cfcjim

No central gear lever. Had a few ow ow ow ow moments with that....

Glad there's no physical damage. You need to talk to someone, even if it's just someone from the school: you need some form of closure. It sounds like a tired cliche, but like most cliches there is a great deal of truth in it. (My partner's a psychologist)...

Disc = non-compressable Pads = non-compressable Brake line = distortable depending on material but for the moment let's say non-compressable. Brake fluid/mineral oil = non-compressable A closed hydraulic system transmits force using a non-compressable fluid in a linear fashion. So, lever force is transmitted along the brake line and moves the pads against the disc. If there is air in the system it compresses and allows the lever to move without transmitting the force along the brake line. Ergo there is air in your system. How it got there is another matter.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SHIMANO-Chape-interieure-XT-M780-SLX-M663-SGS-chape-longue-Y5XF10100-/331259994981?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_71&hash=item4d20a26365 He ships to just about anywhere but SA is not in the list, so send a message asking "Pouvez-vous expédier à l'Afrique du Sud? S'il vous plaît." (Can you ship to SA?) Most sellers will do so.

This should help you with the part number for the replacement inner plate as long as you know your RD model number. http://si.shimano.com/#models/ I don't know who could order it for you though and it'll probably take aaageeeesssssss.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=high+mount+front+derailleur http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/how-to-install-and-adjust-your-front-derailleur/ (fourth result).

I've got two and three year old Fox bibs which are still good. They've been well used.

Yeah, There were a bunch the other morning riding into the traffic. Around 0600. Admittedly there are fewer cars at that time but I wouldn't....

What's really annoying is there's no great innovation; it's just shaving a few grams here and there until the product is only just fit for purpose. Thus affecting overall reliability. If there were new ideas such as a new types of gear selection systems etc. the pricing could be understood. New production techniques/materials is a common excuse, but there's been nothing really unique in the cycling world for years.

Yeah, Momsen top, top bikes. Speaking from a biased perspective of course

Sorry to hear about the vets' bills, this may cheer you fellas up. Apologies if you've seen it but it's brilliant (in my opinion).... http://theoatmeal.com/comics/dog_paradox

Pedestrian on the cyclepath walking with the wind wearing headphones looking down at their mobile phone. You approaching with a beautiful following 35km/h South-Easter pedalling your heart out in the toppest of top gears. Massive shout "Watchit!!" Pedestrian turns around leaps two feet in the air; you stop just in time, rear wheel fifteen inches off the ground. Thanking whoever for hydraulic disc brakes you zoom back up to top speed, heart racing, not caring that your legs will be finished too soon. Riding with that wind is phantasmagorical. A magnificent journey home..... A couple of Mondays ago if I remember correctly: Fantastico!

Same experience with the Dr Sludge tubes. Had a flat then found after replacing the tube I couldn't inflate it all the way (2.2 tyres). Not slicks though.... Absolute waste of money. Tubeless is the way to go, pays for itself quickly if you're shelling out R165 per tube.

A simple multimeter can be misleading you need to check batteries under load. A meter may read almost 100% of the nominal battery voltage but once in the unit (HRM, remote control etc.) it fades quickly. You can buy multimeters with a "Batt Test" button this places a resistive load across the terminals and gives a far more accurate picture of a battery's condition than a simple voltage measurement.

What about the Specialized Toupe (an advert in the classifieds reminded me) - surely wigmakers everywhere should be quaking in their boots!

Defamation, lots.

http://www.srsuntour-cycling.com/service/download-area/ Google is your friend and so is Youtube.

I think this deals with the Ducati conundrum. http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2014/Grand+Prix+Commission+decision+on+updated+regulations Possibly....

That's either a really small bottle or a really big cat. I hope you woke him carefully.

Here's one of my cats guarding my beer.

This may or may not help. I broke my XT RD on Wednesday I replaced it with a brand new unit that I happened to have; Acera (pretty much bottom of the range). As easy to set up, a bit heavier and a little noisier. No discernible difference in shift effort or accuracy.. I think a lot of the differences are marketing hype especially on the MTB side of life. Where road is concerned paying large amounts of money for a 10 gram weight saving seems normal.

If you do the bleach thing, make sure you rinse it well. Explaining the blonde streaks will probably be difficult...

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. Can't think of a song though....

Rage Against the Machine, Dylan Thomas and William Blake in a thread, together, on The Hub. A light breeze and intermittent gentle rain on Sunday then!

I doubt if they are incentivised for the number of trips; I would imagine they have to keep to a strict timetable and are probably penalised/incentivised depending on their GPS monitored results. Again no absolute sources just some trickle down information.