RobynE 🚵‍♀️

I was reading something the other day and it seems that suspension seatposts a la Thudbuster and Suntour NCX are having a revival because of gravel bikes. So if not a dropper at least a suspension seatpost can have people keeping up with the Joneses. I wouldn’t survive my (or any) HT without my Thudbuster 😂 But I don’t like the feel of full-sus so it’s a very happy medium.

Try Bike Market. They buy a lot of Thule racks and maybe they’ve got the part you need.

I’m about a year on a “spiderweb” saddle on MTB and also flawless. I’ve had two surgeries for perianal abscesses prior to this saddle and so far all good a year later! Bib shorts I got (say Lameda on them) are my favourite by far out of my shorts and still feel and ride exactly the same as day 1. The saddle was like R180 and the bib R350. Not that I don’t want to support local but I need more bibs than I can afford at local prices.

Here’s one maybe - I think he’s closed his shop 27.2 dropper on FB Marketplace

I would chat to @RobertWhitehead to build you a monster cross. For your money you’ll get a total beast.

Gorillas in the mist at my local

Ok gents so I’ve done some fiddling and I think I’ve found the sweet spot. Felt my usual level of confidence on the same trail as mentioned the other day. TP is like 1.0 at the back and 0.8 at the front. No pings, sits nicely, rebound feels good and as far as I can tell no burping. I’ll check the pressure again this evening and see if it’s dropped since this morning. Obvs on tarmac I’ll be pumping them right up but this felt good for sandy/rocky single track.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16B8Z98Quh/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Yep, Robert will sort you out and he’s in Garsfontein

If you start getting into new freehub (or hub) and crank set territory, it’s really not worth it even if you manage to find really cheap, good quality parts. Keep an eye on the classifieds for a second hand 1x instead, or look at a new 1x in the 12-14k range. 2nd hand Momsen

Olympic Cycles Lyne Or ask @Evobikes

Yes definitely worth it. Then Northern Farm - pink and eventually green routes. Bothongo Rhino and Lion has a nice little BMX pump track that’s also fun. It’s just the pump track but you can combine it with a lunch. Danielsrust for some nice mileage on flat, well-maintained roads with game, very little elevation.

*furiously scratches CTCT off entry list* 😂

FYI If you ride for a charity you get a better starting time. I rode last year for the first time, for Border Collie Rescue, and start time was 07:00 I think. I would never have started there of my own abilities 😂

Still there, if you love hills 😂

And Prime View. They host lots of events and the trails are normally excellent.

Then there’s also Thaba Trails and Die Bosveld but haven’t been to either myself and don’t know their current state. Should be good though as they’re very popular.

Taroko (Modderfontein) is very nice Asidlale (Leeuwkop Golf Club aka “the prison”) is a great ride but can be very muddy Northern Farm always excellent Danielsrust is great to get miles in and see some animals while you’re at it - it’s not trails like a dedicated trail place - it is not muddy at all at the moment Wolwespruit is good fun but can also be very muddy and slippery - it’s kind of on the side of a mountain Avianto currently extremely muddy - same with Van Gaalen and honestly most of the Magalies stuff Cycle Lab Bike Park is a great spot to build tech skills

At that rate it’s unaffordable for my family as well, as we did our first one as a family and would like to do it again in the same manner. That’s well over R2k for the ride itself, never mind accommodation etc. We didn’t find the vibe *amazing* at our first one in 2023 so there’s no dangling carrot in that regard.

I was thinking about the micro economy the other day as I enjoyed a pap and steak food trailer meal after my ride, alone, next to Diepsloot. I didn’t for a moment feel unsafe and in fact I was treated like royalty. My thoughts are along the lines of: communities bordering game reserves benefit from the entrance fees etc charged for said game reserves and as a result poaching and other criminal activities are reduced. So I’m going to buy a case of Steri Stumpies for a few hawkers for them to sell to cyclists in hot spot areas near me (northern Joburg), conditional to them using the money to re-stock themselves with Steri Stumpies. And I’ll print and laminate a sign with a cyclist and “Steri Stumpies available here” and give that to them. It may or may not make a difference 🤷‍♀️ But I reckon it’s worth a go. So, if you see the sign, please support the vendor 🙏

Danielsrust again but this time with my kiddo and my head staff member, and some doggos of course. A gorgeous day for riding! IMG_3186.mov IMG_3191.mov

Oooo yes please! And I’m also in Fourways 😁 It will match my daughter’s new Rapide hub

Forgive my inexperience but would something like this not be more practical. Not aero, but I don’t think anything is aero once you’ve got an Endurance setup mounted. Out front bar

Rapide is amazing. Had my first interaction with them last week when I was interested in buying a 2nd hand hub advertised on the Hub. Emailed Rapide on the Saturday afternoon (without expecting a response until Monday) to ask if spares were available before buying it, and Wayne replied a couple of hours later on the Saturday and confirmed they had spares on hand. Turned out the hub was 💯 and didn’t need any bits but if I need something going forward and Rapide does it, they’ve got my business for sure!

I have no idea about the road bike. I spend a fair bit of time in the classifieds. Very little market for 26” these days and you can get second hand kids bikes with 1x drivetrains and disc brakes in really good nick for R3000-R5000. Honest guesses from my side would be pretty much value of parts on each bike. I’d say like R4000 for the dualsus and R1200 for the kids bike. You could ask more but I think that’s what you would realistically get in the current market, sold as complete bikes. You could strip the 26” down and see if you’d get more for the parts, assuming they are all functional. Hard to tell from the pics what is dirt and what is scratches/ageing, so these values could go either way.