MAESTRO's

Racman, The bike looks lovely and I hope your wife enjoys riding it. Ciocc has a rich history of building quality bikes, so unlike like the raleighs, this should last a lot longer. Take care SCORPIONE

Bored girl, I can tell you with good authority that the ENTIRE Quickstep team, including Bettini and Boonen refused to ride Specialized saddles this season. That tells you something.

Ladies, try out the award winning lady specific ASPIDE GLAMOUR range of saddles from Selle San Marco. SSM uses a S.I.Z.E chart which basically means there is an optimal saddle out there for you. Check out their web site and download their catalogue. www.sellesanmarco.com or e-mail info@maestroimports.co.za

Need I say anything.

The suggested retail price, frame, seat post, onda fork, as follows; F4 :13....... 21 K Paris Carbon.......26K Dogma FPX....... 33k Prince FP.......34k

You will all be pleasantly suprised at what the PRINCE costs.

Both the CRONUS and the WICKED have the new BUCO strapes that eliminate fabric bunching. The FREE uses normal stapes but far less material with a low cut in front. Not good for those with beer bellies.

The only thing Bettini was on was a REGAL saddle by SELLE SAN MARCO. Enough said www.sellesanmarco.com

The SRP of the Castelli bibs as follows; AC pad CRONUS........ R1250. budget version of the FREE FREE .........R1600...Top of the range KISS pad WICKED.......R800...best value for money ladies YPRO3 pad VIZIO ladies shorts.....R765 Most LBS will gladly order the bibs for you and delivery time is normally by the next morning.

For those looking for a top notch, sleek, non bulky, quality bibshorts for the new season, consider the new Castelli active cushioning (AC) pad bibshorts. Special high tech features include the following; ACTION fabric with PROSECCO treatment- a hydrophilic treatment which causes water droplets to spread out over a larger surface area allowing for quicker evaporation ACTIVE CUSHIONING PAD-the AC 37 pad is a feat of science which features NASA designed Comfort Tempreture technology to keep the pad at a constant 37?C. The pad uses a triple layer, thermowelded multi density foam for seamless comfort and progressive damping, making sure the cushioning always cushions. Each of the three layers have additional perforations which provide even more airflow and breathability. GIRO+INJECTION moulded silicon leg gripper- rated one of the best around The AC pad bibshorts are available for both men (FREE & CRONUS) and ladies. VIZIO ladies shorts-uses the legendary ladies specific YPRO3 pad and GIRO silicon leg gripper. For more information check out the Castelli website. www.castelli-cycling.com Look out for the summer 07 collection.

The first thing that the shipping compnay is going to ask you for is your importers code or VAT number. If you do not have one, thats fine, you will pay VAT anyway. The only difference if you do not have a VAT number is that you will not be able to claim the VAT back. SARS wants you to pay the VAT on the value of the goods regardless whether it's a present or not. You need to have the proper invoice or paperwork and by merely declaring that it's a gift will not work. Customs would like to know that the gift is not a stash on cocaine or fake DVD's etc. Certain goods are also subject to customs duties and yes SARS wants that too. You can try and gippo the system, but if they catch you then tough. If the paperwork is okay and you declare the contents, they will not bother checking the parcel. If you duck and dive too much, they will inspect the parcel, guarateed. Just my 5 cents worth.

The new Castelli CRONUS bibshorts is top notch. Highly recommended. Bib has some high tech features like; Action fabric with prosecco treatment -dispels sweat and water fast Active Cushining (AC) pad- very sleek, certainly not a bulky pad Giro+ injection moulded silicon leg gripper-best in the business for sure.