Longbarn Killer

Yes, Merida is one of the biggest brands in the world and are known for their quality. When it comes to second hand, bear in mind that it is not the brand that counts, its how the bike was looked after. You might get a Merida second hand that is as good as new, then again, you might get a Merida that is a piece of scrap metal.

Growing up as a kid, I was pretty fat. I blame my father. I was like a trophy for him because it was his way of showing the world that he could afford to give me lots of food. He really did. He boasted at every opportunity that he was feeding me well. Then again, if you look at his upbringing, you might understand why. His father died from lung complications (was a victim of mustard gas in WW1) on the same day my father was born. They grew up very poor and his mother couldn't afford to feed the family properly. So I guess by the time I came along, he didn't want me to suffer the same fate. I cannot actually recall being bullied or teased for being fat, other than the odd snide comment.

A colleague's husband is involved in some or other way (municipal employee) and he sent the same message to her a few minutes ago.

November......PE's windy time of the year.

These are probably the guys that don't like the road closures on the day. Good excuse for a petition

I've heard that the Pro14 has been canned for the rest of the season. Saves the Kings another 8 losses.

I have no idea what you guys are talking about, but you seem to be rather tech savy. Maybe, you can advise me on my problem. I have a JVC smart TV. Other than endless problems to get it to connect to wifi, some of the apps have expired. The TV will not allow me to update them and won't allow me to download again. Google shows it to be a common problem. My biggest gripe is that one of the expired apps is Youtube. I'm just biding my time until Netflix and the browser suffers the same demise. Any idea on how to fix this issue? I have been in contact with JVC (Nuworld) and their support is as useless as an A cup bra on Dolly Parton. I have found some solutions on Youtube, but none have worked.

In the days of 26ers, I remember reading an article in either Bicycling or Ride magazine that hardtails were going to become obsolete. Then 29ers were born. The first 29ers were hardtails. People were saying that full suspension bikes would die as the larger wheels on a 29er had the same effect over bumps as a 26er full suspension. 10 years on and neither the hardtail or full suspension are gone. Both seems to be alive and well. The same cannot be said for soft tails though. Other than the BMC, I don't know of any other soft tail on the SA market.

Isn't this the reason we buy any carbon part?

Now that you have got the list going, I will add some more Bikehub etiquette to it 10. A soft tail bike and a full suspension bike are two different things. Don't confuse the two 11. Specialized owners seem to get more flack than anyone else, simply for owning a Specialized. You can tease them about it. 12. If you sell a bike you have to take a photo of the bike on the couch. 13. The old rule was never ever rant about CWC. This rule seems to have relaxed somewhat since CWC was taken over by Cyclelab. There could be some people living in the past though. 14. You've already learnt your lesson about Bogus.

There is no such thing a etiquette on Bikehub. No matter what you say, somebody will have a pitch fork waiting to stab you in the back and hit you over the head with the bloodied end. For every guy hitting you, there will be another guy fighting for you. You need a thick skin here. Today someone will hate you, tomorrow that same guy will be your friend. It's what happens when people hide behind pseudonyms. Post away.

Although I am on your side with the replacement thing, I'm just curious as to how many people will be able to feel the difference in ride quality between an original frame and a repaired frame. I don't think I'll feel the difference. After 2 years on a carbon frame, I built up an aluminium frame and expected to feel the difference. I couldn't.

This is precisely where the problem comes in. An insurer sends your frame for repairs. How does the insured know the quality of the work? Unless there is a wall with certificates of competence and industry accreditation, the insured will never know if the repairer is the best carbon repair guy in SA or if he is a self taught repairer using repair kits bought of eBay (yes these are available to anyone who wants to try their hand at repairing carbon). In fact, how does even the insurance company know how good or bad a repairer is? Then of course, it's human nature. Everyone would want a new frame rather than a repaired one. 10 years back, I was hit by a car. My Specialized Tarmac was only 6 months old. Only the frame and saddle was damaged. New bike back then was R18k, new frame plus parts swop was R14k. Sanatam replaced the entire bike with a new one. Times have changed.

As Tim said, it was a Peugeot Rapport. I wanted one when I was a student. They were R599 at OK. My friend had just started cycling and I wanted to join him, but I decided to keep that money to buy a car. I eventually got my Peugeot 10 years later, but it was the Mirage. Lightest bike I've ever owned. Bought it from a second hand shop for R350. Then it was stolen from my bike rack at the Herald Cycle tour. A friend has a brand new, unridden Peugeot Rapport. He was quite a cyclist in his day. His dad bought it for him new and had it sprayed in provincial colours as a gift. He never got to ride it and it still hangs in his garage. I tried to get him to sell, but he declined.

They can still repair it. There was a Hubber (cannot remember his name), his frame was in 3 separate pieces. He wasn't insured, so he paid for it to be repaired. Crazy, I know.

Are they? Didn't know that.

If Suntour forks were good enough to give Gunn Rita-Dahle (I think thats how it is spelled) all of those world titles, it should be good enough for us. Then again, she probably weighs about 30kgs and has them rebuilt after every ride.

Going back or turning back the clock, the only reason Raleigh was able to drop their prices in 2009 was because they had hiked up their margins so such a crazy extent in 2008. They wanted to play in the Pinarello, Cannondale space and it cost them dearly. People stopped buying Raleighs. That is also the reason why they had no new models for 2009, they had so much unsold stock from 2008. It was a pity, we lost a really good brand when they disappeared (or became Axis).

i can't believe its been 5 years since this thread started. Have we ever heard the outcome? Did Mr Armstrong get his money back? What happened with the court case?

80% of a travel allowance is subject to PAYE. So if they insist on giving you a travel allowance, they should be taxing R4 000 of the R5 000. If your IRP5 doesn't show a travel portion, you will not get any deductions. You can opt to pay tax on the higher amount. So, what i am saying is, let them keep the travel at R5 000, but you can opt to the full amount to be taxable. There will be no cash implications for them as it is your money they are withholding to pay over to SARS.

PAYE is calculated after the rebate is brought into consideration. So if I understand your comment correctly, the employer processed it correctly.

My man cave is my garage. 2 of my bikes, 7 radio control cars, all sorts of spraying, cutting, grinding tools and a fridge with warm beers in it (it hasn't been switched on for ages). It also doubles up as my wife's woman cave. There is a washing machine and a tumble drier.

Huh? looks pretty good to me.

Haval has been getting rave reviews in the motoring press. Good value for money My problem with Haval (and most Chinese brands for that matter) is how long these vehicles will last. They are too new on the market to see what problems they'll give in a few years time. They are made by GWM. Most GWMs after 5 years start looking tatty. Paint is starting to fade, lights get that greying look and body panels out of alignment etc. That points to poor build quality and poor quality of components. I realise Haval is the luxury arm of GWM and is expected to be better, but is it better? I would like to see what the current crop of Havals will look like in five years time, with 100 000kms on the clock. If an Haval will still be in the same condition as what a Japanese, Korean or European car is after 5 years, then they are worthy of consideration. The only way to find this out is to wait 5 years. Personally, I would rather get a used Japanese, Korean or European car with low mileage before I go with Haval.

Pretty fair question. I understand why bike shops would want you to book it in. Space is often at a premium and managing the amount of bikes in the shop by booking them in at any one time would also alleviate having a pile of bikes in a queue waiting to be repaired. It's also is a question to manage a client's expectation of when his bike will be ready. Shop: "have you booked the bike in?" Client: "yes, booked in for today: Shop: "great it will be ready this afternoon" or Shop: "have you booked the bike in?" Client: "no I haven't" Shop: "great, but we already have a number of bikes booked in for today and tomorrow, we can look at it on Thursday and it will be ready for you then."