Wheelspin

Thanks very much for all the great advice. I'm going to put it all into practice. Seems like I really need to get a lot stronger to stand pedal effectively. Robriders & Ratllesnake's last comments on the momentum effect of the spinning bike's flywheel & solid base it offers makes a lot of sense to me and answers my question as to why it's so easy on a spinning bike.

Ja, maybe those tempting Tannies and home grown honey's at spinning do give me a little extra poke so to speak

Thanks TheV. I'm about 1,73 and ride a medium Trance. Pedals, I vary between clipless and platform depending on the ride. I'll take a pic tonight.

Thanks guys BUT ... I do push big gears at spinning. When teacher says level 9, I obey, and don't seem to struggle any more than the rest. But on a real bike it's a different story. On a spinning bike the standing position feels so natural while on my bike it feels totally weird. Hard to explain but it's almost like I need to be stretched much more over my handle bars ????

I ride MTB and am a relatively new comer. My problem is that when i try to stand and pedal I take a hell of lot of strain. Feels like I'm totally cramped over the bars and it just does not feel good. Feels like I lose control of my legs and they tire very quickly. Yet at spinning classes I can stand up pedal all day - well not all day but for as long as it takes. Why should things be so different on my MTB (Giant Trance). Is my set up out ??? Am I using the wrong gears ? ( I do user a much hight gear). i see the fast guys stand up pedaling without much effort and it really ticks me off that I can't. Any advice from the experts would be welcome.

As mentioned, Theresa takes the 1:10pm spinning classes at the Randburg Virgin active on Thurdays. Sometimes Weds as well. They're the best classes of the week. Believe me when I tell you that you will leave that class absolutely stuffed. She has no mercy !!!!! but really is a fantastic, very humble chick person.

I have just got a 2010 Giant Trance X3 for R10,500 in mint condition with less than 500km on the clock. I really like this bike. Did the Magalies Monster last weekend and cruised past most people on the down hills (who promptly passed me again on the flat but that's another story !!!)

Johan, great info as always. But what are the different rubbers used to make tubes and are some better candidates than others for patches ? How can you tell which is which ?

I've been told (by a fairly reliable source), that if you clean the area very well with PETROL and a rag that you can patch it. Just don't use glueless patches. I remain skeptical but he swears that he has done it on his off road bike and it works.

Most motocycle shops will stock 10W suspension oil

Do you think a paper clip would apply enough pressure to seal the plastic pipe ?

Think that there's only one size so just print out a picture of the "plastic screw type things" and match it up at your Builders Ware House or Builders Express at the irrigation section. Seems like a poplar part for irrigation maintenance.

OK, so bled my Avid Juicy 3's this weekend with DIY kit as described above. Thanks guys. Was a bit of a mission as the plastic screw-in goodies leaked a bit at the caliper end so I ended up using some plumbers tape to seal the threads. Used two small needle nose pliers with zipp ties on the handles to make the clamps. You just slid the zip ties up and down the handles to lock and release. The result is that my brakes are now much firmer with much better feel. So very happy with result. Being the first time, the whole process took me about 3 hours but I could probably do it in under an hour now that I know the drill. I do think that the proper Avid bleeding kit would make it a whole lot faster and easier but if you're only going to bleed every 6 months or so, it's maybe not worth the money. But as I said, having the correct tools would make it easier and probably recommend the kit for those who are less patient and do not enjoy fiddling to get things to work. Also, make sure you have spares of the plastic screw in things as the threads tend to get mangled. They're cheap enough so this is not a train smash. If we could get some metal ones of these "screw in things" it would really help. Anyone have any ideas on this ? Also anyone know where we could get some clamps similar to the ones in the kit ? The needle nose plies trick I used worked well was was a bit unwieldy. Anyone have any better clamp ideas ?

OK, got my black plastic screw in fittings yesterday R4.99 at Builders Express Cedar Square. Now, what did you use to make the thingmabobs to stop the flow ? Can we have a pic ?

Good job Carderne !!!!! I love this poortech thing. Where did you get the connectors and can you show us a close up of them