Danger Dassie

Can't believe this started because beer, ultimately.

How so? ... They're idiots, and maybe they were passing each other, but even so. Check first before passing, just like when we're driving. But the person driving didn't cross a double line on a blind rise due to 3 people cycling took up the lane. They did so because they're an impatient and negligent driver. Guaranteed this wouldn't occur behind an overladen bakkie. It's reckless. Same as those 3, no excuse. But. Collectively our behavior is the lowest common denominator. As we see on both this thread and those forum comments.

Happy to read your post. Alive and typing ....

Fantastic, looking forward to the feedback.

​Nice, pretty much the same kind of riding. Looking at the block spacing I don't think they'll shed mud as well as some. Ie: Bontrager XR3 and Vittoria Barzo ​Not essential for me though.

Thanks, pretty much made up on them. Currently on Vittoria Barzos which were stock spec on my bike, I'm not wild about them. I see you're in KZN, what kind of riding/terrain are you often on?

'Free' generally doesn't go together with any kind of value. Nothing costs as much as 'free' Cape Epic is as demanding on those working the event as those racing, often more so.

What a coinkydink, I've actually been looking at the Kenda Booster Pro. Seems to tick all the boxes and may be a good front pairing for the Honey Badger on the rear, as a fast rolling XC combo. Most likely will go for the Booster front and rear though. Have you any experience on the Booster?

​That's yours, there is a number of incidents documented and your singular experience no matter how regular, is not an accurate description of a de facto "once off". ​There is a lot of noise yes, but if one doesn't find it too tedious, or isn't too lazy. All the pertinent info information is there amongst the waffle. Parkscape, MCSA etc... ​Otherwise move on.

Pretty much the most common sense logical and level headed advice, the thread can stop here.

All this angst because of nougat. Sugar addiction must be a thing.

There's very little understanding of media and marketing coverage in general. Even from so called professionals. Media coverage is an investment, not an expense. ​Without it any blue ribbon type event is dead in the water. The easier a federation and/or organizer makes it for media, the better the coverage. ​Engagement and communication go a long way. ​The better the coverage, the less the financial strain, as (prospective) sponsors and partners will see the value and return. The basics are not that hard. But I get the feeling that there is no real strategy towards media/marketing/comms and it is seen as an afterthought and inconvenience. Rather than an asset. And it shows in the level of public engagement and press releases over the years.

​100%. There is a monumental task ahead to repair reputational damage and broken relationships at club, provincial and national level. Especially a transparency in doing so, and a willingness to do things differently instead of the narrow definition of stakeholders. ​In many respects this will have to start from the ground up, perhaps with a little less cow-towing to the UCI on things like sanctioned events and riders. I like Ciska Austin though, big task ahead of her and I hope the support is forthcoming from the structures behind her. Wishing her the very best.

Exactly my business partners reasoning ... Also that model, RC9000 come 120mm front and rear with a more XC driven build and spec. The other models are generally 130mm up front with a more trail friendly spec. Weight, approx. 10.7kg ...

Have ridden both the Merida 120 and Cypher extensively, I sell both. Can't really go wrong with either option, the 120 is truly an under rated and under sold bike here. Yet is the perfect market here. ​Very well balanced and dynamic bike with a number of design awards and can happily be built into a decent trail bike or for stage events. I'm not wild about the tyre spec, but that is very much a personal thing. ​My business partner did the Munga on his and loved it. ​I've bought into the Titan brand with the Cypher Elite and am not regretting it a bit, was in Clarens for a week doing route checks and riding a training camp. She was flawless and passed with flying colours. Really good responsive handling on the rough stuff and descents with good traction on climbs, very rarely struggled to find a good body position on steep sections. Making a few setup changes but again, down to personal preferences. The highlight for me is the Shimano 12spd XT and updated Rock Shox setup.

​Or rather just agree to disagree. Personally I feel you made some good points actually. ​People want a definitive answer, sadly the reality is that truth isn't as such. Objectively speaking. ​There's a good cartoon/meme somewhere that sums it up.

Stache is probably one of the most under rated bikes, at least here in SA.

Yep, covered all of that. Shimano also had a few stumbles over the years. SIS, biopace ...

Campy tried the MTB market in the 90's they couldn't compete. Unlike the likes of Sachs and Suntour though they're still around with drivetrains. In market share Shimano is dominant in the billions of dollars in turnover, while SRAM are around 500 million as the next biggest. I had Suntour on a Bridgestone MB3, loved it. Felt a pang of sadness when researching for a story, it came up that Suntour ended up selling off it's component tolling and jigs for scrap. Anyway, groupset choice is like religion. Ride what works for you.

Smart move, they bought out the old stock of entry models from the distributor and put it into selected Makro stores.

Been a far bit local bullying and such like as well. There was something shared on Bike Hub from one of the papers some time back. Even recently have heard some stories, more recently there's been a case with Rwanda Cycling ... https://cyclingtips.com/2019/12/rwanda-cycling-boss-resigns-as-body-hit-by-corruption-sexual-assault-allegations/?fbclid=IwAR2vwtpnnZgNt5lE2J9R2rRNsjpYmdXMHEl0KN51NQfEhhZmUymWp9WWYjI Edit: Jock Boyer's open letter, posted by Wade Wallace in the comments section makes for sombre reading.

I do yes, welcome to message me directly.

About 1km from Sprocket, just below Old Parks.

Posted this on a few WhatsApp groups may as well do so here as well, since there's a lot of conjecture going around. Ok, so as it turns out this incident was near where I stay. Took a walk to the scene and met one of the guys and his mate. There were two perps at the actual scene, not three. One got away with a phone the other was shot in self defence. The two guys attacked are unhurt and have a tactical background/training. They didn’t escalate the situation at all. Uniform and plain clothes SAPS are on scene as well as searching the surrounding area, they are thorough and professional. This is just an overview of what happened and there are probably specifics and personal details that’s best left to them and SAPS rather than to speculate.