Audible Anarchy

aaaaah, so thats why i get angry at the taxi drivers that cut me off! Luckily I've never had any issues with mood swings etc... (granted i only use ti around 3 times a week with rides longer than 2 hrs) i find low Gi has a more sustained energy release than say powerade / energade - which from my experience makes my sugar spike - quick bursts of energy- but drops just as quickly. much like corn syrup. each to their own i guess... just try some diff products until you find something that clicks for you.(preferably during training and not the day of the big race.

The hammer stuff (perpetium / heed) has a much more neutral flavor - and although 32Gi works well i find it too sweet. Ive been using Cytomax forever - def my rocket fuel of choice. i guess its a matter of finding what works for you. just make sure it has a lot of good quality low Gi carbs and you can't really go wrong. And make sure you drink enough of it! especially for rides that are 2hrs+

maybe your stem is too long? i.e.reaching too far? maybe seat is too high as well?

Update - moved the seat a little forward to compensate for the longer stem . Boom - 84km /h and solid as a rock - seems it was my position on the bike (i.e. not enough weight forward). thanks for all the help guys - so relieved its sorted now!

its happened in winter and late summer in the afternoon heat. its odd, cos i bomb that hill every week with the club usually without issues. the one time it happened when a truck drove past.. could side wind be a cause? its normally pretty breezy down the bottom of that dip too? i ride relatively flat rims 23 mm. but they do have bladed spokes. however with that in mind , its happened with my beater wheels with normal spokes too. i come from a background riding DH so i like to think i can handle decents pretty well? but yeah i can see how tensing shoulders etc... could trigger it. i think playing with the setup may be the solution - i.e. the longer stem and possibly moving the saddle a little forward too. just to move the center of gravity slightly. its def nothing mechanical - as I've just had it checked out, reassembled the headset / fork etc...

I've sent the bike in for them to double check the headset - i have a feeling it might be the bearings too... as for getting more weight to the front of the bike, im hoping the longer stem should sort that out. Lets hope the can get to sorted out before D2D on sunday - i can't imagine speed wobbling ilke that in a bunch - ppl will get seriously hurt. i should have it back this afternoon - and if it feels dodgy , screw that il ride my old alu bike and start shopping for a new frame. so odd how it messes with your head tho! like, riding on tenterhooks the whole time " jo ,when is it gonna try chuck me off". thanks for all the help guys, i hope it gets sorted.

Silverback road bikes are great value for money - you could prob pick up something full carbon with full 105 10 speed for around 13 / 14k if you shop around? otherwise the meridas are awesome a lot of the owners I've met are very happy with theirs.

aaah, like when you ride on rollers too much - i had that happen to an old bike i had? no i reckon this headset is fine? all very confusing indeed....

Pitted?

i generally only take my hands off the bars when I'm going say under 30km/h and it feels fine - i have to plant my weight a little more forward than with previous bikes I've had, but it feels solid?

first time was about 2000kms in. 2nd at approx 6000kms (the slower one) and the other today.... all with hands on the bars. bike was serviced about 2 weeks ago. i can't see anything mechanically wrong? maybe is should try a longer stem .. its an XL frame with a 80mm stem - I'm gonna put the orig 100mm on again and see...

Hi All Id like to find out if anyone has experience with speed wobbling road bikes and what solutions fixed the problems. Ive had a new road bike for around 7000kms now and as of today have had 3 x serious wobbles - the latest at around 70km/h. The other times i could stop it by clamping the top tube with my knees and moving the weight a little forward. but this mornings one was no joke. 2 of the incidents were going down the dainfern dip and the other was on a relatively flat road at much slower speed around 35km/h I'm now puzzled as to what could be causing it? I've read all the theories about harmonic resonance etc... Bike has been serviced regularly, headset is not loose, wheels are fine etc... the only thing I've changed on the original bike was put on a shorter stem when i did the initial setup, could this be the problem? whats confusing the most is that it doesn't happen all the time - e.g. i hit over 90km/h defending boulders during jock without any issues. Pls if anyone could help offer some advice? its seriously messing with my head and confidence.

the equipe's are the business - super strong and reliable - a great value for money wheel set.

+10

we had a run in with a rinkals (spelling?) out in megaliesburg / hartebeespoort a few weeks back - lying in the road, looking very dead - well, after stopping to check it out (must have been 1.5 m or so) it wasn't! turns out these snakes are notorious for playing dead to evade predators! well i can tell you when that thing "came back to life" - we hightailed it out of there like the Saeco /cippolini train of old! good thing i was wearing black cycling shorts

I've had my vittorias for over 6000kms without a puncture - even when i dented a rim recently after an incident with a taxi - still the tyre was 100%. Nice thick rubbery sidewalls don't get sliced like my contis did.

chain is about 5000kms old, still in good nick as far as i can tell.

i have a new set of wheels with a different cassette size. the difference in ratios is minor - the current wheels / setup has a 12-25 and the new wheels have a 11-25- if i want to use them, is it just a matter of swopping the wheels? or do i need to make adjustments to the rear derailer? any advice would be appreciated before i try them out / risk damaging the drivetrain? cheers

mtbs = black roadbikes = white

ive been using fittrack for the last 6 months or so. their programs are all based around the amount of time you can train per week and include a wide variety of intervals in the workout. i have seen a massive improvement in my racing as a result- once you have some base mileage down, intervals are the way forward. qulaity over quantity.

thanks to all for the advice - i was looking at the aksiums actually - but unfortunately - the credit card, shes broken- what with all the costs of accom in mpumalanga, gas, food, tolls , beers etc... this morning i was contacted by a local mechanic at one of the bike shops in the area who has a set of alex wheels that came off a new scott roadbike - he has every kindly donated said wheels to me at the cost of a case of well deserved beers and a new cassette. hooray! i know these alex rims / scott hubs arent gonna be as good as my ksyriums - but hey, im riding! il give them a bash tomorrow and make a descision as to which set i will use for the race. i weigh 70kgs so im hoping all ive read about these entry level rims breaking spokes all the time wont be an issue. Good luck to all those going out for the race! ride it like you stole it!!!

on monday morning i had a bit of an altercation with a blind taxi driver and was forced to try bunnyhop a rather large concrete block on my road bike in order to avoid being run over... long story short, i clipped the back wheel and dented it . im riding jock this weekend and only have the one set of wheels. Mavic ksyriums (the older 2007 model with the 24 spoke rear) - i took the wheel to shop A who immediately looked at it and told me it was toast and i would need to buy a new one (unfortunately not an option) so i figured let me try organise a new rim and do a rebuild b4 the weekend after running round like a madman and phoning half of jhb's bike shops, it turns out it will take 3-4 weeks for a new rim to arrive - BUT only available in 20 spoke. aaargh!!! once i got the bad news, i went to see shop B where i met a really nice bike mechanic who told me shop A was on crack and he would be able to "panelbeat" it back into shape for me - so 2 hours later @ the cost of an eagerly handed out tip for said mechanic i now have the rim bent back into shape and rolling true. however - we couldnt get the braking strip 100% and it now has a nice dip in it... When i took it out for about 50 kms this morn it felt ok. wheel rolls good as ever, but when i brake i get this stuttering coming through the frame. not bad braking from higher speeds, but much worse from say 20km/h down. so... wise gurus of the hub... do you think its a good idea for me to tackle the race with these wheels? is it going to destroy my brake pads? damage my frame(carbon)? ive been braving the early morning cold around 12 hours a week all winter and will be suitably peeved if i cant make the ride...

while i feel your pain re: costs involved in cycling as a student, and thats its tough to afford all the race fees ,petrol etc... i agree 100% with the other posts that if you love it enough, you will make a plan! you dont have to race every weekend - also you can save that R300 by spending one night less at the pub!

hence the query on the forum... to find out why everyone wants carbon rims as an upgrade looks like the general consensus is for my budget at under 10k - something like the cosmics with the alu brake surface is the way to go. what about going alu deep sections at a similar weight? also carbon vs alu hubs?

had a look at the mavic site - theyre all around the same weight as my ksyriums, and theyre only the equipes.(i think its only the ultimates that are sub 1.5kg?) i guess aside from the aero factor - it would only be worth the buy if you were going with hardcore 10k+ wheelsets, so you could shave off at least 500g. carbon wheels sure do look awesome though , hahaha