linnega

Whenever I have "sold" my entry I do ask for the amount I paid - and its never take more than 30 minutes to get a taker. The fact that the Cycle Tour Trust expect the new entrant to pay a further amount is really a problem that should be addressed to the race organisers.

The expectation is motorists never ceases to amaze me even with reasonably intelligent people. There seems to be an expectation that a cyclist can and will immediately move right over (onto the dirt / pavement if necessary) to allow a motorist to overtake. The other time when I consider it unsafe for a motorist to overtake is where we are approching an offramp or left turn. I will not let anyone overtake until we are past the danger area (done by clearly signalling and moving into the middle of the lane with arm outstretched). If it happens that the motorist is intending to carry on straight without turning then I have inconvenienced them but I am willing to make that sacrifice.

Just for clarity: ( 3) The driver of a vehicle on a public road shall, except in the circumstances referred to in the first proviso to subregulation (1), upon becoming aware of other traffic proceeding in the same direction and wishing to pass his or her vehicle, cause his or her vehicle to travel as near to the left edge of the roadway (this would be the right side of the yellow line) as is possible, without endangering himself or herself (ie if there is a pothole or glass etc - you are not allowed to move over as this would be endangering yourself) or other traffic or property on the roadway, and shall not accelerate the speed of his or her vehicle until the other vehicle has passed.

What fork have you got? I found the 100mm Manitou I had never really worked with the frame. The 80mm Rockshox I have now seems to be much better balanced.

On. I only use the "plush" setting when the downhill scares the sh*t out of me. But that is most downhills - so half the time.

You know what they say, you get lies, damn lies and statistics. Housing projects have failed in many areas around the country. For many the dream of a roof over their heads has been shattered by corruption, nepotism and the greed of needy people selling their free house to turn a quick profit. Water projects were rolled out to millions of dwellings in rural areas. Most water projects though were very poorly managed with the KZN project recording 60% more than were actually delivered, and many of the projects delivered included fraudulent payments to contractors or sub-contractors. Since 1998 very little progress has been made in water projects due to in-fighting in DWAF and rampant corruption among the contractors that were tasked with delivering water. A monument of SA sport (the Dusi) only went ahead because the municipality refused to release ecoli readings prior to the race. It was unsafe for anyone to be in that river thanks to mismanagement of sewerage disposal, and the Dusi would have been cancelled if the organisers had access to the results in time. It is fortunate that no-one died. I don't think we need to talk about the electrical situation with almost every facet of our economy being severely impacted by the outages. Land reform is way behind schedule with the rules of entitlement being so vaguely defined that the majority of land claims being blocked by the current owners. The legislation is being radically redrawn to try and facilitate future land claims. Healthcare has had minor successes particularly in rural areas where the very low base (ie no healthcare) was easy to improve on. State hospitals have suffered with rampant mismanagement and many are failing to provide any service at all. The state's approach to AIDS has become the source of international ridicule and the epidemic is worse in South Africa than anywhere else in the world. Far less developed countries (like Uganda) have successfully combated AIDS through simple cheap education programmes. I understand the need for a balanced viewpoint, but it is difficult to be objectively positive in the current environment. linnega2008-01-28 12:40:44

Looks like a bit of a hatchet job on cutting the steerer tube. With the shim taking most of the force it should be okay for a while but I wouldn't chance it unless you want to see if you can handle a broken steerer tube better than Hincapie.

Okay - seen both videos. Can't see how anyone can claim accidental head butt in this case. Hayman moved in on Rigotto but was still a good distance away. Perhaps Rigotto can claim he is useless at balancing a bike?

Battery going flat in either the sensor or the watch is the most likely cause. Some sensors are faulty, but if you've had no problems previously then probably just battery. For the watch send to IHF in Joburg to replace the battery, for the sensor just unscrew and replace it yourself.

I always stand next to the bike in my cycling shoes, and the pedal forward from the BB. Clip you foot in facing forward (ie left foot into right pedal or vice versa). Attach spanner forward facingand pull up while pushing down with your foot. Repeat the same on the other side. If that doesn't work, leave pedal in the same position and attach pedal spanner facing backwards. Then jump on the spanner or hit with a heavy hammer. Should loosen just about anything.

Wasn't sure where the N7 is, but looking on Google Earth it looks like the N7 has intersections and traffic lights, so it can't be a freeway. Therefore, if there are no signs saying "no cycling", then it is perfectly legal to be on the road. It does seem bike jacking is becoming more common. The Hillcrest one worries me a bit as I often ride that route alone. Last year I missed a bikejacking by about 5 minutes at the bottom of Fields Hill.

I reckon start in A and don't try too hard to hang on over Edinburgh Drive, then just use the other groups as they come past to help you through the rest of the ride. But 7 weeks of training could get you into reasonable shape.

It's light and has pretty good ventilation. Not as light and ventilated as nothing at all, but as close as you will get.

Why not have a look at the GT road bike. Looks as good a deal as you could hope to get: http://www.bikehut.co.za/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=460

Seems like Liquigas are taking it seriously and sending some of their biggest names and certainly their best classic riders. The stages are short for the benefit of the internationals who aren't really in race condition in February.

Thats sage advice Hog. I'd be banned for life if I really explained to my wife what we ride on. On the bikes - you may want to ride the Alias for a while to decide how into it you are. I ride an Anthem at home and love it, but have hired an Alias while I am in Aussie for a few weeks. For messing around on its fine. Probably a little heavy for any serious climbing, and definitely too heavy (for me anyway) to carry around on the hike-a-bike efforts needed for races like the Giants Challenge. I am also told that its best to learn on a hardtail and then upgrade to a dual suspension but I can't comment on that as I haven't ridden a hardtail much and rode an GT dual suspension bike as my first MTB.

My kids would probably be fine but I would be lying passed out on the floor with a rapidly swelling black eye once my wife found out I left the lid off the paint...again...

Did you miss the frame material discussion? Carbon does look cool with the imprinted GT logo on the downtube.

Your comparisons to food and apparel retailers makes for reading but it is not a good comparison. You also cannot compare to agriculture as that is a closer to manufacturing than retail. The main reason is exactly the that Icycling has highlighted. Stockturn drives retail margins. It costs money to hold stock as money invested in stock does not earn a return until is is sold. I imagine many bike retailers are operating closer to 2.5 to 3 as their stockturn, food retailers close to 40 (across the store) and good apparel retailers above 10. As a result food retailers can do some smart financing and operate at around 2-5% margins, apparel retailers at around 65% and cycle retailers at between 100 and 120% on cost to make a good profit.

Similar, except most of the arguments for hardtails have strong counter arguments (unlike the Shimano-Campy argument where the Shimano camp don't have a leg to stand on). Hardtails are cheaper remains the biggest obstacle in the way of dual suspension bikes. If you are going to spend R15k you can get a very decent bike - Anthem's have been mentioned, and the Anthem 2 would give you some change for a pair of shoes.

The problem is exactly what Widget highlighted. The market is small in cycling goods and our economy is small. As a result it makes no financial sense for distributors to exist in our economy in the way the operate here. They cannot afford to cover the overheads. Add to that the fact that there are probably too many bike shops in SA, that are too small to be economically viable. The best option would be a wholesale purchaser like ChainReaction, where bulk goods are ordered and are available to the public at only slightly more that a bike shop would be charged. In a way this is what CWC are trying to do and perhaps they will eventually get there. The whole discussion about duties is irrelevant as you have to assume that everyone (including CWC) are paying their duties, so it is the same for all.

The smartest thing I've read all day.

I have to agree with Johan - those wheels are stupid. You may not have problems, but you probably will. At 82kg I'm about 7kg over my ideal cycling weight and I am 189cm. You'd be much better off dropping 10kg to be able to stay with the sub-vets. Or just get used to being dropped and ride with us at the back.