Edge_Design

Thanks guys, really hoping there is a qualified lawyer on the hub who reads this as I'm not exactly in a position to fork out a fortune on legal advice with my work contract ending tomorrow, but I will do it if I have to just on principle... I try my best to be an honest seller and always offer people the opportunity to return goods if anything isn't as I've described (as I did in this case), but I do expect a similar thing in return from people if it's something material like in this case where the wheels are actually completely unusable. I swapped brand new wheels for these and would even be willing to just swap them back even though they're obviously used by now...

This is unfortunately a long story, but is basically a warning to anyone who might buy equipment from this hubber in the future. Snip posted an ad looking to swap a set of used Zipp tubbies for clinchers. I import the Edge wheels and thought it was a good opportunity to get another set of them out on the road. I had no intention of using the Zipps as I already had EC90SLX's and Bora Ultra's, but figured I would sell them off quickly and get most of my money back on the Edge wheels. She was very keen and agreed to the swap and after a few pics were exchanged and she confirmed the Zipps were dimpled versions and were in good condition, we went ahead with it. I received them and didn't really have time to look closely at them (yes, that is probably not the best thing to do on my side, but as I haven't been screwed by sellers in the past, I've become a bit to trusting of people). I advertised them on the hub almost immediately and they took a little while to sell, but someone bought them from me in the end. He immediately took them for a service as I couldn't give him much history on the wheels. 2 Days later he contacted me to say the mechanic told him there was a small crack on the braking surface of the one rim, the rear bearings needed replacing, the cassette that came with them was far past being usable and the one tubbie wasn't glued straight. I obviously had to refund him in full as I can't sell something in that sort of condition. I contacted Snip who informed me she had been told by a mechanic the bearings were dry, but this wasn't a problem (???) and that she hadn't noticed the crack, but I had seen the photo's before accepting the wheels so it is my problem now as I should have seen a tiny hairline crack in the braking surface of the wheels on a low resolution photo of the entire wheel (I've attached a pic of the crack below so you can see what I mean)! Oh, and it could have been caused by the post office (???), crack a rim (with a tyre fitted) inside a box, not so sure about that... And to top it all off, they aren't dimpled rims, they are much older versions as well (as someone not very clued up on Zipps, I had taken her word for it)! I have tried to stick to facts completely above and not distort anything here or call people names etc. I intend on contacting a lawyer during this week regarding the matter, but if there is anyone on the hub who can assist me with information on the possible claim I have against someone for selling me faulty goods and providing an incorrect description of them, please let me know (I'm looking for someone who genuinely knows and not just hubbers guesswork if possible as I am out almost R7k here which I can't afford to throw away). * If anyone has any good photo editing skills, please contact me too. I coincidentally took pics of the wheels/rims a week after I got the wheels when I advertised them for sale. I can see the crack in the picture, but can't get it clear enough to be definitive (the pics were taken with my phone unfortunately!). That is pretty solid evidence that the crack was there when I received them and not a new thing from sitting around, but would prefer it to be clearer before using it.

You don't need to cycle away from your group, but you do need to work at the front of the group and drag them all to better times (unfortunately your entire group gets a better seeding, but who really cares as long as you also do). Just coz you're capable of sucking the wheels of the front riders in your group and then jumping past them for the line does not qualify you as a stronger/better rider than them. Finishing 5th in a bunch of 40 people does not mean much other than you did less work during the race than them or have a slightly stronger sprint. If you want to improve your seeding you should be able to get on to the front and increase the group's speed (and hence reduce the gap to the winning time and therefore improve your seeding index!). That would also show you are a stronger rider than them and deserving of a better seeding. I have made it to F now after starting the '09/10 summer in H, that was a result of spending the whole of that season dragging the group up every climb in the southern suburbs of CT. This year I've been a highly qualified wheelsucker (still sprinting for top 5 in the rides I've done just like you) and my seeding has not improved at all The system isn't perfect, but how do you rank an individual rider's ability accurately out of a group of 1000+ riders??? It's just not possible...

Excess or premium?

Oh, and putting longer travel forks on a bike not designed for them is probably not a good option, will just mess up the geometry and make it unpleasant to ride...

That's a very big array of bikes you're asking about as well as price range... Rather pick a type of bike and a price range and then wait for something to come along that suits you rather than rushing off to buy something you won't enjoy. The Trek Y-frame is from far too many years ago and probably worth about R2,5k IMO and wouldn't handle much abuse. The GT looks expensive and looks like a full DH rig (I may be wrong here) and the Avalanche is a normal entry level XC bike. Completely different bikes... If you can afford R10k or so and want to ride hard then rather use that to get a 140mm+ dual susser with decent components that will handle the abuse (replacing parts adds up very quickly so don't buy something which has already been abused and not maintained properly!). You don't want a full DH bike if you want to do normal riding comfortably so long travel XC or a lightweight freeride bike is the best option. Not many bikes are going to break if you hammer them around, they're just not going to be as much fun to do it on - we used to do Tokai's single track with no suspension at all and managed pretty well (not advisable for 2 metre drop-offs though!). That Mongoose looks like a very good deal for your purposes... Otherwise maybe post a wanted ad for one of the Giant's mentioned.

I have bought from Joey before and agree he was a good guy... BUT, I can see the OP's point here and I would be seriously p%*&ed if that happened to me. If both people commit to meeting up then you need to live up to that and don't mess each other around (as Meis said, what Joey did is identical to what the other guy did to him). I am still sitting with a light in my car which someone told me last week they were going to pick up sometime (I have had at least 10 other requests since then for it and turned them all away). I'm losing out on a sale, but I made a commitment so I will stick to it. If you phone a shop and ask them to set something aside for you and then they call you an hour later and say "sorry, someone else wanted it and had cash", you would probably start a post identical to this about your shocking LBS. This isn't any different... It's about a bad experience someone had. Basically, apologise for messing him around and everyone can get on with life!

9kg is going to be expensive, sub 10kg can be done on a budget... The build you mentioned is probably the cheapest with modern parts, alternatively go older SID with v-brakes unless you're looking at new parts only? Biggest change will be lightweight tyres which make a huge difference...

There weren't FSA agents in SA a few months ago, but not sure if that's changed since then... According to their website, the agents contact details are:- SOUTH AFRICA International Trade - grant@intltrade.co.za

New/used? If used, what condition?

The older elite cages had specific bottles for them (500ml or something) which cost an absolute fortune... I rode with them for about 8 years, they never broke, but I also had to use the same bottles until they basically had holes in them they were so old.

How much do those wheels weigh? I am still trying to work out where the extra 1.6kg's is on my bike with a very similar build (except with GXP, 1360g alu wheelset, gatorskins and a slightly heavier frame by about 300g)... I also want a 5kg bike! Is that weight an actual reading on a scale or theoretical weight? Anyways, that is an awesome looking bike at an incredible weight!

Definitely lay charges, it's a criminal offence to leave the scene of an accident irrespective of who's fault it was. Even if he gets off with just a warning, at least he will think twice the next time. If there's damage to your bike and you want to claim from insurance, they would insist on a case number as well.

We pay the same import duties the suppliers pay... There are none on bicycle parts, you can't drop that! The opportunity is there for the local market, but they decided to take advantage of the monopoly that comes from exclusive agencies rather than sell at a fair price. It's not the shops that are ripping people off, they are making fair margins in most cases, their cost price is just ridiculously high. As a consumer, my money goes to the best businessman, who cares what country they sleep in! Why are JHB people buying from CWC? That's not local for them, they should support the shop closest to where they live on the "support local" logic irrespective of service or price.

If you're staying in Kalk Bay then it is all good cycling from there! The loop out around Chapmans Peak is awesome - the only bad part is you will have to do Constantia Nek to make it a complete loop which isn't nice at all (far too narrow and no edge to ride on). Rather go to the top of Suikerbossie, turn around and head back the way you came or carry on through camps bay and sea point if you are fit enough, but will still have to turn and head back the way you came (but all very scenic along the coast).

R350/h @ 8 hrs/day @ 22 days/month (most shops work on saturdays so actually more!) = R61,600 per month... not sure who works on your bike for you, but I'm keen to start tomorrow if you want to send them my way! IMO, R150/h is more reasonable considering I doubt many mechanics in SA earn more than R10k/month and most probably half of that. That's still more than 100% markup which is plenty. That leaves you at R450 for a major overhaul (and I assume they should be a bit quicker with all the right tools and experience than you are).

very... it's 10.30 on a friday night and I'm on the hub, aren't you?

Bored joke gets wrong response from late night hubbers so it's gone Why am I still on the hub now!?!?!

All I am saying is how do you deal in used bikes if you don't know anything about them? The rest is all just fluff (and completely factual)

Very random sort of rant:- This is a shop/dealer that has always fascinated me... http://capetown.gumtree.co.za/c-Stuff-for-Sale-sports-bicycles-fitness-CERVELO-T25L-TIME-TRIAL-RAOD-BIKE-W0QQAdIdZ255246588 Mainly because my stolen bike and at least 3 others have ended up with him back when his shop still ran from his garage so I've always watched his ads out of interest. I am sure the above is a complete coincidence so no accusations here (just to clarify)! How do you buy and sell bikes if you know so little about them that you are selling a Cervelo T25L TT bike?!?! They don't print the model on the frame just for the fun of it! How do you know how much to pay for them? How does the previous owner/seller not know what the bike he owned is, surely you walk in and say "hey, I have a p2-sl I'd like to sell..."? If you look at any higher end bikes advertised on gumtree by the shop (none right now to use as an example), you will see that they never have an original spec or matching parts on them. There will be a mix of components with low end wheels on a nice frame with a cheap fork with the wrong length steerer etc. Most of the time the stems are upside down and the handlebars at the wrong angle too... This is more of a story that I just felt the need of posting than anything else as it really bothers me, but next time you're in the market for a new bike coz your pride and joy has disappeared without your consent, it might be worth looking at their stock. I suppose the alternative view is that you advertise it as a T25L so that anyone who searches for a P2-SL in google won't find the ad (one of the stolen bikes found there was coincidentally advertised as a large when it was actually a medium or something along those lines). As a disclaimer, I am not accusing anyone of anything here, just expressing possible scenarios and things that I find unconventional to raise some awareness of what you could look out for. If your bike is ever stolen, look for bits and pieces, not the complete bike.

That is definitely not R20k's worth of bike... If she happens to fit on a 54cm, I could probably get a brand new carbon ISP frame, SRAM Force (SRAM Red BB30 crank though), 1360g wheelset and alu finishing kit (post, stem and bars). Why not look at some of the smaller brands where you get higher spec groupset/wheels etc. for the same price (the frames are basically the same really, the price just changes when you stick a big brand name on it). For R20k you should get at least Ultegra/Force I reckon and some decent components. For R20k she could also look at the carbon Cannondale Six 5, but don't think that is really a major upgrade over the alu version and definitely not worth an extra +-R7k (IMHO).

Awesome! Looks like it might even fold up for easy transport to races!

Always the cheapest and pretty reliable (you will always get a tracking number with any parcel). The only problem is that they only offer insurance to a maximum value of R5k and I don't know whether I trust them enough to not insure something like a complete bike. Insurance is 2% of the value insured.

Wow!

The best rate I found for a complete bike is DCB Logistics, door to door was about R350 if I remember correctly (most courier companies are closer to R1k). Ask his LBS if they can pack it in a box for you, Cycle Lab was more than happy to help me out with packing it in one of the boxes from one of their new bikes.