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If you want my opinion?: for the same brand, Trek, Specialized, Giant etc etc the difference between all their base and upper models is quite significant:
- Groupset - Drivetrain components and Brakes can vary hugely, not just on the initial out the box feel, but the overall duration and endurance of the groupsets, even maintenance costs. There are diminishing returns beyond SRAM GX (X01, XX1 and AXS are extremely expensive to own and live with), and Shimano XT (XTR and Di2 are just not worth it) - Agreed
- Fork and Shock Combo - easy to underestimate the difference between an entry level fork and top of the range. Rock Shox as a brand vs Fox for instance, you will ride these suspension brands yourself and easily feel the difference, Fox is definitely the gold standard, but pricey AF! - I dont know if I can feel the difference and I ha Fax factory 32 and very old Reba race. The old one is probably better to be honest.
- Frame Material - Alloy -> Basic Carbon -> Advanced Carbon - trust me its not about the weight, its about the way it "feels". Stiffness, compliance etc there are differences which you can get used to depending on your riding style. - I am back on a Ally frame and cant say I feel the difference. In fact it is lighter than the carbon frame it replaced.
- Wheelset - this to me is the category where there are the biggest diminishing returns. Everyone has their favorite brands and hoop material favorite, but its clear that a - DT Swiss hubs are the best to own/maintain b - carbon hoops "rotate" nicely, but they crack and need costly repair a-lot more than a decent alloy rim which could be "bent" back into working condition, either through Tru'ing or even light repair with a disc truing tool. c - inner width for running large volume tires is super important, i've even seen XC'ers running 30mm inner diameter hoops which allow for low running pressures, larger 2.4" tires etc - Some say the can feel it, Me not so much and now with proof that lighter does not mean faster .....
As you can see there are a ton of attributes that differ between base and top of the range model. How do you know which is best for you? if non of the 4 points above made any sense to you i.e. you are starting out, my recommendation is to get the cheapest alloy MTB from your favorite LBS, don't listen to the hog wash about carbon and electronic shifting unless you have learnt to disseminate from the above attributes. - Hard tail vs DS. Biggest folly here, unless you are doing gravity why do you need it? OK comfort, Yes, I just cant afford it but that one makes way much sense. I can see guys in front of me sitting and pedalling but I have to be standing the whole way. THAT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.
Do you think it will take place?
W2W cancelled as they feel that can't adhere to the numbers quota. It is all good and well having small start groups, but what about the finish and the village?
Can you expand on the correct process please?
I never knew you had to release tension on all the spokes before truing, none of the wheel truing how to's I've read ever mentioned that.
Though I did always wonder how the winding up and tensioning of the spokes would work out over the life of a wheel.
Nothing to expand on. If you break a spoke and you need to have it replaced and the wheel trued.
1. take your spoke spanner (you must have one, even if it is the *** one on your multi-tool) and undo all the spokes one or two turns. Then take it in for replacement etc.
Why do you ask?
Because, most (not the respected wheel-builders) will just put in a new spoke and true the wheel. And then .........
If you slacken all the spokes they have to true and dish the wheel correctly.
That is after all what you are paying for.
Its a 202km team time trial on open roads. If there is an official photographer or beer tent at the end, its not going to stop it happening. Now just to train to do an actual non stop 200km ride! Also need someone that knows what they doing in the support car!
But it is no more. It is 3 TT's with way many free miles. Currently I think is is only 170km, with free miles built in.
It is a funride walk in the park.
But then we need to be uber expensive bike Byers
about 110 to 120 bike and me. MTB offroad 1.5 Bar onroad 2 Bar (it is faster)
We can agree to disagree but my view is simple. If my personal data has been compromised, I deserve to know.
And just as easily as the crypto ransom cannot be traced so then can the sale of the personal database to a 3rd party.
Does all this mean I’m throwing Garmin out with the bath water, no. Damn, I’ve just dropped my biggest purchase yet on a 1030 Plus 3 days ago. I love their hardware. But for me, the way they have chosen to deal with this outage I don’t agree with.
Side Note: I really cannot afford for my riding data to shared in case my work finds out I’ve been smashing centuries on the days I’ve been calling in sick ........
No though that with ransomware, typically the data is not compromised at all. What happens is that the files get encrypted and no one can access them. Hence the request for ransom.
Hacking to get info is a different scenario and not one in this case.
You would be surprised to know how many big institutions get hacked and your data is at risk without you knowing about it as the holes get plugged.
I would be way more concerned with normal risks that what happend at Garmin.
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As an aside, I see Santam are offering cover for things like this with caveats re having Antivirus and Malware installed. I am keen to see the T's and C't on that contract.
It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant people are regarding cyber attacks and how demanding they become when things go pear shaped.
It is also worth noting that you can try as you might to cover all the bases, but often times it is the simplest thing that gets you into trouble. (a few of my customers have been attacked by ransomware. Most seem to come in by way of an email with a "Word or PDF" as a payment advice or a statement, then all hell breaks loose.
Then you have customers on your case as to why this happend yadda, yadda and it must be sorted now. No responsibility taken for they fact that they have not updated AV or anti ransomware installed (they say ooo but it keeps on updating and uses data so they disable it etc.)
To date the clients I have had that have been nailed by ransomware have opend something they should not have. Some even say, it was in my spam and there were warnings. WTF! If you dont know where something comes from and you are told to be cautious, be cautious! Warning to all out there.
For personal use, it also seems to work well if you have shadow copies.
Maybe if they had come clean people would have been a little more understanding? Remember all they officially said was “down for maintenance”. And based on that reason I’m not surprised people threw their toys. Believe me, 80% if not more of the Garmin owners I know and discussed with them had no idea about the ransomware.
I have no issue with what they published. They were down for maintenance. They were not lying. Their maintenance team were working on the system and they were down. You do not need to know why they were down, just that they were working on it.
This will do you fine...I've hammered and slammed mine around the hills of Magalies for the last three years with no major issues (but as money has allowed I have upgraded various bits such). If you shop around a bit I'm sure you will find some good deals out there...
That seems a fair deal.
Boxes do as boxes do. so sad.
Just found this:
Hairy one...who what where How? They are bragging about this.
Edit: need someone/something official to (help) write both the club, Porsche SA/CT and tell them this is going on during peak hours when other people are using that road for recreational purposes. Dont want it scoffed off as Karen complaints. I have the lurking PPA account in my PMs but i’m unsure they’ll follow this up if i ask haha...(PPS: i pm’d them anyway though).
That is a 2018 post ....
If it fits your budget, do it. Some will say look at 2nd hand, but for me MTB 2nd hand comes with costs like drivetrain replacement etc. Yes it is only 8 speed, but they are normally bullet proof.
Get out there already and have fun.
I’ve recently had a very concerning purchase from ASG.
There were selling the High5 Zero at a reduced price. I received the product, but after looking at the Zero tubes, there were NO expiry dates at the bottom! The tubes had the old High5 branding on them, which must be over 2 years old?
Ultimately, I think they removed the expiry dates because that product had expired. I emailed them and after back and forth with customer care, they shipped me a new box of Zeros and collected the old ones. Unacceptable and surely illegal.
Not standing up for them, but I did see in all the marketing material that was maild to me regarding consumables, there was an indication that these items were close to or expired etc. No harm no foul, as I have yet to see a cycling supplement that is affected by ageing if the packaging is seald. Same thing with medecines, there are expiry dates, because there have to be, but they are not really an issue.
So the efficacy is still the same, maar nou ja.
I have Gu's and fast fule bards that are more than a year past expiry in my cupboard that I still use and have never come to any harm.
Unless you are going to be Zwifting or similar go for it.
I have an old one that had a resistance setting, which had broken so it is set on the heavy setting. You use your gears to adjust the difficulty.
The amount of time you will use it is so little (unless you are a Zwifter) it will do the job, and more.
I have a thick plastic ziplock bag that I use for road and MTB and carry in my pocket:
Multi-tool, Bomb + adapter, tyre-levers, plasters, money, valve core remover, tape, Glue-less patches, Plugtool + plugs, lube, quick link.
On long solitary MTB rides I take with some stans sealant and on the road I take a spare road tube in another pocket.
What more do you need, MTB tubes are a waste of time in the WC as to use it you need to take out all the thorns from the tyre before using it anyway.
We wear helmets because we have to, or depending on where you ride. I have fallen and broken bones without a helmet and the noggin was OK.
Done the same with a helmet and cracked it. Still OK.
Or maybe not. To me the real effectiveness of a helmet is that it falls apart when you trap it between the hard object and your head. So in theory a crappy helmet is probably better as it will simulate a MIPS helmet at a fraction of the cost.
So this brings to question when is a helmet better than not wearing one? Is a cheap and nasty heavy solid block better than an old soft one?
It's almost as if some preferred not knowing that there is a virus with no proven treatment for all (no magic pill to make it go away) and no vaccine. And would've preferred people just dying more than usual during flu season without knowing why.[emoji849]
The issue is that treatment is only needed for people that have not been looking after themselves or have co morbidities. For the rest 95%+ it sorts itself out. Some with a longer timeline than others and more serious symptoms. So scare mongering is still the issue. Look after the vulnerable and just get on with life.
But it is now allowed, so off we go. Cycling is a non contact sport, wellllll excluding the handbags of course ;-)
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I wish there was a solution to this problem .
RIP to the cyclist .
There is, it is called active policing.
And in KZN a gesuipte truck driver plowed into a taxi and a crowd of pedestrians killing 8 and injuring scores more.
I support the alcohol limit being 0.00% or alternatively a ban on sales of alcohol in totality.
That would not solve the problem as the people involved in these incidents are WAAAAY over even the old 0.05%. Changing the laws do not solve the problem. When will people understand this.
The only thing that changes behaviour is enforcement AND CONSEQUENCES.
The current laws are more than effective, however if I know I have the same change of getting caught as dying of Covid-19 why will I change my ways? This is the problem with ALL laws in SA.
Will I get caught? Probably not so why bother with complying.
If I get caught what happens? Probably not much.
Result: insignificant chance of getting caught and then a small chance of being properly prosecuted. So this means the law has no value. NO MATTER WHAT THE LAW IS!
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I am hoping that Double Century still goes ahead in November (as long as we don't have to wear masks while we ride...)
The one day format with self supported feeding stations and no race village may help.
Do they have a new sponsor yet? I believe Coronation ended last year. Not a great time to look for sponsors.
Mid vs High end vs Ultra High end
in The Bike Room
Posted · Edited by TDFN
In the same boat dude. It is ***, at least the liquidators can drool over my bikes (or not)
Strongs during this difficult times.
I have been employing between 5 and 13 staff for 13 years, now no more.