LazyTrailRider

I've given in and got a Levo SL. Man, it's such an awesome machine. The biggest thing for me when we spent a few days riding in Karkloof was how 4 riders of very varying fitness levels could do lap after lap of the most amazing tech trails without anyone having to wait for anyone else on the climbs. Just pure bliss with energy left to spare for every berm, lip, boostable roller and drop. I'm sold. Also, I tried riding with power off for about 8km across a combination of tech, climbing and DH, and really couldn't feel a huge difference between the feel of it and the 2019 Stumpy I had. I'm still going to primarily smash the pedals on my gravel bike for mileage and strength, but what remains to be seen is whether I'm going to ride this or my Stumpy EVO more. It's going to be interesting...

It hurts, but there is nothing we can do about it. OP, I don't think anything has happened to "making cycling more inclusive". In the more than 30 years I've been riding, sport cycling (the high-performance version we're talking about here) has never been inclusive. In 1989, I drooled over fancy bikes next to me on the start line. It's still the same, I'm just the one with the fancy bike now, but the dynamics have stayed the same. One thing that *has* however grown the divide between the haves and have-nots is digital bikes. On a recent ride we loaded 4 very nice e-bikes onto the back of a Hilux and realised that combined their RRP was more than double that of the bakkie. In one sense crazy, but in another it's amazing to have access to the technology we have currently.

For what it's worth, I run Vibrocores on my gravel bike and they're great (mostly because of the flare). Difficult to comment on the vibration absorption because they're wider than what they replaced so inherently flexier, but I guess you could say they "feel nice".

As far as cost effectiveness goes, I'd wait for Lyne's shipment of bars and stems to arrive. They estimated end March some time ago if I'm not mistaken, but worth asking them. I had an AMP 35 stem (35mm reach also) with a 780mm AMP carbon bar before getting the OneUp and rode with an 35mm alloy combo between the two. Can confirm that both carbon bars are noticeably less harsh than the alloy. This varies though, some carbon bars (do some searching) are super stiff and may even be harsher than their alloy counterparts. The Lyne and OneUp definitely aren't though.

This: https://trailtechcycles.co.za/products/oneup-components-handlebar-20mm-rise-35mm-dia Yes, it does actually dampen chatter. Noticeably so.

It's simple. They're a small-town LBS with a website which looks like an online store, they most definitely don't actually run an online store.

I think it's very much the bobble head look he was referring to... personally I reckon it looks cool though, and it's excellent value. @andrew5336 I may have a fairly new used one up for sale soon (bought in October), going to try on the Ambush 2 as soon as I can get my hands on one so may swop to that.

Apologies if I missed the answer scrolling through the replies, but was your booster Pfizer or J&J (and what were your first two)?

The EB in our house is charged by the sun 😉

Well, sort of. RRP/SRP is in principle supposed to be a way to avoid the monopoly-direction issues of prescription, but the problem is that some distributors have been burnt, so they tend to be super careful to even recommend because of how it could be construed. Look, this is a personal anecdote, but I had someone at CCS be cagey with any sort of price a few years ago due to this. (Times change though, so maybe it's very different now).

Also, they are not allowed to provide RRP figures, because of the competition commission.

Wait, is that a Garmin (or computer of some kind) mounted on the bars? 😜

Pathfinders FTW: https://www.specialized.com/za/en/pathfinder-pro-2bliss-ready/p/157870?color=237517-157870 My gravel bike is actually just really my road bike, and they're super quiet and very quick but still absolutely fine on smooth gravel.

Sutros are very good. I got a set, loved it and ended up with 3 (with different lenses). The only thing which can be improved out of the box is the fact that they don't have earsocks so they don't grip if you're sticking them into front-facing eyewear slots in your helmet. This was solved easily with slipping Racing Jacket socks onto them.

Thanks for your help. Will bring it for a lowers service with that lightweight oil next time around...

Back in black (pardon the pun). I was bummed when I heard at first, but it actually looks pretty damn rad.

CCS were nice enough to replace both the lowers and CSU (it was starting to click) under warranty. Got it back this afternoon, waaaay smoother than it was, even though it will probably get even better after a bit of running in. I'm happy again.

Droo did a full service including the damper and reckoned that the only remaining culprit would be the bushings. It unfortunately didn’t make much difference so the lowers are now being replaced under warranty. Will update here when I get it back.

Sure, but most people in this thread don't want a straight, flat, narrow 750mm bar.

I had a Lyne Amp carbon bar (780, 35, 15mm rise) on my previous Stumpy, which I loved. Got a stock 35mm alloy bar (800, 35, 30mm rise) on my new Stumpy and it felt quite harsh, so replaced it with a OneUp carbon (800, 35, 20mm rise). Does the OneUp mute chatter in comparison? Most definitely. Did the Lyne mute chatter? Comparing it to the alloy bar, yes. Not as much as the OneUp, but still very subtly noticeable.

My wife is type 1 and uses the FreeStyle Libre system (which from what I can see is the same physical sensor unit). It's been a R2k/month cost for several years, so not cheap by any means. Some comments from experience (I've "installed" probably 200 of them in her arms over time): It's most definitely not even close to 100% accurate. We've had readings that were 50-60% out at any given point in time when cross-checking with a finger-prick sensor. The reason she tolerates the inaccuracy is simple: It gives trend data (on your way up, or on your way down) which with traditional testing needs several tests over a few hours (or several within an hour). We've had more than a dozen faulty units which stop working after a few days (one of them only lasted a day). The distributor has been relatively supportive in replacing them, but it continues to be a hassle, taking into account that it's R500/week... As a system for accurate training, I wouldn't trust it. It's out by too far too often to use the data to inform diet over a long period of time. In our experience, its benefit is primarily to figure out whether you're going to crash or go hyper in the next hour and dose your insulin (or sugar intake) accordingly.

Unfortunately the air spring has already been eliminated, it's the same with a brand new one. It sticks regardless of the pressure and all the way through. Thanks, I'm going to hassle Droo when they're open again next week and first see if he can sort it out. If he reckons it's worth going the bushing shaving route, I'll let you know (thanks for the offer!)...

Resurrecting an old thread... We're going to be staying on the Bosman Wines farm later this week and I'm considering taking my wife on the Hedgehog trail, with it being the shortest "proper" route (the 3.3km one doesn't count). She's on an e-bike but hasn't ridden in months, so the 679m-odd elevation worries me a bit. Also, how tech is the singletrack along the top? Benchmark: She's always enjoyed Meerendal's mid-length option because there is nothing overtly steep or technical. If this is going to be much more challenging than that, we may just do some farmroad riding instead.

Update: A new airspring (and lowers service again by the LBS while swapping it) has not made any difference. @droo when do you guys open shop after the holidays?

TokaiMTB Mamba 2016 Rebuild? If so, impressive!