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I get what you are saying, but also mentioned indoor.
An outdoor track will always be allot slower.
But again, maybe 3km is wishful thinking.
Don't disagree - indoor and wooden kinda go hand in hand in my mind...
To think this is on one of the slowest types of Tracks you can attempt this on. If it was on a wooden-indoor track he would have beaten 50 easily.
More mention has to be made of this also. CSA could at least send it through to SABC news (not that SABC means a lot)
Taking nothing away from Gert, he did a fantastic effort!
However, I don't believe that a wooden track would have allowed the extra 3km for free...If you look at the difference between the "true hour" record set by Boardman on a "standard" bike over the fully aero machine there is a massive difference and both of those were on wooden tracks....
I don't disagree that it would have been quicker on a wooden track, 3km quicker?
Anyway well done Gert!
As far as I understand - the conversion kit to change the cable entry point is the same kit to change it from push to lock into a push to unlock - so my assumption would be that the job card stated to fit the kit and this was done....
Great news
BTW did / does Jeans dad still race?
Yep he does - and still races HARD...he's a proper tough old bull. 
- broke his bad foot a couple weeks back and still rode on the rollers...
Back to Jean tho, he has put in huge amounts of effort and sacrifice into this and and I am proud of his achievements. I know this as he stays with me when in SA and my wife is his manager - so she too has put in a lot of sacrifices in terms of traveling with him to the main events and doing all the admin that goes into the back end - booking flights, accommodation, race entries, chasing UCI points 
To put marginal gains into perspective, he went to the UK a few months back for aero testing and the gains achieved out of that testing were eye opening. Tyre choices, wheel and gearing choices are made based on the days barometric pressure and humidity for that day - regardless of indoor or outdoor tracks.
He has managed to secure an Avanti bike from the NZ team (used) and that has made a world of difference as well - he was semi sponsored (bought at a discount) wheels from Walker Brothers which have also helped.
Of course all these items and travel cost massive amounts of money and he has been blessed with a UK sponsor, Velusso, that has basically funded this journey so far. Not to mention the product sponsors that have assisted with the finer details like Adidas eyewear, Panda sports gear, Kranked casual clothing, PTS nutrition to name a couple.
I know he is grateful for all the support 
Different levels of tyre - the R1 is an entry level tyre whereas the GP4000 is a top end racing tyre...
there will be a difference in the ride quality and feeling yes, however I would recommend doing your training miles on the R1's and save the GP's for race days...
Thanks for clearing that up. LBS said the 18.5 in FUEL EX would also be available for 2019.
Out of interest, why does TREK SA not bring in the full size curve? The 18.5 would be my preference over the 17.5 for my height
I'm sure Trek can answer better, having been involved in the industry for a number of years, I have seen it a few times where there is "demand" for a size so the importer then brings in the minimum order quantity (let's say that is 15 bikes) and all of a sudden that "demand" disappears and the importer is left with a model/ size that they have to discount at the end of the season.
Thanks, I'll check. The bike is 2 years old, do you know what their warranty is?
I think - stand to be corrected - it is one year...possibly 2 year?
I love my Stache...the tyre pressure is very sensitive - too hard and you bounce around and too soft and the tyre squirms....I am talking a range of less than half a bar...
2
Thanks a lot for the news. Do they do that for free?
If the shock is still under warranty then they should, if not then they may charge for a service. Best to discuss it with them tho.
And from this you learned to slack off the tight ones first...
This is one of the reasons I generally detension spokes when stripping a wheel rather than cutting them. You can bend a rim if you cut spokes in the wrong sequence.
True, I was going from the valve hole and moving around the rim....
Explain this part to me please? Does the head break if not held by the thread? Never built a wheel, so not familiar with the 'right' way to do it.
In a nutshell, yes. A correctly built wheel would see the spoke thread going all the way through the nipple even by a couple of mm.
I have had a case where the nipple pulled through the rim whilst de-tensioning the wheel because the tension on some spokes was so high on some spokes - when releasing the "balancing tensions" the rim gave way....guess who had to pay for a new rim....
You did the right thing by not trying to save what is effectively scrap...
Also very sensitive to the B tension adjustment...
Not sure about that model, I have done some E-bike commutes and I can tell you it would certainly be of benefit and worth it in the long run.
I have a 150cc motorbike that I use for commuting and that now costs me R140 per week travelling 60km a day.
The one nice thing about an ebike commuter is that you are still getting a workout yet not blowing before you get to work and spend the day playing catch up in terms of getting energy back in...
2
Thanks for the updates Rolling...guys are looking really good...
I know Jean Spies is off to Japan after T-Town in a couple weeks to race the Japan cup, and then off to Canada thereafter to race the World Cup there...Busy busy....
Interesting that Spies' sponsor (Velusso) is actually UK based....no SA sponsors willing to step up....?
The question is, why is the deal better from another store?
Comparing prices of new bikes here in Switz, they are all the same price no matter which LBS you go to (comparing like models etc....)
Perhaps one store will throw in add-ons like a free bike setup or some small accessories.
There seems to be a catch 22 here. Customers want demos to be available (and to an extent I dont blame them), but they still want rock bottom prices, some free stuff chucked in etc.
I'm sure most (if not all) bike shops would love to offer this, but its simply not possible. All these nice to haves cost money, the shop needs to get that money from somewhere, so they need to charge the customer more. Customer feels ripped off and after demoing the bike at your shop they buy from the cheapest shop.
Exactly and it comes back to - if you can demo a bike/car or whatever you are not going to say no...so you test ride a bike - can't get the deal you want from the store and you go and buy something else down the road ...
The one thing as well is that a store want a demo bike cuz they have a client "very keen" on that model...they ship the bike to the store (incurring freight charges) the store spends time building the bike out the box, (workshop time and costs) you go and thrash the bike over the weekend - take it back to the store dirty and possibly broken, and say thanks very much.
Next weekend you're seen by the store owner on another bike that you bought from another store....
So I loan out my own personal bike should a customer want to test or if they have a repair thats needed and preventing them from riding.
However...never again will I be caught buying demo bikes. Demo bikes are like rental cars...if its not yours, you dont care. And boy does it cost to buy them. Yes you get longer terms and a better price, but you still need to pay for them. And you need a size curve and alloy and carbon variety. So it hurts.
Owning your own business where you have to pay for these bikes hurts.
America has it figured out, the big brands have their test fleets and can accomodate lots of guys on a test day. We are a few years behind here in SA.
I take my hat off to the Complete Cyclist guys. Kudo's.
Agreed, however demos (be it cars or bikes) whilst essential still cost a packet to implement and have available again be it through the LBS or Distributor...
I know that to have a demo fleet - a distributor would need a van as well as a trailer to carry all the bikes - R500k for those two (more or less) then a reasonable spread of bikes to test - R500k (again roughly) and then branding - gazebos, flags etc, not to mention staff to run the demo days and maintenance on the fleet over the 8-12 months of the year that the fleet is valid for...
Not a cheap exercise by any standard...
I hear you on the admin side but the LBS eats the difference between normal sales margin and the discounted version for these demo rigs.
LBS's are generally SME's where every penny counts so a couple of models in a couple of sizes quickly adds up . Therefore I would have thought it makes sense for big manufacturers to support these outlets by giving them the demo's as consignment stock. Especially where the LBS sell the brand exclusively (ie Spez concept stores) and is already faced with the high costs of stock on the floor.
Above logic is based on the logic that the bigger player (i.e. Spez or distributor) is in a better position to carry the cost of demo rigs and at a lower cost vs LBS
Another consideration is that a customer generally evaluates two brands against each other as opposed to two LBS's which again points in the direction of the brand carrying the cost of demo stock; After testing some bikes and having made a pick, people often shop around for the best price for the chosen rig, which means the LBS whose demo they rode can still lose out but the brand still wins.
Anyway those are my thoughts
Yes to the above and no disagreements, however most distributors will invoice the demo bikes out at a discounted rate and on longer terms....
A lot of companies are moving away from consignment stock....
Having worked for a couple of brands (inc Spez) I can vouch that a store owned demo bike is a LOT less admin both from the store side and the distributors side...
As a retail store that doesn't have in house demos - you have a client interested, you call the distributor to get told there is a 3-4 week waiting list whilst the demo bike is sent to various stores...client walks out and is not really interested anymore...if you mange to get the demo bike in - you then generally find that the bike has been pulled through its own @@@hole and needs major work to get respectable.
In house bikes allow the store to loan the bike for the weekend, get it back on Monday/Tuesday, have a chance to get it cleaned up and serviced if needed. As it belongs to the store they will be generally better cared for and thus offer the clients a better experience.
Yes it is a bigger outlay for the store - however generally you are able to garner more sales by doing it this way - and trust me when it comes time to liquidate the bikes at the end of their terms, there is normally a queue/bun fight to get one...
5
One way to find out....do it if the brakes feel spongy or terrible then it doesn't/wasn't meant to be...
I have fitted different Shimano calipers to different levers over the years and never had an issue...
My Bike is also creaking a lot , then i lube it stops but the creaks come back, its flippin driving me insane
Check the interface where the shock mounts onto the lower swingarm, the paint on the inside could be the cause as the shock is tightening onto the paint and not getting tight enough - make sense? gently sand the paint off the inside so there is bare alu and remount the shock - I did this and it solved the issues.
[Event] VWE Track Academy- Youth Points League Series #3
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My boys and I will be there!