Li Mu Bai

if its muddy, 2x10 sucks, literally. 1x10 or 1x11 is great. also fitting the 42t rear sprocket to the cassette, will assist in getting you up any of the short steep stuff, or give some respite to the long farm road climbs on day 2

my goodness, 9 seconds, that's insane, did the others stop at the water table?

this is not entirely true. My missus craps on me everyday...

you guys were great, thanks a lot.

Tough ride today in AL. Burnt many matches not getting dropped in the climb just before the hekpoort decent. The wind across the descent made it quite sketchy, not great hitting rough spots in the road surface at 88km/h. AL rode quite hard, was a damn cold start. Didnt have the kung fu for the final rising sprint, well done to the winners.

First Wilro for me, looking forward to it.

The http://www.wolftoothcycling.com/collections/all-products/products/giant-cog-for-shimano and http://www.oneupcomponents.com/ and http://absoluteblack.cc/cassette-cog.html are all cheaper options than the general lee, and having tried the oneup 42t solution I can say it really does work. Medium cage deraileur works fine. I quote from the oneup website: The OneUp 42T sprocket is compatible with most medium or long cage 10 speed mountain rear derailleurs. We are working to populate a complete list of preferred models. As with any cassette you need to check that your rear derailleur has enough capacity. Rear derailleur capacity = (largest rear cog – smallest rear cog) + (largest front chainring – smallest front chain ring) Here are two examples: 1. For someone running a 1X system with a 32T front chainring and an 11-42T rear cassette: (42-11)+(32-32)=31T capacity 2. For someone running a 2X system with 40/28 front chainrings and an 11-42T rear cassette: (42-11)+(40-28)=43T capacity Medium cage deraileurs can typically handle 37T (Shimano) 39T (SRAM) and long cage rear derailleurs can handle 43T (Shimano) 45T (SRAM).

not really. If the chain is properly mud pasted to the small chainring, it still wont release. At sabie I found my clutch deraileur merely having its jockey hanger stretched right forward till it locked up. had to stop and bend it back into position. this went on to such a degree that the small metal stopper on the jockey hanger actually ate into and damaged the body of the clutch deraileur. What Sometime says is true, I suspect my small chain ring has reached its sell by date, and certainly contributes to the chain suck in the mud and wet. The closer spacing of the chainrings on the 2x10 doesnt assist in the heavy mud either. However, I do enjoy my single speed, and I do enjoy my 1x10 so happy to keep at it.

like most things, try it and all is revealed. even better still is giving single speed a go as a training tool. 3x9 works. 1x10/11 works 2x10 works and chain sucks

No. you run the 32 in front on your crank. then on either your Sram or shimano cassette you remove the 17t sprocket and its spacer, and then add the Oneup 42t to the back. It works great, started using 1 last week. Woolftooth also make them, but not as flexible as Oneup, as you need to buy specifically for which cassette you own (either shimano or sram) not all cassettes work, so read up before you buy. It certainly is a much cheaper solution than the General Lee. The aluminium seems prone to wearing quickly compared to the metal sprockets of the cassette, but at least you only spend very little time in this bail out gear. Having experienced short steep climbs around knysna without the 42t bailout, it wasnt really pleasant grind up with only a 36, so definitely worth the money, and better than having a 10t sprocket. As for deraileurs, a clutch deraileur is a must. so too the thick/thin front chainring, either XX1, or woolftooth or raceface. having a chain drop in a race is bloody annoying. (hapens easily on a hardtail, less so on a dual sus.)

from midrand its far. bank on a good hour+ and a bit drive. more now if you are avoiding the damn etoll road.

Yes, well worth the trip. This has turned out to be one of my favourite small races. They usually run it 3 to 4 times a year, its not expensive either. The route starts off with some rolling climbs and then flattens out for a good grind. there and back route, you can expect wind to make things interesting, either before or after the turn. The road is quiet, and condition is fairly good. Usually the youngsters attack hard at the start, and if you can keep up its a great training race, with very little place to hide as you are pedalling most of the time. The final 15km sees you riding the climbs back to the start, good tactical fun. Always lots of coke at the finish

Try get yourself a set of Clinchers (much easier to deal with punctures considering how much glass litters our roads), with either 50 or 58/60mm rims. You will notice the difference in accelleration when you use them, even if they are slightly heavier than std alum wheels. you will also notice a much smoother ride as the carbon absorbs much more of the road surface chatter than alum rims do. Dura ace, American Classic, Trigon, Reynolds, Mavic, synergy, zipp, Campag, fast forward - long list to choose from depending on your budget. Definitely worth while, the changes are noticeable and you will enjoy your outings.

For some it will never change, despite the debate. The JHB Engen to Engen morning ride, still hops all the reds (witnessed this again last week) so despite the promises and small talk, this behaviour will continue. Its your own conscious decision, do you go or do you wait. Like most other things in SA there is very little enforcement of the consequences of your action. Pissing off other road users or getting yourself into a pinch by hopping a red are direct consequences. Until you actually pay for your actions, I dont ever see this behaviour changing.

Simple really, time in the saddle. The more you put in the more you get out. Your weight will drop, you will probably kick smoking, you will have more energy, you will see yourself improve and progress further and get quicker as you get fitter. Your training prrograms will evolve over time too, and you will have loads of fun and spend small fortunes upgrading your toys.

be sure to clean out the bottom bearing - you may well have mud/grit in there too thats intrefering when you tighten the top cap. a good wipe of the cup and bearing with a regrease, re-fit, then tighten up the top cap, followed by the stem bolts.

well for a 1x10 conversion the following example works: 32t front chainring, and an 11/42 rear cassette (42-11) + (32-32) = 31t capacity. med cages usually work fine for 1x10 conversions

Nope, not that accurate. Short cages are usually used for dowh hill / gravity riding. Med cages for 2x10 long cages 3x9 each rear deraileur has a rating or capacity. (research this on the net) for your cassette / chainrings you can work out yours as follows: rear deraileur capacity = (largest sprocket - smallest rear sprocket) + (largest front chainring - smallest rear chainring) eg a 2x10 system with 40/28 front and 11/42 rear: (42-11) + (40-28) = 43t capacity med cage deraileurs usually handle (37t shimano, and 39t sram, long cage usally 43t shimano, 45t sram.

No, I saved all of that in a bottle!

haha, its sabie, you had better be fit!

My bike is still getting cleaned serviced after the Sabie mud. Nasty.

hahaha, I just looked in my shirt pocket, it said the same thing...

hahaha, training there is far less frustrating that racing there. Done it, got the T shirt. XC races, Stirling (Johnson cycles race) and Quickie. The farm is fun to train and chase strava segments. All the new single track is brilliant. Not sure how much congestion will build up during the race though, I'm sure there will be comments after the event.

Refer to Rule #5

What I usually use as a press is my carpenters vice as it has large flat faces to push onto all sides on the bearing being pressed into the cup. Then I place the old stuffed bearing against the new bearing, and then put it into the cup (obviously with the new bearing first so that it goes in, and the old bearing remains loose). Slowly press it in, and as the old bearing pushes against all the surfaces of the new bearing it goes in straight, and pushes the new bearing in to the complete correct depth. usually the new bearing is quite oily/greasy so it slides ok too. The old bearing is then discarded works ok if you dont have a bearing drift set.