RobynE

I haven’t had any issues with e-bikes. I am more likely to have issues with someone in batch D trying for a new PB (or to finish 50th out of 300) in a 20 or 25km “Fun” MTB event (like Jackal Dash) while pushing my kid off the trail into trees, rocks and bushes on switchbacks as he mutters “passing right” like a robot. Bro, enter the 40/60/70 and pass right there to your heart’s content. If you’re entering a race with 8-10 year olds, have some patience, pass safely and give the kids a chance to enjoy their rides. Otherwise I guess you’re just someone who hoots at Learner drivers. You were also one, once. Smh.

For sale, not on sale.

Willing seller, willing buyer and all that. Happens with everything in life. If I know I have something and it’s worth x, I stick to my guns. If I feel I’m pushing the envelope a bit, I’ll allow negotiation. What they do with it afterwards is their business. If they lie about it afterwards - tough one. But, not my circus anymore. I am selling my daughter’s bike (2022 TR Calypso Junior) and have been lowballed extensively because the bike is “only worth” (retail less depreciation). Except I know that it’s running really good upgraded components that are light years away from stock form (Rockshox SiD WC fork, GX 1x10, DT Swiss wheels and hubs etc), and at 2k less than current new retail on the same bike in stock form, plus all original parts included, I’m sticking to my guns. The right buyer will come along.

Ryder makes things called Gear Straps. You get 2 in a pack - a longer one and a shorter one. They are rubberised on the back. They are tough as nails, absolutely do not shift and you can tension them properly. You can attach anything you like with them. I use them to anchor my bike to the carrier on bumpy roads and also for putting stuff on the bike when I take it on holiday (swimming towels, shopping, etc). They may just sound like “straps” but they are unique in their design and work like a bomb. I’ve had mine for 3 years and they mostly live on my Jimny’s ladder in all weather. No perishing, no fraying. Just there when I need them.

@ChrisF that is a very nice looking bike

I put a set on a bike just before I sold it to one of my staff. A year later and he’s still riding the bejaysus out of that bike on the same set of tyres which I think are probably made up of more sealant than rubber at this stage. I reckon they’re excellent for the money.

Will do - at a glance it’s really well-made and solid. Definitely doesn’t feel like something that cost R91.00

Bought a hydration pack and 1.5L bladder (R280 altogether) as well as a phone holder (R70), a bib (R500), cycling shorts (R160) as well as an XS jumpsuit (R320) for my kiddo, and some other bits and bobs such as full face snorkel masks. I am WELL impressed with the quality of all the items - the bib/shorts/jumpsuit honestly need to be seen/worn to be believed and the masks are identical to the one I paid R1000 for, but were R280 each. Order date 1 February, took delivery today the 10th.

That Mount Grace climb is awful 😂 Only done it once and felt death was imminent at the time.

Circling back to this. Headshot mentioned that lycra is useless at protection - this is true. For me the bib stops the pad bunching or hooking over my saddle - long story short I don’t chafe as easily and don’t get that oh-oh moment on a technical descent where I’m hooked onto my bike throwing my balance completely off. I’ve tried so many different types of shorts (the ones within my budget) and so far I haven’t had luck. My Enjoy bib works like a charm. Re-reading your post I am thinking that you are asking, does it matter if the pads are visible? I still don’t think that it matters as long as you feel more comfortable and safe as you hit the trails. I suppose the pads might get damaged if they’re not covered by something, which could be a costly exercise. I’m certainly not going to be judging someone with visible guards out on the trail. That seems very high school-ish. My judgement out on the trails is for people who disregard safety in one way or another, whether their own or the safety of others through reckless/bullish riding or wearing the minimum amount of clothes or an ill-fitting “token” helmet in an attempt to look cool and laissez-faire.

That is so cool!

This is a thread for folks whose bikes aren’t the latest/most modern/bling/expensive, but who love their bikes and wouldn’t change them. I’ll go first. Mine is a circa 2014 Giant XTC Advanced SL with American Classic rims and hubs, Magura MT4 brakes, Rockshox SiD World Cup fork, Shimano XT/SLX drivetrain. And to add some pizazz, I use a Cane Creek Thudbuster seatpost 😂 and a cheapo spiderweb saddle off Temu. It’s fast, light, easy to ride and inspires massive confidence. It’s also super reliable. I bought it from Robert Whitehead in 2023 and it doesn’t matter what bikes I see at races or on the trails - I just LOVE my bike and wouldn’t swap it for anything. I’ve done plenty of events on it including 94.7, Magalies Monster, Trailseeker, and loads of trails and coffee rides.

I say who cares. If it makes you feel more secure and comfortable and increases your confidence I reckon you can wear and do whatever you like.

I personally love my Magura MT4 - I think they’re an older version but the stoppage is on point and I’ve not had to do any adjustments or work on them since I bought the bike in 2023. My bike is pretty light (Giant XTC carbon) and I weigh *cough* 80ish. I do mostly red route type stuff with the occasional route oopsie when I end up on black and I’m neither fast nor slow 😊

Smooth peanut butter removes most adhesives

Must be honest it’s not something I’ve seen - I don’t see too many mtbers out in groups near me, but living close to Cedar Road and working from home, I see masses and masses of group and solo roadies and all of the publicised incidents in my area have been roadies (on road bikes) with the occasional commuter. Of course most of the two wheel incidents around here are Checkers60 and Takealot 🏍️ 🛵 In fact just yesterday a Takealot dude drove into the back of one of my vehicles and broke the left taillight. Rider distracted in stop-start traffic and crunch. Thankfully no-one injured.

Tar and gravel quickly becomes less tar and more dirt 😂 As your confidence increases the paths you choose, change, and eventually the A line becomes the only line and the B line (easier) option is forgotten. Air forks are the only way! Coil forks are a thing of the past. Some bikes still come out with them but that’s simply to bring costs down and has nothing to do with reliability. Again though - not all forks are created equal, but for your purposes a Rockshox/Fox/SR Suntour air fork will serve you just fine and are all serviceable. I honestly don’t even know if you can service coil forks anymore 🤷‍♀️

Can’t say I agree here. I think you notice things if you are a defensive driver. I am constantly scanning my periphery for hazards. I am about as far away from a runner as you can get but I notice all joggers, walkers, etc. The ones wearing bright colours or using lights, I notice first/faster, and likewise with cyclists. I also put my phone down in the car and don’t look at it, nor answer calls. As a rider or pedestrian I’m defensive as well. I never stop scanning the environment and I need to do it for my child as well. Maybe it’s some sort of trauma response 😂 My behaviour with the phone in the car comes as a result of several what I would call near-misses over 26 years of driving where my lack of attention could have caused someone else’s maiming or death. I try to do better now. Doesn’t make me infallible. I try to be fair to all road users by committing to focus on the road, and I hope they’ll be fair to me whether I’m in a car or self-propelled 😊 But I also know that many road users don’t commit to focusing on the road, so I turn into a mini lighthouse.

Do you mean on bike trails? I don’t use lights on trails but on road in daylight hours I use the lowest lumen front flash. At night I use a steady beam directed in front of me to see where I’m going. I end up lighting up a bit of my front tyre and the rest of the beam is in front of me lighting up the path. I can’t really see the point of using front flashing lights at night - I’d moer into a pothole or kerb from my own disorientation, so my own safety isn’t mitigated, never mind drivers getting blinded.

Lights don’t make me feel invincible - when in the presence of cars I still feel like I need to have crayfish eyes and have my own wits about me. Driver behaviour can never be predicted. Maybe it comes from a horse riding background where people literally don’t see a horse and rider on the road, and/or see a horse as a machine that doesn’t have its own mind and behaviours. Even at low speeds a horse/vehicle collision carries massive risk to all and horses, with their own brains, are never truly predictable. A horse may not mind a dump truck passing but a rogue plastic bag may make them leap in front of traffic despite the rider’s best efforts or the horse being generally rock solid. So passing wide and slow is really all we have and we need to be visible. I know lights and bright colours make me more visible. They don’t make lights for horse riding but there are quite a lot of hi-viz bibs, leg guards, rugs, hat covers, etc. These things definitely save lives. It doesn’t mean incidents don’t happen regardless but if I’m bright and/or flashy I hope it will catch the eye of someone who otherwise would not have noticed me at all. Whether on horses or bikes.

I have also noticed people passing impossibly close with a rear flashing light. Some people are just muppets I guess and get an obscene sense of satisfaction from being dooslik.

The clothing colour is also a daytime observation, as the reflective bits aren’t seen. The colour doesn’t matter but it’s really not easy to make out a daytime rider wearing black, with no lights, on an overcast day, on tar, with a dark or shadowy backdrop. Easier on a bright and sunny day or against a lighter backdrop, of course. I definitely see a rider in red or yellow or orange before I see one in black. If I look at publicised occurrences of riders down, they mostly seem to happen during daylight hours. I’m sure things happen after dark as well, but I’m specifically speaking about “us” who ride bikes for sport and entertainment and not as our sole method of transport, and who make a choice whether to use lights or not, not because of financial reasons but because we don’t want to 🤷‍♀️ Again, just my observations and own curiosity and it’s great to hear other people’s views and experiences. I myself have lights, and backup lights, and backup lights for the backup lights 😂 So we always have enough lights charged to head out for a few hours without worrying about going dark.

People on their phones is a massive problem, true, but I definitely know that if I’m headed towards you with flashing lights, you’d have had more opportunities to have noticed “something” than if I was just a shape.

I’m talking about daytime lights, yes. They make a massive difference to me as a driver, and because I know this, we always ride with lights. They aren’t even big lights. When we ride at night, we use our proper night lights (such as Extreme Lights) so that we can see where we’re going. Riding in the dark with a flashing light isn’t going to serve much purpose in terms of lighting the riders way. But during the day even a low lumen flash improves visibility massively whether the bike is heading towards you from the front or you glimpse the flash in one of your mirrors or even the reflection in your window. You can get a small light and mount it anywhere - even on your fork, or the front of your helmet (most of them come with rubber straps). One of my best lights is half the size of a matchbox and weighs just about nothing. It lasts like 10 hours on flash mode and charges in 1 hour. You can even get cheap (but ugly) solar lights that you never have to worry about charging. I’ll see a group of 10-15 roadies, maybe half will have rear lights and not one will have front lights. I don’t see it much differently to riding without a helmet. It’s just a cheap way to mitigate risk.

Just my local ride but I’d rather be out there than inside!