quintonb

Correct, Gas Nitride will be the most stable environment, but 45 Rockwell is not hard at all. Nitriding should give you around the 60-65 Rockwell on the "C" scale.

I am not some wannabe metallurgist, I am a tool maker who uses these kind of steels every day. I simply offered some possible options. I also did not Google the information, I have a fair knowledge of steels and was simply offering it. Use it, dont use it, Your choice.

Just some info regarding possible steels used for the manufacture of Cassettes. Bohler Steel who deal in specialist tool steels (Alloyed Steels) for the press tool and Injection moulding industry, have an assortment of steel which I think is likely to be used for gears on bicycles. K340 (Good wear resistance and moderate toughness) K490 (Good wear resistance and good toughness) There are others, but these 2 seem to fit the requirements. Just getting back to using an existing cassette and re-hardening that. You will more than likely end up warping the individual blades in the hardening and annealing process. Its pretty unlikely that the blades will come out 100% flat and round.

Hi. Firstly you have the hardening process correct. Cassette 's and chains are already in the hardened state when we purchase them. Top end cassette' s also have a nickel or chrome type coating to increase the hardeness in the contact area. The coating is thus harder than the base material. If what you are proposing is to harden the cassette even more, you would have to remove the coating and then temper and reharden the cassette blades, then temper them down to a higher Rockwell condition. You would have to know exactly what steel was used in order to do this. Also certain steels have a max hardness they can reach. For the effort and time it would require to do your own R&D it may not be worth it.

Depends on your inseam, but judging by your description I would say no. You would more than likely be around the 19 to 20 inch mark. But your inseam will determine the frame size. May be worth your while to get a good bike shop to measure you up, that way you will be satisfied and confident in your purchase. Don't by a bike that's too small.

I have been looking at this jig for a while now. Just had a reply from "Deep Section" in forum "Okay this is what I do" He recommended that jig to me. I am looking at building a bike or 2 for myself. From what he says it will last quite a few builds. I would say the jig is definitely a DIY jig and not something that could be used for production. So may just be the right thing for guys like ourselves. Keep me posted on your decision.

I fully understand that and respect it. However in the case of the Inanda road upgrade it would have been easy and the cycle safe committee have been part of the process from the beginning. All I am saying is in order to alleviate future traffic congestion issues, environmental issues with more vehicles on the road, etc. can some consideration be given to a cycle option. I am not talking about us "sports" cyclist, I am talking about people who use bicycles to commute to an from work. Those that only have a bicycle or feet as means of transport. After all it is "our" money government and/or councils are spending. Why not look forward and help solve an issue before it gets out of control and cost millions to resolve. I fully get that there is more to the story than what us uninformed folk know, but there must be a way to consider alternatives and not just brush them off as stupid or bad ideas. Thats just my 2 cents worth. Seems like Autocorrect had your back this time...

I may be reading this wrong, but I think what the OP is trying to say is that the local counsel/municipality decided to tar these roads and maybe should have considered a cycle lane or something alike. This would have been fairly easy to do up front as opposed to doing it later. We have a similar issue in Hillcrest along Inanda road, they are doing massive upgrades and our local cycle safe group has been trying to get the local council to design cycle specific lanes into the upgrade. There are a lot of commuting cyclist already using this route. Council has not even once shown interest in being proactive and forward thinking. So now the road will become double lane and from what I understand, cyclist will not be allowed to use it at all in the future. Not sure if I have the intention of this thread correct though. (We will see if I get flamed for my comment).

Those are Mavic Aksium's, they will definitely not work for a big guy. It would be a total waste of money. Trust me they would break within a few weeks. Regarding postage, I had some wheels sent down from Joburg to Durban, cost me R230.00

It tastes better than most recovery drinks, and if you have kids you always have it in the cupboard...

Ok I get what you trying to say, thought you were talking about the std. off the shelf shimano wheelset. Maybe Tandem wheels are the way for him. Maybe JB could comment.

How so, the hubs come in 32 or 36 hole. I am talking about a conventional "old school" type hub, not a factory build 105 wheelset.

Well its a good thing you bought a Cannondale, one of the very few bikes that will carry a big guy. So its not money wasted at all, the frame is a good solid and strong frame (Looks like Caad 4 by the colour), if so that's nice and strong. Chat to a wheel builder, a bike shop will sell you what ever the flavour of the month is. A reputable wheel builder will give you solid advice regarding the individuals needs. 105 hub is a good, affordable start. Get a nice strong rim, one that is welded and not pinned at the joint, and then spend the money on good quality double butted spokes. Make sure they are double butted. The wheel builder will lace the wheel accordingly.

For an event like the epic you would need to eat huge amounts of solid food to get enough protein, Carbs, etc. And often after a huge effort, eating large meals is not something one feels like. What you eat today will count for or against you in 2 or 3 days time. So I would say you need to be aware of this and make sure you can consume the right amount of the right foods.

I agree, we buy into the marketing hype sometimes. A dietitian I used once said red grape juice with a pinch of salt to help it get absorbed faster was as good as any energy drink for a 3-4hr ride. Obviously if you riding the epic or events similar you need more complex nutrition plans. Also Chocolate Nesquik is as good as any recovery drink for a fraction of the cost. Sani2C this year has Super M at the end of every stage.

Yeah have to agree, CAAD 4 had normal headset, but it was the first model to have the curved seatstays. Thats a CAAD 4

By the looks of that picture I would say CAAD 5, Really need to see some side pics to determine.

For those who may be interested, Merlin cycles does a Shimano "Gear Kit" in 105 or Ultegra at a really good price. http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/road-parts/transmission/gear-sti-ergo-levers/shimano-105-5700-gear-kit.html For those looking at upgrading

For 1 the New STi shifters are really awesome. Better feel, more comfortable and notable the indexing/shifting stroke has been shortened, making for less travel when shifting. Also the all internal cabling gives the bike a "clean" look. And trust me 105 is bulletproof, you wont break it in a hurry. Only thing I would like to see is an option for the carbon brake levers like the Ultegra has. Keep the 105 on the bike.

Simplex Retrofriction shifters, pre-shimano index shifters. If you had these you were the man.

Yeah have to agree, guy on the left looks very much like Robert Miller. Not sure about the guy on the right.

If you talking 29er, my brother in law is around the 110kg mark with some serious power, he runs stans Arch Ex rims with no hassles. If you talking 26 inch, Mavic XC717 rim is awesome. Had a pair built on XT hubs with double butted DT spokes, loved them. Bike was stolen 2 years ago. But a brilliant wheelset

To be honest I doubt very much if ksyriums will do the job. 140kg is heavy. IMO get someone like Johan Borman to build him a 36 hole wheel, on a standard hub using a Mavic Open pro sup rim and DT or sapim double butted spokes. This way the wheel can be laced for optimum strength.

For R2000.000..... Thats a bargain. Very nice. Do they do a 3 bike carrier?

Thanks. In the picture there were just standing up without assistance. I haven't decided yet, was thinking about using the crank arms as a fixing point. Or maybe a similar system to the Holdfast Racks. I have a "prototype" out that was built for a mate, it uses an upright section of Square tubing that the crank mounts to. The upright is covered in High-density foam. Have made a few tweeks on the one pictured.