WIPEOUT 1000

I've done over 12,000 km on my current chain (Connex 11SE) with virtually no stretch. The rest of my drivetrain is Campagnolo 11 speed, with more than 36,000 km. I replaced the first chain at 25,000km when I swapped the groupset to my current bike. At that stage, it was still well within the 0.5% range. It's worth noting that I am meticulous in waxing my chains, a practice that has undoubtedly contributed to their longevity.

Wow, that is so pretty it hurts my eyes! Unfortunately the fact that I would love to know what it costs also virtually guarantees that I cannot afford it

Wow, I cannot help but think that this route is the consequence of a bunch of accountants trying to cut costs.

If you can find them, Panaracer Gravelking TLC 38mm slick is a really good option. Very comfortable and rolls really well. I’ve been riding them for years and I still have not found a reasonably priced alternative that’s lighter or faster.

I’ve also often wondered about this. Poly Styrene is an environmental disaster specifically because it takes forever to decay naturally. I suspect that the polycarbonate shell is probably susceptible to UV decay and that might be the determining factor.

John Apparently, you can e-mail TeamHOTSHOT for the more information on their scientific claims, but I am sure that you know a lot more about cramps than I do. The only point I really wanted to make, and I do appreciate that my personal experience is anecdotal, is that for me (and a couple of my friends) doing long distance events (e.g. 600km Radonnee's, PBP, etc.), pickle juice and specifically pickled onions has provided relief from exercise induced cramping. Furthermore, if anyone wants to give it a try, it’s cheap and easy to try out.

A couple of years ago a couple of scientist (Dr. Rod MacKinnon & Dr. Bruce Bean), discovered that muscle cramping is triggered by hyperactive nerves that can get over-excited with exercise and repetitively fire into the muscle. In short they developed a product "HOTSHOT" that is the only scientifically proven product to prevent and treat muscle cramps. They claim that it basically resets the over-exited nerve. From my experience it's more a case of that if you suddenly experience a greater discomfort, you're body kind of forgets about the the lesser one. In this case if you eat a really hot chilly and your mouth's on fire, the cramps tend to go away. HOTSHOT, is also the product Tadej Pogačar used when he started cramping in the last couple of km's of the 2023 Giro di Lombardia. I've used it and it's basically a variation of pickle juice and it taste like pickle juice blended with apple juice. I have found that as a alternative, hot pickled onions work really well for me, I buy them then I add some extra chilly powder. The nice thing is that you put a couple in a zip lock bag and eat them either before or as you start cramping. I find that chewing gives a longer burning sensation.

Cycle it often on weekends. If you’re concerned about Helshoogte, try finding a riding partner/s. Winelands cycling club often do escorted group rides on weekends starting from Waterstone.

Really depends on what product you use or intend using. Most are primarily a combination of latex and glycol plus some form of filler to assist in blocking the hole. Rule of thumb, the higher the latex % the quicker it will seal, but also the quicker the sealant will dry out. E.g. a "race" sealant will seal quicker but also dry out quicker. Josh Poertner from Silca suggest you do a basic shake test, if you can hear it sloshing inside it is probably still fine, if you cannot you need to add/replace.

I did it with my cousin in 2015, amazing experience, so many emotions, so many awesome memories, so blessed that I could finish it.

Just got the e-mail message that that GCN+ will soon be closing. Not sure how I feel about it, I only really used it to watch events.

Go tubeless 🙂, but should not be problem at all.

You're not alone, well known problem. Peak Torque made a video 3 years ago.

Pinion gearboxes have the same drag penalty as Rohloff hubs but I agree that if I was riding a Pyga ebike, I would also not be that concerned about drivetrain efficiency

Owned a Rohloff hub and as great as they are for reliability and maintenance, they're always a couple of percent less efficient than a 2x set-up even if you completely cross chain. The same applies for the classified powershift system. When you're in the climbing gear, you basically get the worst of both worlds, i.e. the additional drag of the planetary gears combined with the additional drag of extreme cross chaining.