model, but if they are going to carry on that way, they have to put more effort in.

Nice one @Keegan Murrell. I am sure you will be more than happy with your purchase, and no matter what you ended up with, you're on 2 wheels, so you've won already. happy riding, i am sure the bug will bite hard, enjoy it.

Decathlon have a lifetime warranty on the frame, bar and stem, and 2 years on components. Keen to be corrected, but isn't the titan only valid if you don't change components. Anyway, not to deviate, either will be perfectly suitable for Keegan as a starter bike.

another thing to consider is where additional costs may come from. i am thinking changing bar and stem to get the fit right. i think the titan comes with a standard width bar, which is quite wide and very flared. the Triban bar and stem combo's complement the frame size, as to the crank lengths

hey Keegan. on paper, my money would go in the direction of the Triban. Triban wins on the following fronts: groupset, gearing, brakes, geometry Titan wins on on: wheel size and thru axles the real downside of the Triban is the Quick Release dropouts. not the end of the world but upgrading wheels down the line may be a pain to find QR end-caps. it also isnt an ideal setup for a disk-brake bike. the rims are tubeless ready and you get nice chunky tubeless ready tyres. 650b tyres are harder to find if you're changing, but the hutchinsons are quality and will have a long life. the bike also works for 700c wheels (up to 42c) the sram apex groupset is superb. an 11-42 cassette and 40t chainring is perfect for gravel riding, and its reliable as anything. the TRP HY/RD brakes are also a neat option, the reliability of cables if you're out in the wilderness, with almost all of the power of hydraulic brakes. the Rear Derailleur can be pushed, and you can change the chainring if you want more speed (i went to a 44 up front on a similar setup) the titan is a slightly racier geometry, but the gearing is appalling for a gravel bike. an 11-28 cassette is not fit for purpose, and it has a boat anchor crank and bb (square taper). the wheels are neat, and depending on the shop you may get tubeless ready Vittorias (see if they have it on the side). some shops give you the garbage tyres. the tires also get eaten real quick, expect to have about 1000km tops. the frame is pretty much maxed at a 40c tyre. thru axles mean wheel upgrades will be easy, and they're just a better solution than QR. the rear derailleur and shifters are 9 speed, so you'll be fairly limited on gearing, but at least new cassettes, chains etc are super cheap. the derailleur will need an extender if you're going to 34 at the back. Microshift say 30 is the cap. the brakes are full mechanical and many will say they are garbage, but i have 2 friends riding bikes with those calipers and have never complained about the braking.

no experience with either but just a comment: that triban is currently on an insane sale price. 12k but only in size small (although their sizes are big).

agree with @Jewbacca and @ChrisF. excuse the essay, but i'm in a similar boat at the moment, post Ronde van Riebeek. My back went after 85km and i spent the next 75 riding in agony with the pain shooting into my groin/glute/hip. i'd be able to ride full gas for 3-4km at a time, stopping from the pain. come the Monday, it was still bad. Booked with a back specialist who had been recommended. he's so full up that i will finally get to see him on Tuesday - hopefully i get some answers. X-ray and MRI seem the only real way to find out whats wrong when its that nerve pain and not just a muscle spasm. i've had on and off back issues for years, invariably triggered by hinging motions, sometimes running, riding of even washing dishes/doing laundry. i always thought it was muscular, and i've spent $$$ on physio (massage and needling). last year i spent some time with the bio, we worked almost exclusively on activating and strengthening my glute medius (its a common weakness among men especially). 7 sessions in, he told me to go for an x-ray as there was no progress despite me dilligently doing the exercises. Patients invariably show improvements in that time. the physio told me not to bother with an x-ray, we continued with needling and i did more yoga to take the edge off, and avoided lunge/squat/deadlifts. that was modus operandi until RvR. I am PETRIFIED of chiro's, i know its not true, but my brain says they just buy a bed at a seminar, print a certificate and blindly bugger around with people's skeletons. Good luck @lechatnoir and hope you get your answers

truly tragic. many of us have had close shaves like this, and it's a sickening experience. i was thinking about the headline and words in the article last night. While we likely wont all agree, spare a thought for the person on the other end here (i can't begin to imagine their mental state right now). while we can plug the cyclist and motorist narrative, and people on bikes are regularly dehumanized, a bunch of peoples lives have been immeasurably altered by this. lets be considered in how we voice our thoughts, keep our pitchforks in the shed, and focus on the fact that a family lost their kid. Absolutely gutwrenching!

@BuffsVintageBikes what a brilliant, refreshing forum post. with all the negativity that can breed here, this is one that just reminds us why we're all on this site. the love of bikes, the adventures they take us on, nostalgia they stir up, and the search for the ONE. *photo found on the net, not mine. my pride and joy as a kid was a Trek 800 trail. at a time when all the kids were into "shocks" and grip shifting, i just wanted this. the colours, the brand (peak USPS era), the yellow touches on the grips. I loved this bike. was stolen 1 week into my time at uni and i didnt buy another bike for about 10 years. i did eventually buy a similar one a few years ago, stripped it down to the frame and rebuilt it with some cool parts, but nothing could make it as cool as this. plus it made me realise that that things were heavier than sin.

yip, i've heard and read this kinda thing loads. i've never second guessed it, just dont wear nice/new kit on the wattbike. this is where the likes of the cheaper decathlon/maxed shorts (or temu?), or clearance stock (i buy whatever fits that i find at northcliff) comes in. i'll never understand people in 1k+ bibs at gym.

I second this approach. Only ever had one pair come up with that white pulling and going see through. Ciovita and I've never bought their shorts since. All my others are perfectly fine, irrespective of brand, and I just chuck all my kit in after a ride. The only thing I do "special" is use a clothes hanger rather than on the line

2017 seems right: https://99spokes.com/en/bikes/scott/2017/aspect-960 here is are a couple 960s was previously sold on BH, one marked as 2017, one 2016: https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bikes/452876/scott-aspect-960 https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bikes/426042/29er-scott-aspect-960-mtb-hydraulic-disk-brakes

have had a pair the Trail for about 4 years. back then they were about 5-600. light, sturdy and 3 lenses (shiny, clear and polarised). the anti-fog on mine didnt seem to be too great, they fogged up easy, and they scratch kinda easy, but i dont regret buying them. still use them on some rides. its cool how they've gone big on the ocean impact and recycling vibe, and its a local company.

thought this was worth sharing. so after bikemarket offered me 3k for my MTB that i sold for 10, and 9k for a gravel bike i sold for 23, i called them. i wanted to just be a voice of reason, that their bidders were doing major damage to their name, i'd supported them in the past, and backed them up on forums, and it wasnt a good look. they said they'd raise it interally. this was quite a while before this thread emerged, so clearly they took no heed. around the time of this thread, a friend is in the market for a bike. reluctantly, and against my better judgement, having sworn off even recommending them to a friend, i mentioned they had a silverback siablo. it hadnt moved, and had been in stock for at least 6 months, and i'd seen it drop from over 30k to 25. given my experiences with their low balling, i said he should offer 19. he started at 21, they basically told him to take a hike. a few days of back and forth, and suddenly/coincidentally, he was informed someone had put a deposit down, and he'd lost out. it smelled fishy. that was nearly 2 months ago... that bike is still available. i just see them buying up more and more stock, nothing is shifting, and the schadenfreude is overwhelming.

@love2fly glad you came right. hope it serves you well. the price of those roam V1 bundles is very attractive, although i only hear bad things about the TICKR straps. yip, you can turn the lights off, and sounds too. i don't want my device beeping and flashing, and its kinda annoying in a race/group ride where everyones device is beeping endlessly. when you have navigation on, you can mute it in the route info menu. another handy feature is the new dark mode, it just makes reading in bright sunshine easier

Just wanted to check so we don't give you info on the wrong device. i think most with wahoo's have bolts. I've got no experience with the Roam. I have a Bolt V2 and absolutely love it, so i'll check out on further info, other than to say, if you're looking at the Hammerhead, go to the suunto international website, looks like that price is all in.

are you talking Bolt or Roam? I presume Roam V1 due to all the sales they are on. Roam V1 came out a lot later and was more focussed on navigation, and introduced colour screens, so above comments about the wahoo not having full Nav may refer to the old bolt. Bolt V2 then improved on the Roam features

on your previous forum post, this bike was recommended by someone who must have missed the post where you said you are 1.55m tall. so before anyone else puts energy into advice on ANOTHER topic, please check frame sizes.

well thats perfect. this is ONLY available in a small, and while a little outside your budget, you wont come close to this kind of value anywhere else, and wont need to do any upgrades for a long time: https://www.decathlon.co.za/mountain-bikes/308986-14749-xc-500-29-rr-cn-fr.html i think you can even use payflex, so split it over 4 payments (every 2 weeks) interest free.

i presume this is the 100miler. last year 50 miler was 655m according to my wahoo, and i think the route details said 660

AGAIN??? that doesnt look like the old location on Dartfield Road