Longbarn Killer

No...... Road bike sizes are normally quoted using the Seat Tube length. So, if he is talking of a size 54, then the seat tube, from the centre of the top tube to the centre of the bb is 54 cm. Top tubes are normally longer than the seat tube. That is why the top tube is 54.8 on the size 54 bike. Also remember, because the seat tube is at an angle, the higher your seat post, the further away you are from the bars.

There was a problem with the 2007 carbon frames. These were re-called and replaced. Other than that, there is nothing wrong with Raleigh. In fact, there has been more SA titles won on Raleighs in recent years, than any other brand. The re-call was due to a crack in the cosmetic layer on the drive side chainstay. The product manager of Raleigh at the time assured me that it was purely cosmetic and there was no risk of failure. Most of the 2007 frames were re-called, but some people chose not to exchange their frames as the problem was only cosmetic. These frames do pop up for sale from time to time. There was one for sale a few days ago on the Hub. This is basically what the re-called frames looked like.

I was doing the usual lunch time surf and came across this 2012 Wilier. I want one, but at US$12 000, it is unlikely I would ever own one.

Whilst offloading some stuff at the local tip I came across what was once a very nice bike. It belonged to one of the vagrants that has employed himself at the tip. He told me that he got it from a friend, who got it from another guy. To my utter dismay, the frame was hand painted in green, so you cannot see the brand, but you could clearly see it had carbon stays and a fork. The bar tape was yellow. It had a Campag Centaur groupset (with Daytona callipers) and some unmarked wheels with carbon hubs. The groupset set and wheels were in perfect condition, just dirty. In all probability, this is a stolen bike and judging by the condition of the groupset and wheels, was recently stolen. Is there anybody on the Hub (in PE) that knows of someone who may have had such a bike stolen? It makes me feel sick to see such a nice bike being treated like this. I would dearly love to offer to buy this bike from him and restore it to its original state (if I can determine the brand), however, I do not want to buy something that has been stolen.

JJ Cycling are the official importers of Campag. Give them a shout, you can get their details here: www.jjcycling.co.za. If a lever does cost R1 000, then check out www.cwcyles.co.za, they were selling Chorus 10 speed for R999.

Jan Begemann did most of Raleigh's most recent offerings. Victor Momsen left Raleigh some years back to set up Two Wheel Trading. They import a range of niech market bikes.

I would not buy a blank, no name frame from some guy in China. No matter how good or how bad they are, can you trust it? You say they offer a warranty, your question should be; will they honour it? There is someone here on the Hub who was complaining about the fact that his Chinese imported no-name brand frame cracked after a few weeks of use and he had no means of exchanging it. If you really want one, there are 2 Hubbers that I know of that sell these frames. There is a lot less risk buying from somebody that can be trusted. The one guy is called Apricot Jam and the other guy's name is CCD. If you are buying your friend's bike, just make sure it is the right size for you. Size is the most important factor when buying a bike.

You can't just change the bars, you will have to change the stem (normally shorter on a TT bike) and even worse, the shifters too. Then there is the setting of the gears each time etc, etc. I still maintain that a road bike is the way to go.

T T bikes only offer one advantage and that is aerodynamics. The aerodynamics of the bike itself is minimal, but most of the aero advantage comes from the rider. The bike forces you to lie in an uncomfortable position in order to get this aero advantage. Your body (especially your back and neck) takes major strain if you are sitting in the aero position for hours on end Further to this, the aerodynamics only offer an advantage at higher speed, so if you are a normal Joe Soap that slogs it out to finish the event, the benefits of a T T bike are minimal. Whats more, T T bikes can only be used in non drafting events. They are not allowed in draft legal events or normal road race events. Non drafting events are far and few between, most triathlon events now days are draft legal, meaning a T T bike will not be allowed. In short, unless you are one of the following, I would suggest a normal road bike. 1. A well honed, professional athlete who needs every advantage possible and whose body is conditioned to the discomforts of a T T bike. 2. You already have a road bike and think it would be nice to have a T T bike as well (I fall into this category). 3. You are rich and can afford to have T T bike that can only be used for 1 or 2 events a year. 4. You only plan to do non drafting events and you think a T T bike will look cool.

I've had 2 bad accidents, both I landed on the tar, on my back, with my head wip lashing on to the ground. My helmet, on both occasions, shattered at the back, but my head remained intact. I would not be here today, if it were not for a helmet. I believe that there should be a law forcing people to wear helmets, especially children, whose parents seem to ignor their safety.

Good Service????? He sold you something that he had in stock, a normal sale, in the normal course of business.

Should read Killer Longbarn...........if you cycle in PE, you will know the Longbarn circuit and the short, but steep Longbarn climb.

Is the Raleigh brand in SA finally dead? http://www.probike.co.za/blogs/brandon/probike-and-raleigh-part-ways

Check out the Raleigh Nomad 10, it will fit in your budget. The 2012 are coming out next month, so you may get a 2011 model even cheaper. Both Ride Magazine and Bicycling rated it very highly especially in the value for money department.

The Scott, it looks nicer and comes with fantastic after sales service (imported by Probike).

It is an industry norm that most manufacturers launch their new products on 1 September. That means most bike shops will be offering lots of specials on their outgoing 2011 models to make space for the 2012 models. For R5 000 your friend may be able to get a brand new Tiagra specced bike. He must shop around a bit from shop to shop. The cheaper, but good quality brands to check for are Silverback, Merida and Raleigh. There are some great bikes going second hand at some really good prices, but there is also junk going that is over priced. If you know what you are looking for, then second hand is the way to go.

You get frames made in China and you get frames made in China. You would be very naive to think that because good quality brands like Specialized and KHS are made in China, that all frames made in China are of a good quality. There can be a huge difference in quality between two brands from the same factory. Go and buy a Cadbury chocolate and then go and buy a Coti chocolate and tell me if they are the same quality. Both are made in South Africa. Castaway, I'm not saying that the frames that you are going to be selling are bad quality, because I know nothing of the brand you are bringing in. I'm just trying to illustate a point.

A work colleague is in the market for an off road caravan. He found one on some website for R120 000, the seller had posted some pictures of the caravan. This was, according to my colleague, a reasonable price. He came accross the exact same pictures of a caravan on Gumtree that was for sale and the selling price was R43 000. The only difference in the pictures was that the one showing the number plate was not on Gumtree. He emailed the seller, who claimed to have immigrated to the UK. The seller on Gumtree claimed that the caravan could not be viewed, however, upon payment of R43 000 it would be delivered to him. This d*is on Gumtree obviously took the photos of a caravan from another site and then tried to shaft any potential buyer.

500g for a helmet. We are talking bicycle helmets here and not those steel things we had to wear in the "skietgat" in the army. I have never had the need to weigh a bike helmet, but I bet that there won't be more than 100g between a heavy one and a super light one. When I started cycling I wore a makro helmet that cost R65.00, I shortly upgraded to a decent Bell. The Bell is far more comfortable, but I never noticed any weight difference

'cmon..............how much weight difference is there between the lightest helmet (not helmut) and the heviest helmet? Will that weight difference really effect your performance? Will you even feel that weight difference on your head? Buy a helmet that gives you the most protection and forget about weight.

People buy second hand for one reason only and that is to get a bargain. I wish sellers would realise that. No-one will pay R18 000 for a 2nd hand bike when you can get it new for R19 000.00.

check www.obike.co.za They are the official importers for GT, they have some massive bargains on their bikes. You choose the one you want and they will send it to your bike shop in Durban

Jan Ulrich. He is proof that even us fatties can compete at the top level.

Eugene never said that you need a certain brand, the original post asked about a particular brand. Eugene merely stated that if Volcan was good enough for 2 top riders, then they are good enough for everybody else. Top riders will win on anything, but we all have a choice of which brand we like and if the author of this post wants a Volcan, he can buy one.

When Microsoft and later MTN won everything in sight on their Raleighs, everybody did buy Raleighs. The only reason people stopped buying Raleighs is because Probike thought they were clever and started increasing their profit margins to the point that Raleighs were just plain expensive. Even though they realised their mistake and dropped the prices, the reputation of being godd quality at good prices was gone. Maybe they need to sponsor another pro team and try to get some of that reputation back. That is unlikely though, it seems that Probike is putting all their effort into Scott now that Scott seems to have some sort of ownership of Probike.