joevan

Many many, years ago, there was a study done on this phenomen, regards motorcyclists. It concluded that the average motorist recognised a car, but did not recognise two poles with a wheel in the middle, which led to the "motorcyclists, lets's keep our headlights on to get thier attention." drive. I agree with this. If you are a cyclist, you will recognise a cyclist, but if you have never ridden a bicycle/motorcycle, the presence of such a strange item on the road, not shaped like a car, just does not register in the motorists mind. How many times have you as a cyclist, yelled at a motorist that pulled out of a stopstreet in front of you only to see the look of absolute amazement on thier faces? They just did not register your presence!!!!!!!!!!!! Moral of the story, make yourself visible, wear bright colors, ride defensively, expect the motorist to not see you.

Tarmac---- Your comments were a pleasure to read after all the negative/angry/frustrated comments on the last thread. Five stars to you!!!!! Also sending this to our club for posting in our newsletter. We ride by these rules anyway, and it's amazing how often motorists, even taxis and busses stop for us and wave us on. Image counts!!

Keep up the medals. My grandson sees them and wants a medal like Oupa, so he has started cycling. That's worth a whole lot more than R8.00

I'm also proud of my medals, but the greatest use they have had is getting the grandson interested in cycling, because he also wants a medal like Oupa!!!!!!

Checking back on Dirtopia mail regards the raffle bike: FUNDRAISING For the first half of 2009 we have 2 main fundraising drives: Amarider Fundraising raffle WE are raffling off William Bike Shop?s entry into the mountain biker magazine Biker Build-off competition! Go check the bike here and get your R100 raffle tickets now! The bike is conservatively valued at R75 000 and even more prizes will be up for grabs. Draw takes place on 7 March?Get your tickets HERE!

Just Emailed from Dirtopia: LISTEN UP!!!!! William's Bike Shop in Somerset West has just been burgled (Tuesday evening around 18H30) Stolen 1) White Rocky Mountain Slayer SCX (yes the raffle bike!!!!) Unmistakeable Green Chris King Hubs and Headset (details on www.williamsbikeshop.co.za) 2) Blue and White Rocky Mountain ETSX 3) 2009 Giant Anthem X1 - charcoal & silver 4) 2008 Giant Anthem 1 Blue and Silver (customer's bike) 5) Giant Fixed gear bike - black ( silver fork) phone William - 083 463 0383 PLEASE ALL, LETS GET THESE BIKES BACK!!!!! Spread to your databases!!!

For clarification from Cycle factory: Full service includes, but is not limited to the following on MTB's: Complete stripdown to frame. Complete cleaning of all working parts including the frame. REPACKING of bb, headset, wheel bearings (on full suspension pivots, etc.) Complete lubrication, wheel true, front fork and rear can check. Brake bleed and pad check. Setting of gears, pressures, etc. Obviously, all of this is applicable depending of what type of bike it is. We just don't replace bb's, chains and clusters if it is not necessary. We only use Giant, Jagwire or Shimano cables and housings. Wash and lube service includes a thorough checking of the bike including checking gears and brakes. We hand wash each bike and soak the chain and cluster. We use top consumables such as Motorex. This is why it is R120 for a wash and lube. Replacement of cables only is not R225.00 - it is R50 for the cables and R75 for fitting.

How long has the maid worked for you?? If you are sure it was her, you need to get her out of your house pronto! Tell her you are going to lay a charge with the police, it may scare her into admitting the theft. I would lay a charge anyway. Are you insured? If so maybe you can claim from insurance, but you will need a SAPS case number anyway.

And I'll second that Delgado. When I was a youngster it was known as common courtesy, something that is rare these days, but I must say is still generally prevalent amongst cyclists.

http://cyclefactory.co.za/content/view/117/234/ Cycle Factory Montague Gardens advertise hiring of MTB's

Probably The Outriders http://www.theoutriders.co.za/

I'm "50Something", and manage to keep up with the guys. Don't let it worry you. Generally there are two groups, the fast boys (and Girls) and the more moderate guys like me. Riders range from the super hot to the super slow and distances vary from 70km to 30km on the Saturday rides. We try to encourage new riders, so we make a point of not leaving them behind. PPA seedings?? Well there is the whole range! PM CC2 and let him put you on the mailing list.joevan2008-12-08 13:17:58

CH I'll second that. Could also think of interesting uses for the pan and brush if I ever caught one of the A@@eholes who throw bopttles in the streets!

Not many, I agree, originally he suggested a machine shop, but it was weekend and I wanted to ride, so I told him to do his thing with the file. That was about 14 months and a lot of Km's ago. Fortunately I have an LBS that I trust!

Had the same problem, so it is a fact. But the enterprising fellow at my LBS did some careful work with a file, and it now fits my nine speed cassette perfectly.

Interesting debate on page 99 of December Bicycling, yes I do read it for fun! Will it be better if MTB manufactureres spec parts specialised to thier brand, or is it just another rip-off that is going to push prices upwards, and make spares more difficult to get? joevan2008-11-19 13:21:09

From the specs you mentioned, this is real bottom of the line stuff, Makro type stuff! You don't mention where you are, so can't recommend any shops, but suggest that you rather go to genuine bike shop, where you will get proper advice, and most of all backup service. SW is not really a bike shop, no offence to them, but it is just another of the many items they sell. Most good bike shops will have end of range models at reasonable prices abou this time of the year, and many of them also stock good second hand bikes at good prices. If you name a budget, sure that some hubber will be able to offer you better as well.

Never had a problem with foreign growth in my Camelbak which has now seen two years use. Only use bottled water, and store the bladder in the fridge when not in use.

Try City Cycling Club http://www.citycyclingclub.org/ Wednesday Killarney ? Meet at the parking area in front of BP Letchworth at 5.15pm. lights essential for the trip home.<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Saturday morning ? Meet at the Edgemead Sports fields at 7.00am for a training ride. Distances will vary between 50 ? 60 kms for the short route and 90 ? 100 km for the long route. Sunday morning ? PPA Fun and League ride. This event will start and finish at the top of Tiekiedraai (Ntida Cellars). The club gazebo will be erected for members. Please come and enjoy refreshments after your ride, compliments of your club. <?: prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Karoo 2 Coast ? We wish our members who are taking part in this event a safe and enjoyable ride. Tuesday 23rd September ? Track training. If you want to experience a bit of track cycling come down to the Bellville Velodrome. Please bring your own pedals and helmet. Training commences at 5.00pm and bikes are available to hire at R5.00 Wednesday 24th September ? DC Training. We will depart from the BP Service Station at 6.00am for a 120 km ride. We are still deciding on the route but we are aiming to be back home by 11.00am

Hijack on Johan, your description of shimming the seat with a beer can reminded me of this: Adjusting a bicycle seat The seat (aka saddle) on your bicycle is responsible for carrying your weight and allowing your legs to concentrate on propelling you onward. This seemingly innocuous piece of equipment can make or break your bicycling experience as it can cause you great pain & agony in your nether regions, knees and legs and even impotence, gentlemen, if adjusted improperly. Your cycling efficiency can also go to poo if that seat ain't right. By and large, most stock bicycle seats are pieces of sh*t. If the simple guidelines below don't soothe your backside and help you from losing that lovin' feeling, replace it. Remember, though - you want to put the pressure on the sit bones in your ass, not the soft tissue such as the taint. Skip the one with Sooper X-Tra Thick Padding and give the Funny Anotomical Seat With The Split Down The Center a try. To Adjust Your Bicycle Seat You Will Need: one 6mm Allen wrench one 4mm Allen wrench one framing level rags or newspaper (trade show t-shirts work great) some variety of pumice soap (like Lava or Fast Orange) Vaseline or anti-seize compound (optional) one six-pack of your favorite beer (not optional) your bicycle helmet (not optional) Aight, now that you've got all the sh*t, head out onto the front porch. Crack open a brew. Take a few puffs off your favorite substance to smoke if you're so inclined. Put on a Bad Religion CD. Relax. Now then, the seat on a bicycle has four degrees of freedom. We shall gently adjust these into line one by one. First, the angle of the seat shall be adjusted. Basically, you want it to be roughly parallel to the ground, aka "level". Stand the bicycle upright and take a gander at the seat from the side. Check it with the framing level. If you have one of the fancy seats with a drop or cutout for your taint, lay a book across the seat. i prefer using my prob/stat book, since i haven't found any other use for it yet. Loosen the seat clamp binding bolt with the 6mm Allen wrench, adjust to level up the seat. Snugly tighten the binding bolt. While you are dealing with the seat clamp, you might as well adjust the fore-to-aft position of the seat. This one is fairly easy to do. Sit on the seat and with the pedals horizonal, sit on the seat. When it is adjusted properly, your kneecap should be directly over the pedal spindle (axle) of the forward pedal. Adjust and torque the poop out of the bolt. Not so much you strip the threads, Hercules. Drink some more beer. The seat angle adjustment has a great deal with how your nether regions will feel on a ride. Some people prefer a slight upward or backward tilt. Level is the best place to start and will be most comfortable for most people. The fore-to-aft position (in conjunction with the height adjustment, below) helps with making sure you get maximum efficency and protect your knees from nasty grindy sounds. Now then, adjusting the seat height. Loosen the seatpost collar binding bolt with the 4mm Allen wrench (or just loosen the quick release lever) and remove the seatpost. That's right, grab the seat and take that entire f**ker out. You will notice what a tight fit the seatpost has in the seatpost tube and how gritty it feels coming out. Wipe the seatpost clean with the rag or newspaper. NOW IS TIME TO GET DIRTY (so drink the rest of that beer and have another smoke before proceeding). With the vaseline or astroglide anti-sieze compound, grease up the bottom quarter of the seatpost. Spread it around if you're so inclined. Reinsert the seatpost into the seat tube and put the seat back to its previous height. Tighten up the seatpost binding bolt. Go wash your hands, you filthy pervert. Get another beer and continue. To find out what the proper seat height is for you, sit on the bike seat while remaining stationary (having a wall or couch or friend nearby is helpful). Try to wear the shoes and funny bike shorts you'll be wearing when riding the most. Put the heel of one foot on the center of a pedal and rotate it backward to the bottom of it's excursion. When the seat height is adjusted properly, your leg will be straight when your heel is on the center of the pedal. Got it? Good. Adjust the seat up and/or down until this is the case. Torque the poop out of this bolt as well. Some of you may be thinking "But jbo, this seat seems awfully goddamn high! I can't touch the ground while on the seat." There is a reason for that, Gentle Reader. It's because you're not supposed to be able to touch the ground while on the seat. If you have adjusted the seat height as described above, you will get the maximum pedaling efficency when the ball of your foot is on the center of the pedal. This also helps your knees. Pay attention to them; They will tell you if the seat needs to move up or down. If your knees hurt in the front, raise the seat. If your knees hurt in the back, lower the seat. If your lower back hurts, find a member of the appropriate sex to rub it. By this point, you should be about halfway through your six pack. If not, play catch up. NOW, son! One last thing to check - the seat alignment. Sight down the seat, in line with the back wheel. Would a line drawn through the fore-aft axis of the bicycle also be coplanar with the seat down its respective axis? If not, just bang on the seat from the side with the palm of your hand until it is. Don't bother with loosening the seatpost collar binding bolt. Time for the moment of truth - finish the beer you're currently drinking, put on your helmet and take it for a test ride. Some fine-tuning and tweaking may be necessary, but you should be very close to the optimum seat position for your unique body geometry and bicycle. Go hit the streets. Ride to work. Ride to the store. Ride to your friends' houses. Ride to school. Ride Out There and Back. Ride Ride Ride. Now please realize that your mileage may vary. Albert Herring promises me that all his seatpost binding bolts are a whole millimeter larger than what i specified here. i would speak of a vast left-wing conspiracy headed up by the British, but instead i'm going to get another beer. Hijack off

If I read this right, cyclists sharing a lane with Busses and I assume Taxi's, I'll wait and see?????? Sounds dangerous to me!!joevan2008-07-28 10:43:14

Another idea, not sure if it will work for you, is to buy a set of triple road cranks. I have this setup on MTB and road bike, and the spindles on the bottom brackets match. Set up the MTB with the triple road cranks and as suggested earlier fit narrower slicks, amazing how much difference tyres make if you are using your MTB for road racing as well. You will lose out slightly on the lower gears as the road cranks are not as small as the MTB cranks, but if you have the usual 11/32 rear cassette, this should'nt be too painfull on the off road hills. My setup is MTB 42/34/24 with 11/32 cassette Road 52/39/30 with 11/28 cassette Both 9spd cassettes. Deralliers will need adjustment but should be OK

SeanMort, what area of CT are you in? In the Northern Suburbs area, try City Cycling Club. Saturdays 07:00 Meduim and long ride 50k - 80k Sundays 07:00 approx 80k plus generally some MTB plans Ride from Edgemead. http://www.citycyclingclub.org/