Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

Nope - about 2/3rds of the way through a berm, after coming off a descent from a bridge. No drop, just a berm!

Yeah! Got some, but they need to be processed before publication (we shoot in RAW format) I will post 'm s soon as they are done... And "aren't you the guy...?" Was also good to meet the guys there that I haven't met before. I'm in for next week, after a Delvera mission. Who's in?

Logic fail, Nigel... I'm taking her this weekend for sure! I'll blame the concussion for this particular lack of insight...

Interesting idea...

Awe........some!

Now THAT, my friend, sounds like a plan!!!

No worries mix... Can you tell us how the crank fell off? Normally, there's a bolt that fastens the crank itself to the Bottom bracket, and unless that fails (strips or just plain shears off) the crank shouldn't come "off" perse. Another way that it could have failed is that the BB shaft would have sheared off. I find that very hard to imagine, which is why I'm going to rule that bit out. I'm going to assume that the bolt that fastens the crank to the BB spindle (the square bolt-like thing that the cranks atttach to) was either over-tightened and stripped, or that the BB / fastening bolt had some sort of structural fault which enabled the stripping to occur int he first place. Another thing that could have happened was that the bolt WASN'T tightened, which would have enabled the bolt to work itself loose over rough terrain, thus allowing the crank to fall off. 2 options now, really. Either you could do it the bush-mechanic way, and get a slightly bigger guage stainless steel bolt to replace the one that is now gone (I'm assuming it's gone because the crank fell off - it wouldn't have fallen off if the bolt hadn't come undone) and use that to fasten the crank to the now-stripped BB spindle. You can source a bolt like this at your local bolt merchant / store (specialized store - not builders whorehouse) You can also then get a tapping tool, to "tap" a new thread into the BB Spindle, so that the new bolt fits properly without having to forcibly insert a new thread as you screw the bolt in. 2nd choice - get a new Square taper BB, and some proper BB fastening bolts so that this doesn't happen again. A new Square taper BB shouldn't be more than R 150 (even taking into consideration the inflationary LBS pricing) and the crank-fastening bolts should come with it. Just make sure that the bolts that are supplied have a hard rubber washer, approx 3mm thick, to help the bolt "sit" in place. But if you're not in any way mechanically minded, I'd take it to the LBS and ask them to sort it out for you. They will use the second option (well, I hope they will!) but you'll have a place to take it back to should it not work..

If it were just the frame, I would go for the Argon. Beautiful bike, and more of a boutique item than the Bianchi. 2nd choice would be the Bianchi in terms of frame. Also a beautiful machine, and by all accounts rides like a dream Unfortunately, both of those bikes need more money to be spent on them, the Argon with the wheels and the Bianchi on the gruppo. Also, the Argon is a level below the Giant & Trek ito gruppo, so that might be something you want to consider as well. In terms of how they would perform in a tunnel - I have no idea. The Break did say that he would help with that though... If it were me though, I'd go for the Argon. Not having ridden Rival or Force myself, I can only offer experience off the interwebs, where the common consensus is that the only tangible difference is Force's carbon crank and use of titanium bits n pieces. The extra price hasn't been justified properly, and the weight saving is minimal in going up to Force. Also, a lot of posters have listed a necessity to go back to the Rival FD, due to stiffness issues under heavy shifting. Another good thing about the Argon - as you say, it's a brand new frame. That means no previous abuse and/or problems. The warranty will be 100% yours. Not a thing to sniff at, I must say. Also - lack of wheels means that you can choose the exact ones you want. As you said the extra money isn't a problem, the extra 4 to 5 k for a good wheelset on the Argon will get you a pretty damn near unique bike, and one that you yourself seem to be gravitating towards. And I've just convinced myself on the Argon...

Dude, I'm taking the DH bike. I need to get some GT action in, and the HT isn't exactly my best friend at the moment.

My bad... What I was trying to wangle in there was that you were presenting me with the perfect opportunity to buy said shock, what with the discount on the Boo's and the pads. But yes, bro-code fail. But bro, don't worry about "the look" that you got. She works with an oke who is almost exactly the same as I am (attitude & sense of humour-wise) so she's learned to look after herself and use every advantage that she can to win one over. It's been a baptism by fire. I think she's learnt how to get along very well... Also comes from her time at DBVille squash club - fit in (and manage to hold your own) or bugger off kinda thing! Stock answer to "what do you want for dinner?" - Food. "What kind of food do you want?" - Tasty food. I'm very much looking forward to Delvera next week though. I also need to get my jump on!

she does a good job... I let her out of the cupboard every now & then...

And my apologies for the blurred nature of the pics - it seems that our favourite website's compression algorithm doesn't treat photographs that well...

Dude - a bit more info, please! Which trek? Which other 2 bikes? Is the Argon one of the other 2 bikes? What is the 3rd bike? We need more to go on before we can start recommending one over the other...

The ladies showing some of the guys how to do it! EDIT: This is Brendan, on his taco-bell run. Note the look of consternation after a briefly uttered "SHAHIT!"

Shot bro. In your honour though, your dismount was spectacular to behold! I don't think I've seen anyone fly that far, with their legs flailing all over the place like that, since Superman's internal accelerometer funked out! More pics will be loaded soon, they're just being processed before they're put up.

Dude - you didn't hear a question I got asked... Lightie saw me don the full-face. Asked me (in very serious tones) "Are you the guy who did it in 24 seconds?"

It was an absolute jol... I was also suffering from a lack of confidence thanks to a STUPID crash in Tokai. Next time though, I'll be takin the DH bike for sure. Oh - and there was also a bloke who couldn't wait to get home. So he went to the local Taco Bell and came back with this...

Some of us got together to ride the DS track at Nitida. What a blast! There was myself, Capricorn, Pain or Shine and The Wes. All of us on bikes of varying travel, from Capricorn on his sweet-ass Giant SS DJ bike, me on my XC hardtail (feeling rather sore after a wipeout in the morning at Tokai - landed on the kop) The Wes on his Meta 5.5 & PorS on his Reign. My wife was also in attendance, and took a couple of pics of us in action... Me rockin the XC bike Pain or Shine showin us how it's done... And The Wes on his trusty Meta 5.5...

Awesome news! Once again, no way in hell should a horticultural technician be riding this kind of bike (insofar as he cannot afford it)

Oh yeah! Mine: Prodigy - Breathe / Firestarter / Spitfire Blur - song 2 Slipknot - Duality Rage Against - Renegades of Funk Linkin Park vs Jay-z - 99 Problems/dirt of your shoulder Rammstein - Mutter System of a Down - POGO (gets me in the mood to try some jumps, and just pump everything) White Stripes - Hardest Button to Button And a whole lot more Also - Infected Mushroom. All of it.

That's an awesome tune...

Reputation? What's that? Can you tell me where to buy one of those?

Joining Chubba and another hubber at Tokai tomorrow AM, then down to Nitida at approx 1 for some DS action.

Damn. Brosnan was a clear 2nd in the elite, taking his winning time!

*hear (snigger)