BuffsVintageBikes

Have you tried joining the Team Flip rides? They are already well established, often have backup vehicles on their rides and different speed / skill groups.

True, I thought they had moved beyond that on the latest wheelsets by adding carbon covers to avoid it happening.

The joys of carbon spokes? !!!! SNAP !!!!

Yup and I recon that's the only reason they added the flipswitch as well, to compensate for the 130mm. On 120mm and with the flipswitch enabled, ground strikes are apparently a thing.

I can strongly recommend taking a year off from racing it and just enjoying it for what it is, a social day out on your bike in one of the most beautiful places in the world. It honestly changed my entire perspective of the Tour. I had also reached that stage when I was just worn out from chasing Sub 3's and getting stressed out about sitting in a big bunch with youngsters with dubious skill levels from spending too much time on Zwift and too little time rubbing bars in a bunch. So I took a year off racing it and joined my stepfather on his very first tour at 61yrs old and seeing him enjoy it and interact with everyone on the road and at the water tables changed my entire perspective on what this ride is actually all about. Try it, thank me later 😉

I'm riding with the missus and although she's on an ebike, her fitness isn't where it should be at this time of the year, so I'm under no pressure. It'll be a chilled ride with coffee and pastries in Noordhoek, whatever the weather, very much like last years event. Once I got my 21 tours under the belt, I decided that all future CTCT's would be done purely to enjoy and appreciate the beautiful Cape on closed roads. That in itself is a rare privilege which we pay good money for.

I just think it's died down here, the whatsapp groups are very much alive with chatter about the big day 👍

Dear Lord no, please no 😲 Be sure to hand in your man card when you log out this evening 😉

It's only real if you feel the need to try and stay with them. The general rule is that ebikes stay at the back on the climbs and on the front into a headwind 😉

My latest haul which arrived last week. Took 2 weeks to get to me. The shoes are an identical size fit to my Shimano RP3's. Seem pretty decent for the pricey sum of R437, we'll see how they hold up over time. Not a bad price for double boa shoes although they do have a nylon sole. They're about the same weight as my Shimano's as well. The saddle is just ridiculously light at 110g and cost me R482. Also seems well made but I have a suspicion that the way the padding is glued onto the carbon won't be too durable. My ass might give up before the glue lifts though because it's hard. The cutout gap is huge so I definitely won't be riding it in jogger shorts for fear of my junk dropping through the gap 🙃 The Aero socks fit well but they have a soft seam running down the back which might be a bother. A mate bought a pair and is happy with them so hopefully I'll have the same experience. The rest was TPU tubes and motorcycle parts.

This is a problem if you're using a waxed based solution. Any sort of petroleum based product on your waxed chain will break down the effectiveness of the wax. This why companies like Smoove make their own chain cleaners which are water based. It's the only product I use on my chains in the USC and I simply recycle it each time as the dirt sediment falls to the bottom on the container that I store it in.

As you mentioned, you didn't dry the chain sufficiently. I use a heat gun on my chain once I run it through the US cleaner, especially if I'm using a water based solvent. Unless you're dumping your chain into a wax bath, normal wax only goes on the inside of the links so if the chain has no protection of the outer links, it will rust, especially if its a cheaper chain without nickle plating protecting it.

Needed to order a new speedo unit for my 450 from Temu and thought I might as well bump up the parcel a bit with some cycling goodies. The shoes fit surprisingly well, exactly the same size as my existing Shimano shoes and that saddle is just ridiculously light at 110g. Not so sure on the level of comfort it's going to provide though 😲

And just a heads up that the Overgaauw routes are now closed to all mtbers.

Same thing happened to me as well @JJDT. Broke mine in 2008, had a small plate put in and never had it removed as it didn't bother me too much. Then broke it again in 2024, right next to the existing plate. They took out the old one, put in a longer one that covers the whole clavicle and was instructed to rather have this one removed because if I fall again, something else might break before the titanium plate fails. Haven't had any further issues. I'd certainly have it sorted out asap @Rapunzel, the last thing you need is a bone infection.

Very sorry to hear of your experience. Having been involved in something similar a few years ago, I know how scary it can be, especially if the driver is enraged and loses all common sense. Unfortunately this individual will have learnt nothing if you never took the time to report this to the police for them to follow up. Sadly the idiot will probably just try it again with another rider sooner or later. Be safe out there, we share the road with 1st class idiots.

You've probably heard it all before but here's my unbiased opinion of disc brakes after riding on both for many years... which is difficult considering my love of vintage bikes 😊 Disc Pros: - Undoubtedly better in all weather conditions. - Allows you to ride with a buckled rim if you snap a spoke or two. - Great for Mountain bikes and Gravel bikes. I'm still on the fence about road bikes. Cons: - Too much braking power for 25-28C tyres. Over reaction of the levers often lead to the front washing out, especially on road bikes. - Still heavier than rim brakes. - Make a racket when wet or hot. - Make swopping out wheelsets a pain in the ass as you have to often reset the calipers due to disk rub. - Warping still a problem on road bikes where the disks are thinner and overheat quicker. - Buckled disk in a race from a rock strike or fall will end your race or force you to remove the caliper. - You go through pads faster and they cost more. I honestly don't mind riding on either Disc or Rim but when I'm on Disc brakes on the road, I find myself having to remind myself to be gentle on the levers going into tight turns. I'm still able to modulate a good quality rim brake better than I can modulate a disc brake and I feel that this is one aspect that still needs work on road bikes. I ride a lot of motorbike and besides the modulation being better on motorcycle brakes, you also have a far greater piece of rubber contact patch on the tarmac which helps with traction under braking. Personally I would prefer at least a 32C tire on a road bike if I was riding disc brake road bike, possibly even a 35C.

I'd suggest you stay away from Temu, it doesn't sound like it's the place for you to do your shopping. You appear to be expecting 5 star service delivery and internal management systems for 1 star product pricing 🤣

And you're 100% sure it's not the saddle rails moving in the saddle housing? Have you maybe tried a different saddle yet?

So we determined it's not the seatpost then because they sorted that part out right?

I ordered Souke again. I find them perfectly fine for 1.5 to 2hr training rides. For R250 you can't exactly expect Assos 😊

Ah sorry, probably an ebiker again acting like a hero.

Just received my whatsapp and sms now and paid duties. Mine came via Linex Air Services again. Package was R1550 and duties came to R342 (includes a pair of shoes & bib shorts).

Not really, Group B had a couple of local Northern burb monsters in it that dropped back to have some fun with their mates. They regularly finish their local training rides on a 40km'h avs speed so this was nothing new to them 😲 You just needed to have the legs to Hak Papi Hak !!! 🤣

I vote for keeping the existing one and adding another one to the calendar 😊👍 I'd still love to see a local Team Triathlon/Trilogy featuring Road/Gravel/MTB where each discipline has it's own specialist rider. I recon that would make for a great day out and each discipline could be made slightly longer & tougher.