porky

Yes, the petrol issue is something I also learned to my dismay when I left my jetski in the garage for over a year. When I wanted to use it again, it spluttered and coughed something awefull, I took it for a service and the technician said he had to flush the entire fuel system as everything was gummed up. On the battery issue, I dont know about filling, but if the battery lies at an angle (like on a side stand) then you must be carefull about charging it in place as the water may not be level and some of the cells may not be covered when you charge it. As slowpoke said its a good idea to ensure the bike is upright when you charge the battery so the water is level.

I am not taking sides but why on earth should he / she.?? 99.9% of posters here (me included) do not reveal names and contact details, why should he be differant?? Maybe, he prefers not to get irate and indignant calls all day or have his personal e-mail box filled with nonsense, or perhaps he just dosnt want his name and info public. Whats wrong with that.? Anyway, who cares who Banji is, dos it make a differance to the quality or truth of the post.??

Actually, the letter says nothing, it just confirms Mr Langes departure for his own team and re-iterates the 2007 /8 onwards to 9 season success. Banji made that known a while back - I cant for the life of me think why he should make a statement like that without substantial proof, so I had no reason to not believe him. Actually, the very fact that his information WAS correct means there is good reason to believe his other posts must be up to date as well.

Old man, Old Man,Old Man, ............I am not upset, and I know what capitals indicate. This is not war or a Tv reality show (Donald Trump) nobodies life depends on the win, everybody has this lopsided view that if a Cycling team looses a race or two the sponsor is going to run away because his exposure is somehow compromised - Rubbish, sponsors dont leave that easily, look at the Springboks, The Proteas, and most noticably Bafana Bafana, are they struggeling for sponsors - Nope, have they performed every year, every minute of every season - definately not, dont give me this crap you have to shout at people to motivate them, thats just corny and so "Hollywood" its lamentable.!

I couldnt care two ticks about MTN or any of the other SA Pro Teams, I dont follow SA cycling or racing. I dont know Doug, Malcolm,Nic or any of the other (I have met Ian once at a coffee shop ) - all I am going to say is, - you dont need to shout or "throw a wobbly" as someone said to get the job done, if thats the way (and I dont know) Doug behaves, its childish and unnecessary, we are all adults, behave like one and treat your man with respect and dignity. If somebody "threw a wobbly" in front of me, I would walk away as well, ...........this is not a tyranny, speak quietly and you can make your point just as well known.! porky2008-06-11 09:20:28

It would be interesting to know the industry leader in Frames only, internationally and locally would it not.? If I had to guess, I would assume "Giant" is one of the major players internationally, but reasonably "middle of the road" here. Locally, I would have to guess Raleigh, but I think thats solely due to the price structures here, - most of the international brands simply cannot compete. ...........but I am just guessing.! Personally I wouldnt trust any figures I get from local agents unless (which I very much doubt) there was an independant body who would moniter this, but internationally perhaps manufacturers are more willing to put out numbers?? - dont know, never really thought about it until now.

..............who believe that cycling related accidents only happen in SA - (read the International cycling threads and that SA drivers.............well you get the picture..........!! ...........and No its not photo shopped, it happened in Brownsville Texas on June 02 2008. The driver was DRUNK, (YES WINDBREAKER - DRUNK) and had drugs in the car. He ploughed into the bunch killing one and injuring 10. ............................The cyclists also said they were riding single file.................................Yeah right.!

I think its unlikely you will have issues with Garmin. I also bought all my Garmins (and I have four) in the USA and I have never had any issues. I just buy the local mapping for my Street Pilot. That said Avnic dos have an excellant back up service, so maybe it balances itself out, my wife got a bottom of the range Garmin with her cell phone upgrade, she used it for a few months and wanted a better one, so she called Avnic, told them the story.......................and they said, No problem, - they organised with a rep to have an upgraded one delivered to the dealer closest to us and she only paid in a small levy and of course the differance between the cost of the units, so I guess you just gotta weight it up, what suits you.

Yup, I can see Granpa handing in his only form of transport a pre 1996 Chevvy for a bicycle.!! Should make for interesting grocery shopping on Sundays.!! Dumb move, $300 cash...........yeah right, like thats gonna get them all fired up.!

Ai, I think they must be the most lame comic strip around.!

I disagree, it makes a big differance, there is a dispute about Initial ownership - I was typing quickly - Joss says it belonged to him, Samma says it belonged to MB cycles. This can only be sorted out by an invoice. Present ownership, I agree is irrevelant. If Samma pays Joss, I would suggest MB cycles could lay claim to the funds later saying Joss was not the rightfull owner of the goods to sell in the first place, and of course Vice Versa. My suggestion would remain, pay the entity or person stated on the invoice .! I doubt it should be too difficult to find MB cycles bank account number, its probably on the invoice,but yes the dilemma about where to send the cheque, !! porky2008-06-04 10:28:51

Ai, someone has to prove ownership of the goods. This is usually done by means of an invoice. If the invoice was on a Morne Bester Cycles invoice, the funds must be paid into the Morne Bester cycles account. If the invoice says Joss whoever, it must get paid to him. If there is a cession there needs to be paperwork, ask for it.! If there was NO name on the invoice and you want to be difficult let them take you to court, they are NOT able to prove ownership and chances are you will not have to pay anything, simply because their was no rightfull owner. ............but thats the hardarse way, if theres no proof of ownership and if you owe the money sort it out, get the parties together and make out a cheque to that party, not a cash cheque and get a signed reciept stating the value is settled in full, or you may end up with someone else laying claim to the funds later. porky2008-06-04 10:05:47

Do what we runners do and just stop at a shop and get something that takes your fancy on route? The coke is cold and the bread (or whatever) is fresh and not squelshed up from your pocket. Why you would want to ride around with 6 potatoes in your pocket is beyond me when there is almost a Spar, Woolworths, or Quick shop on every corner these days. porky2008-06-02 09:46:53

Fair enough. I dont think anyone was taking a swipe at you or your efforts. Its just that there is a perception in SA especially amongst youngsters (and in many instances this is re-enforced by adults who should know better) that its okay to drop out of school and try and become a pro cyclist. I think theres a good reason for warning kids against such foolish thinking.!

Sean, theres thousands, if not millions of kids who are good tennis players,...............theres only one Roger Federer.! By the same token theres thousands if not millions of kids who are talented with numbers.........................and theres thousands of CAs. Ever wondered why there are more academics than sportsmen? Its a gene pool thing, look down a great athletes family tree, guaranteed, you will find talent in the gene pool somewhere,sure there will be exceptions, but they are a rarity and not the rule. Kids can LEARN to be professional academics and make a success of their lives, its very unlikely they can ever LEARN to be professional athletes.! .............if my daughtet wants to tool around Europe on a bike, she can ask and I will take her over December vacations - its not the three weeks away from school that bothers me, its the bulls***t that you dont need an education if you want - (we can debate what a 12 year knows about life for ages as well) - to be a pro athlete, and generally this is perpetuated by adults who should know better. I agree with Groot L, a child prodigy in any sphere of life including sport will rise to the top in an instant, thats great, nurture it, but for the majority and thats 99.999% of kids, educate youself, play your sport and enjoy it as a hobby - if you are still serious at 19.............thats differant!

Why arnt they at school.?

Unless theres a valid reason, like the original set is out of production, or the colour scheme is no longer produced or something along those lines, they should be able to get you one. Probably, they dont have stock of the original colour wheel and so just replaced it with whatever they have to keep you on the road, in a way, they are not obligated to supply a specific colour, just a wheel which they have done, otherwise I cant see why they wouldnt just swop it. If they dont have it, well I cant see what you can do unless you are prepared to wait until they can get one, you can scream and shout and make your life unpleasant, but if its not available, its not available. Personally, I would just take it and call it a day.

Okay, lets be serious.! Call UTI SUN COURIERS (head office in Pretoria) www.sun.co.za or any of the other similar couriers around. Ask for a quote but have the following handy - WEIGHT, DIMENSIONS OF BOX, TYPE OF SERVICE YOU REQUIRE (ie) Economy approx 3 days delivery, or overnight or even same day, do you need it insured (approx 3% of the goods total value) and lastly your address where it will be collected and the address for delivery. porky2008-05-27 09:40:28