Just Keep Pedaling

I have Assos and they are great all round. Only issue is get the black one's - the coloured ones stain with even a little dirty water on them. Never even heard of Craft but they would have to be fanstastic to beat the Assos.

The most expensive parts on your list are the fork and the wheels. Find a bike with the fork and wheels you want. Ride it to see you like it. That is your bike.

"Pet Hippo?" More like Julius Malema.

To be famous you will have to collide mid air with something bigger than a Red Hartebees and survive.

Near Port Edward there is a MTB trail. I went there last year and did a ride on rented bikes. The trail is amazing but rather bring your own bikes to avoid 'pain in the rump'. You turn right in the town and go up the hill, go past the coffee shop and turn left following the signs. On the edge of the gorge is a place where you pay for the trail. I am sorry I have no better directions. That will be my ride this Christmas while visiting the inlaws.

"Have seen horse patrols on occasion though." I saw the horse patrols there on Saturday morning. Between William Nicol and Ballyclare roads.

Where did the mugging occur?

They tighenened my cassette with a pick handle - impossible to take off - will not trust them again quickly.

The bike matters too. Especially once you are competing for the podium. Which means that for me the bike is never going to matter. Damn.

I got my stuff eventually. It included the some of the things that they said were out of stock. Bonus. Customs charged me R500 import duty instead of the R1500 they should have charges (on the clothes and shoes). Double Bonus.

"Heres the specs on the 500" That bike will be more than good enough for two years.

"Gear cables don't stretch. I hope part of his rudeness was pointing out your silly mistake?" You may be right in that they technically don't stretch but the cut into the housing doing the exact same thing as stretching - creating a slack cable which makes upshifts sloppy. I also don't like the rudeness I sometimes get from shop assitants - but I find it differs from assitant to assitant and not shop to shop - I have had lots of helpful people from Cycle Lab help me before.

"•How easy is it to engage into the pedals after getting off? •What is the amount of float that they provide? •Do you have to ride them with carbon soles because the contact area is so small?" 1. Much easier than Shimano's because you can cleat in by rolling foot forwards or backwards - the bigger risk is accidentally cleating in when you don't intend to. 2. Enough to not have to worry about your knees. 3. Eggbeaters are rough on shoes compared to Shimano's - so it is recommend get the aluminium plate from Crank Brothers - its cheap and will protect your shoes from tearing (as mine have just done).

Dangle. The words "Straw Man" come to mind. "1. You sound pretty sure. 2.That was 2 years ago, 2 years ago they took bike at knifepoint, now it's guns. 3.It happens everywhere, even in our suburbs. 4.There will always be more , but a slapgat run away approach is not going to help either." 1. The word doubt is added in to show I am not 100% sure. That being said I am 98% sure - how sure are you that they missed? 2. Knife is worse - they are more likely to stab than shoot you because its comparative silent. 3. No its does not happen everywhere - and it sure does seem to happen a lot more near squatter camps/locations. 4. I was not advocating a run-away - I am just saying that its better we don't cycle past squatter camps than cycle past them and then try to apprehend the culprits.

I doubt they were trying to hit you. About two years ago I was spoke to some policemen who patrol the Diepluit area and they regularly get shot at but never shot (so far). I think it is also time we wake up and realise you cannot ride a bicyle worth thousands of rands next to squatter camp with over a million people who are by all measures poor, uneducated and can buy unlicensed firearms for <R100. Anyhows, I hope they catch these criminals but I am worried that more will just take their place.

"Know of guys successully completing Epic (top 50) with mainly spinning" Cycling magazines like to regurgitate the same stuff again and again without ever bothering to find out if its legit. I think the consensus here is unless you on a pro team you will probably do 'ok' by training equivalent hours on a spinning bike. That being said after an hour on a spinning bike I am ready to go home but after 5 hours on my real bike outdoors I can still go on.

"Range my friend... Range!" +1

I have the same issue - Ford Focus ST has no hard point for a tow bar and I am selling my Land Rover - but I have read reports of such bike racks bending the boot (hatch?). I would rather try a roof rack (just don't forget about the bikes when you drive into your garage when you get back home).

Previous time I ordered a few months back - I clicked the place order button and literally 15 minutes later I got a message - "you order has been dispatched." Best you start emailing them Patches...

Placed an order last Monday night. +-R3500. Nothing happens all week. On Thursday I contact them and say - "hey, whats up?" They say, there is nothing wrong with your order - we are having a problem on our side. Friday they email and say "two items you ordered are not in stock" (they are showing in stock on the website). (Shimano shoes and Shimano Shifter) I pick two replacement items in stock and send an email. On Monday I get an email saying the ORGINAL item I ordered is not in stock (duh) can I choose a replacement. I point out that I already asked for a replacement item. Today the email me - the replacement item is also out of stock (its still showing in stock on their website). Retrenchments? Systems issues? Lack of credit worthiniess to stock up? Anybody else seeing this?

They are for my Land Rover which is really more of a liability than an asset. Since you found them, you have to keep the vehicle together with the loan to the bank. Sorry, but rules are rules.

My only fall off a MTB happened here. On a steep downhill section my front tire somehow hooked in the soft sand sending me over the bars. I somehow managed to decleat (God Bless Eggbeaters) and land on my feet amongst some rocks but triped on the rocks in the grass landing face first on a big flat rock (lucky!) - only damage was a dent in my one kneecap area - which took about four weeks to heal but it now fine. Nice trail - but the powderery sand has to go.

Handbuilt ZTR + Crests are the consensus value for money buy from a lot of other posts on this forum. If you want 'race wheels' then go with something prebuilt.

Obviously its anecdotal evidence, but I have noticed a big correlation between someone's 'ball skills' in other sports (say cricket or soccer)and their ability to pick a line at speed and not come off. If you are struggling to go any faster, it is because your self preservation instinct is telling you "If I go any faster I am going to crash" - the sad truth is that your self preservation instinct probably knows better than another hubber telling you to go "Balls to the wall". Maybe the trick is not to go faster but to be happy with your current speed. Either that, or just go faster and see what happens - collarbones can be fixed, wrists fused, skin grafted back onto your face - come on, don't be a sissy!

Now I have heard everything. Microwavable shoes. What next, dehydrated water?