HomerSimpson

Me and the missus entered earlier....went to the website just now and I see the entries are at 7100 and climbing....

Went for a ride on Papegaaiberg yesterday afternoon....was wasted after 30 minutes on the bike (I knew this was going to happen after the flu episode, but would I listen to myself? Noooooo...). Reminded myself that this ride starts with a real bastard of a little climb. Will go for another spin this afternoon and maybe I'll manage to do the short route tomorrow.

As the racing forum is presently disabled I'm posting this here.... Anybody doing this ride on Saturday? For the 2nd year in a row I managed to get flu the week before the event which is really cr#p! The start of the ride is quite literally only 800m away from my house..... So I'll go stand at a suitable potential crash site on Papegaaiberg with my camera, I guess.

Of course the Hub was off....I was out of circulation for the past 10 days......thanks Admin for making sure I did not miss anything!

On the pricing: LBS says that both Giant and Raleigh have said that the new prices will be around 10 - 15% up on a similarly specced 2006 model (first time in 3 years that new bike prices are going up)

You should be able to use any clear coat. Originally the carbon fibre/epoxy matrix would have been primed or etched to accept the clear coat. To touch up you can use any good quality clear coat paint. To test this, buy a can of clear lacquer spray paint and a small paintbursh (like the stuff you use to paint model aircraft with). Spray some of the paint into the plastic cap of the can. Use the brush and apply some of this to a damaged area. You'll see quickly if the stuff works or not.

Hi Newbie, Also have a look at the Scott Reflex range, the geometry is very similar to the "women specific" Schwinns.

On a much more modest scale, I also started commuting to work this week by bike...but as it is takes only about 15 to 20 minutes by MTB does it actually count? I guess the fact that I go home for lunch does mean I end up with around an hour on the bike for the day.....smileys/smiley4.gif

It might be a case of (no pun intended) shelling out the bucks for a hard case, or simply using a box that bikes get shipped in. I have (on one occasion) transported a bike from the USA to here like that; simply packed with bubblewrap etc into a bike box, taped up severely with strong packaging tape, plastered with fragile stickers....no problems in transit. I think Linnega has done something similar when travelling to France?

What is really great about a forum like this is just how much one can learn by reading responses to other members' questions!smileys/smiley32.gifsmileys/smiley32.gif

True....true smileys/smiley36.gif...but if you can buy virtually new stuff from somebody like Rock for next to nothing....smileys/smiley32.gif then replacing the saddle is no problem!

Scotty, how could you of all people not advise the purchase of a Scott Scale or Reflex??!!??

Looking at that pic, and supposing that you've just gone through the bottom of your pedal stroke, it does not look like you are over-extended in the knee..nor does it appear as if you are not level in the hips (no "rocking")..so it looks fine to me. Also, if the setup on your track bike is similar, then definitely, you are not too high! I have gone through an extended period of trying to find the right setup for my oldest son, he had chronic knee problems...so if you are comfortable with your setup, DONT CHANGE IT!

Go pick up that can.smileys/smiley36.gif All the lubricants (Teflon based etc) all contain some petroleum distillates. What you must stay away from is thinners, acetone etc (things that will actively strip away lubricants and damage the rubber and plastic seals. Paraffin has roughly the same chemical make-up as the heavier oils. But WD 40 is probably not ideal, as it contains only about 12% heavier oils (if memory serves), and it contains some alcohol (helps drive out moisture). At a guess the fork oils are constituted with more oil and less distillates (and the price goes up accordingly). Thanks for all the info.

I see that on the SRAM website they recommend that you put a few drops of oil on your (Rock Shox) shocks before or after every ride (helps with the dust seals apparently). Anybody regularly do this? Which oil (they recommend a "fork oil", like that helps me!) to use?

IMHO the WHR 550s (or the newer version, the WHR 560s, which is about 45g lighter) is excellent value for money. This is in contrast to the earlier WHR 540's, which were crap. The WHR 550/560 is a Shimano 105 level wheel, so in the middle of the range. These are by no means great wheels, but at a retail tag of R 1400 you'll not find anything better. What you need to ask yourself is if spending R 3500+ for a wheelset is going to give you any real advantage over what you have at this stage.

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