Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

and don't mention supersize... drunken munchies were a Subway footlong Chicken Teriyaki at 10pm, AFTER braai-time munchies. Followed by several draughts. And a bottle of Grants. And Cape-to-Cairo...

bit-rate is hectically slow, dude... not one of those large download weekends. Too many leechers, not enough seeds. It's a sad, sorry state of affairs... But hey, I'm back at the gym this week. Was just laziness that kept me away, really.

Bad weekend for me... Mate of mine (who was also supposed to be organizing my bachelor's) had a "leaving braai" 'cos he is delivering an 80ft schooner to the Caribbean. So alot of beer/whisky/cane was drunk, and demolished plenty food on Friday/saturday and again for lunch today. Bad weekend. And, to top it all off, I didn't hit the gym once this week. Back on the wagon tomorrow!

ag, no man. Condolences to the family. Not a good way to end the weekend!

The old Hub kit - The pink uBox / The Couch / theHubSA kit still looks good. Hope to be able to get my hands on a set of thems!

bullk4k. This is nothing more than an attempt to force other, legitimate businesses out the window because they charge less than their fellow stores (online or not) CRC ALSO advertises. CRC ALSO sponsors. CRC ALSO has hectic overheads. Not from rental, but from website maintenance, employee costs, shipping etc. Is the fact that they undercut most brick-and-mortar shops wrt pricing immoral? No. They identified a gap in the market, and, in my opinion, are doing more to inform the client than most bike stores do when it comes to new products, because they stock a mass of them. And advertise the newbies as well. It's a farce.

Heard the same as you, pickles. On Cape Squawk, it was... no additional info to hand, I'm afraid

up the side of the mountain? no idea, mate. yet to ride deer park area! Need to though. But first - replace rear tyre after blow-out. swak.

weekly wednesday evening rides from 17h30 in Tokai. We meet at 17h00 to start at 17h30... Rides up to 2 hours, with all (and i mean all) fitness levels. We wait for slower riders at regular intervals... Tis quite a lekker vibe!

THe Contis are a mad-thin tyre already, so I'd suggest the 2.2 as a minimum. The tyres are so narrow that Conti have gone back to the drawing board and are re-launching with better sizing. So the 2.2 will most likely now be a 2.1 or 2.0 and so on. I'd go with a Mountain King up front. The Race King, although being a fantastic tyre, will nto offer the levels of grip that you'll need if you start getting serious and are fast on the downhills. Just saying...

97.5...

First off... WELCOME! In answer to your questions, there are a lot of bikes to consider. I'd also have a look a the Silverback range, as well as Scott's offerings. At the end of the day, it comes down to how the bikes fit you, as well as the spec it comes with. Rather go for a bike that fits you better, but has a slightly lesser spec-list than one that has better specs but fits you like a tutu on an elephant. New vs 2nd hand... there's a lot to be said for both. 2nd hand - you get a lot more for your buck, but the problem is that you never know what the bike's been through. New has none of those problems, but suffers from that all-too-important post-showroom price-drop. If the right bike comes up 2nd hand, I'd go for it. Tubeless - hell yes. It is like a breath of fresh air, and you can only truly see (and feel) the difference that tubeless makes after you've upgraded. It truly is an epiphany. Cleats - definitely. Not only does it increase pedalling efficiency, but it also means that you have more control. Yes, it will take a few rides to get used to them, and you will probably fall the first time you try to stop whilst clipped in. We have all done that at some point, and looked back on the experience with no small amount of mirth. Dealers - I cannot help you there, as I am in CT. Have heard good things about both of those stores, as well as Solomons as well. In the end though, just remember that whatever you buy, it's about how much you enjoy the experience at the end of the day. Get yourself a pair of glasses (mud in the eye is NEVER a good thing - personal experience) and a pair of full-finger gloves for the off chance that you do come off at some point. Those half-finger gloves are useless off-road. And - WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE!!!

Epic in Constantia as my local. Helluva knowledgeable and always up for a chat. Do good services as well. CWC as well. Can't beat their prices!

those prices were for the classic membership. Premier is a different baby...

should be comparing the Nobby Nic to the Mountain King, or the Race King to the Racing Ralph...

If over the same time span, same distance, then MTB def more effort. If same time and just as far as they go over that period, then it depends on HRR reading, cadence etc etc etc...

yep. But joining fee is a bit higher. Inflation and all that. R 645 this year, R 585 last.

Yep. And if you don't, sorry for yooooouuuuuu! New joining fee, different structure etc. Unless, of course, it was an enforced absence thanks to travel / injury etc.

Is there a red light jumping roadie? Straight out the door...

new benefit - 80% discount on normal fees. When you go for premier membership, it gets a bit more complicated (I know - I train the okes what sell you Vitality & Discovery Life etc) Old benefit - classic membership was free of charge.

depends on the club you go to, as well as whether you're a student or not, but anywhere between R 250 and R 400... Best thing to do is ask at your local, or phone them up. Also depends on whether you go for an off-peak membership, or the normal membership.

there's a general consensus that, if the bikes are the same weight, same rider is riding both bikes, and the same terrain is being ridden, then just by virtue of having knobblies on you are working 30% harder. Assuming a flat route, or constant gradient for the full course, then riding 10k on a MTB would be like riding 13k on a road machine. So by virtue of those calculations, the roadie would have worked harder completing the 17k than an MTBer would have worked while completing the 10k. Now, since mtb's are normally heavier than road bikes, have lower gear ratios and you are generally in a more upright position on an MTB... Well, then, it gets a bit tricky. Also, different tires come into it, due to the rolling resistance of each set blah blah blah blah blah. In the end - the answer you're looking for is, in fact... YES!

Well, if you're eating bilTING, then that's the reason right there.

touche'

Nic - the one glaring difference between cyclists & rollerbladers etc is that a bicycle is by definition a vehicle. Rollerblades are not. Neither are running shoes or prams. And in addition, a cyclist is not a pedestrian. Whilst I agree with your wish for a license of some sort for us to use the road (perhaps even to include it in the K53 for example, so that, by doing your drivers, you automatically have a bike license. In addition, doing a bike-license all by itself for those who have no wish to learn how to drive a motor vehicle) we cannot occupy the same space as the peds. THAT would be illegal. Safe (for us), yes. But illegal.