linnega

Wonder what Paul Kimmage thought about Millar's performance?

That must be one of the most anal rules in CSA. Seems bizarre - you get your license number and CSA link it to an ID number. You enter a race online/offline and the ID number and license number are required fields. Surely a simple database lookup would prevent the hassle.

Um...since when did the travel industry respresent the sport. You said the sport is exploiting those that support it. Besides - the Argus costs me about R800 for flights, accomodation and entry. My airport tax to Mauritius is more than that.

Bikemax - don't think that island (or the pair of them) qualifies as Europe in most people's eyes. And just a comment on Chinese manufacture. Most manufacture is low tech, highly labour intensive. In China and Taiwan, people are cheaper than machines - for now. Their amazing productivity is more to do with hard work (even in apalling working conditions) and dedication to produce the best products they can produce. The Taiwan plants are slightly different especially with areas they specialise in (like carbon bicycle manufacture), where years of R&D and investment in the best technology has allowed for more technologically advanced manufacturing processes. Someone made the comment about only the advanced products being made in Taiwan with the cheap & nasties being made in China. My apologies - when I refer to China, I am not just talking about the mainland, but also about Taiwan. Most of the big brands do their composite manufacture exclusively in Taiwan - including Giant, Merida, Scott, Specialized, Willier, Cannondale (!). You will probably find the Treks that Giant manufacture are made in mainland China. Agree with Steve about the lefty comment. Don't think you can compare a 4 wheel design with a two wheel design, in any circumstance. The forces are simply too different.

I don't think anyone organising big races in SA has ever exploited anyone. If they had the numbers wouldn't have kept growing, and the organisers would be rich. How many wealthy road race organisers do you know? But, I am with you on the inconvenience. The organisers would probably arrange to drop numbers off at the place you are staying - they have done that in the past - but obviously not everyone can make use of that system as it soon it becomes logistically impossible. Perhaps if the expo was made worthwile then more riders would want to visit the expo and the problem would be solved. The fact is, expo's in SA are a joke. The official suppliers and distributors in this country do not have stands at all the expo's. There is very seldom anything innovative going on at the expo's and they end up being flea-market style display stands for the local bike shops. Frankly, an organisation like Sportsman's Warehouse has no place at something like an expo. That would be like Walmart, Carrefour or Texco running a stand at Eurobike.

The irony of the Durban "training circuit" is that road traffic legislation requires vehicles to pass other vehicles in a different lane. Thus on NMR Avenue, the law says that no car may pass a cyclists in the same lane in any case. The only vehicles that are exempted from that law are pedal cycles and motor cycles, who may overtake 1 other vehicle (of the same type) in the same lane. Obviously all irrelevant as the law is not enforced and most motorists have never read the road traffic regulations. In practical terms, it is hardly an inconvenience to expect motorists to change lanes to overtake a cyclists on a road that sees maybe 100 car in total during those off-peak times and very seldom have all lanes being used during any time other than 7.30-8.15 and 4.20-5:15. I know that traffic is different in Joburg, but that is the reality on NMR Avenue.

From my personal experience, admittedly not in bicycle manufacture, the opposite is true. Quality standards are excellent in China in general. Of course in an unregulated industry, you need to choose your suppliers carefully, but the Chinese manufacturers I have had contact with produce goods of the highest quality. In addition, there productivity and hence their pricing is unmatched.

bite tongue...bite tongue... steve stupid...bite tongue...www.cyclehelmets.org...enough said.

Honestly, I don't think I would ever consider buying a 'Dale MTB with one of those Lefty forks. Whether they work or not, I would never be comfortable looking down and seeing a missing fork leg. The other big issue I have with Cannondale bikes is that there bikes are made in the US. Mass production in the US simply cannot match the quality produced by the Chinese and Taiwanese. I would choose any of the Taiwanese brands first - Specialized, Giant, Scott, GT would be near the top of the list. Also, I am with Rock on the innovation issue - for a company that talks about innovation a lot in their marketable material, there is very little to back it up in product development. The 'Dale bikes are good, solid performers at exotic prices. You can spend less and get more elsewhere. linnega2006-09-06 14:45:06

Get a different BB, and crankset... Otherwise, tighten to the maximum recommended torque using a torque wrench. For the BB that is usually f'ing tight. If you don't have a torque wrench, get a shop to do it.

Commuting by bike is generally the best way to get to and from work in any city. Only issues arise where there are freeways and no alternative routes. I have been commuting for 20 years and only been knocked over once with minor injuries. Biggest issue is motorised vehicles turning left when you are travelling straight. I generally indicate I am travelling straight and move into the middle of the lane.

For the most part, this is now the Record groupset pre-carbon (2002). Obviously the lightening bits and pieces of titanium and aluminium are not included but the fundamentals are the same. The other obvious exception is the brand new BB setup and brake caliper design.

Does look a little boring eh. Only mildy interesting stuff was Campag's new BB (old news now though) and a few tweaks. Last year saw a lot of manufacturers decide what they were good at and they focussed on those products. As a result, this years has just been tweaks on last years successes.

Both and neither. The pro's and the rest of the racing bunches are important but obviously have different objectives to the non-racing cyclists. Both are perfectly capable of surving without the other. Racing cyclists are less demanding regarding peripheral stuff like medals, goodie bags etc, and wuld have cheaper races if they weren't associated with mass participation type events. Fun-riders/non-racers want nice medals, a smart t-shirt, free cooldrinks/beer/coke etc. They tend to be more demanding on road closure and marshalling, with the racing cyclists tending to demand mainly that they be directed correctly and the lead vehicle manages potential traffic problems. As for profit, there is very little to be made from bike racing in SA for anyone. The mass participation events always cost more than they charge with the diference and management fees being made up by skinflint sponsors.

I have an Epic invite, but my partner hasn't confirmed - yet. The bank manager also sent me a threatening letter last week. Well, my wife passed out when she read it. I assumed it was nothing too serious, and went to buy one of them R7 Platinum forks that ChainReactionCycles had for such a good price.

I haven't entered. Doing the Epic instead - they are similar right?

I suspected the reason may be to get people to Suncoast. Suncoast are providing more and more in terms of sponsorship, so I guess they feel that by forcing everyone to come to Durban they can increase the volumes at the complex and cover their sponsorship costs. I do agree with you guys that it is a bit shortsighted. When you pay close on R200, you expect a little more convenience.

Email Annie or Melissa at events@pixie.co.za and I am sure they will give you their reasons or perhaps the Joburg registration dates have not yet been finalised. Most of their decisions are made on the basis of the feedback sent by cyclists after the race.

Thats what you get for using Telkom.

Other than your poor English, there are some other glaring errors in your comments. van Staden got a 6 month ban and has returned to racing. As I understand there was an investigation into who supplied the EPO, but CSA does not have the resources to launch criminal investigations. If you are so keen to get it done perhaps you can find a sponsor. CSA may well know who did what, but without evidence they cannot say so in public. The youngster who died after SA champs rode for the Youth Cycling Academy. Barry Austin does not manage YCA riders. The girl we have discussed and the facts seem simple and the response appropriate.As I understand the goodies found during the Chinese tour were legal and the documentation for them was appropriate. It is just that they were not authorised by the riders trade team or the national team. What did you expect to happen?

They do indeed - through their Mass Discounters subsidiary.

Sorry Speke - it isn't a Kuota. The Raleigh has curves and the Kuota Khan has curves, but the similarities end there. There is not a single tube on the Raleigh that has the same shape as the Kuota. As we have discussed on the board before, Raleigh's high end bikes are made by Kinesis in Taiwan. Nothing wrong with Kinesis who make Cannondale's Synapse as well as a number of other brands (GT, Santa Cruz, Kona, Mongoose, Trek, Decathlon/Btwin etc). You should think of Game, Makro and Dion when you think about Raleigh since the Raleigh brand in SA is owned by Massmart who operate those retail chains (among others).

Some very amusing videos on Stolen Underground (an interesting read if you have time): http://www.stolenunderground.com/cycling_videos

After I sprained my wrists last year when I was knocked over, I padded the bar nicely. I have found it comfortable so far and haven't removed the tape in over a year. The setup I have is Fizik Bar:Gel inserts, Cinelli cork tape, then the Fizik bar tape on top. I imagine that this setup is only a problem if you have small hands.