Li Mu Bai

happy birthday, its all downhill from here...

I think its a great idea. Hopefully it finds its way into all mtb events.

Silly rant. If you find yourself behind a slow rider on the single track you can: 1: be patient till there is a chance for you to pass (there always is, get creative) 2: get off the single track and rough it for a few meters to get past - uses lots of energy 3: be a **** and shout and whine and scream and buzz, and risk an incident. 4: make a mental note to train harder and get seeded better 5: get to the race start well before it starts so you have your wheel on the startline, with free track ahead (get ready to be whined at if you cant keep on the sharp end...)

a must have...

Running is for people without bikes...

Good stuff, hopefully the weather plays along for you.

you should ride with lights, expecially a red rear light. plenty accidents where guys ride into the back of others after dusk.

Tough race, good luck to all those doing it!

should be great. love the west coast.

it all comes down to the seal created between the valve rubber end, and the rim. I recently used a American Classic set of red valves on a Stans ArchEx rim. Cosmetic reasons. Initially it didnt look like a good match, the Am Classic uses two small 'o' rings to seal around a round valve end. However, after installing and then sealing the wheel properly, I have had no issues with lost air at the valves, so having squared off edges at the end of the valves to fit a slot in a rim isnt a stead fast rule. It helps though.

First time to Van Gaalens for me, should be good adventure

Max is awesome. I wish him all the best.

Nope, once the paid amount reflects in your bank account, then payment is done. SMS, Faxed, or emailed "confirmation of payment" notifications are too easy to gyppo. Communication is key though. and next day delivery after payment is confirmed is not unheard of either - it may take a few days.

well, stuff happens - perhaps the seller is indisposed. Give it a day or two and then send the cavalry. Often the seller is within his rights to wait for the paid amount to reflect fully in his account - may take some time. Some cheaters use stolen cheques etc to get a deposit slip, and secure delivery of the goods, then these cheques bounce a few days later after the bank verifies them. you can also use the feedback option in the classified section to place a warning to others. just be reasonable though.

currently using a Sram X9 type 2, very nice indeed

OMG

Now you've done it... Admin?

is that possible?

Eason hubs do have some serious issues with bearings, design, keeping water-out. Been there, got the T-shirt. They look great, but the ongoing (and costly) maintainence makes me think Am Classic, is a better route. You should also consider building up a set of Hope/ZTR wheels, great value too.

Great. Well done Gary Perkin. Thanks for posting this Stretch

this is an important issue, you need to really research the manufacturers websites, or ask them specific questions to find out what the max weight specification on a wheel is. Otherwise, it may go out of true, it may rub on the chain stays if loaded in a sprint, or the rim may fail completely.

yes it works, well. The Sram x9 type 2 hasnt dropped thew chain once yet with my Absolute Black front chainring, and when you engage the jocky hanger into locked position, it really makes chain fitting, wheel changing, and chainring changing really easy and convenient. Pity they werent made like this from the start, happy with my X9.

I found this very useful when recently building my On One frame up: http://www.canecreek.com/headset-fit-finder http://chrisking.com/headsets/hds_inset Its a bit of a mission finding the exact headset in our LBS's - most dont carry these as stock items, and often scratch around in old boxes/drawers to find something. This is my experience from visiting 5 different local fairly big name shops. What I ended up doing is matching the headset sizing to the model best suited on the cane creek site (link above) and then went looking for it online. Finally bought one at Evans cycles in the uk, was still R300 or so cheaper landed than buying here. Evans, CRC, Probikeshop all have quite a large selection, so it may well be your best option.

I wonder ...

I lost mine too: consisted of the following: 1 bomb. 1 tube. 1 half eaten hotdog. 1 bag of crisps (lays salted) 1 spare wheel. 1 elastic band 5 marbles. 1 kettle. knife and fork. lipice two pears, browning. 1 shifting spanner. 1 Swat pepper spray. 2 donuts 1 maxxis crossmark, UST 2 cigarettes 1 x 3man tent 1 gas bottle underpants knuckleduster 1 patch kit (i remembered) 1 Specialized Tarmac Sworks (just in case) 1 Volkswagen Beetle (old version) 1 Polaris jetski 3 beers