michaelbiker

Been riding the 238s for a year now. Most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. I also upgraded them with a pair of G8 insoles and was amazed at the difference they made. I have very high arches and the Lake inner soles just weren’t engaging my whole foot.

Already mentioned, but here's a direct link: https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/pages/tire-pressure-calculator It correlates quite strongly with how I have been pumping my tires on gravel and mtb.

I travel with two bikes about twice a year through Cape Town international. The bikes are in old bike bags. I have never been asked for invoices or proof that I bought them in SA. They do stop me sometimes to ask if I bought any gifts or new things but generally they just want to fill out their clipboard. One tip, go through after most of the passengers have been through - by that point they have done their quota and wait for the next flight. Most countries I have visited almost never have anyone at the green lane (Europe, US, Asia, Japan). Some ask to x-ray your bag (Thailand, Singapore - this is rare) but I never get asked anything about alcohol or cigarettes. Not that I try to break their laws in any case, I just find it surprising that it seems to only happen in SA where there are 20 customs officials asking questions and digging through belongings. I recently however got called back to baggage checkin to remove CO2 canisters from my bike bag - they are allowed in checked baggage according to IATA. That was a pain in the butt as I had to be escorted back through immigration.

And just a helpful tip if anyone is looking for spares to repair their derailleurs. Aliexpress has a ton of (either fake or original - I can’t really tell) Shimano spare parts. I also had to replace a corroded tension spring on the XTR derailleur and the spring I bought there worked 100%. Just make sure you get the right part number. https://a.aliexpress.com/_ol1TygJ

I find the Shimano 12-speed stuff pretty flimsy and poorly built. The clutch design is a pain if you don’t stay on top of maintaining it. I’ve now repaired two derailleurs (XTR and XT) both with corroded cage axles. Water gets in there and eventually the axle rusts inside the bushing and the cage tension spring can’t overcome it. The XT stuff is still relatively affordable compared to SRAM electronic but it doesn’t seem to last as long. Oh and the cage lock on SRAM is so, so nice to have.

Outside Kayak Cafe, Thailand

Steamy island life

Ko Lanta, Thailand

Also, why is Leatt stuff cheaper in Europe than in SA?

Leatt gloves are pretty shite. I have 4 pairs. The first pair I bought in 2017 and are still going strong. The second I bought a year later and the tips started coming apart recently which I had repaired. The most recent pairs (bought 2023) are literally falling apart. They also fit really poorly - something changed with their sizing and QC for sure I have switched to Hirzl Gripp and they are amazing. Highly recommend them even if they are a bit pricey.

Sunrise Ko Lanta, Thailand

Chiang Mai, Thailand

I’m referring to these if anyone is interested: https://a.aliexpress.com/_onixa04

Interesting. My strap came apart and within 24 hours they had sent me a new one. This wasn’t from sportsman’s though, it was from the agents. On another note the Aliexpress replacement bands are really good and cost about R100. I’ve used them on wahoo and polar.

I went cheap and bought a set of Lun (Winspace) Grapid wheels from China (all in paid R16k). They are 38mm deep and 24mm wide. For the equivalent Zipps I could have gotten 2x Luns. I couldn’t be happier. I run 44mm 180tpi tires on them and they are not only light (1400g) but seem really, really sturdy. Comfort wise, I can’t really tell but I think tire size plays more of a factor here than the rim profile. The hubs seem well made and use larger steel bearings as opposed to smaller stainless steel ones that the competition often specs their wheels with but you can upgrade to ceramic if you wish on the lun site. I don’t see the point of ceramic though. Their shipping is $100 a set with FedEx. Hell even if the hubs died, it would be cheaper overall to rebuild them onto a set of DTs. I have done approx 2000km so far on some pretty terrible roads / singletrack and they are still looking and feeling brand new. Oh and my wife has a set too, so that’s double the anecdote.

Maybe a section with spares. Spokes, nipples, driver bodies, bearings. I know these are tricky due to the million different sizes and brands but maybe it’s just an inquiry box or like the Chinese brands do, we can just write what we need. Lubes and bearing greases for hub maintenance are almost impossible to find online, so that would be good. It also helps with SEO. You could also add a section on wheel servicing / repair with set prices. Not sure how feasible this is though.

Temple time and rice planting season

Paddy life…

Any chance you could give more info on this? Would love to increase the capacity of my lights.

Chiang Mai, Samoeng Loop, Thailand. Tough but beautiful ride.

Would be great if they worked on improving device robustness. I know of several (my unit included) that stopped working. The waste of coin cell batteries is a red herring if you have to replace the unit every few years due to moisture ingress. Or replace the strap every 6 months due to it falling apart or corroding.

Green for miles. Cooking here in Northern Thailand but oh so beautiful.

Switch to Afrihost Airmobile. Your phone number stays active indefinitely and your balance I think only resets once a year. Data bundles last 2 months. I travel frequently and rarely use my sim overseas and my sim still works even though it is theoretically prepaid. No need to deal with using it every two weeks.

Having a gravel bike here in Northern Thailand has been amazing