Skylark

That may have been the case in the past but with the current Shimano brakes, from the way I've experienced them and from reading on the web, virtually the same tech is in all the brakes from Slx up, just a few more adjustable bits and less weight as you go further up. Has anyone ridden the current Deores vs anything further up like SLX/Xtr etc, they look quite the same but apparently there is quite a hit on brake power and lever feel on the Deores vs SLX and up. SLX's are amazing value.

Oil will perform the same job as a wax based lube, and that is to lube inside the chain rollers. As to the benefits of either lube delivery method, opinion is divided, there are advantages to either choice, you choose the option that suits you personally. At the end of the day use whatever lube you want, just don't over apply it and most importantly keep your chain clean/clean it regularly. No matter what lube you choose your chain isn't going to go far if it is contaminated with dirt and due to the nature of the sport that's unavoidable no matter the lube.

What's the difference between bike specific wet lube and engine oil of the same viscosity? Or are you also against bike specific wet lubes, you did appear to be slating Porqui's use of engine oil just because it was marketed towards car engine usage?

If you are getting a chunky sticky messy affair when using wet lubes then you are applying to much and not wiping off the excess, that's user error not the fault of the lube. I have seen what you have described on drive trains with wax lube, because too much was applied. You do know that the exact stuff they use to blend car oils is used in many other diverse applications other than in car engines? That people often use car engine/gearbox lubes on their bike chains is because they are easily available high quality oils at the required viscosity. Engine oil does not stop offering lubrication when cold, rather the challenge for manufacturers is for it to maintain its lubrication abilities when really hot. Cold oil on a bike chain lubes just as perfectly as it does on anything else/anywhere else, cold or for that matter really hot if it's a decent oil.

I have/use White Lightening Wet Lube and DIY Car oil/Gearbox oil mix, both look and behave pretty much identical on the chain and with either if I over lube or don't clean the chain regularly they will go black, ie be contaminated with dirt, true for any lube. Sticks to everything? Well any good lube should stick to whatever you apply it to and if you over apply any lube it will fly off and stick to everything including your frame, so that's a moot point. Anyway "bicycle lube" is an amorphism, its just repackaged industrial lubes that are used for many other applications totally foreign to bicycles albeit that they may have the same needs.

I would replace the chain and ride your drivetrain with that chain till it starts getting chainsuck/slippage. Technically you've let the chain wear to far without replacing it and that consequently will have worn the chain rings and cassette.

Granted but they look rather similar

Depends on the market and how mature it is, some online stores in the Us are offering same day delivery in some cities to be competitive. Crc for instance offers free slower shipping(only above a certain buy value for Sa buyers) but charges for fast shipping, which is pretty much standard worldwide even amazon does that. The optimum base is free shipping for all orders, I don't think anyone reasonably expects that to be next day guaranteed delivery unless they paid a premium for the faster option.

Are you trying to say that using google to discover how to repair something is foolish? Google and usergroups/forums are where people, including technicians and engineers at the highest level, goto to access the group knowledge of the world at large. It's a resource open to anyone and combined with a little bit of common sense a DIY person can successfully repair some very complex equipment, obviously not least of all being computers themselves...

Is it just me or is every 2nd bike frame these days look like it was made in the Spez factory using the enduro frame mould? Awesome looking bike tho...

Indeed.

Check the super narrow bars in the early pic on the right http://ep1.pinkbike.org/p4pb11059488/p4pb11059488.jpg

Rather sudden changes are a bit of a warning sign, especially if your wife notices it. Maybe something in the intestines is not 100%, foods not being absorbed correctly. Another large factor is stress, have you endured sustained levels of high stress over the last years or in recent months extreme stress, stress can play havoc with your systems. But if you are generally in good health the only way to put on weight/muscles is eat more and train more(and not predominately aerobic exercises)

Is it? You are a bit off there, maybe you have been quoted priority next day rates. You are also underestimating the amount of sales the bigger online local bike shops do. I got a pricing very close to R30/kg, minimum charge was around around R50 per shipment and the volume requirements were not overly excessive, that is not for guaranteed next day delivery though. Although to keep the trucks fill in many instances the deliveries to major centres would be next day.

Either that or you just talking sheeeeeeeeet.

Maybe free shipping limit needs to be lower say R100 not the normal R250-R300 on most sites locally. But the value of your spend is not the rationale behind it, free shipping is more about building your customer base and encourages spending/frequent returns and people typically would buy more than just a tube even though that may be only what they originally came to buy, it's about getting the feet in the store. Bulk courier delivery(large volumes each month) is quite a bit less than you'd think, somewhere around R30/kg maybe even less. I don't know the science behind free shipping on all orders but it's slowly creeping into Sa, just not yet on the bicycle side.

From what I remember they are basically identical in all respects apart from the colour being very slightly different. Price is a bit high though as they are technically old stock.

Keep in mind that none of the current Shimano range of brakes are rebuildable, if a lever or calliper fails or leaks you replace the whole unit. Formula from what I know you can buy seals/rebuild kits. Xtr levers and calipers on their own are hideously expensive if need to repair a set that are out of warranty.

So is the flu going round at the moment? I pretty get flu once a year almost guaranteed, solid week or 2 flu.

Why is the campy cassette that much better than shimano? All the other parts yes but chain and cassette? Apart from the obvious sullying your Campy group with cheapo jap crap...

Good point, you can buy replacement lenses for the magicshine lights on eBay that improve/modify the beam and can adjust the light colour if I remember correctly, I've heard they radically improve a lights use ability.

^^ The 18650 li ion cells that most of these lights use are also widely used in laptop batteries, honestly can't see a Chinese company in china with access to ridiculously cheap new parts using 2hnd cells, just the extra labour to strip them out of the old housings and testing for dead cells would make it not be worth it?

If your light is fine and you happy with it then just buy a new high capacity/ quality battery pack. Even though Dx stuff is generally not top class stuff they do have some very decent branded battery cells/packs that are more expensive their entry level stuff but great quality and probably much cheaper than buying it locally.

sorry to hear, hope it crops up somewhere. How did it get taken?

Smash the industry open wide and be the first bicycle specific SA online store to offer free shipping on all orders. You will win. Majority on thehub have ordered stuff at some time or other online, all about better availability and price online. So what's your website?