breaker

Thanx for the info and experiences people, much appreciated. :thumbup: And yes this topic is now grossly misnamed due to my lack of knowledge which is slowly increasing. I am in fact riding in my asics running shoes on bear traps and not flats. I must say though, that after reading these threads I'm keener to try out proper flats before cleats. Not that I wouldn't try cleats, but I think I'll get some flats first. As to the to the type of riding I do, mostly tokai trails and also throw on slicks for the odd road race like die burger and the argus.

How come? cleats to flats I mean, not the snobbish bit

I've resigned myself to the fact that I will fall, maybe this will make be a bit less of a kamakazi, always had comfort in the fact that I could jump off my bike at anytime, so was always willing to do anything.

So I've been mtbing for just over a year now and just can't stand the comments and looks of disgust at me and my flats. I can just here their thoughts... "such a noob", "pffft amature", " " . lol. Actually I couldn't care , but reckon I can't knock it till I try it and apparently it will help me in my inability to climb. Sooo what do I need to get cleated up, besides the obvious cleats and shoes. What do I need to look out for etc.

Noob question whats the difference between a kayak and a surfski? But more importantly how are you supposed to transport all of these thing even if you live in CPT? I'm assuming 1 mtb, 1 road bike, 1 surf ski, 1 kayak and a whole lot of HTFU

Thanx for the info, aquacrazy seems closest in bergvliet so will give them a try.

Southern suburbs.Virgin active is an option, however sometimes I question the hygiene of their pools, saw some freaky stuff floating on more than one occasion

So this holiday saw my daughter go crazy whenever she was near a swimming pool or the sea, actually became quite scary as she would dash so bloody quickly to it. Anyway she loves the water, so I thought I'd get her some swimming lessons. Can anyone recommend any good places in Cape Town, preferably weekends? She is a 1yr 5mths/ 17Months old.

I didn't want to say it :whistling: Bridge cycles is about 5 minutes walk from me, and I rather went to T&T.

EXACTLY! I knew it was pre race day and I was expecting a "sorry we are fully booked..." response.

Swapping my knoblies to slicks on Saturday in preparation for Die Burger, my back wheel was wobbling like a drunken master . This being left a tad bit late, I called Trail and Tar and explained. The young gentleman said bring it in and they will see what they can do, 15 min later it was sorted. Thanx again Olly, appreciate it and especially the info you gave while showing me what you were doing, great service guys.

For this reason I was glad I was on my mtb. I felt for the roadies on those sections, they where horrible.

This will be the first time I'm doing the race, I hardly feel ready but what the hell hey. Where would be the best place to park for this one. I'm only starting at 6:30, but obviously need to get there much earlier and don't want to be wondering around for parking.

Roughly what are the size of the groups?

Not sure hey, I snapped my achiles and took my first jog after about 4 months. The rehab plays a big roll but not sure how a torn meniscus gets rehabed.

Absolutely, it depends on a whole bunch of variables. But overtime has it changed much? I would expect it to due to age, but some people get stronger with age. As someone said before, to those people who stay away for a while then come back as if nothing happened - yor I curse you I can only wish. On that note and similar question, how long before your skills is back up to scatch? I'm a newbie at cycling so not sure how much skill is needed and/or lost, but looking at sports like tennis/squash/rugby etc where there is a definite fitness and skills requirement. This however is where natural talent has a huge impact i suppose.

My question is aimed at not just cycling but any sport for that matter. So lets say you have not been cycling/swimming/running due to a break or illness or whatever. After getting over that first session(of hell in my case), how long do you feel before you've reached your normal level of fitness/rhythm again. I guess for me it is age but I feel that its taking longer and longer for me to get back in the grove and quicker to loose "it". Lets say 11/2 to 2 weeks of not doing something and I feel I need to take 2-3 weeks just to get back again (2-3 times per week)

Actually had the same experience with my LBS this week. I took my bike in after my fall expecting them to replace something only to be happily told, nope wasn't need, we fixed it! So maybe like you say the rare breed not being repped enough and more the bad apples getting all the lime light.

daf#g is going on these days??? :thumbdown:

Thanx for the suggestions guys. Just some more info please. I assume the 44/32/22 refer to the number of teeth? Is it a case of I only need to replace the one that is warped or its better to replace all? What makes the big difference in price with these things, is the more expensive ones better quality and what does that mean i.e. more durably + lighter??? or is it just a name brand thing. Are there compatability issues so I HAVE to only by SRam? Thanx again

So after my first big fall a month ago I didn't ride much. Inspected my bike initially and everything seemed fine, however out on a ride in tokai about halfway up my chain started rubbing up against the front derailer, then eventually in was stuck between gears on the front. I thought it might just need to be adjusted, but upon further inspection, i see that the middle ring is warped. So it's a moment al129 with SRAM components, more specifically a SRAM E400 44/32/22T(i have no idea what that means:) Before I take it in for a service and inevitably have to replace it I'd thought I'd ask a few qs about it like roughly how much it costs what other rings are out there, compatibility, and I would probably need to replace the chain too? I'm not into saving weight so no need for me to go crazy on that front, just trying to learn a bit more since this is the first time I'm getting into the nitty gritty of mtb, this is my first proper bike after all.

I reckon they should invent,if not already, a pepper spray that stains the skin / clothes - this way you can find these #ck3rs again and or they can be easily identified - whether they were right fully tagged is another story.

So if one wanted to go to tokai, what trails are actually ok to ride on still, and are they marked which you can go on and which not? Never done tokai before so just curious, might head up this afternoon.

So my training and gymming will probably be picking up in the coming weeks to get me ready for various events taking place in Feb and March. Now in the past that meant absolutely nothing, but as reality and my body would suggest, I'm not that young spring chicken any more . So I need to find a simple meal plan that can supplement my training as well as obviously help me eat healthier. I've been spoilt,(and still am I suppose) in that I can eat any and everything due to my high metabolism. I'm after something where I can prepare meals in advance or at least doesn't take forever to prepare. Also the story of supplements, I've never been a fan and have always steered clear, partially cause I never needed it and partially my lack of knowledge there of. Should I be looking into getting supplements and if so what? I suffer from hypertension and am on medication so I'm sure that influences that decision as well. My GP recommended that I see a dietician, but before I even consider that,I'd like to think this is the interwebs after all . So any suggestions, comments?

What div said, unfortunately I can't give a whole explaination now as i'm short of time but check out my thread. Long story short, was in the same boat as you and bang for buck I went with the momsen Al129. https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/124600-another-noob-just-starting-out/ Hope this helps.