Smartie

Ah, I was next to you in the starting pin for 1D - (on your right) blue/yellow jersey with green shorts. You and your Dad both had the Red jerseys with 32 and 34 tours completed. Congratulations! I completed my 27th tour this year!

+ 1 on the Vredestein tyres. I run 44c, good on the road and off-road.

The only benefits I see are the Health Returns and Vouchers (and online product discounts, e.g. Garmin). Given the disconnect, I am thinking of changing my short-term insurance as the only reason I have it with Momentum was to increase my points to improve my status and life insurance discount...

I also understood that those on Premier would be switched to Inspire Plus (if you have medical) by the end of January. So let's see what happens?

I am very happy with my 1 x setup for Gravel. Running 42T with 11-42 cassette. Though, somedays I do wish I had a 44 or 46 in the cassette for the steep hills, but forget about this once I reach the top. However, been day-dreaming of a new bike... if I do eventually pull the trigger, I may go for a 2 x setup only such that the bike is more versatile for both Road and Gravel... so more of an all rounder than just Gravel (though I do use my current setup on the Road as well, but it has its limitations, e.g. cadence).

Knipe are excellent! No point going back to your LBS, will likely lead to more frustration.

Hardest one yet:

I had the same issue recently. Took out battery, tried again etc. The Garmin head unit just did not want to pick it up. Checked all settings, etc. but nothing. However, when I switched on the head unit the next day it ‘found’ the cadence sensor and worked. Not sure why as I did nothing different. So all I can add is try again in a couple of hours ;-).

+1. Seen a couple of items being marked-up prior to Black Friday!

I grew up in Mossel Bay. Great place, but crazy over the holiday periods. Though, it has grown a lot and no longer a small town! Property prices definitely higher due to location by the sea. Many hubbers from the area on here who can attest to current safety. I have been down recently (and have a few hubber friends in the area) and had no issues. There are a couple of hotspots, e.g. Diaz Beach corner in the direction of Mossel Bay or the informal settlement on the road leading to the N2 as mentioned, but the roads out to George or Oudtshoorn are safe for solo rides. That said, one does not need to avoid the hotspots, just be alert.

Think it is Clareinch in Claremont: https://www.postoffice.co.za/newsroom/Pressreleases/2020/listopenbranches.xlsx

Legit. Have only had excellent service from them!

I also don't have much luck with resolving issues through the normal support channels. I go to the advisor who then sends them to MultiplyEscalations@momentum.co.za which does seem to work.

Great meeting you on the ride today!

https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/video/are-flat-pedals-actually-just-as-fast-as-clipless-pedals

This is what great service looks like! And the consequence of that is that when I do replace my existing shoes, I will make sure that my new ones also have BOA dials. BOA customer for life!

Lots of gravel straight out of Hartenbos as per the pic I posted, but not your typical smooth gravel roads. Mostly MTBs using the routes. Very safe, no issues except on the tar road joining the N2 between Mossel Bay and Dana Bay (bottom right of the pic) as you pass an informal settlement - here I would cycle in a group. Then also on the tar road along the coast between Diaz Beach and De Bakke Beach - right on the corner past Boland Park there have been incidents (not just cycling related, but runners, etc. - I think there is a warning sign on the beach itself as people have been mugged on the beach) as there is easy access to the informal settlement. Though, the roads are very busy during December (cars + cyclists) so just be alert when passing there. +1 on Shell in Voorbaai - usually MTB rides from there in the morning Then Johnny Koen Cycles also in Voorbaai host the morning road rides

Go for the 8kva now, add panels later. Panels are 'cheaper' than a proper inverter and battery. I have a 8kva inverter and 10.7kw battery. Works perfectly - don't know load-shedding even exists. I will add panels next year, but got the big purchase out the way now.

I was using this until I had a system built-in: https://www.geewiz.co.za/long-run-ups-inverter-battery/5373-2400va-mecer-inverter-2x-100ah-batteries-trolley-8-hour-battery-life-kit-1440w-150-200-cycles.html Worked really well, no issues, could keep the home office running for many many hours!

The alternative is to replace your cassette? Though there would be limitations in how large you can go - depending on your derailleur. However, even this can be overcome with a Wolftooth Roadlink: https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/drivetrain-1/products/roadlink I originally had 52/39 cranks, but wanted 52/36, which was not possible without replacing my crank. So went 52/38 and put on a larger cassette at the back to give me the desired ratio. Sheldon Brown can help with this calc: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gear-calc.html

Smallest inner ring on 130bcd is 38t. I have Ultegra 10-speed (6700) cranks and fitted a SRAM 38t on the inside. You can get Stronglight blades in silver from bikeinn: https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/stronglight-shimano-adaptable-130-bcd-chainring/137172532/p

Odd, I paid nothing (and I am sure others have had the same). No customs charges - something must have gone wrong here. I had a similar issue before with customs (this was through the Post Office though - should be similar with FedEx as SARS would give the instruction) - ordered goods online and SARS added extra duty (over and above the usual customs charge and VAT) which was not supposed to be added. Bit of a process to fight this, but you need to request a review prior to paying - I did not know this and started the process after paying... still waiting for my refund which SARS agreed to after 2 months already (was told it can take up to 6 months).

I have a set of Rapide wheels - which I would assume were built by Wayne. Excellent, never had an issue with the build. Still running true today after quite a bit of gravel grinding.

Back to the future?