Danger Dassie

Had Hope rotors across three different bikes, they've been amazing without any compatibility issues fortunately. That said it's also been with the same Hope brakeset. Currently with centre lock Shimano which are fine, but not amazing, these are paired with a new set of Baradine pads. They're quite blingy with a gold backing plate. Rotors and pads are generally only as good as their pairing, fall short on one and the other won't work as well. Heard good things about the Galfer stuff, keen to try those next.

So. Was there an air of kumbaya, or a gym vs velo lycra off ?

Must be an advantage in puddles .......

Known as the Watts ****s

Look you have to understand that Jozi is a bit bigger than iKipa and likewise the population density. This is towards Fourways my boet, where population 'density' isn't just measured by the number of people per square kilometre. There's also testosterone A type cultural density too, popped collars are the order of the day and no matter anyone's name the official matin/rally call is BYRON, HOWSIT, MY BOOIII ... Like Bellville and Blouberg to an extent, you know.... Now that I've stereotyped half my mates I expect my FB friends list drop a few percentile too...

No scandal or behind the scenes smoking gun. Just how the cumulative dice rolled. There's a few good interviews out there (ie; Velo News) that add perspective. Watching the timeline since the team's Tour de France day-view. Resounding success by all accounts that carried over a number of seasons. Cav's signing signalled even more success, arguably it also signalled a decline in the team's overall trajectory and a departure from core values for various reasons that are well documented. To come back on course from that is incredibly challenging, compounded by the usual pressures of a WT squad. Still wouldn't rule Ryder out, WT squad or no. And who knows, maybe another setup will pick up and carry on, wether it's from SA or elsewhere within the continent.

This is pretty interesting, and quite valid. Were you not CSA head of MTB not too long ago?

@ACE Cycles I know you, you could pass for a gym boet with that sprinter build. Also, Fourways!!!!

Agreed, but the problem here is that she dismounted and physically stepped over the bunting and the team vehicle just carried on as well. Even when she asked, everyone from the lead vehicle, bike marshall and team car said "carry on" Sorry but that is an amateur error on every level. So even a creative reward would be problematic. *** one all round. Really hope she returns next year to settle the score and animate the women's racing again.

Hope theres a good prognosis for the chap, never good to see anyone go down. Don't see this as a class action perse, an entire bunch went over without hassles as well other riders behind this guy. Perhaps the line of enquiry is to gather info in order to claim insurance. Looks like one of the Protouch riders, just after him it's one of the Mad Macs guys. Pretty sure they came over Jan Smuts together just before here, have a photo of them together.

Try ICG, Illovo Cycling Group. Exceptional group of riders with a strict conduct code and safety, all rides are no drop rides and there's a number of different groups. Generally the groups meet for a 5am departure from Engen/MacDonalds in Rosebank. They're on FB and Instagram.

We had our informal support station setup at the room Jan Smuts again. Decide to file a small edit of the day in pictures, luckily BN ran it: https://bikenetwork.co.za/947-ride-joburg-photo-story/ ... please feel free to share.

Cherise provides some level headed rationale, here’s her full post: https://www.facebook.com/646915139/posts/10159600116785140/?d=n

Even though at one point he pleaded a case with one of the senior sponsorship people to convince said "despised" Ryder to extend his contract.

Accurate and fair. It's a collective stuff up and the team manager really should have made a better call as well and pulled the commissaire. The moment a rider needs to dismount and step over barrier tape should raise alarm bells. DO NOT continue racing. From the footage it looks like the cones were blown over, these have those flat feet that should be secured with a sandbag/weight. Especially considering the wind earlier in the day. Organisers/CSA need to answer for the oversight as well as the lead car and bike marshall lack of comms. The straw argument about other seeded groups doing the same thing. The difference is that outside of elite uci categories there aren't financial implications. Fun riders, different story and in the scheme of things not an issue beyond timing. In fact overall the feedback from the average participants has been exceptionally good this year. As an aside, the prize money was increased by organisers and of equal payout for the elites, 200k is not small change. So everyone really should have been sharper. Should Pallant be declared the winner, imho, no. The finishing time splits make that clear and the podium stands. Was it handled badly by officials, absolutely and there must be further transparency here, even if to ensure this kind of embarrassment doesn't occur again. Should there be some compensation, likely, but hard to say because arguably, that should be shouldered equally between the organisation, federation and team management. Pallant has already taken more than a fair share of the penalty. In hindsight a time penalty should have been awarded, but thats the beauty of hindsight. It's a shame that this incident casts a bit of a shadow over an otherwise successful event. Hope to see her back next year and taking the fight to the peloton.

Those are dabbles man. Dab here, a dab there. ????

Interestingly the Imbuko/Giant team standardised their power meters with Power2Max throughout the team. Wonder if they correlate any of the power data with that from the Live Wire suspension.

Would be surprised if Matt doesn't get snapped up on a global setup. Wouldn't be surprised to see Wessel team up with Imbuko Giant.

Oh they doing MTB now?

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10159728390989721&set=a.10150098936974721 "RIDE REPORT: BITE THE BULLET ! FULL MOON RIDE AT THE CRADLE This is the report that one really do not want to write and yet so glad to be able to ! Last nite I decided to attend the Full Moon Ride in the Cradle area. Event which is organized on a monthly basis on the Cradle Loop I believe. I also needed a little leg warmer before the 947 on Sunday. Due to weather condition, it wasn’t very crowded. However despite the storm we encountered a number of riders on the roads. On the way back the rain had stopped and the sundown and night sceneries were superb. We were having fun and laughing away while holding a steady pace. We saw a number of riders turning around during the peak of the storm and we became the leading duo of the remaining riders. As we approached the finish line at Bidon Bistro, a mere 800m from it, we saw a gun shot and three guys jumping from behind a road guide rail, right on top of us. It felled like I was pushed on the ground. They obviously robbed us of our phones and bikes, using them as get away vehicles. As they were busy taking the night lights off the bike we moved away an ran as far as we could. I was shocked but happy that we were unarmed. I was limping from hitting my hip in the fall. After a few minutes a lady rider caught up with us walking and we sent her away fearing that the aggressors were still around. We kept on walking and a bigger group of riders stopped and assisted us. A good 10mn after the incident, I could not figure out why my back was so sweaty? Closer inspection revealed that it was blood not sweat! My riding partner insisted that I had been shot…I still couldn’t believe it nor process it…but indeed this was a shot wound. I cannot begin to understand, nor justify the need to shoot us – I was convinced that he had shot in the air. But no, oblivious to the potential murder charges VS robbery, the best way these idiots found to stop cyclists to rob them, was to hide, shoot to stop them and then rob them !! It was full darkness and we had bike lights, the shooter could not aim properly, his objective was just to hit…and he did. Now picture this: I was riding uphill, probably in an “attack position” and the bullet hit my hear lob, burned slightly my neck before entering the flesh on the top of my back and exiting the body again some 10cm further. That’s right! Just a flesh wound; Now put your finger on your ear lobe and see how close this is to your face ! Now I realize fully what the army of medics and people responding, the police, the owner of Bidon (thanx a lot guys as well as your neighbor who performed the first aid) and later on the Doctor at the ER said: I was SOOOO LUCKY !!! This is actually the only emotion that dominates my thoughts to be honest. All of this sucks at every level, but I can’t say that I’m angry or particularly upset, I’m just happy to be here. The rest is pretty much life contingency, it happened, full stop. I live a pretty full life and love my family and really didn’t need a near death experience to make me appreciate it, but I’m glad I can. I’m not sure that this will make me a better human in any kind of way and I’m not sure what the conclusion of it all is? I am very involved in cycling and was aware of the dangers and crime situation, the places to avoid, the need to be in groups, or in organized events…and I applied it all but it did happen anyway. In the vast majority of mugging, there is no shooting. This may be a new scary trend. I can’t tell you to stay safe, I don’t know what it means really – Just be aware ! I will ride again, it’s my passion and my life…just need to figure out how to get the next bike now "

Likely ya, haven't checked the latest pricing because I don't feel a need for it. And sometimes ignorance is bliss!

The Giant Trance 29 with 130f/115r is as downcountry as they come. What are people talking about?

The controller/telemetry box wired to the suspension and sensors for Fox's Live Wire system. This can be setup and dialled via a Bluetooth on a dedicated smartphone app.

Burry style, he did that on his GT.

Both events sell out. But look CT, is a destination, globally. So it certainly has a higher touristy pull across the board, although Jhb has a higher tourist number than people would expect. Also factor that the Cape imho has a stronger and broader cycling culture that's deeper than Gauteng's largely recreational/competitive focus. Another generalisation, Cape Town folk generally just do not travel and when they do, its rarely outside their own province. Which is a shame because theres incredible landscapes and events around the country. The rare time I do road. For me personally I prefer Shova, have tie to KZN and it's an easier commute. Plus the last few times I've done the rode to Shova, which is a beautiful cycling experience and epitomises alot how cycling appeals to me.