amasendeinja

Have to agree. I am generally a strong local supporter and typically take most of my business to a single bricks & mortar bikeshop. And whilst I am certain there are bike shops that pull the p*ss on pricing, mine is not one of them. On Friday I was looking for a set of wheels for a mate after he had been quoted R8k rebuild his Hope/Stans Crest rear wheel. First add I found on bike hub was for a set of brand new SRAM Roam wheels for R8,500. A good price considering the ad says they retail at R12k (and the guy advertising them I consider to be upstanding so I believe what's in his ad). Then I went into the SRAM website to check what the rim width was. And what do I find? Recommended retail pricing of $322-374 or €336-390, the Euro price being inclusive of European VAT. Actually it clearly states maximum recommended retail price. Using the highest Euro price which already includes 20% VAT I get to R6,240 using an ROE of 16, which is pretty conservative. So other than shipping to SA this should roughly be parity pricing to Euro pricing. The USD calculation comes out at a very similar value. And retail for these wheels is R12k here!? No duties apply, so shipping costs to SA must be astronomical nowadays

???? From a Pyga to a CracknFail HT???? ....send me your address and I'll dispatch and exorcist immediately ????

Is that going on that orange Pyga of yours?

Shot for the Core Merino link! Been hunting for local merino baselayer offering for ages and never found this.

Awesome stuff....proud to own one of Dave's fine machines!

Mine too...be kinder to me

That is lovely, just lovely, but....bevrug my liggies met 'n PYNappel but that is eyewateringly expensive.

Oval chainrings on a SS? Sacrilege! What next....hydraulic disc brakes? Shame on you! ????

Awesome thread.

Showing my age here, but I'll er...bite. Effie, abbreviation of FL i.e. French Letter, i.e. Condom

Too much sugar and too much carbs. Even if you are unconvinced of a low carb approach, your eating is seriously high carb. Other than the apple or naartjie there is nothing there I would even consider eating.

XT is a great upgrade from XT....when it wears out

Twunts!

First ride on the Mercer Hungry Monkey...on the Spruit (pink tickets were in short supply). Very wet and muddy and involved a head-on collision and an OTB ????. No damage done other than to the ego. Not really a test of its mettle, but was awesome nonetheless...

What "the dog's bollocks"? I'm sure a few do ????

That lava orange onetwenty is particularly good looking ????. Happy riding Evan!

From a few days ago...Mankele to Misty Mountain Lodge and back....incl getting a little lost on the way back. 86km, 1.9km ascent....1x10 with a 34 tooth lowest gear perhaps not my brightest decision ????.

Fixed....awesome place that!! Enjoy

You were there day before yesterday too right, the white Audi? I'm sure I saw that bike on the roof. PS. It's very silly to ride the Mt. Carmel route on an SS - have bled through eyeballs doing it so I know - but I'm sure you know that by now too ????

Definitely shorten that chain, at least 2 links I would think. I think the tensioner can go further forward than 2cm by the looks of from your pictures. Good to have as much chain wrap as possible on an SS. Not pretty when you're standing at maximum exertion and it slips. Will keep your dentist and urologist/gynaecologist happy though as they get to rearrange your severely misaligned bits afterwards! ????

On its way to my hotel in Chicago for my trip there next week. My second one; most comfortable and coolest looking saddle ever

I think 27.5+ may just be the sweet spot for lots of traction and not too much added weight. Particularly if bike brands start building in space enough to add them on standard 29" frames, which some already are. Gets you 2 bikes in one and pretty different rides on each with very little impact on head angle and BB height . 29+ is ok, but for any kind of trail riding the compromise of some pretty long chainstays to make space for those Tyres, makes for a bit of a lumbering hulk of a bike,

Yes and.... it's a custom bike, handbiuilt by one man, who's craft should be paid for. Not a comparable purchase to a non-custom bike. I have the privilege of owning a custom bike, The price of the frame would make your eyes water, mine still do. Would I do it again? Hell yes. And hopefully "again" will be a Mercer to be honest. All that said a Niner frame is around the same price as a custom Mercer. Makes you think where the smart money should go.

I think you should listen to your mate ????....unless they can open (they look a doob stash box) then they could be great for that mid-ride craving for a splif ????