BuffsVintageBikes

Hey Chris, this is going to sound terribly windgat but I've always said that if my friends with dropper posts can drop me on any technical descent then I'll fit one to my bike... and that hasn't happened yet 😊 I'm not sure if it's my riding style or just years of riding with a standard post but I just never find the seat to be in my way or to hit me in the butt while descending. For the extra weight and cost, those few seconds someone gains in the descent get wiped out on the climbs very quickly. I totally understand it for Enduro riding or Downhill but on an XC bike I'm not convinced it's a necessity.

Both... and also bananas & nuts & potatoes 😊

I've also seen a mates front tubeless pop off the front rim during a training ride, it's the main reason I don't ride with them, I got a bit nervous after witnessing that 😲

Geepers, that could have ended very badly. Glad that helmet did its job 🤙

Little story for context... Some time last year I snapped my Anthems frame (dual susp) and it wasn't insured or covered under warranty so I replaced it with a new Orbea Oiz (dual), lovely bike. The parts off the Anthem were lying in a box so I needed to do something with them. I managed to pick up an old alum 29er Silverback hardtail frame from neighbour with the intention to build it up and then sell it on because I don't ride hardtails anymore (or so I thought) or need another bike. Once I'd built it up I needed to go test it out of course. Big mistake, I loved the ride the bike gave, so much so that it became my training bike and the Oiz my race day bike. Then last week I went and pulled the trigger on a Scale carbon hardtail that was on sale here on Bikehub. Hardtail 29ers are very different to old 26ers, they're less harsh on the old bones and climb rather nicely as well. I don't think you'll regret starting out on one.

1800m of climbing in 60km's... looks like a great race to miss 😆

60km PPA Event for the XCM series

Raced there a month ago and the trails were great 🤙

Gorgeous, I've got a set of them on my Neo-retro Colnago as well 🤙

Sadly I'm going to have to sit this one out now as we have a family wedding on the Saturday 😔 I'm so over this Cape winter.

I would not advise chemical dipping on a full suspension frame unless the people doing it are extremely careful with how much material gets removed. I've seen instances where the brazing has been eaten off steel frames because they were in the tank too long and the cable guides have fallen off during the process. Bare in mind Alu is even softer. You could see your bearing guides getting slightly larger if you don't somehow protect them when dipping. My advise to you would be to have the frame vapour blasted at Dennes Engineering. Make sure to use duct tape in all your bearing recesses or leave old bearings in the frame and replace them afterwards. VB is far less aggressive on Alu and gives a great finish for primer.

As someone who paints his own bikes I can tell you that the cost in spraying a carbon frame comes in the preparation time of the frame. Where you can chemically dip or bead blast a steel or alu frame, you can't do that with carbon. You can possibly blast it with nut shell if you have someone that can do that carefully but 9 times out of 10 the only way to strip it is with sandpaper. That alone is 6-8hr job so there goes R2K out the window... before you even get to Primer. Painting is a seriously labour intensive job.

Skelm f()kken etter... I'm interested to know if the investigating officer is taking this any further regarding this Patty prick?

I'm loving the new brand logo, its modern and funky and fits well with the bikes you're bringing to market. I see even Bianchi has recently redesigned their Reporto Corse logo to give in a modern twist.

That surprised me during the stage as well, they must be extremely confident of putting him away in the high mountains.

I like the idea of this, especially with the option of using bikehub pay 🤙 Another option is registering on the wilddogs adventure biking site, I've bought (and sold) some great non-bike deals on there as well. https://wilddog.net.za/forum/

This is a good point, my Orbea Oiz has a plastic wrap-around chainstay protector and while it protects the chainstay from chain slap, it also gathers up a ton of crud underneath it in muddy conditions and causes friction damage to the paint. I make a habit of removing and cleaning it regularly to avoid this.

Awesome stuff, that scenery is just magical. I was fortunate enough to race the Trans Alps many years ago and one of my fondest memories is the sound of the cow bells echoing in the valley as you're climbing those massive mountains. You're right though, nothing in SA can prepare you for the Alps, the scale of them is off the charts. Well done for finishing, it looked like an amazing adventure.

Great to hear these buggers have been caught. It's just a matter of time before they get nabbed when they start to get this brazen. I was lucky enough to spend some time at the City's Incident Command Office last week and I can with all confidence say that the City is doing an incredible job of setting up a tech network that's going to make these thieving bastards world very small.

Very nice but a similar price and weight to a set of Pulse Carbon wheels from Lyne.

Before you know it we'll be back on Penny-farthings... the wheel does indeed turn 😉

Don't count out Gee, he might play it down but I'm pretty sure he's gunning for the top step.

I did did this route last year April with a mate of mine, from Plettenberg Bay to Stellenbosch. It is a truly magical route and you will experience the best of what the Cape has to offer in terms of scenery and hospitality. I booked all our accommodation via the AirBnB app which allowed us a comfortable bed each night and a place to do our washing and prepare breakfast. I don't think I paid more than R500 p/p/p/n. In the evenings we would just walk into town to find a restaurant for a meal. Our total experience for the week cost us around R6500 (310 Euros) each for the 8 days and that included and amazing meal each night and the lift up to Plett from CT and the first night in Plett. The route was extremely safe and mostly remote for large parts of it and we experienced nothing but friendliness from everyone we met along the way. SA has it's issues but the majority of the country is not out to get you, it's only a select few who spoil it for the rest. Chat to the locals for advice and you will have a wonderful time here. I'm currently planning our next ride in Oct, this time with my wife as she saw my photos and now wants to experience it for herself 😃 Feel free to DM me if you need any further info 🤙

Just replace the BB with a sealed unit, it will make no difference to the value of the bike, it's a serviceable item anyway.

MvdP is fooling no one with those underdog tones 😄 Quite enjoyed his interview by Matt Stephens last night, he's a very down to earth and approachable guy?