LazyTrailRider

Disclaimer: This approach doesn't work for bikes. I "just spend it" every single time 😆

One of the finance gurus in my feed said something very interesting recently: "Much of the psychology around owning an expensive car is about the *ability* to own an expensive car, more than actually owning it. Do yourself a favour over the next few years: Save until you get to a point where you can buy the car you dream about with cash, but then don't actually buy it. You'll find that you'll likely get just as much pleasure out of knowing that you can walk into the dealership tomorrow and drive out without debt as you would actually doing so." I've done this experiment, it works 😉

I would have said about the Golfs "Yes, so people are buying Polo Vivo, Renault Kwid and Suzuki S-Presso models instead", but the reality is also that a huge number of people who would previously have bought Polos are now buying a T-Cross instead, at a higher cost.

In short, yes. It’s a way for VW to minimise costs, but it does offer some parts availability benefits also. The Polo and T-Cross examples are illustrative of the craziness, but the GTI and T-Roc ones are not. Well, it’s an illustration of how South African demand for mid-range hatchbacks is non-existent because VW now only offers the GTI version of the Golf because Saffas don’t buy enough of the normal ones. The GTI however has a very different drivetrain and suspension layout, so it should actually be something like “Golf = R496k, T-Roc = R596k”…

Back to the topic: Gotta love how manufacturers are raising the suspension of budget and mid-range models slightly, changing the bumpers and lights, cheapening some of the trim and slapping on a 20% premium because it's a "crossover". T-Roc instead of Golf T-Cross instead of Polo Must be so satisfying in the boardroom!

I'd love to, but John Galt would just mercilessly roll F350s off the production line because the market is always right.

John Galt, is that you?

I honestly guessed you around 26!

OMG, I’ve just had a look at his work. It would be ridiculous taking a practically new bike to him, but I’d *love* a gloss custom job on my Levo… 🤤

I just bought a new set of Roval Traverse SLs and I'm going to put a set of Traverse Carbons (with a DT Swiss star ratchet rear hub) up for R8k soon. They're also 30mm internal but I think they're more in the all-round trail category than the Spanks 😆

For me, the most important factor is impact resistance. Yes, I know a carbon rim will crack if you hit it REALLY hard, but that's the thing: you have to hit it REALLY hard. I can't even count the number of dings I've put into alloy rims over the years, very often with a loss of tubeless seal and a walk home. I've ridden mostly carbon since 2015 and have NEVER cracked anything even with some pretty gnarly enduro riding. In comparison, I went back to an alloy set on a secondary bike earlier in the year and managed to ding the rear not once, but twice in 6 months at the same pressures. I'm light at 69kg and ride very low pressure (16psi fr / 19psi rear) and I'm pretty smooth and slow, which definitely affects the equation, but even with that smoothness/slowness I still managed to ding alloy...

Indeed. It's very possible to spend R3k on a pump these days... https://www.specialized.com/za/en/air-tool-pro-floor-pump/p/172206?color=267093-172206&searchText=472E-9080 But let's not derail the discussion, this is about the new Supercaliber. Which, I have to give it to Trek, looks pretty sweet!

There have been a dozen manufacturers with floating caliper setups over the last 30 years...

Fair enough. Doesn't look like a Session?

Looks like a Session?

It depends on whether you value eliminated chain slap over bling 🤷‍♂️

I suspect this is just someone in the rendering department who screwed up.

Receiving it soon, will update here once I've applied it!

My 2023 Levo SL's matte paint is thinner than rice paper and it got scratched from a bit of mud already, so I've been shopping around for something to protect it going forward, but also to cover the scratches it's picked up with only 100km on the clock 🤦‍♂️ I was considering getting a complete colour change wrap from Armour Ride (around R6k), but decided to try an AMS kit with some graphics in it first, I don't necessarily want to obscure all of the lovely paint I've already paid for. Strangely, the exact same colour matte on my 2022 Stumpy Evo was much tougher.

Hmmm, you're right. I mean, it's CWC (the new-gen version) so who knows!

Based on this, I suspect the derailleur/pod/cassette combo will be around R21k. I'll need to go without KFC for yet another month 😆

Thrown by the ninja who weighs 69.5kg 😆

And apparently the same spoke length for front and rear.

My Rovals (I've had several sets) have been amazing. You guys are just too heavy... 🥷

Pretty intrigued about the compliancy claims, I won't lie... A set of SL II hoops is likely going to retail for >R40k if the existing Traverse SLs are R33k. Luckily I got a set of those at 50% off today, score!