Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

HAHA! Well said Mr KFC... Never will someone spend his money on a better thing if he's looking at improving his speed/handling/confidence on a MTB... It'll give you a lifetime's worth of experience in just a few short sessions - something you'd normally have to wait a lifetime for if you do it yourself...

I've recently rebuilt my left hand STI lever, due to the shifter not wanting to shift... Turned out it was a simple thing - the spring had come out of place and was blocking the rotation of the lever THere was also a bit of play when I pulled the brakes... took it apart, put a bit of graphite powder in the cable housing (very messy business, that!) and hey presto! Worked like a charm. I don't know if you can get the spare parts from anywhere, but you could open it up and put it back together if you have a small amount of mechanical know-how (ie: how to put things back together after you've taken it apart - some people only have the latter skill) and then test it... might be the spring has "popped out" of it's locator hole, thus preventing it from working in the proper way... Plus, you'll learn something along the way... (how to service your own STI's) cptmayhem2009-03-13 09:27:17

Yeah - doesn't surprise me in the least... Shot for the invite - I'll give you a call tomorrow, see where ya are and buy you a beer for your troubles. Unfortunately all the women I know are tigh... *stop, drop and roll to safety*

The bunny has his foot...

I listen to my PIERS... they tell me they don't like the way all the fishermen leave rotten bait all over their concrete surfaces... My PEERS, on the other hand, tell me to take out my aggression on the slopes of Tokai. Moral of the story? Learn to spell. Then go MTB'ing. cptmayhem2009-03-12 10:38:39

JB - this one's for you, being a wheel builder with more than a bit of experience... On my road bike I'm constantly breaking spokes, always on the rear wheel on the cluster side. They break right at the bend, and i have had my wheel rebuilt twice (by 2 different shops) to try and prevent it from happening again - no such luck. So far, 8 spokes have gone in the space of 3 months... I don't hit many potholes (normally hop over them if i can't go around them) and the spokes in the wheel at the moment are DT Swiss stainless steel... The nipples are also stainless (not the soft alu ones that seem to crack as soon as you need to true the wheel) The wheels are Alex R500's, and I'm running some budget (OE) Formula hubs... I'm thinking there's a problem with the way the hub (being too sharp or having some sort of fault) or could it just be that it needs to visit the inside of a Municipal truck with a rather powerful hydraulic press? Any ideas? cptmayhem2009-03-12 10:50:11

Liberated from our home whilst out doing the Argus... Silver 2005 model Medium LX Rear Der & Truvativ Cranks semi slicks (recent road training) No bottle cages Stock SR suntour fork w/lockout Having a word with the garden boy when he comes around next Friday...

rice krispies, anyone? get it set up properly, at a LBS that knows what they're about. Should be offered as part of the original purchase...

hmmm... much the same problem here. Fitting Rawl Bolt in 2 places and threaded hi-tensile steel chain or sumfink as a... chain, i guess. They have to live outside, purely for reasons of space limitation.

Really is bad news - but if i know the guy (and i do) he'll bounce back like tigger on meth. Really is that kind of person... he might be down for a week or 2, but then have the fury to come back and blow us all away... Was only his 2nd Argus, and last year, he ALSO did a 3:10 - so you have to admit that this guy's a talent if he was on track to do that in this year's conditions... But last year was also a bit of a snafu - he lost one of his bottles (the full one!) in the first 1/4 of the race. Went the rest of the way on the one left on his bike because he wanted to come first in his grp - ended up getting pipped at the line.

Thing is, as has been said before - increased volume of sales overseas has limited the price increases... of course, us being a lower sales environment, we're bound to see more of an effect on it... Bulk pricing being more attractive the more stock you buy, pricing on lower acquisitions being raised higher because it isn't as cost effective supplying smaller quantities anymore...

Already done... Well worth the extra grand Plus, it keeps the girlfriend's cat from putting hair all over the blue felt. And using it as a scratchpost... Just have to move the chairs every time we play. Small sacrifice...

if they aren't guilty' date=' what will you blame the increase on?[/quote'] Shpongles. Always blame it on the shpongles. And if that fails, it's definitely the aliens. Can never trust them folk with their anal probes.

Agreed! You were the extra boost we all needed in those WONDERFUL conditions... Loved it, as usual... It's officially in the Shkeen box.

sh*te bro! Hard lines! Hold my thumbs for you i shall...

I started with smartie box (empty) and finished with nothing. Wonder where it went! Yeah, i had the "H" emblazoned on my calf, as well as the name-plate... Couldn't find a random smartie box though, so i substituted a Beacon Mallow Egg in it's place... Didn't see anyone else though - started in CC...

nope, i don't think anyone could class that as a breeze - was a STONKER of a wind! Just glad i managed to stay upright and finish the thing.

Likewise - congrats! Also, looks like there've been some real crackers on www.thegumtree.co.za recently - worth a look there, although you have to trawl through ALL the other sports equipment as well. Looks like you're going to be a medium frame guy. But for 10k, you can get a helluva nice bike. Go 2nd hand. Best choice, and you don't have to combat the recent price-hikes that the new bike market has recently undergone. GOOOD LUCK!

Congrats Alida! I've personally never seen that many people turning back within 3 km of the start, and some even before they started! The wind truly was magnificent, but in a scary, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-brown-splotched pants sorta way. Glad I finished. And those burgers i devoured at the finish made my yearly subs to the Lab just that much more worth it!

Forgot about the "Stolen Bikes" section... We actually need the space inside, what with a pool table where our dining room table should be, it's kinda cramped when you have an extra 3 square meters taken up. All things considered though, i need to get a stronger lock/chain/rawl bolt... And normally all 3 bikes are locked together, so that in itself makes it difficult to manouvre (spelling?) when someone tries to take it down. Thing is, it would've happened at some point in time, no matter what i did to protect them.

much like what was said here not too long ago - clean our own closets out.. Good to see it's not only here though (naive, i know - but sometimes we think it's a uniquely south african attitude when it's clearly not)

did you manage to stay upright?

Looks like under the civic centre itself...

we should also take into consideration that guilt and the circumstances under which illegal agreement (if any) have yet to be determined. Until then, it is considered good manners, as well as courteous, to reserve judgement.