KevinV

Nice pic! The sky looks cool.

Area Powder Coating in Montague Gardens. Speak to Jaco or Francois. (021) 555 0047

YES - life ban for sure.

Great pics. I like the one of the photographers in the sunflower field.

My point exactly! They must stop crying and play the game.

FC, as people have said, punctures are more bad luck than anything. However, I feel that the higher the pressure the better. I'm gonna stick with my recommendation of Vredestein. I have some of their more expensive ones on my bike now, but there are very good cheaper ones (non-foldable) too. I also like Vittoria, have been more than happy with their tyres. What sort of price range are you looking at per tyre?

Hmmmm...you learn something new every day! Can't say I have ever paid too much attention to tpi, but looking at max. pressure of a tyre is similar then. Thanks JB.

Ok, not a Conti fan at all myself. Found that they ALWAYS puncture, but that's just me perhaps. I do know many riders who love them. I like Vredestein tyres, they have a decent range so try some out. I am heavy so I don't like tyres that can't be ridden at really high pressures, otherwise Hutchinsons are ok I think too. I'm sure that others can also give you plenty of input.

What tyres are you considering FC?

tpi is threads per inch, basically a measure of the thickness of the weave of the fibres making up the tyre. The higher the thread count the tougher the tyre (and heavier).

Looks like it boils down to personal preference then. Some friends of mine lowered their seats for downhill singletrack years ago. Would be a mission to get tools out each time. I ride mostly cross country so don't adjust mine. I agree that any weight saving is not worth anything so it just depends on how often you feel the need to adjust the saddle, whether it's for riding the bike or just transporting it.

Thanks Johan, that's what I thought. I don't adjust my saddle height so don't see the point in having the quick release. I assume my LBS will have allenkey clamps in stock so will go get one.

Dunno if this is a dumb question or not...why do some bikes have a quick release clamp on the seatpost and some a standard allenkey clamp? Any particular reason or not really?

The saying goes "If you gonna be thick then you better be tough". Let them ride without helmets, they are only making our gene pool muddy.

Cool, thanks for all the ideas. Glad I'm not the only one getting cuts in brand new tyres. Shortlegs: thanks, I like your baboon avatar. Think I've seen it stuck on the wall at my lbs.

Aw, don't worry Slowbee, you'll be out there soon. Now get that house finished!

Eish! Broken in by somebody else, that's gotta hurt!

Yeah, come on Slowbee, the Helderberg awaits you and your (almost) virgin bike!

Maybe my Gu sachet fix was the answer then! Those things are tough and not flexible.

Noticed after I had chosen it! Oops! Been trying to organise a personalised one but file sizes too big!

Some good ideas, thanks. My main worry is the cut leading to tyre failure at high speed. It's always a trade-off between being safe and saving money it seems. I don't take chances if it's on the sidewall, but if it's on the outer surface I try to repair where I can.

Here's one for the roadies: Has anyone got a way to repair road tyres with cuts from glass, etc? I have had some success with superglue. I deflate the tyre slightly and put superglue in the cut, allow it to set for a day or so then reinflate. I have also used an empty Gu sachet inside the tyre as a get-home repair after riding over a piece of sharp metal. Obviously it's best to replace the tyre, but this sucks when it happens to a brand new expensive tyre.

Thanks for the advice. Was thinking of the Montagu area, there are plenty of quiet gravel roads that don't have too many hills. Wanna ease her into it as much as possible. Any ideas on other cool places within roughly 2 hrs of CT/Somerset West? We have a place in the Cederberg but there will be plenty of opportunities to ride there in the future so I will leave that for another time.

Hope the bug bites her! I have a Silverback hidden away waiting for my girlfriend's birthday. Gonna take her away for a weekend in the country when she has the bike, and also hope she enjoys riding as much as I do.