LBKloppers

Dude! Hope you heal up quickly. Elaborate on the brake issue? What brand, model, pad, the wear before you started the downhill, and why the heck did you allow it to overheat?

I have noticed quite a number of cyclists around Babsfontein when I pass through. I would like to explore the area a bit. If I start in Babsfontein, where do I head out for a lekker exploring 30/40 km without transgressing onto private property and staying off the paved surfaces? a GPS file will be most welcome. Anyone?

You can disagree as much as you want. I've been there and I have done it.

If you need to go to 10 speed you can do so easily by just upgrading your shifters and the sprocket. There is a whole lot of wish-wash about shifting systems, but it is all hogwash and sales talk. The gear shifting system is just levers and ratios. The Shimano systems use a 2:1 pull ratio. This is the reason you can not mix SRAM (1:1 pull ratio) with Shimano shifting. The old 9 speed derailleur will work with the 10 speed shifter, because the freewheel is exactly the same for 8, 9 and 10 speed systems. That leaves the derailleur to move across the same path and distance. The shifters is in control of the indexing and it will compensate for the different steps in the indexing. You might have to re-index the derailleur, but it will work without hassles. I have gone from 8 speed through 9 speed to 10 speed, every time just making the shifter and sprocket mod. Even the 10 speed chain works flawlessly on both the 9 speed and the 10 speed systems.

It works for all kinds of threats. The two legged kind too. Just make sure you use the one spraying a stream. The stream is visible and you can aim for the nose. It leads to the dog's brakes to lock up. Be careful with the fog spraying nozzle though. The wind direction and your speed could lead to your own suffering. Oh, and pepper spray gets old and not so effective over time. Keep your spray fresh.

If I may add my two cents. To get the right angles, I believe the saddle position is determined by your knee position when your crank is in the horizontal. If you drop a line from your knee down to the pedal, the line must just touch or pull slightly forward on the axle of the pedal. Also combine this with the saddle height as moving the saddle forward or even backwards, will impact the reach.

If I followed the thread correctly, the driver had conditions to follow until the case is heard. I read he was not allowed to leave Gauteng. Is that correct? If so, who makes sure he doesn't? Some Hubbers has stated that the driver is possibly enjoying his freedom. Is that true? Is he, while waiting for the case to be heard, still having his parties? When his identity became known, it was said he is a bit of a low flyer with an old Porsche, BUT he has the money for an attorney. As a cycling community, we are very focused on the case, progress of the case, etc. but I feel somehow that the scumbag driver and his cronies like him needs to feel more pressure. The fact that he left the scene for me is an attempt to manipulate the events to his advantage! The scale of balance is tilting the wrong way here. For me, as cyclist we moan and groan with very little output. We're cyclists, but we are also drivers, family, members of a community, part of a much larger scale with potential resources. Do we use that correctly? I do not think so.

I laugh while I read these encounters, just because I have been there. I used to work and live on the Namaqualand west coast where a strong southerly wind is the prevailing force. When one goes out for a ride, it means getting as aero as possible and pace it out. The wind noise in your ears drowns out any other sound. So, one lovely windy day as I was grinding out against the wind I encounter this massive Cape Cobra. It was lying along the edge of the road - we guessed it was regulating it body temp being cold blooded and all - and when I was right next to this bugger, it raised its head and hooded, fast! I guess the wind was drowning out his senses too, because it waited until I was right on top of it. The road is a narrow road and when I was sticking to the yellow line, my left pedal was over the edge of the road. That was a CLOSE encounter. I did shat myself and I did not stop to inspect or check or anything. The adrenalin gave me speed and I used it all. Today I laugh at myself, but I also enjoy the similar close encounters simply because I can relate. Later I did discuss with someone who knew something about snakes. He explained that the white sands and the cold wind makes it hard for the snakes to heat up when there is a lot of fog, or late in the afternoon. The snakes use the black heat absorbing surface of the tar road and it regulates its body heat by laying partly on the tar and partly on the sand. Further as the snake's skin gets tighter before shedding, the ability to see decline. The snake is possibly irritable and afraid. It was speculated that maybe, its sight was already so bad that even if it felt the vibrations, it did not know where to flee to quickly. The result is this blindingly fast raising its hood in defense.

I once rode down a very long, dangerous and very steep downhill. I mistakenly held the brakes on for too long and the rear rotor cooked. It didn't turn orange. It turned into a deep purple and the rotor warped so bad that I had to take the caliper off to continue my ride. But never, ever did I, under all the gruesome terrains I rode on, experience a rotor fail like that. The brand shouldn't make such a difference. The main material is S/S, but S/S or not, neglect or lack of care will wear it down. Whatever the source of the neglect the damage in these photos are due to excessive wear. Don't blame the rotor.

Guys and gals I have a set of boost wheels I want to use with my wife's non-boost bike. Is that possible?

Sunset in the koppies around Cullinan

Dude, I carry a pair of reading glasses in my Camelbak for this reason. I am fine without glasses while riding, but a simple task like plugging a puncture...I just can not get it right without being able to see up close. The R100 specials at Clicks suffice.

Extreme lights!

I had that problem with my Forerunner 45 and my Sony ZC2 quite a while ago. I discovered that I was confusing the entire system when I mixed using the iPad and the Sony. Stopped using the iPad for this application and it all came right. Never had any new connection issues ever again.

You're on a cycling forum so I assume you want to cycle. If you decide going for the Edge series from Garmin or anything similar, only allows for a very specific cycling realm and nothing else. I did that and while cycling, its great. But, what about it when you stop cycling. I changed to a Garmin Forerunner 35 at the time and suddenly I had something taking my whole lifestyle into account. It is now some years later and I still think the Forerunner to be the best all rounder at a budget out there. The Forerunner 55 is a very good option and well inside your budget. A lot of people will argue about the accuracy of heartrate measurement between the chest strap (edge or equivalent cycling specific) and wrist. Many will tell you to buy this, not that etc. Here is what I did. I had the chest strap from a the Edge and I compared the heart rate measurements for my rides a couple of times and although there were differences, it gave me a clear indication how I was doing. My max were almost always the same as were the averages. As an athlete, that is all I needed. These days, I use a Garmin Forerunner 935 simply because I got it for a bargain. My fallback is still the Forerunner 45 in my cupboard.

Now you are talking. Only, South African takes things they can get access to without asking if they may. My solution is a VW Caddy or something similar. Its just that little bit harder to get to and if the windows are tinted, even a bit harder to see. Out of sight out of mind.

I have been struggling with the proper cleaning of my bike's chain especially during this wet season and it got me wondering. I spent way too much time to hang the bike, prep the chain and the cassette, scrub and rinse several times, and go for a ride and still experience some muck somewhere inside my chain. The exchange rate is hurting us cyclists in ZA and the complexity and precision of the modern drive train systems require one to keep a close eye on the wear and tear of the drive train. I concluded that the strongest cleaning materials and all my time spent trying to maintain my kit is NOT successful. So, what about adding an Ultrasonic cleaner to the recipe? Are there anyone out there who has tried it? Does anyone except the dealers, know about the pro's and con's of this technique?

I have been using a Saris on all shapes and sizes of cars. The one I have takes three bikes easy.

You had me laughing out loud in the office. That with the line the curtain draws on a map neh.

Thanks man. I have never worried about the chainwhip bit. I simply jam a screwdriver through the cassette and the spokes for the necessary lock. I know its not good for the spokes, but I have much bigger issues to worry about in the past. I just wish my tools were here already. Its been almost a year now.

I knew there was/is a boerewors curtain in Cape Town, but I never knew there was one here too. Draw the line please?

Cullinan

Guys and gals My tools are in transit from Tanzania and it will not be here until whenever. I still ride my bike daily and as such my drivetrain has deteriorated to the point where I am afraid to go out further than is comfortable to walk/push. I did purchase the new components, but I do not wish to buy duplicates of the tools that is on the way. My primary difficulty is to change my sprocket. Does anyone know of a way for me to take off the old and to replace and secure the new sprocket without buying new tools.

I am good thanks. I was just sharing the experience and wondering if I am alone.