Adr!@n

I had a Lezyne pump. It worked well for a while and I thought it was the be-all and end-all of pumps as per everyone's sentiment towards the brand. And then on one unlucky day I had to pump my tyre, so I screwed on the hose and pumped the tyre up and then, as one would, I unscrewed it again. But on this unlucky day, that hose kept unscrewing the valve core and for the life of me I couldn't get it to not unscrew the valve core. Tried using it once or twice after that and decided the Lezyne pump design is a ride ender for me. Funny enough, my brother swears by them and never has issues. But I have friends that ditched the Lezyne hose idea for the same reason as me, so I'm not alone. I now have a Blackburn Airstick SL. Which looks like it won't ever do the job, but I find it more than adequate on mtb rides and pumping fairly large 2.6 tyres. I'd rather spend more time pumping and knowing I won't be unscrewing my valve core than the other way around. And it's super low profile.

Luckily it’s just friends, we’re not splitting hairs here.

I've got some tjommies and we organise our own little races around Table Mountain. 5 stages, 1 month to set the fastest time down said stages and big on beers and Strava timing (you have to win by a solid margin to get the win 🤣). I probably spend a lot more riding with them than any other race series I could have done, but it beats everything I've done before.

You know where e-bikes don't actually have much of an advantage? On the downhills - stop looking at the uphill segments and race the boys on the downs. It's more fun, I promise 🤫 Obviously e-bikers should be logging their rides as e-bike rides. Everyone I know on an e-bike does that. So, yes, they absolutely belong on Strava, but it their own segment.

About 100kg, on a Giant Trance, 26-28-ish psi in the rear. That being said, I rode Pat's Track a couple of times lately and those proper square edges do their work.

I have a Schwalbe Super Gravity casing on the back with an insert. Even with that intense casing I was bottoming out the tyres, but I am big and ride about as graceful as a bowling ball down a ladder. On the front I've got a Super Trail casing, but have even had good luck with an EXO+ casing.

Hmm, if you want, drop me a DM and I'll give you some contact info for people in the area. I lived in Sedgefield for about a year recently. There are amazing trails in Witfontein and surrounding areas, especially if you're willing to suffer a bit with a bike on your back. You can do 1000m+ descents around there with a bit of effort. Shuttle runs on the on Phantom Pass DH trail. Pass to pass. There is also an insane trail at the top past Tierkop.

You could do a lot better with just a bit more added to your budget. I'd rather go for an entry level hardtail - there is even a Titan in the classifieds for R4k that I'd think is a much better buy. You'll save yourself a lot of frustration and money by not buying a R3k full-suspension bike.

Anybody planning any orders from Merlin in the near future?

Rå Bikes' .12 165mm steel bike ???? https://www.pinkbike.com/news/r-bikes-stainless-steel-12-full-suspension-enduro-bikes.html

The rear triangle is a replacement, but it wasn't a warranty replacement, it was a crash replacement. It's not under warranty. I want to strip the whole damn thing and leave it raw. If I didn't have to think of paintwork ever again then that would be boss.

Doubt you're going to find what you're looking for on this forum. There are a couple of sneaky fun spots in and around CT to enjoy, but if you want good gravity riding in WC, I'd suggest a trip out towards George - the riding around there, especially the not strictly legal stuff but also not as illegal bombing most of Table Mountain, is amazing.

Just discovered this thread. I only have one Giant, but I take it everywhere. Photos are from various spots in the Western Cape and one in Lesotho. I've put this bike through hell and currently have a non-colour-matched rear triangle . Has anyone here stripped the paint off a Giant and left it raw?

Fair enough. I might get some flak here from the Stans fanboys, but I've only seen hassles and admin with their rims and the warranty procedure doesn't look all that great if the shop you're dealing with isn't on your side. There are a couple of other options around the same price, but the options are all subjective opinions. I'd be happy to drop a couple of links in a chat.

Yes, it is compatible. But, why do you want to “upgrade”? Is your current hub non-functional? What are you trying to achieve with a wheelset with Stans Crest rims?

I'm in CT. Nothing a rain jacket and a spoonful of cement can't sort out ????

I just had a look at the Bikehub group on Strava. All Most of the recent activity is Zwift rides? What am I missing?

Ha, thanks. I did have a look at that thread - and I have successfully rebuilt levers before, but I feel bad about having levers that I have no internals for because I think they can't be saved, it just feels like waste. I'll have a look again.

So, I've got 4 Shimano levers, of which 2 have bad pistons. I suspect somewhere along the line, one of the levers was filled with DOT fluid, so that piston is a no go. The other 3 are OK, but 2 of them have been working hard for about 6 years and I think the seals around the piston are not doing their job anymore. So quick question, is this seal something that I could get at a place that sells seals? I've never seen another seal that resembles this, except for other bicycle brakes. Then next question; I can't be the only one who has extra Shimano levers that have gone sticky, so if there are more people like me who need internals maybe we could order a bunch of these pistons and repair the levers we have. Would anyone be keen? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002814805287.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.13421c76KbZxUI&algo_pvid=36014c5d-1598-4197-9e4f-981f3fa6679e&algo_exp_id=36014c5d-1598-4197-9e4f-981f3fa6679e-46

Looks like it's in stock here: https://bike-addict.co.za/collections/brakes/products/formula-cura-brake-set-pre-orders-open Although, the link says 'pre-orders' o_O. Good luck

It doesn't answer my question, I'm always going to be riding with something on my knees, but I'm asking if it should be proper DH pads with hard shell protectors? Is overkill underrated to me?

So, I've got something that's been bugging me for a while. I've been riding with knee pads for a couple of years now. I wear them on just about every single ride, expect for maybe the most pedally and non-tech rides. I fall a lot, like half my rides I go down and at least once. I don't think I lack skill, but I like going fast and trying something new every ride so most cases it's a 50/50. I've broken 2 bones - a finger and a scaphoid, neither which would have survived with any other armour. Now here's the thing. I'm religious about wearing something on my knees, because it's the one part of my body that always seems to take a knock or scrape when I go down and it's uncomfortable pedalling with a knee injury (be it a bruise or scrape). So I wear a sort of mid range trail friendly kneepad (Scott Soldier 2) - it's decently comfortable and has a safety rating and a D30 knee pad. But I'm in the market for new pads - so I'm looking for the most comfortable and lightweight pad I can find. But this has got me thinking. Why am I even thinking about safety rating and D30?? And why do people choose to ride pads with a hard shell? I don't wear any other kind of body armour (except I have a full-face helmet with removable chin guard) and most people I know also ride with kneepads only - no back protector, no neck brace, no full face helmet (even for trails that should probably need it) << these are the kinds of things I don't want to get hurt - my neck, my back and sure as hell don't want to break my jaw or lose teeth. So, should I really be worried about not have the highest safety rating for my knees when the rest of my body is exposed?

I guess to each his own, but at 1300 bucks for hiking shoes, I’d rather stretch and see try get a pair of Leatts. Extra 300 bucks gets you a purpose built shoe: https://www.pinned.co.za/leatt-shoe-dbx-2.0-flat.html

Theresa Avenue. Just ride till the end of the street and keep going, you can't miss it. Trailforks is your friend too : https://www.trailforks.com/trails/the-magic-link-missing-link-in-reverse/

Interesting list of riders. Good to see a local boy in there!