Palaeodom

I've still never actually seen anyone riding a real chopper. they look like a mission

Yep, when i go in and look at the old toy again i almost sprain something picking it up....

Morning all, Seems to me alot of the people on here have some pretty serious bikes and there are a bunch of threads with photos of them....how about some pics of your first bikes and the machines that got you hooked. I'll start with mine...the old GT Avalanche 1.0.

Thanks all for yor input. @ Tombeej, in your opinion as a paddler when is the best time to swim to avoid the dangers of fibreglass through head syndrome.

and here she doesn't...

Niki uses them....

I found that i just didn't get the quick reaction pace out of the flats. I rode them for a while and if i needed a quick boost to get up a steep, bumpy rise my feet would often bounce off and the stomping down just didn't get me up well enough. Having been riding clipped in for a while now i can really push and pull my way up most stuff. Once the unclipping becomes instinctive you'll be able to take advantage of both clipped and unclipped.

Where is Bass Lake (Henley)? I'm a stones throw from Emmerentia so hoping its good enough. Otherwise I suppose there's linden public pool.

Its true that it is easier to just swim in the gym pool, but for training for open water swims, open water swimming is the best thing for it. I find them two quite different things and would like to get better at the open water stuff.

Thanks Flex, How hard is it to test for these things, i'm sure someone in the hospo business could get hold of a little piece of paper that tells you? I'm sure if you've been swimming there for a couple of weeks with no issues its fine enough. I wander if the high rainfall means high turn over of water and therefore cleaner water. What time do you usually swim?

Does anyone know if it is safe to swim in the dam? I have seen the occasional person swimming near the pavillion. Does anyone know if I need a membership to any club/society to swim in the dam and use the canoe jetty as a entrance/exit?

Thanks for the tip. Will try it.

Hi all, Just wandering if chain length makes a difference to the performance of the bike in terms of shifting speed, efficiency of shifting, amount of load put on the chain. If the number of links is reduced does this mean the remainder will have more stress put through them for the same amount of power put through the pedals? My chain is 104 links long, ten shorter than the chain come with. All gears are smooth to shift into, but wandering if a smaller number of links also shortens the life of the chain due to greater stress? Any ideas?

While we're at it, my sister is looking for a PA job in CT. She's an very experienced PA and has been working for MD's for a few years now. Full drivers and car. Looking for 12-14k per month. She can start immediately. Give her a shout 074 158 9695 for a CV. Thanks all.

Anyone looking for a CRM archaeologist give me a shout please. Trying to fund myself through the last of my studies!

Does anyone know where you can find one in SA? or if anyone has one? Tried all the suppliers in CT and no luck. Needed for my mongoose meteore team frame. Been looking for a while now and dying to get onto the new bike.

Never broken an alu frame so i have no idea how long they last...definately in the region of 5 years...without the new bike temptation

Been through two carbon frames...too much worry if you ask me, thinking about every ding and scratch...life's too short. Give me an alu frame anyday. Rides a little harder but i'm now riding an alu frame that is as light as my carbon and its gotta be the way forward at a fraction of the price for a frame. Plus you can get it welded or repaired without huge expense, x-rays and never quite trusting it again when you catch some air and don't quite touch down right. Go good quality Alu. Put it this way...1 decent carbon frame R10k lasts 2 years... One good alu frame R3k lasts the same amount of time probably longer or you can buy three frames for the same cash or inevitably plug it into getting better components.

thanks, i heard they make some of the cannondale headsets does is that true?

Evening all, been recommended this Woodman Semi-integrated headset for my bike. Wanted to know if anyone has heard of the brand and got any idea of the quality? Any comments will be welcome.

Thanks for the suggestions...does anyone know anyone from Pirates mountainbike club. Its the closest to me and apparently they ride quite often although i can't say i've noticed them.

Trying to get hold of an mongoose intergrated headset ungently around CT and can't find anyhting? I'm looking for a cane creek 35/46 one and one eighth with a 410mm outside measurement on the bearings. Its a fully intergrated unit. Have phoned around the CT suppliers but no-one seems to have. If anyone can help in the next few days i'd be seriously grateful. KCNC do one too.

Evening all, I'm looking for a club to ride with this year to help me improve my riding, and get into some racing with the support of some more experienced folk. I live in Blairgowrie, right on the spruit so i'm looking for a regular riding bunch to help me push myself. Any ideas? or contact people?

I reckon under 1% of the population will actually need that 1% better perfomance to win trophies/medals and the world champs. As far as I can see its about what you enjoy and how hard you can push yourself. You can push yourself on any machine, it depends on if you're racing burry and need that 1% or you're racing yourself and just want to train harder.

I'd go with Suunto too