porky

Question is did you stop.? If you did great. If you didnt, well...............! Anyway, I hear you, but its just a sad reflection of the times, as long as it dont involve us, we dont care, gotta fetch the kids, see the client,clean the house, finish the dinner,help with homework, traffic is hectic, busy,busy,busy............................!

Hulle het op supercycling gese dit was n nuwe reel vir die Giro om dit te toets. Het nie veel van die stages gesien nie so kan nie se of hulle wel gehad nie?? They did?? Okay, well, most of the guys I saw were wearing earpieces.I assume they had a reason to do so and it wasnt just a fashion statement.

I must say thats the first I hear of this, is it not still a proposal / suggestion Baaisiekel, radios were cetainly preset at the Giro. Personally, I think it will be great if it happens, I couldnt care locally, but as far as the grand tours go, I think it will make things a lot more interesting.

I really doubt it. Sponsors are made of firmer material. But, be that as it may, I have no interest in DCM or the issue really, I was just commenting that NOBODIES job is secure in this economy, its rather naive to believe that just because most of us are in main stream employ, we are not subject to the various ills that blow through all jobs.

I think you waited too long. I would have been calling HQ after a week of run around. If you are told a week delivery, thats what you expect, anything longer is not acceptable and you have a right to complain. Dont feel embarrased, its your money and your right. Thats basically the problem with 99% of SA consumers, they feel embarrased to complain, and when they do complain they are happy with a free coffee and a promise of better next time. Bulls**t, I lived in the usa for a few years where customer service is still light years ahead of anything we see in SA - Fox international bases their service on USA standards so I am not surprised they called you, in any other country it would be expected, demanded even, No, dont feel bad, you were completely in the right.

I am with your line of thinking, but I dont see what differance it makes.? If you are not good enough, you will get left behind, so in the end the good riders will always be winning - generally the cream rises to the top. Same at the SA's, it dos'nt matter if there are 200 entrants, the best man will win and the rest will come in 30 minutes later. As long as they dont bother anyone, (and I cant see how they do) I would say, why is it an issue? I think its differant if it were athletics or gymnastics for obvious reasons, space on tracks, time etc, but this is on muncipal roads able to carry hundreds of entrants, theres no harm in having a few extra. Actually I would say they even serve a purpose by contributing to the event financially, plumping the start group a bit more and perhaps adding a bit of character, giveing folk more reason to go watch. Nothing more boring than a 10 man start group.

Yah, its common. Probably very prevalent in the cycle industry as well. I was at a pressure vessel manufacturing facility for heavy duty earth moving machinery in Austria once, all the pressure vessels were exactly the same, some just went into preprinted "brand" name boxes and others into generic white boxes sold to general traders all over the world. Sadly the public is not always aware of the "alternatives" and the brand supplier will be quick to spin a few scare stories to keep him buying his line, but many brands today are no more than advertorial offices and accounting departments, everything is simply outsourced to OEM manufacturers, and often the product is just a generic knock off in pretty packaging with a big budget ad campaign.

How often do you see Vets being caught by open bunches' date=' who start long after them. I was warming up for a race earlier this year, and saw a vet being dropped less than 1km from the start!! [/quote'] So? That happens. I have been shed out of the back within the first 5 k's several times. You can have a bad day or a route that doesn't suit you. This does't even mean you can't perform. I have ben the 2nd one to drop out of PPA elite league bunch within the first 5 k's, well in that same race I only got caught with 30m to go and finished top 10. Its not about when you drop its about how often you get back. Sometimes you can get dropped 5 or ten times and still win the event Absolutely agree, it often dos. Means squat, there could be lots of reasons, even top European pros pop off the pace as we see in every race. Sadly, cycling is an egotistical sport, lots of I am better / faster/ stronger than you attitudes around, who cares?, if there are those who go race SAs who shouldnt be there, so what?, they dont effect you, let them be!. Hang, my accountant was a day late with my financials last year cause his wife was expecting a baby, should he now not be a CA anymore? - demote him to a bookkeeper?,......... there were reasons, I understand, the SARS office understood - no problem. Same in cycling.!

While I agree with your statement Lefty, there are other factors at play and it dost really answer the OPs question. Presently production has NOT slowed as you say, (Opec agreed to maintain the levels of production in the hope of a pick up in the world economy) however the USA is buying waaaaay less oil as is China and Japan. Holding (stockpiling) the oil by producing nations also causes price increases but as regards the OP question, the fuel at the pump price has no real bearing on the repo rate or vice versa. It is interlinked but not exclusively. The price of fuel at the pumps is mainly linked to the rand / dollar exchange rate, as Lefty says when our repo rate gos down we become less attractive to investors which in normal circumstances would cause the rand to devalue, however our rate is still very high and investors still find it lucrative to invest here, we would need to drop another 3% for it to become uninteresting to investors and although it would be great, its unlikely to happen in the short term. The present strengthening of the rand against the Dollar is more due to Dollar weakness than rand strength, however, the USA is such a massive economy the Dollar will strengthen again, so I dont see this flux as a permanent sign of the rand recovering.

Generally speaking you are right Slave. Most well known brands are OEM manufacturers for the auto industry, in other words BMW dosnt make oil filters, so they contract with a reputable manufacturer like Fram / Gud etc for their requirements, so buying these reputable brands means you are getting the exact same filter as you would from the agents, just a differant brand mark and packaging. However, there are rogues in the market, certainly I will buy Ferodo brake pads or Gud filters because there is a history, but I am a bit dubious of some of the "Po Ping Pong" products which are half the cost of the likes of Gud / Ferodo etc - somewhere I just feel they must have cut costs. porky2009-06-01 07:12:18

Ag, its everywhere ya just gotta shop around. My wifes BMW was in for a service, the agents called to say the front pads need replacing, R1680.00, (its out of Motorplan)- I said the brake has a sensor which lights when the pads are worn, and it hasnt come on yet.? They told me no but theres only about 2500 kilos left before it will come on - I said fine leave it and when it comes on I will bring it in. Since then its gone through another service - 15000 kilos later - still no light come on, so they call again, only got 1500 kilos left must change them, but now its R1900.00. I said leave them till the light comes on. The other day it did come on, after about another 6000 kilos. So thats about 21000 kilos of pad that would have been wasted by changing them early. Anyway, theres a Bosch workshop 2 minutes from my work so asked if they could do the job, sure they said, takes about an hour, Ferodo or ATE brand pads are R680.00 per set and labour is an hour - entire job less than a grand. Go figure.!

Yes, I understand some was paid, but some is still outstanding. So far I have seen no comment from the UCI, but its only the 01st of June so I guess it will take a few days to get an official statement.

Hmm, Jules, I doubt a few grand is going to impact on DCM Chromes bottom line too much, they may be experiencing tough times sure, as are many, but its still petty cash for a company of this stature. Unfortunately its a sad reality of life but big companies have long drawn out processes, I deal with them everyday, if the "i'" ain't dotted and the t's aint crossed BEFORE you do the work, chances are you are going to have delays in payment, its just the way they work. Not sure if this is the case with the OP, but chances are been a private individual he took things at face value and did the job without the necessary protocol in place, now its a game of "catch up" - I have no doubt he will get paid, I do believe its just a system issue which needs to be sorted out. porky2009-05-30 09:25:26

Two "wrongs" dont make a "right". Were you all single file? Were you riding with due consideration for other road users.? Just because theres a following car, dosnt give the bunch the right to spread out over the road. Anyway,........ so he shouted, so what, someone in the bunch with a juvinile "herd" mentality escalated the situation to a possible confrontation by squirting water - why, for what,........ to appear the tough, dont take c**p from no-one animal in the herd.?? Really, loose the attitude, I am pretty sure there was a lot he had to complain about knowing how most bunch cyclists ride, keep your hands on the bars and smile and wave, thats all, smile and wave.! I am not pointing a finger at Grapkas, just the way the incident was escalated unnecessarily.

I dont know, I just feel if someone has put in a 5 year apprenticeship, 5 year varsity time etc they have a right to charge for their knowledge. Hense I dont even open the hood on my Audi or look under the fuel tank on my Kawasaki when the light for a service comes on I drop it at the shop and go home. My last Audi service was a major one, although covered by the motorplan I still get a copy of the invoice and it was R2700.00 which included new front brake pads, the usual oil and filters, a pollen filter??,6 x spark plugs,an air filter, reprogramme the tiptronic gearbox, various top up fluids, sundries and labour. Labour 3.5 hours - R1300.00 This works out to roughly R370.00 perhour or part thereof. This is in a huge glitzy franchised establishment with highly qualified staff who are recognised by the dept. of trade as skilled professionals and millions of rands of highly specialised tools and equipment on use - how on earth can any bike shop charge R350.00 per hour for unskilled labour (as I say, in the nicest sense) in a small backroom shop, with a few spanners and a few relitively cheap (by comparison) special tools.? Its ludicrous, labour for bike services should be no more than R100.00 - R120.00 an hour, and as in the motor industry there should be set times for jobs, a service is charged at 2 hours, a gear set is 15 minutes etc, then if the mechanic sits around or cant get it right in this time, I dont end up paying for it. porky2009-05-27 12:53:00

...........Just a question. Is a bike mechanic a recognised trade? I have sort of looked and cant see anything that says it is. So, basically (if its not recognised) this is considered an UNSKILLED profession, which means rates are way lower than say car mechanics who do undergo a recognised trade exam. Not many recognised and trade certified car mechanics earning R350.00 an hour HOG. Ita all about economics and related fees, a GP cant charge the same rates as a Neurosurgeon, an "unskilled" (said in the kindest sense) bike mechanic cannot charge what a skilled BMW motor mechanic can, I am not pointing fingers, but R350.00 an hour for a bike service seems already a bit pricy dont you think.!?

but' date=' with relevance to the discussion, surely we have to take into account ecomonies of scale and type of business.[/quote'] I guess to a degree. A lot of SA business owners take the attitude of, "if we dont hear a complaint or only 10 this year as opposed to 20 last year, we must be doing things right". - well not necessarily. Sometimes, a complaint means the customer actually wants to come back, just to a better operation. Most SA business operate on a"reactive" basis, in other words when theres a complaint we will sort it out, if theres no complaint we just tool on forward. Walmart and USA based business in general tend to operate on a "proactive" basis, engaging the consumer where possible BEFORE he complains. As strange as it sounds its not difficult, a shop owner knows if he did a slap dash lube job, or sold a swatch to a customer who actually wanted a Rolex - engage the customer telephonically, e-mail etc BEFORE he comes back and shouts. Look at the car service industry, a day or two after your car is serviced the service dept. calls you and asks if all is okay, this is PROACTIVE complaint handeling, if theres an issue they can sort it out immediately and dont wait for the car to break down in Poffadder, and have to deal with an irate sweaty customer yelling at you over the phone, have the cost of sending out pick ups at your expense etc.

Yah, actually, thats what most people do. As an example, the most successfull retailer in the world "Walmart" judges their performance, not by complaints or compliments, but by the numbers of complaints. Their theory is if they get a reduction in complaints from a known average, the reason is customers are simply not returning to the shop. They believe customers complain because they want improvement, however if complaints dwindle, its not because they are wonderfull, just that the customer is so irritated they dont complain and dont return. A new take on complaints hey.!