buckstopper

Where have all the cyclists gone? disappeared into a crater I suspect. Did my usual route (out towards Kromdraai and back to Fourways) this a.m., a bit shorter given the R4V tomorrow. Was very quiet - no big Cyclelab groups. The area has been washed clean by the recent rain, with the sun out again (albeit a tad humid), twas lovely to be out in an idyllic setting for a bicycle ride. Just needed a small hubdose before settling down to read the paper and cruise into rugbymode. Losers nah, OCD, maybe. Excuse me, off to wash my hands.

Tsk Tsk. I see the editor SB is having a say. What about a detailed article/open letter to the president LW in your magazine expressing concerns. How about contacting and interviewing Wayne Pomario, remember the disillusioned young turk administrator who up and left for Canada. Today runs a successful setup and in fact was the overall head honch at Jnr Worlds. He is a paid employee...... We need such a person/people like we have in rugby and other sports whose job it is to get results on and off the races with short and long term goals like improving our cyclists and national UCI ranking, growing and improving the sport(s) etc etc. Problem with the Hub is that only a few people are active/involved in the posts. I doubt the sponsors read the posts but maybe they get a copy of the magazines........ We need people who are committed to cycling, proud South Africans who want to see our athletes succeed. People such as race organisers with a potential conflict of interests should be EXCLUDED by the Constitution and not protected by it.

I have just hit 1 eland personally. Not something I'm prepared to chance repeating. I'm sure the r4v will be safe for 1000 others going through there. Somehow I can't conjure up the enthusiasm to enter that race. While recovering with a broken pelvis I heard that another cyclist hit a smaller buck which kicked him in the face. He needed surgery. Johan Spies also had a close encounter there with a herd of Wildebees so I'm told.

Disagree. Trace 10km back from the dome and then check out the climbs. Very underrated. The Klipriver climb may be 5km but it's not that steep. After climbing that hill my 12 year old son still had enough in his legs in the 60km race at last years r4v to outsprint me

I hit an eland at 80kmh descending out of Suikerbos in the Vets tour last year. Heard other stories of the antelope encountering kind there too since. I won't be doing that race. Scars still healing....Telkom is fast up to hekpoort which is a bit tougher than Krugersdorp, but it's really the only real challenge.

I train on the Kromdraai route every weekend. It's TOUGH. Just because there are no (supposedly) long climbs it doesn't sound that impressive. The climb to the finish from Cosmo City to the Dome must be 4km. The climb going out past Toadbury onto kromdraai where you carry on climbing, must be 3km before levelling out for 1km and then climbing for another kay. Then you have about another 5 climbs, none insignificant, before the run into the Rhino and Lion Park. It is a race of continuous climbing and your recovery is not long. I raced Harties last week in 2h37 and decided that D2D was too much for me this early in the season.

We all ride the same route................... say no more

Compare winning average speeds R4V 2006 43.6 kmh, won by Darryl Impey. He was in the winning break at D2D 2007 and averaged 40.19kmh. One or two hills does not make a race tough when the rest is flat.

They have. It's Joburg's SAFEST race.

Got it. You do se so many more guys riding tubbies these days. One wonders whether they are being properly attached.

If you compared total ascent I would guess D2D at 1,4% of distance. Argus 1% 94.7 1,2%. Who remembers Tour de Gold up Hyperama Hill 19 get off and push %

The problem is PPA and WT are incestuesly related. Monopolies tend to offer lousy service. For D2D we got results by 5pm. Championchip often get them up by 2pm. At Tour Durban you could SMS a number at about 10am (if you started early enough) and get your result for R3. (they just give your time, not your place.)

A while back I managed to get a set of Easton Orion IIs for my daughter to race on. I only paid R2000 brand new. They are 1477g 24/28 spoke, more rigid than Ascent and only 49g more. I borrowed them for one race, very nice. They are designed for the bigger rider who wants light clinchers. I was so impressed I also landed up getting her the Tempest II clincher 18/20 with 30mm ally rims for more aero wheels. Same hubs as Tempest II c/f wheels. They really do the business and won't break the bank for spoke/rim replacement. At SA's I saw an u14 boy write off a set of Equinox's and a Cervelo R3 when his tubby came off. Cost his daddy 35k and he wasn't even a medal contender. Thanks but no thanks. The repair/service side of the equation for me also counts. Deep Section tubbies may look flash but how many riders have the ability to ride a break. They're no better in a bunch and in the gutter............

Johan, you have your work cut out for you on this forum if correcting spelling, typo and grammatical faux pas is your thing. My previous post contained an ambiguity referring to spokes and Ksyriums and stiffness. You could and should (as I intended) to have read that I was making the point that they are stiff wheels, and not referring to the spokes. If, however my bad English contributed to your inputs on wheel stiffeness, I am grateful and have learned. Thank you.

Maybe not North but North West..... Not flat but flat enough to provide a reasonably accurate 2 way average. Try beyers Naude from the Nooitgedacht Road turnoff out and back - should give you 12km. The last bit is a bit of a climb though. But no stops at least. The road past Sterkfontein Caves entrance in Kromdraai is also not too bad, about 11-12km out and back and you could make up the diff if you add on a bit towards Rhino and Lion Park. Also from Nedbank Training centre Owalzini (start of Rotary 100) out to the Rhino and Lion Park Circle then left (past the old Trout Farm and Rhinos grazing on the field next to you) towards Sterkfontein rd and back. No robots just one circle but no traffic. The CG TT route whilst not flat will give you 12-13km out and back from muldersdrift side towards Kloofgezicht circle. Oh yes there is also krugersdorp Randfontein Rd out and back from the N14 intersection but 2 robots some drags but 16km out and back.

What is max pressure for Ultremo's?

Dura ace hub equipped wheels for R2k is a bargain. For your 98kg spoke pattern needs to be at least 32 spoke 3 cross at back, 2 cross at front (NOT radial). You can always build stronger rims over later, eg Velocity Fusion at about R900 per wheel. Your main cost is the hubs. Dura Ace are as good as they come for training purposes. I assume the hubs at Solomon's would be 7700 in which case you can use 8, 9 and 10spd. If it is the 7800 I stand corrected but I think it will only take 10 spd and no junior cluster.

He doesn't have the budget for Boras and you don't have the speed for them, let alone for SL's. Anyway this is not about you it's about a 98kg guy with a limited budget.

I had a pair of Velocity Fusion rims built onto Dura Ace hubs 36 spoke, with DT Competition spokes, for a friend. He is 105kg. They are strong, not too heavy and they roll beautifully. To save bucks, 105 hubs will provide excellent value. You could also use the Velocity Deep V rim and use them for racing too.....

I still believe in eyelet rimmed rims with 32 spokes on Dura Ace or Ultegra hubs. Mavic Open Pro or DT Swiss are 2 excellent rims. I have a bullet proof set of DRC elegant rims, great value, I have done 50 000kms on them and they run true. They have DT Swiss Competition spokes and old 600 hubs. Elites train with old fashioned easily rebuildable wheels. Beware most of the wheels that come with your typical "budget" bike. Light with fewer spokes. I have seen similar wheels (Open Pro/Ultegra) at R2000. You could buy the hubs and rims and have them built for about R3000. I once had a guy after a set of Ksurium SL's of mine for training (he weigh's 100kg) and had already trashed his old ksyrium freewheel hub. I had just had it rebuilt for R1500. Rim only! Spokes are like R60 each and they are very stiff - great for racing but for an enjoyable 3 -4 hours, nah. Don't be pressurised into getting cool/light/fast wheels for training - especially if you don't have a huge budget. Ask your LBS

Problem is CSA's DB response to an uproar indicates that the cycling fraternity and them are not on the same page. Whilst the customer may not always be right, he should always be king otherwise we all lose out. Is SA cycling better off without Ronel? I think not. This was poaching of an endangered species which brings into question their REAL commitment to the development of women's cycling. Remember it is after all women who shop at the major funride sponsor, not the men.......... They cannot tell us what to see.....

Latrinus. One selector is in PE, the other in a dorp in the Cape and the 3rd one emigrating................ How could they know what's going on given that most of the real action is in Gauteng?

Given the 'speculation' that DB refers to surely it would be more appropriate for Lawrence himself to allay our fears of impropriety, not the person allegedly involved. Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

Rubbish. What would he stand to gain by lending a 15 y/old some wheels?

Debatable point. fact is who owns the Argus, PPA and is moving in on CSA, also owns winningtime. You can also ride 94.7 for fun. I did it last year with my 13 y/old son. It was awesome and there was not even one close shave. (only 250 odd in the xx whatever bunch).