JBK

What I want to get from this thread is to make it clear to anyone considering this that they will NOT get 25% cash back on R85k - they will only get 25% cash back on R20k and there are additional costs involved. Like I said earlier, there's a chap out there who is going to get a horrible surprise at the end of this month when he gets R100 instead of R600 back from Vitality. That's it.!

I beg to differ... For me there is absolutely ZERO benefit to Vitality Team Cycling and hence the only reason for joining would be for the cash back incentive... Hence deducting it from total cash back... When I first spoke to the sales lady at Cyclelab she told me its 25% of the total bike value and had recently sold an R85k bike to someone who had this understanding... Shame, he's going to have a rude awakening. My issue is that first of all, "why bother", no one joins team vitality and to get back R60 pm on an R85k bike is simply ridiculous. For sure I see benefit to the device booster where you can buy a watch for R10k and get R4k back (40%) but to get back 2.5% over 36 months it's more farcical than anything else. And, provided that you achieve all of your goals. And secondly, the clearly misleading content on Discoveries website that could easily lead someone to believing that they're actually going to get R20k back on an R80k bike.!

I assumed that it is R5k capped over 36 months but I find it unreasonable as to the poor clarity in this regard from Discovery and the clearly misleading content. So, Cycle Lab have just confirmed that it is capped at 25% of R20k - so R5k. AND you have to stay a member of Team Vitality for the duration of the three years in order to continue receiving your cash back - so R950 x 3 = R2,850. So, your cash back is hence R5k - R2,850 = R 2,150 Or R60 per month. This is seriously a laughing matter and a disgrace from Discovery.

Has anyone used Discovery Vitality Bike Booster to buy a bike ? On the surface it seems like absolute rubbish and the explanations shown are unclear and potentially misleading depending on what you read. In one body of text, they imply that the maximum reward is 25% of R20k, or R5k paid over 36 months - Woohooo ! And you have to pay once off fee of R950 so in effect you are getting a return of R112.5 per month, assuming you meet all your goals. Talk about "smoke and mirrors". To quote "we take up to 25% of the purchase price of your mountain or road bike, to a maximum spend of R20 000 and divide this by the 36 months" But other text implies that it is perhaps a maximum reward of R20k over 36 months, or R556 per month - which is a good deal. To quote "The total rewards that can be earned over the 36 month benefit duration is capped at R20 000 of the purchase price of your bike." Is it just me or is this very unclear ?

Replacements are only done if the units are within the relative short warrantee period and they're probably so few compared to units sold that is factored into the margins to begin with...

Was it still under warranty..? If not he would've had to pay in R3700... Same thing just happened to me with my F5x+ and a mate with his F5x... Both were non repairable... We both had to pay in for the new replacement unit... We were both not able to pay in to upgrade... Strange that there's no consistency here...

That 'thingy' is called a keeper. They sell them. I bought from their support office in Rosebank recently. They didn't offer me a new strap. I wonder why they did for you ? Kinda makes no sense. Kudos to them anyway.

I can't believe how many of the pros we're man / lady down this week from a "stomach bug" caught last week.... Hmmmmm....

Yea thought that might be the case - effing dstv

Anyone know why the why the 2020 UCI mountain bike world championships are "geolocked" for SA ?

The jumps at the climbing end - 42 to 50/52 is absurd.

Agreed

Agreed - I know lots of people with SRAM AXS now putting on XTR cassette because of the better gear ratios.

I don't look at RPM - I look at gearing. Similar but different perspective. For what you're saying, I've would have to pedal faster - not ideal. I'm currently riding XTR 10-51 with 34 up front and considering changing to 36 for JHB riding because up here I can live with 0.71 smallest ratio but the 36 will give me 3.6 on the largest ratio. Even with a 34 up front, with 11-50 at the back your largest ratio drops to 3.1 where you'll run out of gears very quick on a flat gravel road section. For coastal riding I would but change higher than 34 because I need the 0.67 small ratio.

Yes but there's other cassettes (like sram NX) and sunrace that go from 11-50 ...

I think shimano microspline and XT cassette 10-51. You must also look at gearing as IMHO you don't want an 11 sprocket - 10 smallest is an NB otherwise you lose to much on the flats.

So, the above said, I must confess that I recently posted a kids bike seat on the hub for R1,000 and got the typical 100% scammer response "Good evening, I just want to enquire if the progeny is still up for sale. If so can I contact you to discuss payment and transport method?". The profile on the hub had just been created and was a "(name)1975". Alarm bells ringing and I got so annoyed that I reported to the Hub who investigated from their side and advised that it did not comply entirely with a scam but that I should proceed with caution. I replied simply that the item was still available and got this response "Hi its xxx speaking can we arrange for payment and transport we are in Rustenburg my nr is xxx" I asked and The Hub confirmed that mine was the only advert that the user had responded to which gave some credibility and the only reason that I went any further. However, to prove them a scammer, I then contacted them via whatsapp and it got worse. The reply came that this was the guys wife and that they were in Rustenburg and would pay and get a courier to collect. If you look on OLX, most scammers are "based in Rustenburg". I enquired about the courier and they advised the name of a local motor vehicle dealership ! I was starting to enjoy the game now. So I asked what they wished to do with "the item" for which they have enquired. To which I actually got a feasible response that her and her husband had recently started cycling and that they wanted to start taking their 2 and a half year old daughter with them. So I asked for pictures of the bike "so that I could confirm if the child seat would fit". To which they sent me all the relevant pictures. I advised that we have an account with Courier Guy and that for an extra R100 I could deliver. No problem. I asked "what Bank" which transpired to be the same bank as myself. I then felt confident providing bank details and I got the sms from the same number I get all my other confirmations. I dispatched the following day and guess what, they thanked me for all the assistance in ensuring the seat would work on their bikes and we're kinda mates now. They've sent me pictures out riding altogether and they're happy as can be. So, not every 'scam' is a scam but it's sad how accustomed we've become to always assuming the worst, first.

LOL, so one could go on for pages and page on this subject, however, the common denominator is "Common Sense" and as mentioned above, "If it's too good to be true, it generally isn't". However, a couple of comments about a couple of the above posts : 1) You must have your guard up as both a buyer and a seller ! 2) Yes, it is astounding that the "I'm living on an oil rig.." is still going around, but it must be working. I almost sold a bike to this chap about 5 years ago - I advertised it for R10,000 but when he said he's on an oil rig I advised that since he's earning USD$, my price is USD$ 10,000. He said "No Problem" and persisted for my paypal account, which I advised was "ekisnieafokkenpoepalnie". This confused him and he eventually told me he was no longer interested. In all this time, he actually did not know what product we were conversing about as they reply to thousands of adverts a day. So, if you're suspicious, ask a question like "what are you planning to do with this item that you buying". If they can't answer, it's a scam. 2) Not all EFT payments are dodgy but only if you are face to face with the buyer. Moral of the story, unless you're face to face with the buyer, never let anything out of your sight for 5 days after payment. If the buyer gives you grief, then its a scam. I've bought plenty stuff over the hub (< R1k) from other province's for courier delivery and always advised the seller to ship once satisfied with payment. I also will ALWAYS speak to the seller to confirm legitimacy, especially with bike parts as a scammer generally doesn't know any technical info. Would I ever buy a Garmin 'blind' ? No never ! Would I ever buy 'blind' off other platforms like Facebook, Gumtree, OLX, etc ? No never ! 3) Always ask what bank they are with before they ask you. The scammer will generally always match your bank to make you think the payment will be instant. 4) If the buyer is the same bank as you, then the confirmation sms will come from the same number as all your others, hence legit. Banks like FNB have a brilliant feature of being able to confrim a payment by means of a CODE that you can enter yourself on their platform. My wife has an online store and gets plenty dodgy requests Oct / Nov every year. They always want to collect immediately and get really angry when you stand your ground so do not give out your full address either, until you are 100% happy with the transaction. 5) Always speak to a buyer and confirm that they sound legit before allowing them to come to your home. If at all dodgy, meet at work or nearest shopping centre parking lot / police station. Check them out on Facebook and the Hub. To be honest, Facebook is great, you can tell almost immediately 99% of the time if someone is legit. 6) For sure, beware of "I paid you twice" or "I overpaid by mistake". Wait at least 7 working days before refunding but note that the scammer will get really cross with you whilst I genuine mistake buyer will not. However, check out my next post for, perhaps, the exception.

Cleen Green MSDS says it has sodium hydroxide in it... They'll probably say that the concentrations will not cause damage but be assured that they will be covered in their instructions guideline... Best to source something that's clearly marked "non corrosive"... For our stuff and the environment...

Have you contacted the manufacturers of the cleaning product for comment ? I'd really like to know the brand but not until they've had the opportunity to comment.

Eish... have you read the MSDS for Clean Green..? Everyone used to use it for everything but now there's other products that work just as well if not better, without the corrosive chemicals and are better for the environment... In the original post, he says he did rinse the bike before taking a break and that the damage was done during washing... Personally, I use ecologic, non toxic, non corrosive cleaner / disinfectant / degreaser for my bikes (cars) and drive train (in different concentrations) - my wife now also uses it in place of almost everything else for the house, kitchen, bathrooms, etc. https://stealthhealth.co.za/ecologic/

I agree with you exactly so if he quotes the brand, it's gonna cause harm to the brand. If he used something that's corrosive, then post the name for sure because it should not have been used on the bike in the first place.

Some brands are corrosive and some are not, irrespective of the dilution / concentration... Cleen Green for example, has sodium hydroxide, hence its definitely not a non-corrosive and it goes nowhere near my house... I agree with you completely how ridiculous it is that so many people use, anything, to wash their bikes that cost up to R200k, even dishwashing liquid...

I don't think it's right / fair to post the brand name before contacting the supplier first for comment.... If it's not a non-corrosive then it shouldn't be used anywhere near a bike anyway.

Was this cleaner "corrosive" ? I do not understand how a non corrosive cleaner / degreaser could have done this...