Edge_Design

Also sitting with one at the moment waiting for warranty replacement - not sure where the delay is, but sounds like Dragon isn't able to cope with the claims as it's now been around 3 months since the frame cracked (thankfully still ridable, but still not acceptable that it takes this long). I have only heard 2nd hand info about it through a LBS hence saying I'm not completely sure where the blame lies, but I have to assume it's with Dragon. They are still awesome bikes and seem to take a lot of abuse without too many problems - I'm riding my second one now without any problems, but the warranty is a colleague's bike and it's his second warranty replacement so seems like luck plays a part too!

As someone who did their first tri in December last year and did IM 70.3 a month later in Jan - it's a lot easier than it sounds and so much more fun than individual disciplines! The wetsuit was a definite winner for me - managed to get one from CRC at under R1k landed cost (local retail was R2.8k)... I still struggle with the cold even with a wetsuit, but it's a lot easier for us amateur swimmers if you're a little more comfortable in the water and not fighting the cold too much as well! I am busy building my TT bike now, but the road bike was perfect for a decent time at IM 70.3 so really not an important investment.

What income are you referring to? Surely the membership fee is a major source of income and sufficient to cover their operating costs for a year (I would like to think providing for the members will come before their social development initiatives if it came down to that financially so they should be able to continue operating on those memberships alone)? I don't expect them to go and spend my membership fee the day I pay it to them, that should be used over the year as necessary. Regarding the comments about them making a loss on road races, is it possible to get an accurate breakdown of the costs that go to a single event (call it 1000 riders so roughly R100,000 income)? I am amazed that running clubs can make a profit off much smaller participation at around R30 entry fee (probably more water tables on the run, but obviously a shorter distance so the only difference should be the number of traffic officers involved).

Just think of what you do to your wheels on any ride - I reckon they might just enjoy only having 10kg's of weight being supported by them! Just make sure the hook is padded and I can't see how you will have any problems. I bought 3 hooks off a hubber (Blackvoodoo) at a good price (think he or his company makes them) and they are working incredibly well.

I think the example you have given answers your question... They are the biggest road bike dealer in SA - have you heard of them? Quite an impressive site though - I assume it's a copy of another site?

Why are so many people trying to justify shocking cycling by the behaviour of other vehicles? That's completely irrelevant here... People are commenting on cyclists riding like chops and the simple fact is that there are a lot of cyclists who do ride like chops (and not only on Chappies!). Stop trying to justify it and just ride in single file on the side of the road and then we don't need to worry about what everyone else is doing as we are all out of their way. Even if you are riding in a group of 20 people, you can still ride in single file! It is possible...

I have nothing to compare it to, but Anthem X29er all the way (I've owned 4 so far!)! Have to agree with the comments that there is no physical way a 3" increase in wheel diameter can match 4" of suspension travel on the rear... Unless you're trying to win something, go for the balance between race and comfort that a good XC dual offers IMO. Unless you're going for carbon, there really isn't a huge difference in weight between the 2 and good rear suspension should make climbing very similar.

They're still going to be a little while before they get here, but getting 52/54/56 - I can send you detailed specs of each size if you're interested. The bars are fully adjustable for reach and the pads are fully height adjustable with spacers (there is another spacer included with the frame not currently fitted so can go about 10mm higher than in the pic). The stem is a fixed angle and length though. The saddle mount is also fairly adjustable on the rail at the top of the seat post (and obviously for angle too). It has full internal cable routing with the cables entering the top of the top tube just behind the stem. I must still put it on a scale for an accurate weight, but very light for such an aero TT frame.

Prices aren't quite finalised, but should be max R17k as you see it in the pic with 2 year warranty

Received this little toy today - the rest of the build should be here in the next 2 weeks or so hopefully! Got to say SAPO makes most couriers look completely redundant sometimes - most efficient courier there is! Not the best pic, but got over-excited and took one with my phone rather than trying to find the real camera... Going to be an interesting build with a set of 85mm®/50mm(F) Edge carbon clinchers and Microshift Arsis groupset for something a little different. If anyone is interested, limited quantities of these are going to be available in the near future (this was my "demo" frame that I felt I deserved!) - also going to be 29"; 650B and road frames coming and a few other TT models (the one road frame weighs in at 850g!).

It's really sad hearing about all of these people getting knocked down now we're into road season, but after driving to Cape Point and back this morning it unfortunately isn't all that surprising. The number of groups riding 2 or 3 abreast on the Main road (with no yellow line at all to ride in so actually in the lane) or just riding aimlessly down the middle of the road astounded me. I passed 2 cyclists in the middle of the road (going opposite direction to me) and then a car about 200m behind them going around a relatively blind corner - if those 2 weren't knocked down after that then they are extremely lucky. The DC teams seem to be some of the biggest culprits with groups of 10+ riders riding 2 abreast chatting and generally at a fairly leisurely speed (I assume they are DC teams from the matching kit and that you see the same thing every year around this time). Even though 5 hour+ training rides are boring, you still need to stick to the rules! Just be careful out there and stick to the left in single file and everyone stands a better chance - I can guarantee there aren't many drivers who would enjoy knocking over some chop riding in the middle of the road! It can't be a good feeling...

What does that have to do with this thread? This is related to a single situation...

Surely you can't rant like that and then just disappear? At least defend yourself here or how do you expect people to bid on your auctions when your honesty is being questioned?

What about me (i.e. the Average Joe cyclist)? We provide the majority of the fee's they earn and yet we should expect nothing in return? I don't want to build cycling in South Africa, I just want to enjoy my own cycling as much as possible and preferably at the lowest possible fee! Those are great idea's, but could be independently funded through sponsorships/entry fee/government/lottery etc and not by an NPO.

Why do people want them to retain so much funding? If they receive no income for an entire year then they should be shut down immediately surely as they are obviously also not providing the service they were created to provide at that point? I reckon that's every company's dream to have reserves to cover all expenses for an entire year!

Surely the government should be funding the safety campaigns and not us? Reduce the insane funride entry fee's (so that I can start riding in them again and so that you put something back into the PPA members rather than the "general cycling community") and then use the existing reserves for something more meaningful. I personally don't believe the safe cycling campaigns reach the non-cyclists at all (do you really think a bus driver is worried about a little sign saying cyclists are safe at 1.5m - if he even understands what it means?). Safe cycling shouldn't involve much funding, but rather education at the root of the problem - someone needs to go to the transport companies and arrange that training is provided for their drivers and you also need buy-in from the company that there will be penalties if their drivers don't follow the rules. Cars are generally small enough and maneuvarable enough that those accidents are generally caused by negligence and would not be helped by these campaigns. If you can avoid wasting money on silly ineffective campaigns then use all the money you save there on buying 1000's of reliable bicycles for the people who can't afford them - this reduces the demand for buses and taxi's which helps safe cycling; gets more exposure for cycling as a form of commuting; improves the health of 1000's of South Africans; creates skills if you train a few people in the communities as mechanics to service those bikes (you need to provide backup as well as the intial investment!). I didn't realise they were building reserves like that - I assumed there was some legitimate reason the costs of cycling keep increasing so dramatically! It wasn't that long ago that a funride cost R25 to enter (maybe 10 years?). Inflationary increases would put that around roughly R50 today - increases of 10%+ would only get you to about R70.

Now that is an awesome response for someone trying to do some marketing! We were actually all quite excited about your first auction and a bit disappointed to miss out - is it really that much to ask that you just verify the results for us who were willing to pay lots of hard-earned cash to you? I don't think you ever even responded to the queries which really didn't help the issue... You could have just responded positively and you would have had great feedback from all the doubters on here. Your silence obviously just creates even more doubt over how legitimate the bidding process really was... Some very valid concerns were raised over how the result was really possible which deserved a response - it was not just hubbers general ranting, but rather based on the facts available on the timing of the bids.

There are good blank frames out there, but you can not really compare them to the bigger brands out there - let's be honest, they really aren't the exact same frames minus some stickers. Those companies spend a lot of money designing frames, ensuring exclusivity on their moulds and ensuring the carbon used and moulding process is the best available. GWM launched their bakkies based very closely on Toyota and some other major brands - do you believe that they use exactly the same quality materials and quality control as Toyota even though they may look the same? I ride a Taiwanese frame myself and love it, but I would not dream of trying to pretend I am riding a Specialized/Trek/Giant/Pinarello in disguise.

The word "fraud" immediately springs to mind for some reason... If you're going to do it, rather just do it properly - customs in SA are surprisingly good at what they do and it's really not worth the risk to save yourself a little extra on the cost of the bike or anything else. If you can't afford the VAT then you can't afford the bike (it's exactly the same as buying locally where you are still paying the VAT in the purchase price). Those air freight costs are pretty impressive! Air freight is very expensive, but that just seems excessive... I'd try a logistics company rather than a courier company as they are often much cheaper - the best courier quote I could get to send a complete bike from CT to JHB was R800, DCB Logistics could do it for R350 at the time (door to door). I'm sure one of the forwarders could help you out.

If by some slim chance you decide on Crank Bros, I have a set of brand new 5050X's that are still in their box (never been on a bike)... Happy to let them go at a good price.

You can't realistically expect them to carry stock of every model ever made in every size surely? Sounds like the current equivalent model is being offered so not much option on your side... The value of a bike really isn't in the frame so I wouldn't worry about the price reducing in the new model (unless you are paying for the paintwork as on the bigger brands) - that would be related to the spec and not the frame. Your resale is always going to be better on a 2013 model than a 2012 equivalent with the same spec.

The "alleged" incident involved a colleague of mine who cycles in Tokai forest a few times a week and the report is a fairly accurate account of what happened. Please keep an eye out for a large white Anthem 29er with full XT spec and ZTR Crest wheelset at too low a price or somewhere it shouldn't be (like Neils Wheels). It also had Look Quartz pedals, but I'm sure those will disappear quickly. The bike was insured, but after his Magicshine, Garmin, tools etc are included, it was a fairly large loss.

The alternative view to yours (Lapa) is that you sacrificed the deposit when you cancelled your attendance at the earlier courses and he was kind enough to offer you a discounted fee for this final one which he cancelled so you actually never paid a deposit at all - you sacrificed that long before the final cancelled course. It appears as if you were looking for an out from early on to get your money back and you thought you had finally found it which backfired on you as I seriously doubt he will give you the discount on future courses after this! If this was the first course and not the rescheduled one (at your request) then I agree 100% that you should receive the deposit back, but that wasn't the case and you had already sacrificed that in terms of his T's & C's... He had already clearly told you previously that you would not get the deposit back.

Are you sure? Looks like a much older model to me, I just can't find that paintwork to work out exactly what model it is... I wouldn't guess it's a terribly expensive bike 2nd hand and could be legitimate. Definitely doesn't look like something I would get too worked up over personally unless you know of a bike like that which has been stolen - the police are unlikely to help you so you're going to have to get a little vigilante on him with no proof.

Supply and demand... They will keep increasing the entry until they find the point where they battle to fill the race and then they will stick with it. If they can fill the entire race in a matter of days then they are clearly under-cutting themselves. Everyone moans about Cape Epic entries, but they could sell 100 early entries in less than a minute - clearly it's actually a bargain and worth it to more than enough people. I can't justify the cost of the Cape Epic so I guess that's my loss and I'm not their target market (yet...). No-one is forcing you to ride in any of the races, same as no-one forces people to pay R50k+ for the bikes they ride them on. You do it because you choose to... I agree completely that it's expensive and I hate paying it, but it's a choice I make every year and I honestly don't know what price it would have to reach before I wouldn't be willing to pay to ride the Argus. Start triathlon's and then cycling will suddenly seem like a bargain!