RobynE 🚵‍♀️

I cannot confirm the legitimacy of this ad or anything else. Titan Drone 29er. It’s a 2x but if it’s in decent nick and the seller is legit it may be worth a look. https://www.facebook.com/share/eP2xGUvcUYEW29Wa/?mibextid=2JQ9oc

Sure thing. I felt very overwhelmed, as back when I was a kid there was a corner shop that sold bicycles and you kinda just picked the colour and whether you wanted road or MTB. If you go into a bike shop now you’ll be SHOOK. The options are basically endless and you can spend as much as your budget will allow. Like, there are bikes upwards of 200k, and bikes that are 5k, and you need to find your sweet spot. The thing is, if you buy a bike and it’s *** or uncomfortable or complicated or you don’t trust it, you won’t ride it, and you won’t necessarily chuck it and buy another. You might just think that cycling is not for you. Hills are hard, descents are sketchy, but hills are less hard with decent kit and you’ll fall off less (or work harder to fall off) on descents with a decent bike. And you can go faster in general 😁 No bike is going to make you a champion off the bat but coming back into this and spending a lot of time reading and learning, I realise that I could have bought a LOT of crap, and I lucked out with my first bike (which I still have, and seemed SO expensive as a brand new purchase at 13k) - I fairly quickly realised I really enjoy cycling but my bike didn’t have enough mountain in it - tried out some new bikes, felt underwhelmed and really quite disappointed, spoke to Robert, and got a cool second bike. I still have my first bike and I still love it, but it’s not the one I chuck down loose, rocky descents or attempt loose, rocky climbs. But the first bike was the right bike for me because it made me excited to get on a bike every day and by the time I started looking for a second bike I’d already done almost 2000km on the first in a year - and that was with major spine surgery in the middle of it all. You need to have a sit on whatever you are interested in, because no two bikes feel or ride the same, and the exact same components on a different frame can give such a vastly different ride. I’d sat on quite a few bikes before I sat on “the one” and when I sat on it I just knew. It’s served me well and will continue to do so for a good long time (e.g I’m doing Race To The Sun and other road and gravel races on bike #1 this year, as well as commuting to the shops etc, and the MTB is picked for Trailseeker and other MTB events). If you could manage to save say R15k, you’ll have a really decent hardtail (front suspension only) that won’t need upgrading for a good long while. And then you might decide to get a full/dual suspension bike instead, or upgrade your existing components, etc. There are no rules, but start with something that you like to ride 😊 Oh! And good brakes. You’ll really appreciate good quality disc brakes (preferably hydraulic) as you get to grips with cycling again. The only thing more annoying for me than clicky, unreliable gears, is brakes that don’t work properly, or squeal. It’s so off-putting.

Had the same Avalanche last year - nope - not if you want to enjoy your return to biking. Horrible gears and brakes and so heavy too. And not worth upgrading components on it. If you could get yourself to between 6 and 8k you’ll pick up something like a Signal 1x (one-by, meaning a single chain ring up front, much less complicated gearing) S930 model which is a decent bike for the price and will definitely set you off on the right track. We have one and it’s really not bad for a reintroduction to cycling. A bit heavy but everything works and when I used it the other day to bang around the red trail at Northern Farm it didn’t let me down. It’s not my carbon fibre Giant, but it gets the job done and will bring you home. Stretch your budget a bit further and you’d possibly pick up a Titan Racing 1x or a Norco. Something heavy with multiple chain rings is going to put you off pretty quickly. Even if you’re comfortable with shifting front and back the tech is mostly very old and clumsy and you’ll be tweaking and fiddling and it will be irritating. Better drivetrains have better resilience and ease of use (something as simple as the setup’s ability to shed muck and sand etc and not retain gloop) but on the Signal for example the LTwoo isn’t bad for the price. Needing to constantly fiddle with a bike just to ride around the block is super annoying unless you enjoy that kind of thing (I do not). As Robert says, the size of the bike is probably the first consideration. But bikes do ride a little differently between manufacturers, so if you’re a Medium in one you may be a Small in another based on the geometry of the bike and your comfort levels. And you want a 29”. Don’t bother with 26”. You’ll halve your “investment” when you try sell it and it’s getting increasingly difficult to find good quality 26” components that haven’t been yanked through a bush backwards. Maintaining a 26” in race-ready condition is basically setting money on fire. Finally - a bike fit is great to ensure you’re positioned as best you can be. You won’t always have to do a fit but do one and listen and learn. It totally changed my approach to cycling and I’m super thankful I did it. Above written as someone who re-entered this realm at 41 years old, 2 years back, having last ridden a bike in high school. PS Robert can build you a bike. I talk about my Giant like it’s fancy and expensive - it wasn’t - Robert just built me a really cool bike for the money I paid and I couldn’t be happier with it almost one year down the line of having it (and bonus is it weighs less than 10kg).

Thread resurrection! I’d like to set up an indoor vibe for two people to use. We both get very bored very easily so something with automatic resistance and access to some sort of interesting visuals etc will be critical. I don’t think the stats matter as much as the “feeling like we’re doing this outdoors in new places”. How do we go about doing this cheaply (haha) in 2023? Would ideally not like to remove wheels so either a dedicated bike setup or something that doesn’t require wheel removal.

I hear you. Are there any older frames that you’d still give a thumbs up to for XC/Marathon?

@droo would you rate the Cypher frame over an older model Trek/Giant/Spez frame?

Not really, if I’m honest. I still think there’s better bang for buck out there and you’ll pick up an 11 or 12 speed with Fox or Rockshox for the same price. Fox and Rockshox are very serviceable, which helps. But if you’re really set on Titan, then you’d need to try both bikes out and see which one feels better.

I have Microshift Advent 1 x 10 on my hybrid bike and while I do enjoy it and it is reliable, it is definitely not as precise and low maintenance as the SRAM GX 1x11 I have on my MTB particularly on the climbs and where you need to rapidly shift on the fly. I would definitely look for something that has SRAM or Shimano 1 x 11 or 1 x 12 components with good quality shifters and other parts. Also, the Judy Silver fork is a bit meh. Within your budget there are a couple of good quality dualsus L bikes advertised on the Hub with better components. Eg. There is a Ghost Lector (Ghost is such a great brand and really underrated), a Momsen Vipa, a Specialized Epic Comp and a few others all under R18k. They will also retain their value for when you feel you want to upgrade again down the line.

I think the tension is fine so I think it is a buckle or flat spot. @RobertWhitehead in fairness it’s not a cm (feels like it lol) but measuring the gap between tyre tread and mudguard now as I rotate the wheel, the variance is between 1 and 3.5mm. It stays true for probably 95% of the rotation and then dips for a period.

Thread revival! I have AM Classic MTBRace rims and the front had superficial dents from when I bought the bike. I recently changed tyres and had the wheel trued, and in doing so hoped that the wheel would run more straight. It does, marginally, but it’s still not straight. I feel it on tar but not on hard pack or trails. But the feeling on tar is really irritating me 😂 It probably shouldn’t, but it does. I feel like it slows my roll. Smooth-bump-smooth-bump and the bump is enough that my handlebars bump too. My other bike doesn’t have any bumps at all so it’s super noticeable for me on my MTB. When I have the bike in the service stand I can see how much it moves. It also has a recurring “mouse” in the rotor as it moves quite a bit between the caliper. I’d say the movement is probably close to 1cm though I haven’t measured exactly. I know the wheels are very light so while I am looking for one new one, I am wondering if maybe I should change rims to something else. But I really love the look and feel of these rims so I guess my question is: Would you do the best you can with the rims, or look at changing, and if changing from AM Classic MTBRace, what would be a sturdier but similar rim that won’t be super expensive? Or is there someone who can really straighten out the existing rim so that it runs true without bumps and I get to keep it?

I know nothing about road bikes but this seems too good to be true for a CF bike, even an older one. Fourways, GP. https://www.facebook.com/share/MPNKXiqQu9dj75LK/?mibextid=2JQ9oc

I would like at a second hand German/Taiwanese/American bike before either of the two mentioned. They retain their value better and are just better bikes in general. Norco, Giant, Titan Racing, Momsen etc. and preferably something with hydraulic brakes and a SRAM or Shimano 1x drivetrain for reliability. Momsen’s new junior bike looks like excellent bang for buck.

Having a “sort of” gravel bike and a proper MTB - I have 40mm Cinturato Ms on the gravel bike and it is fabulous on tar and mild trails. I do not like soft sand on this bike. The tyres shed mud with no issue at all but soft sand wobbles I do not like. I did Lion Man 40+20 on the grave bike and it coped just fine apart from a self-inflicted puncture that I eventually used a tube and finished the Saturday 40 and did a respectable 20 the next day on that same fix. My bike ran out of mountain and I enjoy mountain so I bought a hardtail shortly after Lion Man. I’ll choose the gravel on tar any day of the week and pretty sure I’d choose it over a road bike too. Just wouldn’t choose it again for soft sand or sharp rocky mountain when attempting any sort of pace. Just my 2c.

Just went onto Vertorack Facebook - what a cool product and the pricing is very, very fair!

Yes and no. If you want to see ridiculous marketing shop for horse riding helmets lol. Same safety rating on one that costs 15k as one that costs 2k. Aesthetics undoubtedly play a role as well as keeping up with the Jones’ both in cycling and equestrian sports. I don’t believe you get what you pay for as you can pay through your +rse and still get the same safety rating as something significantly less expensive. Sweat, sun exposure, being dropped, falls - helmets age, no doubt. To me it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind. For less than the price of a latte a couple of times a month, it’s a no-brainer (yep I did that) and if you want one in every colour and style that’s cool too 😎

As a horse rider you usually have a different helmet for your different disciplines based on aesthetics as well as safety. Falling while doing flat work/dressage (horse ballet) is usually different to falling while showjumping (jumping courses over coloured poles) and different again to falling while doing cross country (fixed/natural obstacles such as logs, often approached in a full gallop). So we usually have at least two, maybe three, and certain brands/types are advised for rotational falls (much like the MIPS idea). We’re also conditioned to change our helmets after a single fall, even if there is no visible damage to the helmet. There can be a hairline crack, or some compression in the lining, unseen to the eye. So - I change my helmet once a year, but I keep the old one in a dark place as a backup. And the same for my family, even my wife who barely rides. Yesterday my kiddo baled off her bike in absolutely spectacular fashion - hit a loose brick lying in the road just outside someone’s house as she was headed down a dirt road at speed. Just in the last month I’d changed her helmet as I noticed a dent in the foam of her old helmet - likely from being dropped. The new helmet has a loose peak/visor and man am I glad, as that visor took some damage yesterday and had it been her old helmet she probably would have had some whiplash plus the impact was just where the old one had a ding (old one has a fixed peak). Had she not had a peak we would have had as a minimum face roasties to go with the arm, knee and chest roasties, or potentially a trip to A&E for X-rays/CT for a head injury.

One of my staff has a Galaxy and it’s not great. If R2500ish is your budget for a 29 (and hey we all start somewhere, you’re not unique!) speak to @RobertWhitehead and see if he can put something reliable together for you within your budget or perhaps for an extra R1000 or so more. Reliability is really the key to riding. If you buy one of these cheap bikes it’s a false economy as you end up needing to buy good quality parts to replace the broken ones, really quickly. You want a bike with quality parts and or serviceable parts. The cheap bikes mostly have “sealed” parts so they can’t be serviced and need to be replaced and things like hubs, bottom brackets, etc are the first to go as they take the most strain. You don’t necessarily need an air fork but a good quality coil fork will serve you very well. A cheap fork will bottom out pronto and you can’t fix them. Plus cheap drivetrain components means gears that don’t work, or chains that slip or drop or cranks that slip - these things will stop you riding very quickly. I have 3 cheap bikes sitting in a skip now. Bought for my family, we upgraded, gave the cheap bikes to my staff and they’re all absolutely poked. 1 x Raleigh, 1 x Totem and 1 x Gotcha. All with bottom bracket failure, brake failure, rear hub failure and gears that long ago stopped working. Granted they’re not well-maintained, but the ask on them really doesn’t warrant this level of devastation in such a short time, and it wouldn’t happen so quickly and easily with better quality bikes. I am now buying my guys second hand good quality bikes from Robert (so far we have 2 x GT Avalanches).

He’s not going to be comfortable riding a bike that doesn’t fit. An XS 26 is still a pretty big bike for a small kid and it will likely have pretty aggressive geometry which may not instil confidence unless he’s very athletic and bold. You want something disinclined to buck him off 😂 It’s super easy for kids to go over the bars as they learn to keep pedalling and avoid the front brake if they can. They want to put their feet down and lean forward when nervous and something with an aggressive stance won’t be lekker. I would go Titan or Momsen junior range - good enough to let them do jumps etc but a relaxed sitting position and not too heavy over the front. My daughter has the Titan Calypso 26. She’s 9 now and got the bike for her 8th birthday having come off a BMX. I have not loved the Microshift Mezzo 1x8 on my daughter’s Titan - it seems to be quite finicky in some ways, and it’s needed a lot of adjusting and tweaking over the past 12 months since new which has been a little frustrating. However the 1x with kids geometry has been a huge confidence giver for her and now we’ve upgraded it to SRAM 1x10 and done air fork, hydraulic brakes and tubeless Maxxis setup - over the past year she’s gone from keen but cautious to positively flying and the bike in its stock form was instrumental in that and the frame is still exactly right for her in terms of size and geometry.

I’m only catching this now and if you’ve made your decision and gone with it, lekker, happy riding. If the deal is not yet finalised I would see what RobertWhitehead can do for you. I’ve bought 4 bikes from him. The equivalent of my Giant from him, if bought new, would probably be 50k minimum, and I didn’t pay 25% of that. I frequently see the same specs (exactly) on another bike I bought from him, on ads on the Hub and Marketplace, at 3x the price paid to Robert. He just did a huge upgrade on my daughter’s bike (took her from a 1x8 drivetrain to a 1x10 SRAM GX, plus Rockshox SID fork) and honestly I wouldn’t have gotten a new saddle and tyres for the money I spent with him, and the bikes are all rock solid. He’s a good guy and does great work.

Before the green Draco bikes were fitted.

Wouldn’t say mine is a monster, but it’s very capable, super comfy and I love riding it. It’s a hybrid from Decathlon - Riverside RS700 bought in July 2022. Pretty light for what it is, good quality frame with a lifetime warranty, upgraded circa 2013 (I think) Fox F100 fork (stock is Suntour coil), Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M 40mm tyres, Tektro Draco hydraulic brakes off another bike. Thudbuster seatpost to offset those narrow tyres. The stock rear hub died so it has a Novatec rear hub. Selle Italia Novus Boost saddle. Apart from tyres and rear hub all upgrades have been second hand. When I bought it I hadn’t yet had my back surgery (disc replacements x 2) so I went for something upright and easy to ride, and it really is. Done Cradle Mountain Trophy and Lion Man on it and about 2000kms since I got it. I have an MTB now so it doesn’t do trails anymore but it’s the bike that goes on holiday, commutes, and will do Race To The Sun in 2024. It’s surprisingly fast. It wouldn’t have managed Magalies Monster though, so I’m glad I have my Giant MTB as well. Pictured in Kruger this weekend, at Skukuza, watching some hippos and crocs in the Sabie River. No punctures at all even though the camp is absolutely full to the brim with every conceivable type of thorn 💪 And it’s happy to jump kerbs and take a fair bit of abuse 😂

I’m a woman and I mostly ride alone, day or night. I ride for me and not for the social aspect. In a group I’m either too fast or too slow and it just doesn’t suit anyone. I want to choose my own routes and do what I want to do. I ride to clear my head and to be reminded what it feels like to be the closest to flying that I’ll really ever be. When alone I stick to known routes and won’t do/try anything sketchy, because of the risk of getting hurt out by myself. My 9yo kiddo and I ride together but that’s mostly “Mommy look what I can do” and “Mommy watch this” or “Mommy wait for me” or “WHY do there have to be hills?!?” and me getting neck spasms for constantly looking for threats (mostly inconsiderate drivers). And frequent “I’m thirsty and I need a break” stops. Also me saying things like “You’re fine” and “Let’s walk it off” and “You can’t leave your bike lying like that” and “For heaven’s sake you can’t just stop like that”. Riding with kids: fun times. I enjoy it but if I want to ride-ride it’s mostly on my own. I’m fairly street savvy but do keep an eye on body language of people standing close to the kerb etc. I don't look like I’m worth anything and honestly when it comes to safety I hope I’m less attractive than someone else, but if it happens it won’t be the first time or last time, so it is what it is. (previous criminal incidents didn’t involve a bike but had my fair share over the years eg home invasions, smash and grabs, being held up, etc. Not much a person can do if they come at you)

I don’t know anything about them but saw this on FB Marketplace now and maybe it will help you.

My cousin did the 94.7 road race on her MTB, and finished. Bloody well done considering it was eleventy hundred degrees, she’s been cycling for less than a year, and did it on on her Rockhopper with Spez Ground Control without changing anything about how she runs the bike for MTB 😯 She only has one bike and will only have one bike, but has entered for the Argus and will probably do Race to the Sun and others. Is it simply a matter of getting a second set of wheels and road-ish tyres? I guess my question is: Do we look for a set of 29” wheels and fit specific 29” semi-slick type tyres? Or 700c rims and gravel tyres? To train she has to leave our area via 2km of sometimes gnarly dirt road, so pure road tread isn’t going to work. Bike is 2x10 (SRAM XO). I have no clue about this and would appreciate some brainpower 😊 I honestly couldn’t fathom doing a road race on my carbon XTC with Maxxis Ardent and Forekaster - for any road or gravel races I do it will be my hybrid bike with its 700c Cinturato Ms.

Just a shout out to the guys at Mellow. When I first got “back” into cycling at the age of 41, having last rode a bike as a teenager, the whole idea of bike shops was completely overwhelming. As someone who didn’t really know the difference between a Makro bike and a bike-bike (and how many bikes there are in between) a bike shop was a truly scary place. Some still are 😂 Needless to say, two years later, I am very thankful for Mellow Velo, which is my LBS. I started out being helped by Ryan (who moved back to the Eastern Cape since) and now I’m assisted by Evo, Frans, Pro, Alex as well as Wes and Ben. I’m afraid I don’t know everyone’s names - I’m unfortunately not good with name retention and it’s taken me two years to learn the names I’ve listed lol. I am an exceptionally average cyclist, and don’t have a big budget, but I’m keen to learn and I am loyal - sometimes to a fault - when I believe. Mellow has helped my friends and family with things at short notice, and there’s never been a time that any of us have collected a bike and had to raise an eyebrow. Usually there’s just a little bit of extra care added, and I’m so appreciative for that. I’ve never gotten an invoice that has made me gasp, either. It’s always been in the ballpark of what I was expecting, never more, and always fair. Thank you very much, Mellow. I really feel very lucky to have you as my LBS. This gushy post is brought to you by a happy mom whose kid is thrilled with her “new to her” wheelset bought from a Hubber and fitted by Mellow this morning about 20 minutes after the courier arrived 😂 (in case anyone isn’t familiar with Mellow, they’re in Broadacres on the Nando’s/KFC side, between Nando’s and Seattle. Wes is the manager and Evo is main dude in the service team).