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

How useful would you think this would really be ? "ADAPTRAC's new system allows riders to inflate or deflate their tires as conditions dictate, while they’re riding. Toggle switches on a handlebar-mounted control unit allow riders to add or remove air from their front or rear tires. That unit can also be mounted on the stem or down tube. If more air is requested, it is released from a down tube-mounted rechargeable compressed air tank – these tanks are available in a variety of sizes. An attached regulator brings the pressure of the stored air down to a system-friendly 175 psi, as it leaves the tank. That air travels through one of two frame-mounted hoses, to either the front or rear ADAPTRAC wheel hub. The hose/hub couplings incorporate “special, extremely low friction rotary seals,” to keep air from leaking out while allowing the wheel to spin freely. From the hub, the air goes through another hose, that leads out to the tire’s valve stem. ADAPTRAC's Paul Skilbeck tells us that the product is still in the late prototype stage, and that a price will be announced shortly after the system is presented this week at the Sea Otter Classic Expo in Monterey, California. He added that the total system weight is about 690 grams (1.5 lbs) with an empty 9-ounce (266 ml) CO2 tank – keep in mind that the custom hubs would replace those presently on the bike"

Uuuuuum, am a newbie and don't know much about this, but won't leaving the old sealant in the tyre make the wheel quite heavy ?

Thanks very much everyone, got something to go on now. It's amazing how they keep their contact details on the various bike brands websites a secret - wonder why ?

Hi, I'm busy with a project and need contact details for the local importers of Trek, Giant and Cannondale. Can anyone help me with names and numbers ? All assistance appreciated

Thank you all for all the great input. As most of you advise, I'm going to hang in a while and see how things how things develop. This weekend I changed the sag from 25% to 20% and had and awesome ride from Van Galens up to the Greek Church. Didn't have nearly as much of pedal grounding problem as I had up and down Braamfoentien Spruit the week before.

Thanks for advice, much appreciated. Yup the suspension is playing a big part but I still think I'm going to check out shorter cranks. The amount of hits I had was ridiculous. I had a look on the web at what cranks I should be using according to my leg inseam measurement and came up with 166 mm. Tonight I'm going to see what length the existing cranks are - should be in the region of 175 mm ??? so by going to 165mm cranks I could raise my pedal height by 1 cm. Then if I set my sag to 20% instead of 25% I could raise the pedal height by another 5 mm giving a total pedal raise of 1.5 cm. The pedals I'm using are also quite thick so maybe a could save another 5 mm there. What do you guys think ? Will 2 cm make a difference ?

I'm fairly new to MTB'ing and have just got onto a 2010 Giant Trance X3 after fiddling around for few years on an old Giant hardtail. I love the bike but suddenly I seem to be hitting rocks and the ridges of grooved paths with the pedals with shocking regularity. I'm not sure what the crank lengths are now but would shorter cranks solve the problem and what would be the consequences ? I've got the 120mm travel suspension front and rear set at 25% sag. Any advice appreciated.