Mr SingleTrack

the thing above the lever could be a remote lock-out

it would be interesting to see which teams favor muddy terrains, should be a tough ride though

hahahaa

Guys I hear what you are saying about 360life most probably not being able to make up enough time for a podium finish. However, remember that any team out there may still hit a mechanical or 2 so things could change in the blink of an eye. Yes, it will be a near impossible task if good fortune shins on all the top teams WRT mechanicals...

Thx for the posts all! I followed yesterday's feed as well, great stuff!

the trails (I have only done the black one) is fairly technical, awesome ride though

One problem with testing the bike beforehand: I converted to a 29er about a year ago and I can honestly tell you that it felt weird when I first got on the bike. IMHO, it takes you about 100km worth of riding to get used to the feeling. After that, getting on a 26er just feels wrong to me. To be honest, I will never buy a 26er again as the 29er is perfect for my riding style etc. however, I would not have bought the 29er if I had done a test ride as it does feel “different” in the beginning. Good luck with finding a test bike. Just don’t diss it after a 10km ride, give yourself time to get used to the different geometry and gear ratios

I competed in tri events for over 5 years on a Trek 4300 (bought brand new for R3200 at the time). The bike was pretty low entry level but manage to survive all the punishment that I’ve put it through and I usually ended up in the 1st quarter of the field. That being said, I’ve upgraded to a better bike and I can tell you that the “tools” you use definitely make a huge difference! IMO, either look for a good second hand bike or save until you can afford something better. That is if you are serious about being competitive.

Get the "strongest" lights that you can afford

I also think it could be your saddle/saddle height. BTW, don't always trust the setup that the shops do. I've had my bike setup done be a seemingly reputable LBS. after strugeling for months I ended up at CycleFit and they fixed my setup for me. it was miles off....

You can easily find the conversion rate with google but I suggest you go to someone that can do a proper fitment for you. Frame size is one thing bat there is actually a lot of other things to consider as well like stem length and handlebar width (more applicable to road bikes). Bikes have different top tube lengths and you might have a relatively short/long torso compared to your legs that might mean that the stock standard stem/bras etc would not work for you. I suggest you contact http://www.cyclefit.co.za/ if you stay in JHB

I personally ride bontrager 29.3 as they are great in any condition and they are very durable. They have little rolling resistance, however, they are not as light as the sb8s. For full on racing many of the top riders go for the ralph/ron combo (not the most durable tires imo but I would not classify them as less durable than the sb8) or race kings. Some guys also love their crossmark’s but I think they are heavier than the relph/ron or race kings.

To be honest, I am not the biggest fan of the sb8’s as they do not have enough grip for my riding style. They are mostly good on dry hard packed surfaces. You will be amazed to see how much harder you can push your bike through turns etc once you replace the sb8s. My advice/opinion is to buy a set of decent tubeless tires (I assume you are riding with tubes? seeing that the sb8’s does not have the strongest sidewalls). Yes it is rather costly but it is worth every sent (I was very skeptical before going tubeless and I can tell you that I would never ride with tubes again). Keep in mind this is just my opinion. As you said, you love the sb8’s so I assume they work well for your riding style and the area you ride in. Though as mentioned they will be slipping quite a bit in the mud

From my experience with sb8 I have to say they are not very good in wet conditions. They “clog” up easy reducing the limited grip that those tires have to virtually nothing imo

I did not see much of a difference when I went from MTB to road pedals. However, If you are planning to ride with the pros you’ll have to swop eventually seeing that every little thing ends up counting at that level…

As mentioned by some of the other guys, a cheap option is chocolate milk. Works well for me

I agree with you Rod. My thinking was, even if I have to replace the battery and charger I should still end up paying less that some of the insane prices out there (hopefully the LED lasts). Seeing that I don't do 100's of night races/rides I was willing to take the chance

Also bought one from CWC,I hope I don't end up with the same problem!

It’s great to see so many comments on my post. Sorry it is a bit difficult to answer all of them as it would take me all day... No, I have nothing to gain from this post. Yes I did speak to the manager right there and then and told him how the matter was handled. Sure, any story has 2 sides, imho I was not rude. You are welcome to ask Ben his side of the story if you like. And I am not insulting Andrew in any way. He is a far better cyclist than what I’ll ever be. Also Andrew cannot take the blame every time someone somewhere scr#ws up. It is unfortunate that this gets associated to the brand when it is one individual that caused it, I guess that is how it goes. You are welcome to call me a noob; and yes I am sure most of you would have been able to fix the problem yourself, does that mean that I need to have this skill or am not allowed to get assistance with it? Would these bike services even exist if everybody could fix everything on their own? Sure, the money spent at the store does not grant me the right to be helped before anyone else, but then again this was not the issue. To the comment about the big 4 x 4 that I drive (or any expensive car for that matter), sorry dude, it’s not the case, not even close... and I did not go into a rant at the store about money as suggested.... Sorry, I guess it was wrong to mention Dunkeld as it is not about comparing the shops but rather to point out that I got bad customer service and that another shop was glad to assist me without any hassles. The comments thus far is very amusing, I have to say I did not know this is such a hot topic. You are welcome to assume anything you like, but know that I described the event exactly as I experienced it. PS- I just read Andrew’s post. Thank you Andrew, I will give you a call shortly. And for those of you that are wondering, I will e calling Andrew only to discuss this matter, not to gain anything else from it.

Let me say upfront, I will never support Cycle Lab again. Here is the story. I walked into Cycle Lab Fourways at 4:30pm last Friday with a brand new road bike that has done less than 100km. I asked the sales agent (he said his name is Ben) if someone can please assist me quickly as the cable (for my jockey) has stretched and I just need it to be adjusted, it should only take a few minutes. Ben told me that they cannot help me at that time since it would not take 5 minutes as my hanger is most probably bent and needs to be fixed which would take a long time to fix. I again explained to him that it is a new bike and that if the chance of it being cable stretch is 99%. I also explained to him that it is urgent as I was on my way out of town for a race on the weekend. Ben told me that they will not assist me and should take it back to the shop where I bought the bike. Granted, I did not buy the bike at Cycle Lab but I could not take the bike back to the shop where I bought it as it is a couple of hours drive from Fourways and I needed urgent assistance. Ben just told me rudely that they will not assist me and that I can take my business somewhere else. I then told Ben, based on his rudeness and his recommendation, that I would in fact take my business elsewhere and that I would not support them again, to which he responded “thank you, please don’t come back again”. Again, granted, I did not buy the bike from Cycle Lab. The sad thing is, I did however buy my Mountain Bike from cycle lab only a few months ago. In fact, I have spent somewhere between R70 000 to R80 000 over the last 6 months at Cycle lab. I visited their store at least once a week and all the staff there know that I am a regular customer (even Ben). So is this how cycle lab treat their regular customers? And BTW, I am also a member of their cycle club. Sure I guess my spend is only a drop in the ocean to them but frankly I expected more. I did not ask them to do it free of charge, I just needed someone to urgently assist me and I was more than willing to pay for the service. I ended up driving through to Dunkeld Cycles at the last minute and they assisted me straight away (and I’ve never supported them before). And guess what, it took them less than 5 minutes to fix the cable stretch! Thanks Dunkeld Cycles for the friendly service, you will surely see me again. Cycle Lab is obviously not dependable so I won’t waste my time there again.

Hi Hubbers, any idea where I can find Rock n Roll Exteme near JHB Fourways area?