RobynE 🚵‍♀️

Do you definitely need an XL? What height are you?

https://www.facebook.com/reel/769427604526474?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&mibextid=0NULKw

Robert just built me a bike that makes my face do stupid things. You won’t go wrong.

Lols - that same rock got me, but I was thankfully pushing. Other people were pushing slowly on the left so I thought I’d just quickly nip past on the right and hop on again. The stream said No. Can imagine riding into the rock must have made for some great pics. Sharing is caring.

We rode for the fun of it, we fell, our bikes didn’t break, and we loved it. Side-note: a big thanks to competitor 809 for helping my little girl (8) through the water on the 16km (her other parent who was riding with her was waiting with someone who got injured on the route and my kiddo decided to carry on solo). There were other competitors who also helped my girl and I’m very thankful to everyone!

Also meant to say - the climbs were tough yes but found the rest of the track really clean and neat and easy to follow - and really really well marked. I would definitely not say unprepared or unrideable.

I did the half (first time) and I enjoyed it a lot. My wife and kiddo did the Fun (16km). We all made it home safe. I was on a new bike and had one fall, but nothing hectic. My kiddo also had one fall when she clipped a rock. I absolutely hated every second of the Mini Monster climb and walked all the way (other climbs as well). I think some people managed to ride the climbs but I didn’t. I didn’t have the skill or the fitness. The organisers did mention there would be walking so I wasn’t too surprised though. We enjoyed our food from the stalls - we didn’t have an issue with the curry or the burgers. I’m not sure about other stalls. There were lots of people out on the route and we felt safe. The water points were great. We found it to be a much better event than Cradle Mountain which we did earlier on in the year. We will definitely be back next year.

Oh and to answer your question about renting - you can rent from Bike Market - I believe any bike they have on their floor. They’re the only place I know of that rents. They’re in Kramerview, Sandton side.

I am a woman but also on the plus side of life and I think you are a helluva brave dude doing the commute on a fixie! Good job man, even if you’ve only managed a few times so far. Never stop starting. Instead of an e-bike I would probably look at something like the bike I have, which is a 1x10 hybrid. I got on it at 41 having only sat on a Makro bike a couple of times since high school - and I flew. Days 1 and 2, did the hill in 1st. Day 3 found myself in 2nd. And so it progressed until I found myself doing the hill in 7th or even 8th sometimes. After a year I can pedal the same hill in 10th with barely a puff. The nice thing about the hybrid for commuting is that you can still venture off the tar a bit (I can actually do a lot with mine) but you have the low rolling resistance of the gravel tyres, and you are pretty upright, which makes looking behind you a lot easier. I can easily sit up and just pedal and pedal and barely even feel like I’m on a bike. It’s really easy. I’ve never felt like I was fighting the bike. It always feels like the bike and I are on the journey together. Of course fitness isn’t linear and you’ll have your good and bad days. But starting now in winter is a lot easier than starting in summer! Do some evening or weekend rides and get your sweat on. Use those opportunities to push yourself. Then Monday will feel like a walk in the park. I’ve attached a pic of my bike with the Pirelli tyres I fitted, but otherwise it’s how I bought it from Decathlon. The fork is yuck so it now has a Fox 32 26” air fork which works a charm. The bike cost R14k new and I spent probably R5k on upgrading tyres, saddle, fork, etc. Though there was nothing wrong with the tyres it came with (zero punctures in 2000km) but I was doing more technical mountain stuff e.g Mabalingwe Lion Man, Magalies Monster, etc. I’ve just bought a second bike (MTB) because I love the mountains and the (real) mountains (ie sharp rock, vertical descents on loose rock and sand) are too much for this hybrid bike. But I’m definitely hanging onto this bike for casual riding and touring as it is such a pleasure. Horses for courses. I didn’t know I’d enjoy cycling so much until I bought the hybrid. I hated every second I spent on the Makro bike. There is some PT to an e-bike ie charging it etc. A flat e-bike is a heavy, heavy beast! And a cheap e-bike would be a terrible purchase. So you’ll need to do your homework there. But I do feel that my bike is the absolute perfect commuter and fitness bike, with just a tiny bit of spice for when you’re feeling spicy 😁 And then if you really feel you’re getting into a groove, you can ask one of the bike builders on the Hub to build you something to your spec, for a LOT less than you’d pay for a new bike. Addendum: I bought the hybrid after my disc replacements in my neck, but before my disc replacement in my lower back. I had gained a lot of weight due to being incapable of exercising properly with my lower back pain. I still carry some of that weight but I am so much fitter, and have a lot more confidence in myself now riding my racey carbon MTB. I wouldn’t have been comfortable on my new bike without all the hours spent on the hybrid.

I have a bit of a cold (or sinus, or whatevs) and told @RobertWhitehead I’d probably only really ride my new bike on Tues or Weds. But I woke up thinking about it, and after getting some work done this morning, decided to take it for a short, slow ride up and down the road, just to get a feel of gears and brakes and such, and give my boy Seeker a bit of a leg stretch. Needless to say sticking to the path was quickly forgotten and we went to hang out in our natural habitat - which is the bike’s natural habitat as well 😁 *happy dance* What a fantastic waste of time.

I got this new-to-me carbon XTC from @RobertWhitehead today - at probably a quarter of the price of a new carbon mid-level bike but with way better components. It weighs just over 10kg and rides like an absolute dream. (it’s so lekker that when I got home with it my whole family tried to steal it from me) Robert also spent a whole lot of his Sunday upgrading my kiddos brakes and sorting out a chain dropping issue. I have one extremely happy kiddo stopping on a dime and showing me all sorts of tricks now that she has confidence in her brakes. Robert you’re a top class human. Thank you so much!

I have them in 40 and they are truly phenomenal! Not too pricey at Mellow either!

Tried out some of the trails at Lion & Safari Park today. An excellent way to spend R60 (total!) - awesome trails and a nice lunch at the restaurant afterwards 🤤 Bonus: nice play area for my kiddo.

I did it myself yesterday after reading this thread - fixed it a bit but still clicky. Gave up and took it to LBS. Maybe I need to ride the bike more. It’s my wife’s bike but I ride it a couple of times a week, so I think it should be good, but it’s never smooth through all the gears unless it’s *just been set.

I have Microshift on one bike and LTwoo on the other, and both are 1x10. The Microshift (B’Twin branding, seems to be Advent) is so cool and the range is just perfect. It’s needed 4 adjustments in 2000km. The LTwoo A7 needs constant adjustment. It feels like after every 20km it needs to be adjusted. It gets adjusted by LBS - I’m not trying to do it myself. It’s really irritating. I don’t think the bike has even done 300km and it’s currently in again (5th time). Even when it’s adjusted it’s an ugly range with not much fun between 4 and 7 - bit of a dead spot. My kiddo has Microshift Mezzo 1x8 and I must say it performs well. It’s needed one adjustment and she rides every day. Big Microshift fan but not so easy to get spares, which is sad.

It comes off trade-in bikes OR they can order new for you. I emailed them about an Advent X upgrade kit last week. I have plain Advent 1x10 and absolutely love it.

As a newbie who transitioned from flats to clipless but still enjoys flats - The Scott Comp BOA are amazing shoes and I easily walk on tiles etc in them without slipping or feeling like I’m walking in wooden clogs (I ride my bike to the shops) - so a great multipurpose clipless shoe (I have Shimano SPD MTB pedals) And the Marvel flat pedals are sadistically grippy (beware your shins!) and are super easy to ride on in any shoe - I have these on the second bike in our family and your foot is NOT going to slip off them - you have to physically lift it off. They’re cheap, too.

Hello everyone, My bike has a Microshift drivetrain (B’Twin - Decathlon) and I love it. It’s done 2000 reliable kms in just under a year. It’s needed 4 x cable stretch tweaks during that time which I’m not sure is average or not. My bike is a somewhat abused but very loved hybrid bike from Decathlon. For all intents and purposes it’s a fairly upright hardtail MTB. I don’t do jumps etc (I have disc replacements x 3 in my spine) but I do blue/red/purple route stuff, occasionally get surprised by black route because I got lost, etc. I do a bit of road riding as well, just for fitness (I commute to the shops etc when I need small things). In terms of changes/upgrades to the bike I’ve got Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M tyres (tubeless), a Fox F Series 32 air fork, and a shorter Ritchey stem. I want to upgrade the drivetrain to Microshift Advent X. I have a KMC X10 chain which still looks good, and has never broken or dropped. ❓I’m thinking I can buy the Advent X upgrade kit from Bike Addict and that it will be a direct replacement for my current Microshift bits? Upgrade bits: Bike Addict Advent X upgrade kit Current Microshift bits are: (as per Decathlon website) - Microshift H100 10-speed cassette. - Single chainring: 36-tooth, interchangeable with a 34-tooth wheel (8520740) or a 38-tooth wheel (8520741). - Cogs: 11/ 40. - KMC X10 chain with quick-release. - Rear derailleur: B'Twin by Microshift RD M62-L. - Anti-derailment ring. ❓Will the replacement bits bolt on? ❓They mention freewheel - is that the same thing as a cassette? ❓If it will fit, which chainring should I go for (brand as well as size)? ❓Do I need anything else apart from the upgrade kit? In terms of how I ride - I never use the top 2 cogs anymore - my granny gear is 4 with 3 when it feels like I’m going vertical on a climb. On the flat I sometimes feel I need more low down and that 10 is too spinny. I stay between 10 and 7 for the most part. Here is a link to my “post office” bike 😊 I know it’s an oddity but I love it. I have tried other bikes and I absolutely love my bike and don’t want to change it. It carried me home on Cradle Mountain Trophy without any issue at all and I’m going Lion Man this weekend. So no new bike on the horizon for me! Thanks so much for reading this far!

Decathlon (Rockrider) represents AMAZING value. Crazy when the bikes come in via Mauritius and still land here cheaper than the popular brands!

https://bicycle-transport.co.za/product/race-to-the-sun-shuttle-and-bike-transport-afternoon-shuttle-2023/ looks like the return?

Mel I just wanted to say that if you are near Zarras, he’s a cool guy, and I think a great source of knowledge for you. Don’t know him personally but bought a fork from him over the weekend (shipping it to Jozi) and he’s lekker. It’s definitely worth having a go-to for your bike. Obvs helps to spend a bit of money sometimes, or pay in their flavour (my LBS likes sweets haha. Also money. But sweets are cool too)

And lights! At the very least a decent strobe for front and rear. I am quite pleased with the Lezyne 300 lumens front @ around R250, and the same brand rear @ around R180. I do quite a bit with of road riding on an ugly road in my area and I am very happy with my lights. I also have an extra cheapie light mounted on my helmet just in case.

Hey thanks Brett. Would that be the SXC32?

Only one I can find on the socials seems to live in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga. “Your” one seems dodge. As a matter of interest did he ask for cash or e-wallet? If you negotiated did he immediately accept your offer?

I am hopeful that someone has a 80-100mm fork that they are no longer using. I think I will ultimately buy a Rockshox Rudy for my bike but it will take a bit of time to do so. The Suntour NEX on my bike is limping badly. I can still ride but it’s not very pleasant. I am doing Lion Man and would ideally like to change the fork beforehand. The bike is a hybrid with a 1 1/8” straight head tube with 160mm disc brakes. If I understand correctly it should be a straight forward job as long as the fork has a straight steerer. I’d really appreciate some options! PS I don’t have the bucks for a new bike and quite honestly don’t want to change my bike right now. It’s fun and gives me confidence so I’d rather just sort out the fork and keep going. Thank you! 👏