The_Break

Agreed! +1

Anton I know is damn good at Alu welding and I would assume Fe as well. He is great. Phone The Mech End building at Stellies and ask to be put through to SMD. Then ask for Anton. He should be able to sort you out and at least tell you if a fix is a good idea.

One also designs for fatigue so that would still fall under the design responsibility. And you also design for fatigue in weld design. Notice how the crack has a small arc shape at the top of the one pic where it follows the edge of the weld. This is the stress concentration and where the crack propagated from. If you look at the loads involved this is also the higest stress area on the seat tube. A properly designed frame will not make guesstimates. We get simiar parts back from warranty claims in my field and we replace these with no questions asked. We then perform a redesign, test and introduce onto the market. Pity the company has closed down.

How old is that frame? The frame cracked in what is called a stress concentration in engineering lingo. This specific failure is due to either poor welding or a poor design of the wall thickness and weld. Must add though that it is difficult to predict stress concentration failures of this type. Very difficult. A really good welder may be able to fix it, but then you will probably pay more than what the frame is worth with the welding and painting required. My only hope is to try and see if the frame manufacturer would be willing to warranty the frame as it is clearly due to a designed/manufactured in stress concentration.

And this is exactly why I import. Because the customer now comes 2nd most of the timein SA.

Maybe testament to the fact he rides on smooth roads at super slow speeds. A limit is set for a very good reason. Besides, you will struggle with both warranty and re-sell. I do not suggest you buy them. Even though they are very light (I suspect that is why you like them?), you would be better off buying something that is maybe a bit heavier, but will stand the test of time. If you are competitive that means you are going to ride the wheels a lot more aggressively than the 125kg guy.

Nice find. That is what was covered in our course too. Most of the Provinces following the coaching curriculum of CSA which was been taken from Cycling Australia and adapted for SA. It is interesting to see just how low those figure are and how low they start. 9-10 years.

The scew gap is designed to reduce weight as it removes more material than a straight gap if the gap has the same horizintal dimension. The offset from "middle" allows for less stress in certain areas of the clamp. Whilst I don't know exact pros and cons of these clamps in terms of field experience the 2 most important things to check when buying a seat post are: Fit - the seat pst must have a nice snug over the top of the seat tube. Enough to not damage the paint when you assembly, yet not so much that it has play before you put the seat post in. Also ensure the clamp does not touch the seat post when fastened. It should only touch and make the frame clamp around the seat post. Torque requirements - make sure you have the frame's, seat post's and seat clamp's min and max torque values. Never exceed any of the max torque values. Choose the lowest max value from the 3 components and then check that they are not under any of the other part's min value. I highly doubt you will find the min values (not often given), but don't exceed any of the max value. Good luck man! Small part, but still with some important technical knowledge necessary.

And how many of the chinese athletes do we see repeating performances. I.e. you see the new talent pool of the chinese at an olympic or world champs and then you never hear of them again. Their LTAD does not seem to exist.

I was just making the point that if you did not have a child seat (for whatever reason) that the argument of injury of the neck by seatbelt is not really a good one as the belt can be tucked under the arm. I am glad you posted that last bit as that is the point I think. If they are young enough put them in a car chair. If they are old or big enough put a seatbelt on them.

I think they should show some real pictures of victims of accidents like these on TV and in the paper every now and again. Like the Papa Wag Vir Jou Campaign. Maybe that will save some of our countries children.

Makes sense. I can run at about 23-27km/h when sprinting. On a bike I can probably get up to 60km/h in a sprint. I do not think I would want to run into a wall at either of those speeds as I am going to injure myself rather seriously. Just walking into my sliding door at night one evening was sore engouh (dough!!!) And certainly not into a dashboard or windscreen or an airbag.

A seat belt can also be effective when tucked under a youngsters arm to prevent neck injuries. I think the main point here is that people don't care to make use of what they have. I mean image you get home from work and you find your wife sitting in the lounge crying waiting to tell you something terrible happened. Or that it was you sitting there waiting to tell her. It takes a few seconds to strap them in. I also know that there are parents who use the excuse that there kids refuse to wear the seatbelts. That is ridiculous, since when did parents start to become the children in the house and lose control over their children. My kid would get a freakin hiding if he would not listen. Discipline is not easy, but it means you love your child.

Cranks you will not have to worry about at all. Fully agree on the saddle. Wheels, frame and seat post are a big must look at.

Agreed, there is a lot we need to change when it comes to road safety. But, before that happens, there are a lot of things we can do ourselves that will save lives, of our own and others. Forest Gumps mother was a wise woman - Stupid is as stupid does.

Man I am going to get roasted for this, but I would not look at the SA market if you want to see what is truly a good bike. The truth is that the truly good bikes like Cervelo, Pinarello, Trek, etc do not need to sponsor teams in SA as they piggy back off of the marketing done in the Tours and by Pro teams overseas. Most of the local sponsorships are all about marketing specifically within SA. The market here is so small and even though their are a few pro teams around I do not think it is representative at all when it comes to showing what is good and truly great. No pro or pro team will ever admit they do not like their bikes, but they do for sure make a lot of comments about how nice they think other bikes are. If you have the cash and you want something really nice that you can trust is good, then you cant go wrong looking at what the worlds top athletes are using in Europe and USA. Regarding other cycling disciplines, this is how I think of it, would the top people in the world at any discipline compromise on their equipment purely for sponsorship? I think not and nor would their team managers in making choices about sponsors. SA is again different because local pros generally get paid poorly, work extremely hard for sponsorships and take what they can get. The market and marketing platform is just to small here to be representative.

Not true at all. It is law that all passengers must make use of the available restraints in the vehicle. I.e. if your rear seats have seat belts they must be used.

I am not trying to be funny when I say you should read up and look at getting a Clydsedale. 140kg is a heck of a lot for standard wheels and seatposts and whatever you buy you will need to check the manufacturers maximum loads. Do not expect you shop to do this for you as I can almost guarentee they will not know and will not put the effort in. Best is to pick a few bikes (if a Clydesdale is not a choice for you or not available) and then contact the actual head offices of the bikes and ask question about all of the components. They will give you a direct answer. Don't waste time with the agencies. Loads of info here. http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php/248-Clydesdales-Athenas-(200-lb-91-kg) Good luck!

I don't think a child specialist would be a bad idea. I just think that someone who specializes in this kind of thing direct (i.e. cycling coach) carries more weight. Even though health care specialists and doctors understand a lot, they do not understand the "damage" such training can inflict on a child who may have an amazing ability, but due to the fact they start too young, it affects their later development. These areas lie with specialists such as those coaches who have followed and studied the latest information with regards Youth Development and LTAD. I think it fits in under the category of "Proud Parent."

It is a big issue because children do not have choices when it comes to decisions their parents make. And hopefully discussing this openly will help us all see another side of things. If we all sat back and accepted that bad parenting was ok then we would be failing as a society. Society work well when it acts as a whole, but when it stops worrying about the needs and cares of those who cannot protect themselves it fails. I still cannot understand how a person can say they care for their child if they willingly do not provide them with safety. And if you do not care, do you truly love your child like you should?

Love is not just a feeling and an emotion, it has very much to do with how you treat those you say you love. If you do not treat them right, then maybe you need to re-look just how much you love them. If I neglect the safety of my kids, that is not about reason, that is about neglect.

Agreed, but no team would really put their riders on poor quality parts as even though they are dependent on sponsors the top pro teams have a certain advantage in that there are only a small number of teams on a TDF level but many many sponsors looking to get into that marketng platform, so they do have a certain amount of choice. That choice normally being toward what can make them have a tech advantage as well as a nice team budget. I went with most of the new thinking of Mr Riis at the time. He chose what he wanted and then approached the sponsors. He got what he wanted.

Because an Olympic level coach only gets to that level by undergoing numerous training and courses which include, among other things, Youth Development and Long Term Athlete Development. They are seeking advice from him as to whether he is doing too much for hs age as they are concerned he is, even though he is able to complete the distances comfortably and with great enjoyment.

What is the Granny doing standing on the back seat with the kid driving????

I had a theory when I was younger. A harsh one. I thought, well, stupid parents have stupid kids so let them.