HammerHed

I took a wrong turn after the last waterpoint, there was a big hill I climbed and at the top started cramping, a bit further on the road split but there were no road markers so I figured I had taken a wrong turn so I went back to the bottom of the hill to find I should have turned right. Man that hurt, all the guys I had hauled in got past me again. So I put the hammer down again on the next climbs and managed to get some places back. Also my best marathon time of 4:22 but could have been much closer to 4:00 if I had not taken that turn. Oh well next time.

If he is "Seeded" then no problem! I imagine that if you start in A group you are "Seeded" and not "Elite" and can then race in any group thereafter, No?

Hell Yes, have to agree with you. Not sure what their rules are considering I didn't do that race, but that is the standard procedure. If you get dropped by your group surely you find solace and shelter in the group behind???

That was tough, 70km of"Pain pudding". A tough route, the first half was a lot easier considering they cut out the massive portage in the first 6km of last years route. However, then came the last 35km, now that was the same as last year and that hurt big time. A very enjoyable and painful, muddy and beautiful ride, I can't feel anything other satisfied. HammerHed2008-05-04 15:48:30

I went to CycleLab today to ask a mechanic why my MTB disc brakes are shuddering. CycleLab have never serviced my bike. I Googled this problem and could find no definitive answers, so I just wanted to talk to an MTB mechanic and get their opinion. I was helped by Dean and Shaun, and they both thought about it for a while and then concluded that I must put copper slip on the back of the brake pad between the piston and the pad, after setting the alignment of the brake calipers to see if that would help. Good advice, I then asked them where I could get some copper slip and they said if I had something to put some in they would give me some at no charge, they gave me a small dollop, more than enough to sort me out and I am sure it does not cost very much but they went out of their way to help me. I was impressed that they gave me the time to discuss my problem and come up with a solution and then help me out. Good service if you ask me.

I got Polar 625x wireless on back wheel of MTB, front on road bike. Works perfectly.

HP, I am on my second one now the first is 9 years old and still runs. Mrs HammerHed still uses the first one for architectural design work when we travel. Win 98 and it runs fine, albeit very slowly. Ready for a Linux upgrade. My second HP notebook is now 2 years old and had no hassles at all.

Nice Bike!!

My wheel bearings Shimano hubs are not sealed, if you unscrew the nuts the whole axle comes out and the ball bearings are left inside, stuck in the grease. I pulled all of them out and cleaned all the muck out and put teflon bicycle grease back inside the groove of the hub that the ball bearings sit in and then carefully put the ball bearings back in this groove, and assembled the axle again, and tightened just enough to not have too much friction and guess what? Bob was my Aunty. It worked, perfectly. But it does not spin smooth like my road bike you can feel the bearings when you roll the axle with your fingers. This is not rocket science, just basic bike maintenance.

I got the same problem with my MTB, the wheel feels like it slows down quit quickly when you spin it in your hands, and it is not touching the disc brake calipers or anything. I did the Karoo 2 Coast in rain and mud and that fine silty mud got into everything on my bike, it wore out the rear disc brake pad. When I got back home I pulled all the bearings from the wheel hubs and cleaned everything with a degreaser and covered the wheel hub bearings in a teflon bicycle grease and rebuilt. It ran much better but it feels a little uneven when you turn the axle in your fingers, was wondering if that is normal. How do you know when the bearings / hubs are worn?

So you actually rode and compared with the Specialized to come to your conclusion or is this based on an emotional bias to your brand of choice?

I have a Specialized Allez Pro frame with Carbon stays and Zerts gel inserts that damp vibrations from the road. This does seem to have an effect on the ride comfort as it rides smoother on rough roads. This was developed for the Paris - Roubaix Pave roads so I am sure there is merit in the logic.

I can also vouch for Le Tour, very nice people and very helpful. I have met with them twice to discuss custom made shirts for a polo team, and they were quite willing to help me. They will custom make for you, print cycling shirts etc..

Been a roadie for 8 years and now a dirt biker for 3, so much more social and fun is Mountain biking... But the road races are good too...

Run, Swim, Row, Gym, MTB, Road....

Basically any ride over 1 hour at a decent pace will deplete your clycogen stores in your muscles and you will hit the wall if you only consume water. You must consume carbohydrates at a rate equal to the amount consumed or you will hit the wall. So how you replenish the clycogen depends on the fuels you add during the ride. Water is fine for rehydration but you then must consume carbs in the form of a gel or energy bars or whatever form, bread with peanut butter and jam or boiled potatoes, whatever blows your hair back. The point being: replenish the clycogen loss in your muscles at a rate fast enough to no blow before your ride is up.

Powerade / Energade definitely not great, just water with colouring and clever marketing. Take a decent energy drink like CytoMax / Replenish and you will not have to eat as many gels and energy bars.

Surely its got to be CytoMax, can't do long rides without it. All the other stuff you guys mentioned does not come close.

Yeah, R100 way too steep for that!!

Not sure what they cost, but the specialized are very comfortable, well worth the expense.

An enjoyable ride, bit too much pavement and tar to be a proper MTB race. The single track was great through the woods, nice and twisting and you can't see the track ahead which was enjoyable. Not sure I will be back next year it was a bit of an attempt to throw in an MTB race to the weekends activities. Give me a lots of climbing and single track in the country and I am in, not this urban mash of pavement tar and dodging aeroplanes. The fun part was lapping my mates on the 50km route.