Skylark

Now how much real advantage would the latest carbon frame have over that, apart from weight? That's a really nice bike, I can imagine it gives all the ride you could every need.

Hope the head office makes it right, crank is clearly not new.

As long as you have a patch that completely covers the cut with around 10mm on either side, maybe even try a car or motorbike patch if a mtb one is too small. As long as the patch has been correctly applied all it will add is a little bit of weight. Once the tyre is inflated the air pressure will be holding the patch onto the inside of the tyre so the chances of it coming off is slim. Just make sure it is properly applied, clean/dry that part of the tyre inner, roughen and then apply glue and then take a hammer or similar and softly hammer on the patch once it's applied to make sure the glue has bonded properly all over the patch.

Anyone have personal experience with how road frames/wheels can shatter in crashes?

Not another one gone in Ct, and that is a seriously nice bike, couldn't ask for better. Really hope you get it back.

I stay away from shifting spanners when bending rotors, too much force, fingers are better, a light tap on the high spot with a small copper hammer also works. Whatever you do, do it slowly and mildly, very easy to make the rotor a wavy mess.

Your discs/rotors have high spots, very common, if it's mild live with it because they are a fact of life, if they are enough to stop your wheel in the same place after 2 or 3 revolutions after spinning your wheels then straighten them. Do a search on the forum there are already a few in depth topics about sorting out rotors.

Interesting article from Nytimes on how carbon has changed the way accidents pan out on road bikes, they shatter rather than deforming like metal frames/wheels, suppose the same applies to Mtb bikes to a lesser degree. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/sports/cycling/as-technology-makes-bicycles-lighter-and-faster-it8217s-the-cyclists-falling-harder.html "What results, Perovic said, is that when a bike is stressed beyond its limits, it “fractures into many pieces while metals bend, the energy absorption is the bending.” While steel and aluminum bikes generally telegraph an impending failure by displaying cracks, carbon fiber generally fails without warning." Old news I would imagine but the further they push the boundaries of bike technology I suppose the finer the line comes. One point was the unacknowledged racing industry secret about how flimsy the bikes are in a accident/severe stress situation. Like riding expensive matchsticks. "Much as in what are now called cycling’s black years of doping, there is a code of silence among riders, even retired ones, and mechanics and team officials over the issue of carbon bike and wheel durability. The teams and riders exist, in part, to act as powerful marketing tools for bike-makers. But when they spoke on the condition they not be identified, their stories emerged. Riders described landing on the top, horizontal tube of the bikes during crashes and ending up on the road after their frames splintered and collapsed. Small spills that used to mean, at best, straightening handlebars often require a bike change. Mechanics say they sometimes return the shattered remains of frames to manufacturers in bags intended to hold a single bicycle wheel." One thing to be noted is all the catastrophic failures mentioned are happening on carbon frames/wheels of the very highest order from the worlds most premium bike brands. From the way some people slate them, you would have thought that they were all riding on Chinese Dongfu type generic carbon frames/wheels...

Yay, hopefully the bike will be recovered

Nice build! Make sure you build in some security into the trailer so it can't be unhitched easily, will be a lot of dollars worth of gear on that thing when fully loaded.

Back brakes are always harder than fronts, hose is longer and the routing normally puts the hose below the calliper which traps air.

If you are pretty confident the parts are from your bike innocently contact the ad and say you are interested, ask if you can view the stuff, try get as much info without sounding shady, tel number, maybe address, be keen, like "I really need the parts for a bike build etc, have the cash, can we met later today, don't want to loose the deal to someone else". I'd even try get the price down first, which may be indicative itself if the guy is legit, he may offer to let the parts go for stupid prices. If that is the case ask if there's anything wrong with the stuff, he might spill a few beans trying to explain what good condition they are in. Don't get to carried away though, the guy may smell a trap and run. Then go to the police station where you reported the original theft, tell them you have found the bike in parts on gumtree and you have the guys contact details and can arrange to met them, hopefully an on the ball detective/office will be around and will jump at the opportunity. You then arrange to met the seller and the cops come with you, they'll explain what happens/do the last step when approaching and inspecting the goods/cuffing the thieves. Do the tyres on that wheel set in the google cache link match what was on yours when the bike was stolen?

May have stopped rotors to confuse things, tyres maybe not, can the OP confirm those were the tyres on the wheels when the bike was stolen?

That may be the guy, esp considering he deleted the ad and user, good thing deleting the stuff just means we can't see it but admin will still have the info. Also saw the Xt stuff and thought it was weird, not often someone sells an entire good condition top range used group incl the pedals/everything one go, normally it's incremental a few bits here, keeping the pedals, brakes not included etc.

Tik and similar drugs are generating reams of crazed criminals in small sleepy towns across Sa. Hermanus is a good example, unprecedented levels of crime there at the moment.

Post some pics, not many of them around hopefully someone will spot it, was the bike insured? Put a vipa stolen ad on gumtree/olx so google can index it, keep it up for a few months.

Shame man what a nice bike, Stellies is the pits these days, I always thought it was a pretty laid back neck of the woods, always looks pretty chilled and not crime ridden at all when I've driven through there over the last year? I suppose now is the beginning of the end, razor wire and electric fencing/ hardcore burglar guards will become the norm in many areas, watched a few suburbs go down the toilet in that respect from previously being nice quiet crime free zones to personal prisons

Yeah show us some before and after pics!

There's only one bike I really covet and that is a nice long travel cannondale lefty. Something about that off kilter lefty fork

Brad did you get your stuff from Midas, how's it going?

Great review but please only review locally avail stuff and have links at the end for where to buy the stuff in local shops or local online sites. I can read a zillion reviews anywhere online for stuff that will never see the light of day here in Sa unless I hunt all over the web and then pay through my nostrils for shipping and duties. I want to see reviews of stuff that have meaning to me as a souf afrikan, as in I can buy it in Sa. Maybe partner with the local agencies/shops that stock/import the stuff and have their stuff at least avail in Sa online to order right after reading the review, there really is a lot of value in that for the brand and maybe revenue for thehub in being able to offer that. Ok so who stocks these in Sa and where?

This is what I use, works perfectly, Midas has 5W40 500ml for R35.

Dude don't go anywhere, you'll soon learn how the forum works etc, lots of helpful people. Everyone makes mistakes, majority of the people here are understanding and many have been through what you have. But please use paragraphs and upper case where necessary, just out of courtesy to those that have to read your posts. Thanks

Get Wynns 59sec mag cleaner R45 for degreasing , microfiber cloths R30 for 3, auto sol metal polish R45 and meguairs gold class polish R150(there is also a slightly more aggressive meguairs polish that is useful to also have) all from Midas. All top notch stuff that will do the job properly/amazing shine and last you months if not a year or 2, don't buy cheap polish, it's not worth it and polishing a bike you use such a small amount you might as well get decent stuff because a bottle will last for ages.

Is there anyway you could possibly use full stops, paragraphs, capitals at the beginning of sentences, not using all upper cases in same places Etc? Would make reading your posts a lot easier Even if something is old if you don't at least give it a good wash down and run over with polish you are not going to get top prices. Think of a hipster store with a few classic bikes on the floor for sale, would they look dirty/metal tarnished/tatty like they just been pulled out of a dusty barn or old but clean and a nice sheen all over after of being cleaned up? Obviously if it's a historic relic then cleaning it up may do more harm than good so just use common sense.