RobynE 🚵‍♀️

Must say I’m quite pleased with Maxxis Rambler/Ravager combo I have on the tandem. Zero issues. Previously used Pirelli Cinturato M on a different bike and also no issues. There is a marked change (for the better) using gravel versus MTB on tar/hardpack. Just be mindful that you don’t have quite the same grip going over the side of speed bumps or painted kerbs for example - this is more relevant if you’re going slowly.

Dying a million deaths at the Sani Pass Time Trial event. Hope to see loads of hubbers next year - super event with really lekker people (organisers as well as riders) and a full lamb on the spit lunch afterwards right by the pool at Premier Sani Pass Hotel. Just a really lekker weekend away with my bike!

Have a look at the Enduren products. Very mild flavour - almost tasteless. Ever so slight hint of candyfloss in the unflavoured one if you’re a bit heavy handed with the scoop. Very easy on the stomach.

Experience is relative. The shop you’re talking about is my LBS and I’ve had nothing but joy from them, so would a list really help?

Not my pic but here’s a multi-faceted conundrum… Colour clash or valve align? What if valve align IS colour clashing? Schrodinger’s valve? Knife edge stuff boys. I think the only logical solution here is to drill another hole for the valve.

I was at my LBS and watched a dude have a tantrum because the yellow of the Maxxis logo on his new tyre was too close to the red of his (Surface or Syncros, can’t remember) rim decal, and it clashed.

My main reason for not buying a Chinese helmet (with ratings/certification) is that some helmets just feel ick on my head. So I need to fit them first. But realistically locally available great Mips helmets can be had for less than R1500, so is it really worth the potential ballache buying a Chinese helmet that may not fit right anyway? I have the Scott Argo Plus (Mips), R1300 thereabouts available from just about any bike shop. So light I forgot it was on my head not too long ago and looked for it in my house for half an hour. Super comfy, no ick, and has a super VT rating.

Well, yes and no. Never buy a counterfeit helmet. But most helmets are made in China and if it’s got a CE/other certification, it can be relied on. Not all Temu helmets have certifications but some do. For fun, go and look at the Virginia Tech ratings. More expensive doesn’t equal safer in most cases.

Can’t complain about any of my Temu bibs. Just did the 94.7 in a Temu bib and on a Temu honeycomb saddle and had zero chafing, bruising or soft tissue issues, on a very old school steel tandem that is a little too big for me, so a fair amount of shifting in my seat and did a fair bit of walking too! I buy around the R300 mark and look for the ones that say 3G or Elastic Interface pads. I don’t think the pads are genuine EI pads but they work just fine for me. I’ll carry on buying them. Honestly I can buy 10 for the same price as one semi-decent locally available one and I don’t have to feel so precious about them. I usually go one size up but the sizing feedback is pretty accurate.

If you’re in Joburg go and have a look at the Wilier standing at Mellow Velo to get an in-person idea of what that frame is capable of 🤩

I have a Cash Converters R500.00 Raleigh hybrid on a Kickr and use MyWhoosh which is free, on an iPad. You set your FTP via the app and it defaults to ERG mode (which you can turn off if you actually want to change gears). And off you go around all their “worlds” which include fantasy/game type stuff and more realistic stuff from different countries. I haven’t tried to add another profile but suspect you can just create another login and use whichever one is needed at the time. My Kickr was a very kind gift from a hubber; it has a funny resistance thing it does sometimes which irritated him, but I’ve learned that you just can’t stop pedalling which is a blessing and a curse 😂 No free miles on the trainer! Very thankful for my setup even though I only use it a couple of times a week for 20-30 mins at a time.

Not a chance a cop would be registering on the Hub. Sounds very journalistic to me. Or someone trying to defend the driver.

Every day cars and taxi go over the left shoulder there when the light is red at 80-100km/h - they don’t even slow down in the slightest. We need those yellow steel bollards there to fill that gap. It exists for emergency services but it’s too much of a risk the way it is now. If that shoulder is blocked the taxis will likely take the slipway to SC Boulevard then swing back in the oncoming lane and keep going along Cedar - but they’ll at least have to slow down to do so.

Well I suppose it’s successful until it’s unsuccessful, but I have the Toseek one on the tandem and no issues so far. After quite a few serious bumps at speed at Ride Joburg I asked LBS to give it a good check and it’s 💯. The tandem is a steel frame and heavy. Don’t know if I’d trust it more or less than another fork 🤷‍♀️

My current go-to is pieces of 10mm yoga mat. I have some random pieces and just jam them in where I need them. They’re less slippery than pool noodle and 💯 stay in place every time as long as they’re secured (in my case with straps, but the claw in your case).

Having never been to Sani and not being very good at climbing (I’m stoic but not good) what chainring am I going with for this? 10-50 cassette and currently have a 32t ring. Rarely use the 50t but wouldn’t say I don’t use it at all.

Oh me neither. I’m not even racing myself though I am racing my brain that says “raise your arm, this is bollocks, why are you even here, you’re such a **** cyclist” and then “ziiiiiiing” goes by as I get out of my head and knuckle down again 😒 😂

Daaaamn @ChrisF those tags hurt!

Avoid SRAM SX. It’s on a lot of newer model bikes and it’s really crap as are most Tektro brakes on entry level bikes. If you can get a bike with Shimano Deore (or better) 12 speed and Shimano brakes, for the same price or marginally more than a bike with SX and Tektro, don’t look back.

That’s what I have now, the previous generation, but I’ve struggled to get a replacement elastomer (bought it second hand three years ago) so I’ve made eyes at the SO for a new one for my birthday next month 😂 The difference in chatter, corrugation and even large bumps is unbelievable. And it doesn’t squeak or rock front to back or side to side. Because I have not been able to get the elastomer and the old elastomer completely collapsed, I bought a Zoom coil seatpost off Temu for like R300, and it’s doing the job in the meantime. Nowhere near the quality of the Thudbuster, not by miles, but better than any rigid seatpost. It does have a bit of a clunk in the spring but it’s still better than “naked” hardtail.

PS would recommend purchasing a new, current generation one. Elastomers for older models are not readily available from Cane Creek themselves and you may end up in a new old stock situation which is not ideal for elastomers. They do perish.

Having tried a few different types (I have back issues) I can really, strongly, and only, recommend a Thudbuster. Thirteen Industries and Protunebike are agents. Thudbusters are just another level compared to the others, the beauty being you don’t even know or remember they’re there until you sit on a rigid seatpost again and get the shock of your life 😂 Of course any suspension seatpost adds weight but the Thudbuster is a piece of genius.

But this in itself is worth all the pain on the day! Such a happy kid who felt like WE DID IT. And there was fair bit of this as well. Brat.

I know it’s on me and only on me but my word it’s soul-crushing when you’re fighting for your life on a hill and someone ziiings past you on e-bike having a nice Sunday outing 😂 😭

No don’t get me wrong, plenty people are really kind about it, but there are a few who just add stress to an already super stressful situation and one of those huge stressors is passing left of someone who is in trouble.