Mook

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.

I am not a diabetic, yet @ChrisF nails the generic approach in terms of what/when. The standout advice that I will fall by has to be the post-ride Chocolate Steri-Stumpie. Man, these little guys are evil and pack a recovery punch second to none. Saw a YT video some years back of the Australian Cycling Academy doing field tests on the effectiveness of a few recovery specific drinks, including a chocolate "steri-stumpie" type drink. Turned out that your local supermarket's chocolate milk took down most of the competition in that test.

Like the phrase some Yankee once coined: "It's not about the bike" What happened to good ol' cycling simply for the hell of it 🤷‍♂️

Keep your dual and rather go for the most expensive gravel bike you can get. Fit slicks to the GB and you have a road bike. Don't go for a road bike, cause you will hate yourself for not having something to do gravel with if the dual is not suitable or on the heavy side. The GB would be more suited to commuting than a road or dual MTB. My 2 cent's worth

Oh yes, I recall this dude blitzing down the Westcoast road 😳 If I recall the news article, the NSRI had to rescue him 3km offshore from Paternoster. He was on a rim brake setup 😜

Unfortunately we live way too close to Africa. The organizations stated above are happy to take your subscriptions and redistribute these at their discretion, but that is where their "protection" ends. To be realistic and fair on the other hand, it is impossible to plug all holes in terms of safeguarding us on the roads or trails. A good few incidents have been cited where the "safety in numbers" strategy did not scare off perps, still it remains the most likely approach to see you back home safely. There's not much anybody can do when a gun-wielding, hooded tik-kop appears in your path. Best is to make a getaway a.s.a.p. These are extreme incidents, while the majority would typically be a oke, as scared as you, armed with a rock, knife or stick. In these cases you need a pepper spray stream mounted on your bars or stem........ no point in first having to dig in your pockets or make-up bag. For me a key is in noise, lots of noise. Pity your average air horn comes in a bulky aerosol can, but these kick up a significant racket - let alone leave your ears buzzing for a few minutes after the blast. These criminals prefer to go about their noble professions in a quiet way. They do not wish to draw attention when taking your hard earned stuff. The noise will not be what they expected. Forget SAPS, security companies, farm watches, safety marshals, etc. They can't cover all angles. Stay safe and don't do stupid things. There will be many more days to pocket that elusive PB.

Whilst I catch your drift, these entitled individuals will simply find another way to live life as dishonest dingbats. I am no angel, but dammit man, there are people out there intent on getting around or under all structured procedures or rules. That is their "birth right" 🦨

I went the 90's 26" Hardtail MTB route for a few reasons: 1) Budget; 2)Steel frame; 3)Old school cantilever brakes because anybody can maintain or fix them when out in the sticks. If these brakes could stop a Ritchey or Fisher flying down a mountainside, they could stop my fully laden touring bike - which they did going down Bainskloof, Du Toits and Franschhoek passes; 4)3x8 Groupset since most rural "fietswinkels" will probably stock components + drivetrain parts are dirt cheap; 5)26" wheels since wheel parts for these is not an issue; 6)Standard cargo racks and panniers fit these frames without any issues, ie. disc brake caliper spacings etc. 7)Geometry of this frame is perfect for me. This bike is not light, but that is the price I am prepared to pay. I do not do the guesthouse or AirB&B accommodation routine. Tent and food goes on the bike. Fully loaded comes to 31kg with my 85kg on top of that. Enjoy your project 🤙

I've heard of this happening on carbon roadbike BB shells where the metal BB tube works itself loose from the carbon BB "housing". Also heard that guys pump epoxy into the cavity which apparently lasts. This fix is obviously for a loose BB shell, not for an actual shell or pivot shaft that has worn down. What @droo said. Let us know what the outcome is 🙏

Ya right ................... stop beating around the bush. Hy gaan nie werk nie 🤷‍♂️