Plentipotential

Good question. However bear in mind that development costs loads of cash and there is also the question of quality of materials, tooling/mold costs and distribution overheads. Looks like it's cheaper to buy in Australia. There is no doubt that bicycles are expensive here but we cannot compare our prices to say Australia's prices without knowing the duties or taxes they pay to import bikes etc.

There's more than one size?

Quote " While riders helping and assisting one another during the course of the race is accepted as standard cycling practice, UCI pro-elite category riders may not receive on going, persistent and regular assistance from any other team which does not compete in the same racing category and which would have the effect of giving those UCI pro-elite category riders an unfair advantage." Can help each other if in the same category.

I like "Slime", easy to clean when you replace and lasts a long time, never had a snot ball from it myself. See www.slime.com Available at Sportsmans and most bike shops.

Mavic 819's if you want tubeless. I am 92 kg's and love them.

You can buy these from Chain Reaction etc. work well, used one on my sons bike whilst in London. You could also make something up using a stiff piece of plastic cut from a 5 litre container and fastened on with zip ties. Offers no protection from the wheel in front of you.

Note to self: Avoid buying a second hand Cape Epic 2014 bike! Unless it's a Bulls Bike.

Burry certainly was a cut above the rest in ZA. Lets not forget Sauser is a 4 times winner and last year Platt stood in the crowd while he stood on the podium. Maybe next year. Who sells Bulls bikes here?

The one constant at the Absa Cape Epic is the reliability of the Bulls team equipment. Very seldom have I heard of them having mechanicals over all the years, and they have raced a few Epics!

I did read, and quoted your words, verbatim. Sorry if I missed the example. Wasn't me asking the question about booking it in by the way.

Hold on. Back it up a bit. In your opening post you mention that you went to the shop seeking a bit of help. "Doing my first restoration project and struggling with the BB I popped in there asking for assistance" However it would now appear as if you wanted to borrow a tool? I just needed the tool, I would have gone to the back and done it myself, would have taken 2 minutes If you were to go to any service centre and asked to borrow a tool to repair/fix/adjust/whatever they actually do as part of their business I am sure that most if not all would ask you to book your thingymabob into their shop so that they could actually earn money from the tool they purchased for just such a job, surely? Or am I missing a trick here? Kind of like going to a stationery shop and asking to borrow a pen, no? Thank goodness, for a minute there I thought my favourite bike shop standards were slipping.

If you are going to complain to the owner remember her name is Joneen. Never seen her wearing shoes and looks like she brushes her hair with a fire cracker but that lady knows how to run a bike shop, sure she will have you sorted in no time at all.

FWIW I went to Aaron Brown and was very happy with the service. I am 1.95 tall, no idea on the leg length but went to 175 mm cranks on a Giant Trance. Happy with the cranks but the feet do catch the ground every now and again as the BB on the trance sits quite low so that may be a consideration in your case.

Now this would interest me as I only ride trails and never use the other two chain rings anyway, very nice, thanks for posting.

A 20 year old jumped a red light and rode me off my bike, I still can't believe he never did more damage, I guess I got lucky. Front of car hit me square on from my right hand side and bent the crank badly enough that it could not turn past the frame. The force transferred through the frame and bent the seat post past the 30 degree angle. Front wheel folded in half. By a stroke of luck I saw it coming and pulled my foot from the cleat so managed to get my leg out of the way otherwise I would have been in real trouble. I no longer ride on public roads, luckily I ride a MTB. Anyway the youngster never had a license, was in his mothers car without her knowledge and left the scene without giving me all his details. Police said they did not have an address for the car despite me getting the registration no. off the license disk. Will I share this with Carte Blanche? No. Why? They won't make any difference to the problem. As long as the authorities do not enforce the laws of this land the people of this land will do as they please.

Something like a folding Brompton bike perhaps?

From Velo News. Worked for me. The trick is the method rather than the name brands, the better you can afford, the quicker you will heal. I used Jellonet to keep the wound covered until the skin had grown back over. Got the fishnet at a chemist and this also worked well. The poor man’s road rash kit Mild antibacterial liquid soap, Washcloth, Bottle of cheap generic Ibuprofen (Motrin IB) Triple Antibiotic Ointment (like Neosporin) Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline) Thin Maxipads with non-adherent top layer (“dri-weave’) White drugstore ribbon tape Scissors Cheap support pantyhose in your size, and in a smaller size that fits your arm Clear fingernail polish Non-prescription topical anaestheticButterfly tapes Feminine products for even the manliest athlete Maxipads, pantyhose and nail polish?!?!?! Okay, okay. I admit it. Some of the stuff on the list sounds weird, but it works. Here’s what to do with your road rash: First, see if there is an ambulance staged on scene with a crew that is willing to help you out. They may have plush supplies on the truck that they can use to clean and dress your wound.If there is no ambulance on scene, the first thing to do is take two to four 200mg ibuprofen with food 45 minutes prior to cleaning you wound. The maximum dose is 800mg every six hours and no more than 2400mg in 24 hours. Your pain tolerance will be maxed 45 minutes to one hour after you take the ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Don’t skimp on the ibuprofen if you’re in pain. It’s especially helpful right before bedtime so you can get some sleep. An hour before your scheduled start time the next day is another good time for ibuprofen.

I presume from what you are saying then, that at every accident scene there should be a few punches thrown. All accidents are as a result of negligence from at least one party. Lets say your wife/mother/son/daughter has an accident, would you like them to be subjected to this kind of treatment?

Same height as you. Giant trance frame. Rockshox fork 120-150mm and riser bars with 110 mm stem. 450 mm seat post. Very comfortable.

Johann at Yellow Saddle, google for details. Oops just did and see he has moved to Scotland.

Would not be too brittle, unless the heat treatment was duffed. 7075 is used to manufacture very specialized fasteners for the power generation and transmission industry, specifically nuclear power industry. Very expensive, may as well buy carbon.

So happy I never went the upgrade to 29er route from my 2012 Trance. Awesome bike for my twice a week at Modderfontein.

Link to tyre changing tutorial, motorcycle but same principals apply. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50717

I am not that skilled at explaining things without props however let me have a go. The trick is " if you are struggling you are doing it wrong". Your rim is at its smallest diameter in the centre so before you use the tyre levers on the top part of the tyre make sure that the same side of the bottom of the tyre is in the centre of the rim. If you are trying to remove a tyre before the bead has been released from the entire rim you will battle. If your tyre is stuck to the rim you could use a small G clamp and two small blocks of wood, to protect the tyre from the clamp, tighten the clamp on either side of the tyre and " break " the seal. Do not use a pair of pliers as this will damage the tyre bead. I can send you a link to a fantastic video tutorial on how to do this to a motorcycle tyre but the same principle applies, PM me if you like. You reverse the process to put the tyre back onto the rim. I suspect that you are pinching the tube when you are replacing the tyre that's why you have so many holes! You need to take more care. The ability to fix punctures out on the trail/road is the key to enjoyable cycling.

That's actually pretty cool. Stay safe on that road.