Rouxenator

My first time - I think the wet weather did make it a bit more of a challenge - but it was absolutely awesome. I did one time before ride to the top of the mountain on my own, so it was cool to go around. Route is perfect, very scenic, support is amazing. Will be back for a dry one - hopefully.

I'm in.

I'm in.

My project bike, the more I ride it the more I love it. Budget came to R5200, but it's for sale at a lower price. Can't keep 'em all.

My daily therapy time.

Maybe considering the price level they have opted for this much older design?

So, I'm browsing through the used bikes for sale, and I come across a 2021 Giant Talon. The gears are listed at 14x28 and I think to myself - no that must be an error. Ratios like that is what we had on road bikes decades ago. But sure enough, after searching around it seems the Talon does indeed come with a small 6 (some are 7) speed Tourney cassette of 14-16-18-21-24-28T. I thought the trend was moving towards wider ratio cassettes like 11-32T?

I think my fail was down to bad tyres. The cheapie was, well, very cheap and who knows how long it has been hanging from the ceiling of the shop I bought it from. Some time ago I bought a 26er tyre and tube from the same shop and it was so old it would not even fit on the rim - too big - probably stretched out. So that R193 one I ran was just very weak. The Kenda's while a better make, was still made of nylon and was 13 years old. So not a good choice either. Might try my luck with Maxxis or Chaoyang in future.

The burping and crashing myth was one of the main reasons I did this. I can now conclusively call it a myth and I did on one ride lower the pressure to 1.7 bar - no issues. Fixed that front Rekon when I got home, it is now rotating the right way.

Yeah - my final experiment will be with wire bead from a proper manufacturer.

I might still give it one more go - with proper wire beads from Maxxis or Chaoyang.

It went bad.

This is something I have been wanting to try for some time.

Trying out a cheapie from 2012, the XXIX Avalanche

Went for EZ mode and did the 35km, it was good.

Nope was running smooth for about 4 years. Still hard to see anything wrong with it, but when it was installed in the bike there was some play not present on a new one.

Nah, that is just providing your pedals with extra shock absorbing. Funny enough, I recently had a BB replaced only to find it was actually the crank axle that was worn - you could not see it with the naked eye but after replacing the crank my issue was solved. Never had a crank axle wear out on me...