Longbarn Killer

I've hit 83 on a road bike and my bike was smooth and fully planted. But my nerves have got to me in my old age. Anything over 60km/h and I start backing off.

Low pressure, high volume tyres, like those you find on mtbs could be seriously unstable at those speeds.

You've got guts. I'm scared hitting those speeds on my road bike on a smooth road, let alone on a MTB.

If you want to repaint your GT40 replica, then number 1. If you want to repaint your Porsche 917 replica, then number 2. If you want to repaint your bicycle, then number 3.

Don't upgrade your bike just to get something lighter. Lighter doesn't always mean better, besides, weight savings has a massive price exponential curve and benefits to weight saving have a downward exponential curve. To save half a kg, is going to cost thousands. If you want a new bike simply for the sake of it, then go out and get a new one. We all buy bike stuff because we want rather then need.

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SARS has 60 working days to respond to a dispute (not 21 days). If these 60 working days have expired, you need to lodge a complaint via the CMO (Complaints Monitoring Office). Those call centre escalations are not worth the time spent on the phone. They end up in cyber space. It's best that this is done via eFiling, however, you have the option to do this via telephone. If you do it electronically, they will probably tell you that eFiling is your only option. Having said that, if your objection was only partially allowed, you have to do an appeal for the balance. If you have lodged an objection again, SARS will disallow it and tell you to appeal. Then the whole process starts again.

That is one of our biggest complaints that we have in the industry. SARS never sticks to their own time lines and often exceeds the 21 days, but the majority is within 21 days. As soon as the auditor reviews and finalises the audit, the refund will go through for payment. They don't hold it back for 21 days to expire. Most of the time, payment runs go through nightly. Refunds over a certain amount may need a second approval, in which case it will take a bit longer to hit the payment run. SARS also selects certain audits for quality control, meaning a second person must look at it. This can also delay the process.

Rims are cheap, rather replace. I'm also no expert on wheels or welding, but won't welding cause an imbalance in the wheel?

Two things: If you've been cycling for as long as I have, you will remember a time when Omnico's service was legendary. They were good and I have had service from them to back up that statement. But I suppose time and things do change. The second thing is...……….a shock is nothing more than a mechanical device (the same applies to most other cycling products), why does it have to go to the distributors for a service. Surely, there must be others out there who can service a lefty shock. What does this shock have that makes it so unique that no other mechanic can touch it? Is it that Omnico won't make the parts available to other bike shops?

Personally, I would not have gone through all the PT to buy a product from a company that doesn't want to sell it to me (I'm referring to Sram and local distributors). I would have simply bought something else, not that we have many options because Shimano has also started this geolocking thing. Looks like Campag and Microshift are the way to go.

I always ask this question If the the technology was there 50 years ago to put a man on the moon, surely, just surely Nestle can develop a Milo that dissolves in cold milk.

Mine took about a week to finalise the audit. The finalisation was done last week Thurs and I got my money today.

I agree. I was in a bike shop once and an acquaintance came into the shop. He bought his wife a pro bike set up as a birthday gift. The voucher was for a grand or so.

No wonder the front wheel feels heavy, look at the stem position. The pros might be able to get away with a position like that, but hey, we are normal people. I'm the same height and have a medium Scott hardtail, but ride a large road bike. I would flip the stem and see how it feels. You have been riding like that for some time now, so you going to feel pretty weird when you do flip it. Give it a few rides to see how you feel. If, after a few rides, you can't get used to, then flip it back.

This brings another dimension to this topic. Is it alright to flame someone's ad? The reason I started this topic was because a "well known" seller with a 100% positive rating was selling parts described as "mint". The picture actually showed very badly scratched parts. My first thought was to reply in a sarcastic way. But I thought about it and then figured that maybe one person's definition of "mint" is different to another's (that's why I asked for the general consensus). Besides, anybody buying the parts could see for themselves it was scratched and make decision accordingly. I try not to comment negatively on people's ads, but sometimes the temptation is too great. I also make sure of my facts before commenting. Like the guy selling a road bike claiming it was a 2014 model, yet it had a quill headset (these all but disappeared on bikes in the 90s). Some googling showed his bike to be a 1999 model. In that case I commented, but also try not to directly accuse. I try to use words like "are you sure" etc. I've also seen people make negative comments on ads and it is clear that they have no idea what they are talking about. I once saw an ad for a Raleigh RC9000. Some chump chirped that Raleigh never made an RC9000 and that is was probably a fake. (Team Microsoft rode RC9000s). There's a fine line between ruining a potential sale and exposing a dodgy seller. Your comments on the expander plug were probably justified.

My eldest brother is a real slob. He dresses like he lives on the street and I cannot recall him ever brushing his hair. One day a woman actually paid for his groceries at the Spar.

The one with the massive M30 spanner will find a way to steal irrespective of how fancy your lock is. Then your next best protection against theft is insurance.

2 of the bikes mentioned are not available in SA (the Vitus and Diamondback) unless you buy online, which is not a good idea price wise. Good value for money brands to look at in SA are: Silverback, Mongoose, Momsen, Titan, Axis and a few others. You'll find used options right here and new from bike shops. Personally, as a new rider, I would go new. It will be set up properly for your size and you get a warranty. If not, there are a couple of used bike shops too. They are all here in the classified. I would google all of the above brands. Their websites will list dealers in your area and go and check them out. You'll get a good bike for your budget, that will suit your needs. People will throw stones at me for saying this, but don't get hung up on 130mm travel up front. 90% of us don't need it. Also, this is the best time to buy new. Most shops offer discounts to clear stock for the impending release of next years models (2020 models start coming in late July)

A friend went there on a "look and see" trip. He came back shaking his head saying he would never live in a country like that with such cold weather. I met another woman who moved there 5 years ago and loves it. Personally, coming from PE, I'm happy to live is a place where I can still wear short pants in winter.

I've been out of the loop for some time now and haven't really kept up to speed. I see Louis Meintjies is not in the team. Is he injured or just out of form?

When somebody advertises an item for sale as describes is as "mint" condition. What would you expect it to be? I would expect an item to look brand new, work perfectly and have no marks or scratches.

eFiling seems to be sorted out. I have about 6 profiles and the system still hasn't merged me, but the individual profiles still work on their own.

Rule number 1. Never spend a SARS refund until the cash is in your bank. I've been working with them/for them for 25 years and have learnt anything can happen along the way.

Spoke to one of the Customs guys at work, he said if you are using normal postage SARS does not even follow up on how many imports you make and don't have the capacity to check anyway.