Naas V

Hey Sherlock, you're fast hey - but you're quite right! I 'm still researching - there must be cheaper options that having to fork out 3 - 6 grand. Thks

This lighting threads are driving me crazy What enduro set are you refering to? Some guys also just wanna overkill - have a look at this

I bought an open ended ticket for my upcoming trip, so don't need to save up on leave, might just not come back ever...hope to find Sophia Loren over in Italy on her bike....

Apology, only saw your post today - yes I will surely post some pics - hope your still alive to see them when I get back seeing that you're already 71 according to your profile ...just joking

What's your weight? Rds, Naas

She's talking nonsense. Those type of adaptations can take years and cyclists don't have time Test the inserts for a month or two and make a decision then. Since I started using it, discomfort almost disappeared and I can pedal much harder(bigger gears) on climbs nowadays. Not completely solved but more than 50% immediate relief in my case. You can actually make your own by cutting away front and back-ends of normal shoe inserts - be creative - they need to be wedged. I recently arrived at a race without mine and could immediately feel the difference(discomfort) So I folded my armwarmers, put it inside and it helped a lot. New inserts are about R500-600 - I think Specialised makes them. I would say the problem with your left knee can also be a style problem. I see lots of cyclists making "circles". Try/concentrate pulling and pushing inwards all the time(close to the top tube) - easy at first, like during LSD rides. This is very important - say you have to apply presure from the top, which leg is going to collapse first? The one who pedals in circles(like you're "bakbeen" or the one that pedals straight up and down?

Barry, go the Trento Bike pages - more than enough info there. http://www.trentobike.org/ Went to see Roger Waters in London last year - Dark Side of the Moon concert...do you hate me now ? Cheers, Naas

If opinions can only be voiced by those who's got SOME experience about cycling committees and how much backstabbin/ gatkruipery exist amongst those ranks, this thread will not even have been started. So, los die Lemmers uit. Ja hulle is besonderse mense, vreemd soms en net omdat die meeste kraaghempdraers jaloers is oor Carinus se hairdresser se vermoens en ander weer wens Hendrik het ten minste skool gegaan, dink ek ons het in hulle darem 'n goeie verteenwoordigende balans op komiteevlak wat sal keer dat dit nie weer 'n one-man-autocratic-type of show raak soos vroeer jare nie. Daar's vordering en kom ons kritiseer minder.

For Chilli Palmer Plse go to PPA and repeat what you've said here - you're completely misinformed and it's a different topic altogether. I can tell you where the money goes to, but do your homework before you make unfounded allegations - accounts for everything in life! About bike and part prices - I think we all agree with you. But if you wanna keep up with the Jones's I guess it's more difficult. Just look at the starting line-ups of races - everybody's looking at someone else's bike and muttering to himself...uhm nice, very nice, rich, spoiled, brat, doesn't make him/her faster, "al dra 'n aap 'n goue ring hy bly huh bleddie lelike ding" etc. etc. Some of the best looking and most expensive bikes out there will never do an Argus sub three!.... ...it's not about the bike We must take better care of our bikes and support the shop where it's a pleasure to spend time and money - cycling is about fun. Naas V2009-04-14 05:35:27

Very Good Wobbles - remember your body need to adjust now to new setup - expect discomfort for up top 10 days - good luck

100% chemically pure Glycerine - get at your local chemist

With the level of my fitness(high at the moment) I don't use this method often, maybe 2 - 3 times per year. So interference with norml body systems is low. Typical races will be ones over 100 km like the DC for example. The sweating is visibly less - remember glycerine is a fluid - "thickener" so to speak and also acts as a body coolant. There's various articles on the web about this - the best being by Joe Friel, world renowned trainer, in his book The Cyclist's Training Bible.

99% of cyclist don't cramp whilst training. So, coz we're competitive, we race above our ability. Thus, Cramping = Intensity coupled with Duration. Bottomline is Train hard, Race easy. Some free and gratis advice: My sweatrate is higher than normal, so I need to take supplements that can actually slow down my sweatrate ie curbing fluid depletion/loss of body weight etc. Try glycerine for about 3 days before a race, about 100 ml per day and 50 ml on the morning of the race. It works like a water hoarding sponge and causes the body to hold on to 50% more fluid than water alone. This will slow down your sweatrate and subsequently the time when you normally start to cramp due to loss of electrolytes, salts, sodium etc. There's other benefits too like cooling bodytemp and increase in endurance etc.

It's too involved to explain here. Go buy The Cyclist Training Bible by Joe Friel - study and practice what he preaches and within 3 months you will have easily improved by 15%. If you follow through with the book - base in winter and steady progressive training thereafter, you can easily do a sub 3 Argus - provided you've done some seeded races to start in a decent bunch. But to get you going - start doing intervals twice a week, ride rolling courses, rest alternative days, do at least one big climb per week - seated. Increase distance per week by no more than 10%. Rest every 4th week - can be active but intensity below 60%. Please go buy the book ...and don't listen to other advice that contradicts the book. Will only confuse you and you'll lose focus. Good Luck, Naas.

Hi Skim, to put Mark on even footage here, who are you and where are you from - I'm sure you wouldn't mind telling us that. Also leave your contact no - Mark's the kind of guy who'd like to follow this up, apologize and make good for alleged poor service. You said the following: the point here is not to focus on Mark and his incompetence but to get it out in the open that there are guys that are using the Epic to learn. Surely we have the right to know who to use in the future. So please share with me who the good one there and which the bad ones. The Epic cost a crap load of money its not nice to have mechanicals due to your bike boys lack of skill??? I want to know how was good and who was not. I know this will be subjective but where there is smoke... If you don't wanna focus on Mark's incompetance, how many other bad experiences did you in fact have and who are they - since you,re asking about he bad ones too you can start by sending us your list. We all agree about Epic costing lot of money and what you have to say about inexperienced mechanics. What I don't agree with is using this forum as a place for biased and unjustified allegations bordering on slander. So please reveal youself to gain some credibility and give us details. All the best, Naas

Yes I can - I had it done about 6 months ago - after two years of knee pain and lots of irritation of not being able to attck on climbs. Now its all coming back again - knee still not 100% but immediate improvement as far as relief was amazing. The guy to see is Jeroen Swart - he's a docter, has done setups for Team Telecom, yes Ulrich and the likes. He's also the current MTB champion for his agegroup and operates from Sports Science - Newlands. Discovery High Performance Cycling Division and the Sports Medicine and orthopaedic practice both offer similar services. These services are as follows: 1) Ergofit fitting: The client?s measurements and history are taken and a computer generated report is issued. This can be taken to a bicycle retailer who will then alter the bicycle as required. 2) Ergofit + fitting: The client?s measurements are taken as per Ergofit. The clients is then positioned on the bike according to the Ergofit report and a 7 point check is performed to assess whether all parameters are optimal. Additional forefoot, rearfoot and leg length assessment and correction are carried out. 3) Comprehensive assessment with Dr Jeroen Swart: Please note that assessments with Dr Swart are a bike fitting only when conducted through the HPC. The Sports medicine practice includes injury assessment and therefore includes a medical consultation. There is a significant waiting period for consultations with Dr Swart through the HPC. For bike fittings through the HPC: Contact cyclinginfo@ssisa.com for Ergofit and Ergofit + fittings Email Jeroen.swart@uct.ac.za for consultations with Dr Swart For bike fittings through the Sports Medicine Practice: Please call 021 659 5644 or email DNS@intekom.co.za For more information on Ergofit, please visit www.sciencetosport.com He's really booked-up in advance - don't delay. Although some can do without the personal consulation, I recommend to do it anyhow. All measurements are send to you via e-mail afterwards for future reference. Cheers Naas.

Gauging from how much you train I would firstly say that you fall within the group of people who don't train enough - distance and intensity. When you go to races you race harder than you've ever trained - the result will almost always be cramping or suffering towards the latter part of the race. Cramping like you experience can also come from incorrect setup ie cleats or feet at wrong angles leading to discomfort around knee-area leading to overuse of certain muscles especially inner thigh that then have no alternative but to start cramping. I see so many cyclists with ankles angling to the outside and knees and legs pumping out(to the top of their stroke and then coming straight down next to the frame again - this is the worst action(weaker as oppose to straight up and down) and will lead to sore thighs and knees from time to time. Have a proper set-up done, not by your LBS but go to a biokineticist that cycles as well. They must measure your legs, they must measure your reach, see if you can touch the ground, is your one leg shorter than the other, does your feet hang to the side when relaxed, do you have flat feet(then you need inserts), how much do your shoulders " come around to the front" when reaching forward(ie when you reach forward your shoulders don't stay in a straight line) A LBS can't do that. If you can spend thousands on a bike you can at least invest in your health . Have this done every 3 - 5 years. Will cost less than a R 1000 and will save you the agony of sore backs and many other minor problems. Apart from that, a proper setup will put you in the most powerful position on a bike that you can get. Most people, I will say 95% of cyclists that hasn't had a proper proffessional bike set-up done before, will immediately, without training, be at least 4-5% stronger on the bike, especially on climbs. Good luck, Naas.

Hi Cat-I, Thanks for your response. Plan to tour for about 14 days from Lake Como via Swiss and Germany to Austria - about 1000 km's.

Looking for set of panniers - front and back. If you've got good secondhand stuff, plse let me know. Wanna tour overseas -need to be medium sized. Thanks, Naas

Amper se ek ***! Skuus.Naas V2008-10-13 01:33:19

I bought a pair 50cm Carbon tubbies end of last year for R7k. Raced with them 9 times, won 2 races, DNF once, above ave to good results for the rest(Vets league, Western Cape) Two of the above races were over gravel sections covering about 4 k's in total - no punctures there Can someone explain to me why alot of these type of wheels should cost in excess of 15k, some even over 30k and how that amount of cash outlay would improve my results, let alone justify it? I'm not into yuppie-k@k, or brandnames, or worried about my image but if I were, then I still don't see the point especially so with not a lot of difference in weights and rolling resistance, stability, stiffness and all the other **** the distributors claim. Your views guys. Note: I've edited the post to not include brand names - my question really is: Is expensive better than cheaper and why? Thanks Naas. Naas V2008-04-22 08:24:55

Flashlights in the tunnels! 2nd stage took too long to start last year. Oh yes, get a decent boere-rock band man - skop gat. After the first song last year, the set was quite amateurish! Regardless of my 2c here, still the most enjoyable race on the calender, will definately travel again, all the way from Cape Town. Good Luck!