michaelbiker

Oh and BTW I have the Magene tail light. Had it for a few years now and it works very well. IMO the Garmin is not worth the extra cost - the Magene’s have had a lot of software updates to bring their features on par with Garmin and the mobile app is pretty good too.

The Garmin edge 130 plus units work with a radar. You can also opt for a cheaper Chinese head unit. Some are quite full featured and good value for money like the iGPSport and Magene units. Head units are better because they tell you how many cars are behind and you don’t have to keep glancing at your watch - which means moving your head.

Gave away my Delonghi bean-to-cup. I drive home now to have coffee after a ride instead of stopping on the way!

On top of the world

I found a really nice pen knife on the Cork Tree trail near the giant blue gums in Cecilia Forest this morning. If it's yours, DM me and I can get it back to you.

You might be able to get them off Temu / Aliexpress. I seem to recall there being a Chinese knock off of the Time espresso pedals floating around that takes the same cleats.

Yeah. I do it solo from time to time. Green belts to Tokai from Constantia is also fine. I avoid the front of table mountain on my own particularly the area near the blockhouse. Others ride it all the time Like anywhere, riding alone or with someone else is a risk. But so is riding on the road in traffic or riding in the wilderness. When your number’s up it’s up.

Greyton gravel

@love2fly for clarity are you referring to the monitor and strap or just a replacement strap? Seems like a lot of people here are suggesting either. If it’s the monitor and strap, I’ve been using a Polar H9 for the last couple of years and it’s been great. If I had to buy a new monitor I think I’d go with a Coospo or Magene unit. The strap however was replaced under warranty (no questions asked) by the local agents 6 months ago when one of the press studs came loose. Shipped to me overnight. I am however, using an Aliexpress strap that’s been faultless so far.

Wildekrans Wine Estate

I mix shimano and magura oils all the time without issue.

Beautiful ride north of Manly, Sydney. The sound from the cicadas is mental this time of year. IMG_8635.mov

The podcast interview with Kevin Vermaak on escape collective is quite interesting. He goes into quite a lot of detail how the epic started and what it was like at the time. One thing that stood out that is related to this is that for every mountain bike that was sold in 2003, 25 road bikes were sold and that large organised road events were way more common than mtb events. Things have changed dramatically since then with fewer and fewer road events and a ton of mtb stage and single day events. Gravel could go this route too, who knows but if the growth of sales in gravel bikes is a lagging indicator of where SA is headed then there would definitely be a lot more gravel focused stuff.

Two weeks and I am there!

Bought from them many times. They can be a bit annoying sometimes as they don’t always have stock and then you need to wait until the item “reaches the warehouse” but they’re pretty good if they have stock. You can also cancel orders after payment which is great if you get buyers remorse or they are simply taking too long.

These are great: https://www.ravemen.com/FR/FR160.html They are well made and completely hidden under a Garmin out front mount provided it has the quarter-turn adapter underneath. The larger FR300 can be used to charge other devices.

Be careful of using ti bolts for stems or seat post clamps or anything that holds something important together - particularly the no name ones from China. They aren't as strong as steel bolts even if they don't corrode. I have been using them for a while but for things like bottle cages and also for the extra holes in my frame for rack and fender mounts. They do look pretty though.

You haven’t mentioned if you are already a cyclist or not. If you are just starting out then no bib short / saddle / shoe combo is going to shield you from suffering on the bike. It’s kind of a right of passage. There are things you can do to help - good shorts, bike fit, bike that fits, shorter rides etc but at the end of the day you need to build time in the saddle and be quite consistent about it. It gets better though and more fun with putting in time. A bit like any hobby really. I would estimate it takes about a year of consistent riding to get good legs. If you are coming from road to MTB then you’ll be fine. Maybe do a skills clinic if certain bits of trail scare you. Most importantly though, ride as much as you can. Otherwise the bike and equipment will end up on the classifieds here and someone will get a bargain.

Doi Kham, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Thanks Chris. I don’t bike pack that much but I do pack my bike a lot and visit some off-the-beaten-path places - Laos, Thailand, Northern Greece etc. So bike frame material is actually quite important to me from a traveling perspective (light and strong which is why we picked Ti bikes). Off topic but before my last flight I watched a baggage handler literally throw my bike bag on top of my wife’s bag in front of us (each bag weighed 25kgs). I was pretty certain it wouldn’t have survived but there was not a scratch on either bike. Titanium and Evoc cases FTW!

Nobody assumed it was weak. I just don't think it's the right material for this use case.

Excited to try these out next month on my gravel bike! Nothing like being barely in control, with zero grip on single track while in the drops... Pucker factor 10, fun factor 10!