Edge_Design

Training Camps - is that the single track climb from the bottom gate up? Probably going from the top of Supertubes off to the right? I remember doing that a few years ago there and can't think of anything else it might be. Stage 5 will be a serious test of fitness - probably 7 mins+ for many people - but it's an awesome trail

Personally I'm a big fan of Giant having owned a couple of Anthems and currently own both a 2020 Trance and 2019 Reign. Their bikes are extremely good at a very reasonable price and come with a very solid warranty (I only ever tested that on a 2012 Anthem). As someone mentioned they also often have great deals on previous year models. I have bought 2nd hand bikes and parts before but wouldn't recommend this route if you're stretching your budget unless you can persuade the previous owner to have the whole bike completely stripped and serviced by a reputable mechanic. You can very easily find yourself in for headset, freebody, BB, cassette, chain, major suspension issues, pivots etc if not well maintained previously. This can run into the 10's of thousands - fortunately this is the minority of cases but you might just end up with that lemon.

What do you want to get from this thread? I assume you aren't planning on using the benefit so just wondering. As someone else has said, if you are buying a bike and you can get somewhere between R2k and R5k back (depending on your opinion on that) then surely you are winning? I haven't used the benefit and have no intention to but if I was buying a bike from CL (as many people do) then I'd definitely consider it. If you were buying a bike for R20k then it is a very meaningful reward. If you're buying a bike for R80k then you really should stop stressing about a little bit of cash back.

Go to the police and report the accident with the details you have (sounds more than adequate) - your insurance should take care of the rest. Don't try and handle it yourself as your insurer will have teams of people dedicated to recovering their losses wherever possible and you can only damage their case. If you don't have adequate insurance then hire a lawyer and expect to run up some very big bills before you stand any chance of recovering anything realistically.

I went back and looked now and a lot of the dodgy runs seem to have been removed - there are still a couple but not nearly as many... Maybe I am incorrect and the guys just "cheated" for a bit of fun knowing they wouldn't actually submit those results

That's why I mentioned having a good device set to high accuracy. With inaccurate recording Strava struggles to pick up the difference between the finish and the 2nd to last corners on Vasbyt and Rinkhals. Same for the start of Cobra at Hoogekraal and many others where you have a switchback near the start or finish.

It's just a pity they presumably aren't allowed marshals etc out there in which case they could have used more of the trails than they did.

? Not quite sure how to take that response... I'm not asking for your opinion on whether or not people cheated - it is a simple fact and very clear to see if you're a Strava premium member. I even went out afterwards to check the shortcuts that were obvious on Strava for my interest and you can see where riders were cutting through the bushes (the start of Rinkhals is a good example). I ride for fun but it's also nice to compare yourself to other much better riders on occasion and this could have been that opportunity. I'm just very confused why anyone would feel it necessary to "cheat" in something like this. There were some guys that did absolutely incredible times and I can clearly see they are faster than me throughout a segment as opposed to taking 10 seconds in a single corner.

"Also messaged this person to no reply. They probably also don't want it back...."

Have you tried calling before you attack the OP? She hasn't been on here since August...

I don't think I've seen any discussions about the SRAM Superflow virtual event that took place last weekend. For those that don't know it was a virtual "event" (just a casual fun thing) with segments measured on Strava creating an Enduro type of race. For those of us who are regulars in Tokai it was a great opportunity to see if we are actually any good at the trails there and to compare ourselves to others on the same tracks in the same conditions. I was quite excited by the idea even if the only prize is bragging rights. There's a common argument that Strava isn't accurate enough for something like this, but give or take a second or 2 I've found it to be fairly accurate in the past (with a decent device set to record at a high degree of accuracy). What really confused me is it appears that almost all the top riders actively chose to "cheat" even though there are no prizes available. It's clear that riders were: Recording on multiple devices to see which gave the best timeRecording on phones which are generally less accurateIntentionally setting the GPS accuracy low so Strava has to guess where you are and when you start/finish a trackTaking physical shortcuts which they know Strava can't identify in a segment but which are clear when you analyse their rideEtc It really irritated me as I had some nice runs and would have liked to see where I stood relative to the other riders but you can't really compare any of the results (to be clear I'm not competing for the win) Just a little rant - no specific question unless someone has any insight into why people are so desperate for recognition that they cheat.

Love the cellphones in the pics - sure the police could have some fun visiting that seller.

Notify the CC that the bike was stolen and that if they sell it they will be knowingly dealing in stolen goods... Not worth the risk to them after that. They're generally quite co-operative with the police on these things - they know they're dealing in stolen goods as it is obvious when you buy a bike like that for R5k (making up a number) but that doesn't mean they can afford to be caught for it. They'll make their money from the 100 other items that they sell without the previous owner knowing. I recovered a bike from a CC a few years back - it was returned to the rightful owner with the police's assistance (a hubber). The CC printed out the list of stuff they'd bought from the guy and it was many pages long and all at ridiculously low prices.

Hope you didn't buy the wheel from him - https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/wheel-spares-and-axles/430922/2011-mavic-carbone-slr-rear-wheel-spokes

Ouch - that's a full on SA politician response there... No facts at all but just a full blown attack on the credibility of the person because you disagree with his opinion and have had a different experience yourself. He is entitled to his opinion, as are you. People have responded with their positive opinions and no-one has accused them of dishonesty. The guy received poor service, he got pissed off, he posted it on here... He actually appears to have stuck to the facts and not gone on this huge unwarranted attack you are responding to. This is not exactly unheard of on social media. I ride a specific brand of bike and have received amazing service from them - I know many others who have different views about the brand and I fully understand and respect that. If Pyga or the person involved wants to respond and dispute those facts then nothing is stopping them.

Of course not But seriously, Tokai is awesome at the moment. A few spots that are more worn than normal but that just adds a bit more of a challenge and definitely not dangerous if you're sensible about it.

Don't lie - it will be terrible! No-one should go there

Even if I don't respond I am reading all the replies - just interested to see if there ends up being a common thread. Maxxis appear to have little to no stock of almost any lines currently in the common 29" sizes so unfortunately I probably need to look at other brands (unless you can also point me towards specific stores with stock)

I'm busy building a new 130/115mm trail bike My original aim was to get Maxxis DHF/DHR combo in 29x2.3" but there appears to be a severe shortage currently in SA (I have the WT versions of these on my enduro bike and they're great but a bit slow) I'm more interested in grip and puncture prevention but also don't want anything TOO slow as the bike will occasionally do 50+km rides hence not looking at the wide trail versions of the above. Does anyone have any other suggestions for good tyre combo's which are available currently?

Go with the Stans - that's the normal retail price of the Hope Pro 4 hubs (which are rock solid) so you're getting rims, spokes and build almost for free. If you can, try and persuade them to build them with better spokes even if it costs you a little more as I suspect they use entry level, heavy spokes (I could be wrong)

SC is almost more common than Specialized these days (well not quite but heading that way!),

Clearly you couldn't resist those Giant frames and just too embarrassed to admit it now Looking forward to seeing where this story ends...

Just go in the 100% opposite direction to your whole plan of spending as much as possible and buy a Giant frame - https://www.giant-bicycles.com/za/trance-advanced-pro-29-frameset They are so rare that you will almost never bump into another one in SA (other than mine) and it will do everything you ever want with a meaningful warranty attached. They also have better paint jobs than any other brand I've seen. I've got both the Reign and Trance frames in the "Chameleon" colour schemes and have only ever seen one other Reign frame out there (a friend who bought the same frame). I suspect there might be fewer of those in SA than most of the bikes you've looked at so far. ...just my opinion - I know you won't settle for a Giant after looking at Unno!

I've got an old Garmin one. Will take a reasonable offer for it.

I can see the following sizes available out there: 17 * 26 * 5 15 * 24 * 5 15 * 26 * 7 I can't find anything about 15 x 26 x 5 I have a lot of bearings (pivots, freehubs and headsets) but nothing in that size