Jump to content

ians H2Sport

Members
  • Posts

    369
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by ians H2Sport

  1. Interesting that you raise this. I have only ever bought Specialized shoes and for the first time, today actually, I started looking at other brands. The last 3 pairs of Specialized have had issues, so was keen to see what else is out there. Best I could find, in my opinion, is Shimano. Check out the current deals on Evobike. Regarding your price concerns, I think you will find most brands, if not all, have seen a significant price increase over the past few years. 

  2. On 12/15/2022 at 2:45 PM, madmarc said:

    I'm even prepared to pay for the training - Purchase all the tools required - pay cash for spare parts from the importers - It is beyond belief that a electro/mechanical device of this value is simply binned when a component fails.

    Yip, the 'hands off' approach from the local agents is mind blowing 

  3. 40 minutes ago, madmarc said:

    This is why I believe there could be a nice home business repairing trainers - but without the importers or OEM support (which i have tried to get) we'll carry on binning them

    Fully agree guys. Either the trainer agents could contract with them to carry out repairs, or someone could set up a direct to customer business to repair machines the agent won't work on. It is super frustrating and cost prohibitive having a machine without technical support. My mate will considering doing this outside working hours. 

  4. On 8/16/2022 at 5:36 PM, nick_the_wheelbuilder said:

    I've been asked to build some stunner wheel sets lately, so I thought I'd share some photos with you all.

    Various carbon rims (South Industries, Nextie, Stans) on DT Swiss 240S & 350 hubs, with bladed spokes and brass nipples.
    All came in between 1290 and 1390g per set.

    What a lucky bugger I am that other people trust me to build their awesome wheels :)

    DSC_0196.jpg

    DSC_0198.jpg

    DSC_0814.jpg

    DSC_0826.jpg

    DSC_0940.jpg

    DSC_0952.jpg

    DSC_0971.jpg

    So I went for the Nextie rims on DT240's. Sadly not for my bike, the lightie gets the nod this time. Cant wait for them to arrive!! 

     

  5. update on my Hammer issue:

    A really smart electrical engineer mate of mine had a look at the machine. It turns out 2 chips within the resistance circuit had failed. Difficult for him to be certain, but the failure of the 1st chip could have resulted on the 2nd failure, but no evidence of a power surge causing the faults. Replacement parts from Texas Instruments cost just over $3, with the courier fee being the big cost. So it looks as if the machine is easily repairable by someone who knows their way around electronics. Once the parts have been installed I will update on how/if the machine works 

  6. Both my kids are training under Andrew Hill. His cautious approach over the years has yielded great results. Kids were around 12 years old when they started with him. He started slow with them, introducing structured training without the volume. Now at 17 my daughters volume is up significantly and fortunately the motivation is still there. One has to be cautious not to go too hard too soon, kids need to develop physically and mentally before they push hard.  

  7. 2 minutes ago, Schnavel said:

    Nice setup!

    Mine is similar in that I also have 2x H1 trainers. My trainer has done over 15000kms and I have had no issues - I have conducted minor maintenance on the unit such as clean outs, and applying belt dressing to the belt. Other than that, it hasn't given me a moment's issue.

    I think you have been a bit unlucky with your unit. I wonder if the lightning strike that you mentioned had anything to do with it?

    I'm looking at upgrading my H1, so let me know if you are interested, will sell it you for a very good price.

    C'mon, send us a pic of your setup. 

    The lightning hit the router only back in Feb, besides, I think the strike hit through the router cable, not the power, as it damaged one of the house routers ports too. No other damage fortunately.

    You apply belt dressing? Interested to know what you use. 

    H1, thanks but no thanks 

  8. 4 minutes ago, dave303e said:

    I honestly think these things are all a bit delicate, just given the components and then on top of them, often without realising we totally abuse them. They are delicate electrical boards and components interacting with mechanical items. Work from home showed me homes are not kind on electronics. I clean my laptop weekly, but when you get a remote working team to come into the office for the first time in a few weeks. Look closely at those laptops. You will be disgusted....

     

    I know my environment is worse than most(farm), but I now take the covers off the trainer every few months and clean out all the dust and stuff. If you have pets you will no doubt have hair in there as well. My dog loves sleeping next to the trainer. Some people leave them plugged in 24/7 as well. Then you have a domestic slopping a mop around an expensive electric item that sits on the floor because you sweat puddles. You also sweat onto the trainer unit, spill water fling lube etc etc. I had a friend using a chain cleaner with paraffin on a wahoo kickr, needless to say there will be no surprise if it croaks it.

    Regarding the power and surges. We are on 3 phase direct from eskom, the number of surges or times a single phase is down is actually scary. Never mind during load shedding...

    The other thing- before 12000km even a land cruiser needs a service. No one seems to think a trainer with spinning wheels and bearings need a service.

    To say I am a bit anal about my things would be fair. I have a training room separate from my house (ex bar) and treat it like a mans room... (I even bought a separate vacuum cleaner for that room). Due to having lost a router to lighting early this year, I cut power to that room unless I am working or training there. I leave our road bikes on the trainers permanently and do all cleaning myself. Re the mileage, my mate sent me a screenshot of his Zwift Logon page, he has done 19506 km and 670 hrs and his wife has done 7346 km and 304 hrs on his Tacx, same machine, zero issues, no maintenance. That is the type of return I would really appreciate. If something goes wrong with it now, cool it has paid for itself. All considered, this is very much a 1st world problem, we are fortunate to be able to cycle as a sport and live the life we do. 

     

    943353156_IMG_07251.JPG.ca93b5f7037a5d176a7ecbafe5c21049.JPG

  9. 1 hour ago, Jehosefat said:

    Claim from insurance. Your insurance should cover power surges so send them the note from the agents saying that's what caused the issue and you should have no problem.

    Ja I thought about that, thanks. But I honestly do not believe it was a power surge. If that was the case I would not have been able to calibrate it or connect it to Zwift the next day

  10. 16 minutes ago, sirmoun10goat said:

    Sometimes in life, things go wrong. Just got to accept that. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect a manufacturer to carry lifetime warranties on their products. If they were uncooperative while under warranty, that’s a different issue. Here you are out of warranty, and they have offered you a compromise.

    Would I turn away from buying another Hammer? Probably not, unless there is something else that offers me comparable value for money 

    Would I sell my remaining working hammer just because I’m upset with the manufacturer? No, that does seem a bit irrational/immature. You are complaining about having to pay in some money for the replacement hammer. The loss on selling your working hammer and replacing it with another new trainer will definitely exceed what you need to pay in on the replacement hammer

    Your position on this is respected, thanks. My frustration relates to having spent R15k for the machine, using it 2 to 3 times a week absolute max, and having to replace it in under 3 years. That is a pretty poor return, also considering I spent R1000 on replacing a failed power supply during that time. Average it all out, I got about 325 rides out of it, which is under 12000 virtual km. Consider all those rides were done by my kid, so low wear & tear. Yes, things do go wrong but would I pay close to that again for the same brand, nope. Selling the other machine is a bit of an emotional response, but I do have 2 machines set up next to each other, and having two different brands will make me even more emotional.... 

  11. So I purchased my 2nd Cyclops Hammer under 3 years ago and set it up alongside my original H1. Kids and I can now train indoors together to avoid rainy day rides and to complete those mid week after hours intervals. Apart from a belt replacement a year or so in, the only annoying issue until now has been the failure of both original power packs. Both power packs and the belt were replaced through the local agents. Great service, quick response so limited downtime, all good so far. Then early on in a ride this week the resistance of the H2 drops. Blue light still on, just no resistance. Stopped the training session and try re-calibrate, same issue. Then tried a firmware update, blue light went to flashing red. Checked the net, indicators are that it could have been an overheating issue. Next day, tried again and immediately got the red flashing lights. Contacted the local agents and received an immediate response. They sent the courier same day and off it went. Next day, response :

    "The Power supply shorts out whenever it is plugged into the unit. (Even with a 90 Degree jack). This indicates the unit has had a power surge and components on the motherboard are blown. Preventing the unit from providing any power to the board'. 

    Great response time, great service, but long story short, under 3 years in I have to pay (albeit a discounted fee) for a new machine. 

    I know there was no power surge, both Hammers were running off the same plug point at the same time, and before anyone suggests this, we don't get load shedding here for some awesome but bizarre reason. 

    So I am a bitterly disappointed and angry customer who now has to fork out for a new machine. Yes, it is recently out of warranty and I cannot prove the power was working/on when I re-calibrated and updated firmware, so it is a he said/she said situation. So really it is a lose/lose scenario where they lose a customer and I have to purchase another machine. Hopefully it will last longer than 3 years. Interestingly my original H1 is still going strong, look out for it in the classifieds soon......

    So I am selling off the H1 and buying 2x Kickr, what would you do?

     

     

     

  12. Flip this is a real shocker. My Argentinian expat boss (these guys are properly emotional) reckons South Africans in general seem to be really angry. I agree, we are super tense at present and this can lead to unreasonable reactions. This situation is beyond that, this oke needs jail time. How about getting hold of a local private investigator? This should yield quick results, which you need to gain an effective prosecution. 

  13. I have been through the kids bikes dilemma, in the end it all depends on what they will be doing on the bike. 

    Playing around on their bikes and having fun - a bike that fits, is not too heavy and has good brakes

    Doing schools races and playing around - same as above but with more focus on reducing weight

    Racing competitively, schools races & XCO (nipper & sprog) - bike fit and focus on weight

     

    I pretty much made sure my eldest (girl) had the best I could afford at the time, my youngest (boy) got the hand me downs, fortunately fit was good. The result many years later, both are racing nationally and are absolutely loving the sport. It works out super expensive, but hell it is worth it.  

  14. Hi guys, on a few threads guys mentioned non padded baggies, which make sense, so just use your bib underneath.

    Anyone bought these ones, how do they work out, to flappy, to long, just right? They seem well made, what other options, makes, suppliers? https://ciovita.co.za/products/mens-trail-baggies 

     

    I am keen to order jerseys so would not mind matching pants.

    I bought the new Fox Flexair with no padding. So good I went back and bought another one. Fit really well and have a ratchet system to tighten at the waist. Only consideration, they make a bit of a rustling type noise when you pedal - doesn't worry me at all. 

Settings My Forum Content My Followed Content Forum Settings Ad Messages My Ads My Favourites My Saved Alerts My Pay Deals Help Logout