Daxiet

Ah, my favourite Team

Nice feedback on stage 1. It was a tough stage with some really good riding in the first 40kms, I however felt the haul from Brauhaus to Konka was possibly stretching to make it fit and in the end left a lot of riders frustrated. Stage 2 however was great, we repeated the same climb that we did at the end of Stage 1, but with only about 30kms on the legs, it was much easier. We then got to ride some good singletrack sections along the sides of the river. Upon leaving the river the riding included some rocky climbs and descents, all ride able. The balance however for Stage 2 was much better than Stage 1, there was time to regain your energy in between the tough sections. To give you an indication of how the stages differed. I completed stage 1 in 5:07:26 and stage 2 in 3:25:29. Stage stats: Stage 1: 80.5kms 1595m ascent Stage 2: 60.4kms 1106m ascent The extra kms in Stage 1 were attributed to land owner issues requiring last minute adjustments. It must be noted that this is a new event and as such teething issues are expected. Hopefully with the feedback the organisers have received they will look to making it a far greater success next year. As for the low numbers, I think that can be attributed to contention with other events in this area. Groot Marcio on the Saturday and NW Time Trial Champs on the Sunday. As Squier mentioned, marketing was also not great. All that said and done, many thanks to the organisers for all the effort and time involved in setting up this event. Looking forward to next year.

My second Tour Durban, first was in 2009, finally made it down to Durbs to give it a go again. Just as great a race as I recalled from 2009. Sad that the race doesn't get the turn out it deserves. Brilliantly organised and an entertaining route. If all goes to plan I will make the 700kms trip down again next year. Brought 3 riders with for their 1st Tour Durban and all 3 loved the event. Went off in AL and completed in 2:48:01.

When I was bike-jacked in 2011 a gun would have done me no favours. They planned their location well, 1 in front to block my only path of escape and 4 peeled around from the side and behind. That said, yesterday with the 2 air breathers trying to kill my wife and I by forcing us to swerve into traffic, well a gun would have done me a brief short lived favour, but I would be in jail now and not typing on this forum. Yes, it sickens me that we have to defend ourselves against the law in an otherwise lawless country if we take action against those trying to attack/kill us. It further sickens me that when you report these issues to the authorities little to no effort is put into preventing or bringing the perps to justice. It is this very reason that people get to the point where they want to carry a gun while cycling, knowing full well that no one will come to their rescue should they be attacked, not the police and not even those witnessing the attack. Bottom line we shouldn't be in a position where we cycle constantly thinking of how to subvert an attack, but I do every time I get on my bike. I personally won't carry a gun because I don't want our so called law coming after me when I do what they should be doing.

I was in D at my first Amashova, a couple guys must have snuck off the front at some stage (1st 6 places), clearly they did a great job in breaking away and achieving a good result. Each batch is its own race (sort of a race of "equals or close to equals" thanks to seeding), one of the things I love about road racing is the cat and mouse games. On each turn the batch speeds up, on each climb the leaders keep the pace up trying to fracture the group, it's all part of the fun (active effort to drop the fat from the bunch). The leaders often do work together in a united effort to shake it up. Without the games it wouldn't be fun, just sitting in what would best be described as a bus until the finish line. Also think it is more risky when the bunches remain very large which is typical of flat races, so thinning them out is safer. All in all it remains a race, not just for the elite men, but for each batch. All that said I think what sort of messed up D batch's progress was us catching a large contingent of C batch that had been dropped as well as some riders from other earlier batches (collecting more as we progressed through the race). We seemed to lose drive because of this and sub 3 vanished from our grasp, don't think the wind is all to blame, just complacency set in.... I finished in 3:05:09, would have prefered a sub 3, but can't complain, I should have put in more effort at the front of the bunch to try achieve it like the 6 riders who finished ahead of us (3 of which achieved it, actually 4 if you consider we had close to 1 min added to our actual times). Great race, the profile is very deceptive, plenty climbing which was great, worth the trip down and I'll definitely do it again next year.

D batch on 06 RC3000 (aka The Iron Horse) and probably in 09 Hill2Hill cycle jersey (red/black).

Can't comment on the deviation between on device and uploaded value. The difference between your device and the race organisers can possibly be explained by a difference in barometric pressure. Even pilots have to calibrate their altimeters to the airfield they are approaching (QFE for the airfield). Barometric pressure varies based on air temp, weather and possibly a couple more factors, can change rapidly. I found with my ex Garmin Edge 705, that I would leave for a ride from my house at a particular altitude and return to my house which had suddenly dropped 50m's, sometimes even more than 50m (in as little as 1h30mins). All depends on the temp and weather changes during the ride. I also rarely matched up with race specs. So I would say depending on the weather and air temp changes during the race plotting and the weather and temp changes during you completing the race, such a variance is feasible added to that these are 2 different devices used by the race organiser and yourself.

I had the 08 MC40 - same rear shock. The bike was great, as you mention the shock has 3 modes of travel. I rode mainly in the 60% travel mode and for downhills switched to full travel, very rarely locked out, just felt odd going from travel mode to lock out. The shock I had was great, gave me no issues until I sent it in to Probike to be serviced. It never was the same, they seemed to not assemble it correctly and it came apart a couple hours after the service. Probike then replaced the shock with a new one. I don't see that you can replace the shock with any other off the shelf shock, this shock if I recall correctly is pulled as the suspension drops where as the common shocks out there are pushed in. All in all I loved the bike, but wanted something newer and lighter so I went to a hard tail. In hind sight I should have kept the bike and just upgraded the components, it was an awesome machine. By the way the Scott Aspect only has 2 modes on the rear shock, Full travel and Lock out it was the little brother to the Marathon Concept (MC) Series. In the long run however that bike you're looking at is very old, but for 4K it is ok.

Hi guys, Via the grape vine I hear people are not entirely aware of the bike jacking activities in Rustenburg. Suffice to say the jeep track next to the N4 highway should be a no go zone. I posted the theft of my bike and extra's a couple days ago. I have been patrolling the area for the past couple days and have picked up on a number of bike tracks of other riders using the route. I trained on that stretch for the past 3 years after work without any incident, believed it to be perfectly safe until 5 guys ambushed me. I am aware of a couple jackings happening towards the Mall side of the N4, but not past the Dr. Maroko off ramp where I encountered these guys. At any stage where you go out of sight of the traffic on the N4 you will be at risk. I always believed I would be able to zip past an attack or escape it in some fashion or another - safe to say I had no chance, they chose an ideal spot, slightly narrow (trees to hide behind), soft river sand crossing into a sharp climb. From what I have seen, figured out, heard, etc. These guys have a spotters, in some cases on bridges in the bushes. They see you traveling along or past and alert the gang, the gang is either further up on the N4 and they get ready for attack, or they wait for your possible return along the same route. They have sufficient numbers to easily handle 2 riders possibly 3. Rustenburg has a number of areas where squatter camps are appearing, the river bed near Falcon security/old Kloof road (great looking joint), the reeds to the left (when heading West) of the N4 just before Dr. Maroko. I have realised the police will not be doing much to counteract the bike jackings in the area. It falls back on the community of cyclists, I have called it a day on the bike but am more than willing to assist and support any initiative to improve the safety of our area. I will in the interim continue to do spot checks in the late afternoon on areas that look ideal for jackings. For those riding MTB in and around Rustenburg, please exercise caution along the N4. PM me if you are in the area and would like any further info.

Blue and white 2011 Giant Anthem X1 with Sella Italia C2 Gel Flow saddle and Tubeless Crossmarks stolen at knife point yesterday afternoon in Rustenburg.

Worked like that for me - went from Merida FLX (M) to Giant Anthem (M) profile very different, but sizing spot on. I never tested, just ordered. Smalls are too small and Larges are too large, so an easy decision for me at least. If you are a borderline case, would seriously recommend testing.

+1 great combo, great tyres. Also hear the Mountain King has undergone a name change, possibly design as well, hence not a Mountain King.

I am also a 100% believer in tubes with sealant. In my first year + of MTB training and racing I only ran tubes with sealant, then switched to racing with tubeless and training tubed. The only reason I prefer tubeless is no more pinch flats and that I can run them at my prefered pressure which unfortunetly on tubes increases the risk of a pinch flat - happy to risk a pinch flat training.

I wouldn't over invest too much. Use it as is and upgrade as and when required. I had the 08 Scott MC40 - big difference over the Reflex was the rear shock (full travel, 60% travel (traction control and lockout). The Reflex only has full travel and lockout. Always found full travel a bit too much for 90% of my riding time. The MC40 had the Rockshox Recon 351 (Coil Spring) think 120mm. Wasn't a bad fork at all, I upgraded to a Fox, but in all honesty didn't really need to. A 120mm fork will raise the front, perhaps leveling the bike out more for you. Playing with the stem (more likely angle or length over angle) and or steerer length (one way to gain more height with spacers provided there is some steerer tube to play with) to try level out will mostlikely have a negative effect on handling (other option is to adjust the handle bars). How far out is the saddle post? Sure the bike isn't too small for you? The TD24 wheels could be a good place to start, the front hub is a Scott hub which is not the best. Mine didn't last long before adding extra resistance to my riding effort. Next replace that which is worn. Again don't over invest.

Clean around the dust wiper and the entire stanchion. Place a piece of insulation tape around the stanchion a couple cm's above the dust wiper. Unseat the dust wiper with the bike in a normal upright position. Slide it over the insulation tape. wipe dirt off the tape, push it back down over the tape... repeat until you believe all dirt is gone. Lube the stanchion with some fresh oil below the wiper. Push back in and seat the wiper. Ensure you don't drop dirt into the leg during the process. Remember on a motorbike fork, you have the dust wiper then just above it (upside down fork) the oil seal. On bike forks it's just the dust wiper and a little sponge below it that catches dirt. If you have to, a simple dust wiper and oil change is very simple, like falling out a tree, not nearly as busy and lengthy a process as on a motorbike.

Can't answer the international A type ques. Can however say I am a firm supporter of the XT M775 brakes a pre-req on any bike I look to buy. Standard resin pads have been perfect for me. Seriously long life span and effective braking. That said, my conditions are mainly dry. Have had the XT's on my Merdia FLX3500D - 2+ years old, no complaints. Just bought a new bike and true to form it had to have XT's.

My experience - have had my XT wheelset for just shy of 2 years now and they are brilliant. If you take their price, weight and "tubelessness" into account they're even better. I took into account all the fuss about the hubs and still bought them all that time ago. Bought from CRC in a basket that qualified for free shipping. Arrived at my door for ~R2700. Couldn't have found anything in that weight range and tubeless ready for that price (selling locally for R4500 at the time). Compared to my DT Swiss 340 hubs which were an expensive maintenance item. Rear sealed bearings didn't hold up, had bearings go twice in close succession. The XT have long outlasted the DT Swiss wheelset. Glad to say I am replacing my steed and the replacement comes with XT's.

If choking was a sport, we would be world champs. Got to agree '99 hit hard, but 12 years later this has come to be expected. The England game refreshed my memory. Expected us to fall short against NZ, most likley the 7th best team in the tournament, that's style Smith and Kallis both need some time off. Kallis gets runs, but never finishes the job, that's poor form for a no. 3 batsmen. Ag water under the bridge, glad I never wasted much of my day on this game. Go India! At least there is an SA coach behind that teams rise and anyone who knocks the Aussies out is a friend of mine

In Hermanus at the moment until Sunday (early morning departure back to the flat lands - by comparison to what the Western Cape has to offer )You guys are truely spoilt for choice (climbs, technical, single/jeep track and scenery - amazing) Had a small glimpse of Tokai on a night ride as well, quite a drive from Hermanus - that ride ended off with us having a sprint after a mugger, recovered the ladies handbag, so ended well in the end and proved you can sprint in cycle shoes (so you have crime too) On Monday headed out up Rotary drive and continued along the jeep track way above Fernkloof (found out where Fernkloof was per chance upon exiting, never intended to find my way into the reserve...) Have subsiquently visited Hermanus Cycles (route they have mapped is very short) and Euodia Adventures (they showed me some routes on Google Earth, pretty much the ones covered in this topic).

I've had 1 dealing with CRC (XT Wheelset, XT Cassette, 2x Tubeless tyres, 3 x XT Chains)- used the standard free shipping option, all arrived as expected within 1 week from placing the order. Customs was the most lengthy delay. That said my dealing was a good one, sure they do occasionally have a bad day. No reason to take Seeker911 to task for ranting a bit about the bad experience. CRC aside, I have done 2 large purchases of dive equipment from Spain (www.scubastore.com aka. www.diveinn.com) they use DHL. The 1st order arrived in my paws 4 days from placing the order. The 2nd order arrived 7 days from placing the order, was only shipped 2 days after the order was placed. Both occasions customs were the bigger delay. DHL's tracking is great! The reason I mention this is because they also have a online bike store: www.bikeinn.com The prices look good, they just don't seem to have as great a selection as CRC. Just mentioning options, from the service I have received from this bunch and the relatively cheap shipping costs I will mostlikely make use of them for my next spares shipment.

I am 1.72m, very happy on a 51cm compact (medium) - my inside leg is ~74cm-76cm.

NOTE: From and MTB perspective I now ride a Carbon frame, the gelcoat takes a decent/visible knock from stones and rocks, but in truth after almost a year with this bike and plenty hard kms I can say I am impressed. I ramp off drop off, etc and occasionally bring the tail down harder than I'ld like and it handles it perfectly. I think people have a hard time expecting carbon frames to handle blows like a metal (all be it Alu) frames. Truth be told I think the lifespan is determined by what the frame has been exposed to. Alu can corrode, fall victim to metal fatigure/stress fractures, be dented and bent. However I still lean to Alu frame lasting me longer, but I tend to sell long before either would die . No science in this statement just perception...

Got my FLX3500 with Rocket Ron's. As for Rolling resistance they're much better than you think. The Rocket Ron's if I recall correctly are a 2.0 profile, a little narrow for true all round MTB'ing (traction lacking on rocky/loose climbs), but very fast. I ride Mtn King (Front) and Race King (rear) 2.2 profile, these are heavier tyres and the rolling resistance is increased (but good all round tyres) - I hazard to say noticable difference (avg. speed and general feel). The other beauty of the Rocket Ron's is they are very light! The bike just feels more nimble with them.

My last upgrade only 1 revision up, think it may have been from 3.09 to 3.10 resulted in plenty fun. Cleared my Custom field settings and every time I upload to my PC the next time I use the device the Heart Rate reading defaults to BPM from %MHR. Re-configured the fields and now as a matter of procedure change the Heart Rate reading after each upload to computer.

I have been cruising around with them for a year had only one incident about 2 months after getting them. Damage was more to the car than the bike. Probably having an incident makes you less likely to smack them again... who knows. They're solid, reliable, but have seen some people forget to tighten the clamp properly, but survive to tell the tale.