Chunky

Hi SwissVan Yes, the bike was bought for everything but the frame. The wheels were taken back by the original owner only 1 month after purchase. I think the problem came in when ProBike found out that the frame was stripped and decided not to honour the warranty. BTW, the local Zipp agent changed teh wheels at no charge. BTW, The Raleigh frame broke after only 2 weeks of use. Chainstay broke during H2H. A lady was riding the bike.

Brendon Els.... Firstly, I dont know how your company is actually still in business. Starting with an idiot like you at the helm and the crap products that you sell. I was a witness to the endless crap those Raleigh frames gave begining of last year. Every second one that were given to Microsoft team came apart within a few weeks. What a load of crap. All you have done by trying to drag CWC through the dirt is highlight the fact that the prices in his shop are as rediculously low as he is advertising. If the consumer can get the same product at a cheaper price elsewhere he is going to take it. Loyalty to the LBS who buys from approved dealers go right out the window when there is a few grand to save elsewhere. I for one know what markups are used by yourselves and the LBS. I regularly buy direct from the suppliers at way below average prices and still sometimes the items are offered from CWC cheaper. The local Bike shops and importers are digging a hole for themselves. You cant blame anyone trying to save a buck. Your common defence will be 'what happens if something goes wrong with the part from CWC?'. I got a set of Zipp wheels from one of those pieces of crap that you sell. The wheels started to give problems after only 2 weeks. I sent them back to a local Raleigh dealer and told him they were from the 25k package deal thingy majigy ( Bike was stripped for parts and wheels. The frame was given away. It also later broke). Sorry I was told, not Probikes problem. Contact the local agent for Zipp. Your products are sh*t and your service is sh*t. If CWC does a better job good for them.Chunky2008-01-03 14:59:03

Hmmmm. Everybody wants to know what is going on, but when one person steps forward and talks he is labled a 'Squealer'. What do they want, the truth or no scandals. Cant have both.

CSA, SACF has always been riddled with people who have nothing but themselves at heart. Its a pitty that people who actually try and make a difference keep getting ousted by the others who do jack sh*t. Sylvia Dale is another person who gets way to much flack from the two idiots in charge. I know she has had many run ins with people involved in cycling, but I would love to see how the two idiots would cope without her around. The cyclists have long said that cycling needs a completely new face. LW and DB are certainly not what I had in mind. As long as you have people who do not understand cycling you will always have a semi proffesional sport in South Africa run by a bunch of amatures.

Its a pity. Carinus is one of the very few people left who can get cycling back on track. The problem is going to be getting Past mr bellairs and Mr Whittaker. Both of whom know absolutely jack sh*t about cycling but love to shout the odds. I can remember the world cup in Cape Town. We didnt see Dave Bellairs anywhere until JP won a medal. The next minute he wasall over the SA time like a sh*t Fly. Lawrance will soon shoot himself in the foot anyway. He is proving to be a serious stumbling block in cycling at the highest level. He has managed to Get Tony Harding to resign, the only person I think responsible for SA's resurgence on the road. Lawrance is also frowned upon by most of the administrators in cycling anyway, wont be long before he gets the boot.

Hope it rides better than the 496 !!!

On a more serious note, the problem can be reasonably easily corrected. A transparent selection system with a defined selection process outlining the events that will be used as selection races and a point scoring system within those events will make life alot easier for the selectors. Choose a handfull of events throughout South africa well in advance so cyclists hoping to make selection can plan ahead. The athletes then score points over all of the events mentioned. The top however many cyclists in each category are then put onto the team. That was the selection process used when I was in England and it was very hard to manipulate it. The top riders over the selected races were in the team. In my opinion very simple to administer and very simple to justify selection.

Actually I just like winding you guys up. Nothing anyone on this board ever does will be able to change what is happening. It hapopens in all sports in all countries. Its just a little bit more exagerated here in South Africa. We after all live in a country that believes Beetroot as a cure for diseases. Cyclings problems are at the bottom of the pile.

Ok..... I appologise for being so rude and distastefull. Its not the selectors fault at all. Lets just hope it gets sorted out ASAP. I am willing to take bets that in 2 to 3 years tiime, we are sitting with the same people and the same problems.

Big Mama, Thank you very much for your reply. The acknowledgement about me being very knowlegdable is very correct. I would however like to point out that I dont actually blame the people in question, but the system in place (Or rather not in place). I know Erica Green very well, and I have no problems with her at all. The problem lies with the process that she has been forced to use, that is adjusted accordingly to who needs to be selected at that particular time. I do admit that I am one of those people shouting from the sidelines at the moment. I have been involved in cycling for maaaaaaaaany years and I have seen this process over and over. That is the reason for my scheptisism at the moment. Its been the same for the last 20 years. Cycling in South Africa needs a complete face change. Perhaps Lawarance and Dave have done an excellent job wiuth the Argus and other similar type 'Fun' rides, but they have no clue about real racing. Andrew Maclean, Tony Harding and a few others would be able to get the ball rolling in the right direction in my opinion. But again, they have already tried working with the current CSA system and both got out as soon as they realised it was a hopeless task. So, why dont you get involved and make a contribution. I have certainly made mine.

Isnt Alex Cooper bashing Manriette Schoeman, thats a bit of a conflict of interest. Also remember Dave bellairs also had a thing with Manriette. Its a sespool this cycling isnt it?

Fair comment. Like I said before its a thankless job. But, If you do take on the responsibility of the job, DO IT RIGHT.

I am only trying to imagine what would happen to one of my employees if they walked into my office and told me they were sorry about not being in contact with their conterparts as they didnt have the correct email address. They would be doing cartwheels out the door.

A vote of no confidence is the only option. Kick these fools out and replace them. I am sorry to say, but even the ANC runs a better operation than these idiots.

What a joke.... I am in stitches here laughing at what is called a national cycling federation. This is an absolute joke and once again proves their incompetence. The national selectors had the wrong email address ???????? Why the hell are all the selectors from outside JHB. All the raciong happens up here, not uin Capetown, not in PE. This system is just a total mess. Its absolutely hillariuos.

I suspect not At the end of the day they could have made things right. Ronel was removed from the list. I say no more.

Buckstopper......slow down mate. What you have just outlined is a bit of planning. This is not the norm at CSA. There its all about who we can ****over today and who else we can blame if it backfires.

While I agree with Csiad that winning an SA championship means absolutely nothing, it is however the event that has been 'earmarked' as the race to win to gain selection. Proving yourself at your national championships is normaly the way in which a rider can prove to everyone within his federation that he or she is the best that the country has to offer. It is not that riders fault if the standard is very low. At the end of the day, he still beat all the other riders who were hoping to do the same thing. Transparancy is the problem at the CSA. When emotion takes over from reason, the worms start to crawl out of the woodwork. The problem we have, is that our sport is being run mostly by people who have no clue about proffesional or competitive cycling (Dave and Lawrance). Another problem we have is the fact that they do not want or need any help from anyone else. Cycling needs a complete new face. It needs experienced and qualified business people who can turn it into a profitable organisation to run the administration and logistics side of things. It also needs people who understand how cycling at that level works. I had a long chat with Carinus the other day egarding this issue. I told him it must be very difficult to have to work with people who dont understand cycling and his silence answered my question exactly. Cycling in South Africa will remain a total mess like it has been for the past however many years untill you rid the sport of these idiots. We always seem to get the same answer when this statement gets made....' Well, you voted for us'. Who actually voted. How many people actually put there hands up when these people were elected into their currenty positions. Sure, we are partly to blame for not showing up and putting our hands in the air for pewople we actually want to see run our sport. I for one have been to a few of these gatherings of potential administrators. The problem is that nobody actually wants the job. Its an organisation in total dissaray. I think most people actually think to themselves why even bother, you never going to change the system anyway. South Africa will unfortunately only ever produce a very limited number of Robert Hunters or Cherise Taylors and the system will kill most of them off anyway.