RobynE 🚵‍♀️

Fluir Elite 1000lm serves us super well. Had ours for almost 2 years now and still no issues whatsoever. Happily use it on night rides as well including on intermediate tracks at Bike Park at night and a night event at Prime View. Don’t let the cheap price put you off - it’s really, really good. Link

You can get a Sunrace 11-50 locally, which will help with your climbs, if you wanted to stay 1x. There’s also a Sunshine 11-52. They both come in somewhere around R1500.00. Almost every photo I’ve ever seen of the TB is people with 1x setups. I reckon if you train hills on your 1x setup with more choice at the top, you’ll soon know if it’s going to work out for you or not whether with the 34/36. Meanwhile 38 ring on a 42t makes my legs and lungs heave just thinking about it 😂

Not sure if there is a list but if you google anyone’s name, you should find the info, if they’ve been sanctioned or if there is cause for concern. Using S-N B as an example, it brings up masses of info about the charges and the outcome. I don’t know if I’m reading the OP’s question correctly but I don’t think that guilty by association applies in the case of sanctioned individuals viz their spouses/teams/etc. and it would depend on your own feelings around it all if you chose to interact with their associates. Like I know of some people in and outside of the sport of cycling whose associates I wouldn’t ever choose to be involved with, because I think they need their heads read in standing by their continued association with said people 😊

⬆️ Just to add, I had SRAM GX 11 speed on my bike and it served me well. With the right cassette and chain ring size you have plenty of range. I only went 12 speed because the feel of the 12 speed Shimano shifter really makes my heart pitter-patter 😂

You won’t be able to get a new freehub for your AMC wheel unless you find one second hand - so you’ll need to use what you’ve got, whether XD or HG. American Classic is no longer, as of 2018 I think, so any new parts will be new-old stock at shops or if you’re lucky someone has something sitting in their parts cupboard. In both XD and HG there are a few aftermarket cassette options. I’ve used Sunshine and Sunrace and enjoy them both. Your SRAM is GX, not GRX. GRX is Shimano’s gravel groupset. Just mentioning this as if you ask people for stuff for your SRAM GRX you’ll likely be met with a lot of confusion. Current SRAM GX is 12 speed. I have a AMC HG freehub if you’d like to use it, if you wanted to go Shimano. I was using it with a SLX/Sunshine 12 speed 1x setup. It’s not in perfect shape but it gets the job done. Only not being used as I cracked the rear rim (American Classic Tubeless Race 29) and ended up replacing with a new wheelset and now using an XD freehub on Hope hub. If you’re in Joburg @RobertWhitehead can sort out your conundrum.

Gosh.

The Giant has a better fork and shock than the others, as well as better brakes, so buying new that would swing it for me. That’s if they all feel nice to ride. Doesn’t help to have better x and y if the bike feels *** to ride.

If the cap on the fork doesn’t physically turn when you use the switch then I don’t think it’s cable actuated, but I’m sure there are others who know more. All the “remote” does on one of my forks is use a cable to pull the damper closed, which I could do by hand (the damper cap literally turns). But on my other forks there’s no moving part on the fork that I can turn and if I remove the remote it would just be permanently in the open position. That’s my experience anyway!

@RobertWhitehead

This is a super event and you work hard for your medal, and support and water points are fantastic. #2 for me and so excited!

I think that has something to do with the damper - if yours is currently a cable lockout (turn key) then it wouldn’t be a problem as you could just remove the cable, but if it’s hydraulic then I don’t think so (I stand under correction) as there’s nothing to manually turn.

⬆️ NB the tyres have a reflective strip on them which makes the wheels seem very deep in pics but the rims wear a 38 tubed very nicely indeed and I think tubeless will be epic.

And so she takes flight in phase 1 of being a dual purpose road/gravel tandem steelie. Massive thanks to @kermitt for all his attention here. Responding to an ad for a set of tandem DT rims resulted in some ridiculously cool stuff from the lekker guy who is kermitt. Dame Judy as she’s been named, is now sporting some bigger tekkies (she’ll be able to comfortably run 40 (min) tubeless at the rear and a bit wider still up front - now 38 tubed on both), a very lekker carbon fork, front mechanical disc brake, larger rear v-brake caliper pending disc conversion at the back, stretched dropouts to run her delicious DT tandem rim/disc wheels, new bar tape and brake cables, new-to-us chainrings. Thanks so much, Gareth!! Before: After: I just need to fiddle with saddles as they’re the OG ones from the bike which is probably a 90s model, but we’ll see you at Race To The Sun on Saturday 😁

But didn’t Cycle Lab buy CWC a few years ago?

Them’s good people!

Link to Mellow page with the colours available. It’s called the Scott Argo Mips. Ben or Liam at Mellow (my LBS) will sort you out quick sticks.

Most certainly the Scott MIPS - they have them at Mellow in Broadacres - R1699. Superb helmet for the price. I absolutely love mine. The other day I walked around the house getting progressively more irritated about where I may have put my helmet, until my cousin told me it was on my head… 🤦 They’re incredibly comfortable and lightweight, too 😂

Update: Sale pending My cousin broke her arm yesterday so she has her 50 miler ticket (race only, no logistics) up for grabs. If anyone is keen please DM me and I’ll put you in touch.

As others have said it can be super boring, but, I put on YouTube videos of scenic rides and then pretend I’m in the Alps, desert, etc. Definitely better than not riding at all!

Hey, thanks gents. I appreciate your explanations. I’ve done a bit of reading up and now have better context. I may have to buy myself a new gravel-type groupset for Christmas (it is being converted into a “light off-road” tandem and our first even is Race To The Sun next weekend). It’s clear that the options for keeping the 8 speed are very limited. (… Though, the tandem is for my daughter and I so surely she could get me one for Mother’s Day 🤔 but she’s 10 and that may be a bit of a cheeky ask 😂 😂)

Massive congrats @Zebra! Happy New Bike Day! I don’t see myself getting a new bike for a very long time (affordability plus I thankfully LOVE my current bikes) so I can see your excitement!

Our tandem has the Shimano brifters that you swing to the side to shift, and a little pokey switch to shift the other way. It is 2x8 which works well for our needs for the moment. Brakes are mechanical. The reach is a bit long for me but I think that can be adjusted. What brifters would I be looking for that will give me cleaner shifts and where up and down are closer to each other? This is my first drop bar adventure since I was 11 years old 😂 And I’m coming from 12 speed Shimano MTB which is super crisp, and while not expecting quite that crispness, I’d like to have the controls more centralised while keeping the drops. Thanks!

Holy thread resurrection for the always overheard Bootleggers/Seattle/Vida conversation on a weekend morning Kevin Fraser Boets

Screenshotting for those who don’t use FB

The (gravel-prepared) tandem