Mook

If I was a Urologist, I'd sue you for hinting that I might suffer from "tunnel vision" .......................... I mean, WTF bro, that's how we get to the "core issue" in this profession 👈

The Chinese will fake "fake" without the world noticing. The reality is that you and I will never stop them. "Made in the USA" have not existed for the past 30 years. EVERYBODY commissions China to fabricate frames(Giant, TREK, Pinarello, etc, etc) and components(Shimano etc.). When requested to build 10,000 branded frames for the legit market, the chinamen manufacture 40,000 frames and sell the surplus 30,000 off at a fraction of the price the legit dealers do. This is how they operate. A legal battle against China will cost you a wee bit more than a cheap chain. If poor quality is your concern, stop buying branded stuff on WISH, TEMU, SHEIN or WhaWhenWong.com Just my opinion 🤷‍♂️

Your wife will luv u for it 😍

I agree with @RobertWhitehead. Despiye being a very capable XC racer, the Spez frames are heavy. Upgrade as he mentioned, yet the frame will still be heavy. i might be inclined to swing the entire bike and get something lighter. Once you have a lighter platform, upgrade as your budget allows, but start with wheels. I went down the exact same path - also had an Epic Comp. No matter the amount of cash you throw at it, you cannot get the weight below 12-13kg. Spez frames are generally heavy. It's like changing the bridle on a lame horse to make it run faster. Still a cool ride though

I had a shop in Brackenfell fabricate a reduction sleeve that fits inside the 15mm ID DtSwiss axle. Works like the proverbial bomb. New Engineering, try them. This is basically what @Jewbacca did. There's zero risk to this mod. End caps are increasingly difficult to source.

I have personal experience with carbon repairs by CBR. They are top notch. I have seen seat stays broken through completely, were repaired by CBR, and still held up 4 years post repair(not my bike). Do not write carbon repairs off before checking with James Perry. I would ride a repaired carbon frame before doing so a repaired alu frame. Best of luck

As far as I know the rear triangles are the same size in order to provide similar rear travel across various frames sizes. The main traingle is the variable that determine frame size. Having broken rear triangles in the past and talking spec's with experts, I learnt this from some clever guys. Cheers

You'll be back for sure ......... if only to get back at that bastard 😂 Well done mate 👏

It was'nt nik-naks, but marshmallows 🤣 The corrugations must have got the better of you.

Maybe a bit off the topic, but @Kom touched on something very important. Guys and girls, or whatever you identify as, please do not leave your bikes unattended with GPS gadgets attached to the bars. Incidents of "selective shopping" have increased. Good friend of mine got his Garmin taken off his bike at the 36ONE finish last weekend. I would have expected that we, avid bikers that is, had each other's backs covered when it comes to crime. I got to grow up I suppose 😏 Please keep your tech under your eyes at all times.

I have seen a few of her past endeavors, and if there is somebody tuff enough to do this, it's her. This girl is a "beast" 👊 Thanx for the link @Robbie Stewart Will surely check it out.

Well done manne, you did us north of the boereworsgordyn proud 👊 The rolling start strategy is a tad of a mess, since the pace vehicle goes off at 50km/h, causing the "startline" to spread over a few kilometers. They must get the lead-out vehicle to pull the whole bunch together 500 meters before the actual start. Water points in my opinion were excellent. Those people sit there for close on 24 hours and they cheer on, encourage, give crap advise when asked how far still to go BUT they are champions. Never a shortage of food, gels, drinks or encouragement. Road surfaces in the latter parts of the route showed serious decay due to the rains a while before. I made it through the rock garden 40km's out and this damn thing is still haunting me. What a nightmare on a rigid bike. We could not have asked for better weather conditions. Great event !

At Jonkers you could try to have somebody take your bike to the top, but you might just never get it back again 😬

I guess she's also cursing the mom of 3 ........................ 😈

Which was first, the chicken or the egg 🤷‍♂️ I could not care less - have bike, will ride 🚲

My point exactly. With your plastic bike you will take the polkadot, BUT I will get to the coffeeshop at the bottom faster because I weigh 10kg more than you.😝

Bliksems 🤬 We often state that these perps are opportunists, BUT who drives past a lone cyclist and decide it's a good idea to rob him/her 🤷‍♂️ These people are criminal to the bone. These guys left their dugout with the intent to do crime. So glad this incident turned out "good". It could easily have gone south in a terrible way.

Crucify me if you wish, BUT my take on the weight issue tends to lean towards bragging rights more than actual gain. The bike scene have turned into a playground where most want to be seen riding a 100k bike rather than something that truly works for them. Yea sure ........................ I will never admit that me 100k "investment" is actually a crap ride compared to the 40k bike I had. Calculations are usually done given perfect or largely generic sets of variables, which incidentally does not apply to your typical weekend warrior cyclist. Last time I heard you look at shaving 100 grams off your bike's weight at a cost of R1k. Reducing your ride's weight by 1 kg could potentially set you back by 9-12k. Is it worth the money - I do not think so, unless you can realistically make podium in 20% of the races you ride - OR bragging rights is your thang

And then a new discussion thread was born .............. what a drag 😵 Why pay 3x more for 0.5x less, with supposed 500x more efficiency & enjoyment, if you are 2-20kg overweight? It's Friday if you hav'nt noticed 😈

We live very close to Africa 😬

I guess the reason for OP posting this question says it all .......................... You pay 3x more for a component, while you receive only 0.5x the component. Case closed 😜

You end your essay with the key in the current SA scenario. Owning a gun and firing hundreds of rounds in training costs the type of cash that I simply do not have. I do own firearms, yet I do not have the money to spend hours shooting. The risk of carrying a firearm on the bike is not worth the value of the bike and mobile phone. Cyclists are most likely to be killed by motorists, not opportunistic thieves. Hand over your bike and live to tell the tale, rather than lose your life, or health, trying to prove a point. Remember that, in SA, a criminal's human rights weigh 50x more than the victim's. Yes, a dead thieve cannot testify against you, but you will be screwed for the rest of your life having popped him in the head for taking your bike. My 2 cents' worth

Be prepared to open a good few dark rooms ....................

"Beefy" perhaps, but more like a 6ft Venter. The SWAT storage systems are quite neat, albeit pricey. Then there are the Rapstrapz gadgets that seems rather cool. The advantage of these systems are that you could mount them on down tube or seat tube - away from the saddle

This is a dead end. They never use the formal platform to communicate, but rather request you to forward them your personal e-mail address. This is how they move under the radar. Here's what I did. Handed the "buyer's" e-mail address to 5 mates to e-mail him the exact same response - yet from different addresses. The result was predictable ........................ never heard from the dingbat again.