BreadPitt

Mostly secondhand (pinkbike / eBay / marketplace) with clearance and sale stuff from online, shops, direct brands etc. Much bigger markets, more options, more realistic prices due to more customers and more competition. Before I get flamed, I do support local brands, shops, workshops etc but for a lot of the different brands the market is too small in SA to support a distributor when you factor in the many costs, fees, add ons and taxes. I bought Transition from the local agents back in the day but they dropped out a long time ago. Don’t get me wrong I’m not a grey importer, I’m not selling for business or profit. I don’t have a big paying job, I work for myself and my model is pretty much be a bit smart, work the angles and (hopefully) when I’m bored and there is a new itch to scratch then the sale of the current toy pretty much covers the next toy with minimal additional outlay. I’ve got a family to think of and I can’t be spending the kids school fees on my vain hobby!

I’ve never had a problem selling bike and kit here or marketplace tbh. It’s about pitching it right, good price but then I’m not listing overly expensive epics along with 39 other people. i do think the market here for new is really over the top price wise for most people so when it comes to selling you’re dealing with people who don’t want to spend eye watering cash on a new bike but on the flip side you can take a rinsing on the price you paid. It’s only fair you get a decent percentage back but there is the issue - gap between the two. I’ve always worked on the fact your new bike price is going to take a good 35%+ drop in the first year and then after that it’s a combo of the bike, the need, the uniqueness and the spec to see how much of a bth you’re going to take on it. I tend to get my frames and bikes overseas now. Even with the dodgy exchange rate new / outlet sales are better than here, second hand market is bigger, you can get a wider variety of the bikes I like and when it comes to me selling then they tend to be pretty rare here and generally cover more of my costs. I tend to get bikes like orange, ibis, transition, raaw, mondraker, evil, cotic, etc keep them for 8 months to a year and then find something new. Not cos I like new newness but because I love how different bikes ride, how they challenge you in different way, hone skills differently and give you different fun. Currently on waiting in a new frame to arrive and riding a 2018 Transition Smuggler. Having come off a Ripmo (which wasn’t that long and slack) you can really feel how cramped up the angles are and the reach difference is glaring. Sure the industry is trying to sell bikes 24/7 and telling you the next thing is the best thing but also things have moved on and a lot of time for the better… just not as much as they claim. My smuggler is still one of the funnest bikes ever.

Not sure if it’s been posted but looks like the Private Equity deal and the global pressures haven’t been the best for YT. “YT Industries GmbH has initiated a legal restructuring process under German law, entering into self-administration to secure the company's future” Seems there has been some confusion with big discounts a few weeks ago, some orders cancelled and some orders with cash paid and money being held. “Hello, We regret to inform you that, due to ongoing insolvency proceedings, your order xxx has been put on hold. As your payment was received before the proceedings officially began, it is legally considered part of the insolvency estate. At this stage, we are unable to issue refunds or provide further details about the status of your payment. We understand how frustrating and disappointing this situation is, especially without a clear resolution. If you wish to explore your options, we recommend reaching out to your payment provider to inquire about potential next steps. We truly regret that we cannot offer you a better solution at the moment, and we’re very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. Thank you again for your patience and understanding. Sincerely, Your YT Industries Team” Hope they can get it right and not have it dissolve after trying for a while with a whimper. Hope all the sales over at Evil aren’t echoing the same issues.

Ha, that is like the ultimate dream from when you were a BMX grom scribbling on desks in class and then grew up and and made it happen in the big boy world. Respect that.

One guy a member for 2 years, the other a member for 16 hours. Last picture on the 'MInt' advert is the 4th picture on the R60K ad. R60k for an alu' SB seems to be pretty pricey to me. I'd just send a message to both accounts and ask what the deal is and link to the other advert. Then if I was going to get it then I'd go throw an offer at for the R28K one. Or maybe ask for at least a R32k discount on the R60K one. 😆 Price aside he obviously likes treat his bike to trips to nice locations and nice photo shoots with complimentary backgrounds.

So CRC has one of these on BF special for about R1700 new (£74) down from £240. I've never used one before but after a bit of research I found that the gen 1's were air powered with a valve under the seat and Gen 2 were sealed cartridge versions. Both seem to have some link to Fox with Fox Branding on the bottom of the post on the Gen 1's and a few reviews saying the Gen 2s are pretty much the Fox Transfer guts in a slightly different package. The one they have on special is the 2019 / 2020 version apparently. https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/race-face-aeffect-r-dropper-seatpost There also seems to be some noise around the air ones not going up and staying up and a general level of squish after not too long on some. Any one here have any experience / advice on this as a purchase? I've pretty much had either Lyne or Bike Yoke on my previous rides and just bought a new bike with a too short existing post. I was a bit shocked about how much the Lyne ones have gone up in the past years since I bought one. Actually I was a bit shocked about how much all drop posts had gone up since I last was looking so it's not just Lyne.

That's not good. I'm guessing they were brass brazed?

I've just got a quote from DeRustit in Montague Gardens and for a dual sus frame I'm looking at about R400 which is great value. Has anyone else here done this with them and any thing I need to know in advance. Obviously remove everything including bearings etc. Also has anyone keot their bikes raw after a stripping or best together a clearcoat added?

A big thank you to everyone for taking the time to go through this for me. It is really helpful and a lot clearer. I just was worried about buying a set if wheels and then being stuck not able to use them and not able to sell them on as there aren't so many people wanting non boost wheels these days. 🙏

Thanks for that. Makes sense.

Hello, I'm new here so 'hello to all' and wondering if I could get some advice regarding Shimano 12 speed, hubs and different cassettes. Seems to be a lot of knowledge around there. The Problem: I'm looking to build up a new trail (old) bike and while I've pretty much got everything bought now I'm struggling with the wheels / cassettes / freehub combinations. I've got a non boost frame and a 12 speed SLX groupset and I am in the process of trying to find a set of non boost wheels. What I'm confused about is what matches and can work with what. My questions are: - Can a 12sp Microspline free hub fit on non boost hub? - If not then can I get a 12sp cassette that will work with a normal 11sp Shimano free hub? Some one mentioned that a NX or Deore or sunrace will fit (?) - I've seen a set of wheels that will work with my budget but I don't know if I can get a a 12sp micro spline free hub for the Csixx hubs as it has a XD on it at the moment. Can I use a Sram cassette with the XT gear set? - Lastly, and sorry for the large amount of questions in my first post, do Hope make Pro4 hubs in dedicated Boost or are they essentially non boost with different end caps? May thanks in advance for any help you can give and if anyone has any decent width non-boost trail type wheels that are gathering dust in the garage then please let me know as I am searching for some without much luck. 🙏