patham

Good to hear about the SRAM PC 951, I just ordered a 3 pack from CRC. They seem to get as-good reviews as the expensive ones.

Reba gets my vote, mine has treated me very well

I have one of these, did one 24 hour and then built my own light. You can get the 100 and 120 lumen LED versions (H2). Battery life is great, the build quality is awesome & very rugged, and it is truly waterproof. You can easily zip tie the battery pack somewhere safe. The downside is that there is very little spill on the beam, it gives you a bright small spot. And then 120 lm is not quite enough for me ( my home built is 375-400lm which I think is adequate for my speed level). All in all, the H1/2 is a great all-purpose torch for when load shedding hits. As a cycling light, rather look elsewhere depending on budget. Having said all that, my one mate is still happy with his as a cycling light so horses for courses.

Have the exact same one, which I cut down by 10mm a side a while back. I suggest riding it as-is for a while to get feel for how much you would like to take off. Also keep in mind to keep space for cycle computers, lights etc. Then take deep breath and cut - fine tooth hacksaw was perfect. File off the burrs and you are done. Made my bike far more responsive - bit twitchy on climbs though, but no regrets.

Hey djembe My redwin cassette is at least a year old. If cleaned properly it looks pretty much like the shiny brand new one I have tucked away in its box for a rainy day. It looks and shifts so well I wasn't going to take the chance that SRAM stop making them.

I can confirm that a 16 month old son can suck up nearly all of your available free time. But here's hoping he's now/soon old enough to accept babysitters, which means I can go on a Pay as You Ride Scheme. (no rude comments please)

hi Big H Does your keyboard need cleaning, the ! key seems stuck ;-)

I splurged 14K for a low mileage MTB from a Hubber shop-owner. Its a lot of cash for something bought with no real knowledge about its condition, but boy has it proved its worth. What was a great spec on paper turned out to be excellent in real life, at about 65 % of its new price. I reckon everyone needs to do their own risk / reward analysis on the offer at hand and make up their own minds. It also helps when buying from the Hubber dealers, they prob don't want to spoil future sales by selling schlock.

Hi Jules From my experience, the lady at the help line said I could come over to the Mail Centre (can't remember the address - but its next to Emporers Palace) to drop off the paperwork and hopefully get it there & then. I elected to fac the docs through, and instructed them to release into the postal system so I could then pay the VAT on collection at the normal post office. That worked fine, although you have no control or idea if it is even happening. If you have time on your hands (but who does) going in person with all the relevant order, invoice, proof of payment, ID book, & cash might be best.

My experience last year on importing light components. Received a slip in mailbox saying that SARS had bocked delivery at JIMC (Johannesburg International Mail Clearing - SA Post Office), the slip tickbox requested a copy of invoice and proof of payment. The phone number given on the slip was never answered. However, I got the fax number from the JIMC help line - which was answered promptly. I faxed the invoice & payment details though, three days later the parcel arrived. Hopefully most CRC orders which are legit personal orders can be resolved as mine was.

Classic. First time I saw the wild chickens on the spruit was this Xmas. They are about the only thing I can overtake on the spruit...

My worst normal ride in my area incurred 7 punctures and the long walk of shame after running out of patches for my normal tubes. After upgrading to liners and slime filled tubes, not a single puncture since. Have since gotten a new bike with tubeless, and this has also yet to puncture. Tubeless being lighter, I reckon if you can afford it, thats the way to go. But liners & slime tubes are still way better than nothing.

The PDM 324's are great - I got me a pair a few weeks ago to ease the learning curve to cleats. They are incredibly well made compared to some of the other Shimano's and no-names I own. I reckon the PDM 545's are probably on par and you wont regret them.

I've bought off WorcesterWheeler twice (first was a whole bike - biggest purchase ever without seeing the gods, second was a rear shock). Dealing with him was a pleasure, and results happen fast: he also is keen to chat about the products both before and after the sale by PM . The logistics of Jhb- Western Cape were not ideal, but thats not his fault at all ( his bike courier dude was a bit flaky and the Post Office Strike delayed my shock delivery for 4 weeks). Big Up to him & the Hub for facilitating these kind of successful deals.

I actually took a hacksaw to the 24 hrs in case I needed to cut my bars down to size. First lap in the forest was a good motivating factor for the emergency surgery, but the storm overtook events somewhat. My bars are 720mm with the ends, wide in any event, but with my small shoulder frame I think its right to saw off 1/2cm at a time or so.

We were also doing our best to make sure we were not transformed into Mary Poppins. However, the inherent wisdom of holding onto a metal gazebo structure in a lightning storm was pointed out to us by many members of our team - who just watched from their cars. Lots of pansies in the MTB world it seems....

The Fortuner is also overbought, 800 people a month do not need a high sitting 4x4. So there are a few too many on the roads driven by people who do not know the 4x4 limitations... Having said that, had a conversation in about March this year with a colleague who owns one. He put it all down to driver error, not design. Two weeks later after him writing it off on a dirt road it was a different story. After evaluating the pros and cons of all the reasonably priced low range equipped vehicles I bought the Nissan Pathfinder, they had ditched the live rear axle for independent suspension all round to solve this issue. I'd rather drive a Nissan than be dead.

Fun but hard work. Thats my verdict. And as the organisers said, there was no place to fall asleep on the track. On the positive side, my home made lights that took me 12 months from the last Omni to research & build worked absolutely perfectly. On the negative, Canada obviously has no mud in the country as they would never have designed my bike (Opus) with such tight clearances at the wheels. The night laps after the course was shortened were the best - if only cos the course was almost deserted (pansies - though I won't say that to your faces obviously). The 4.15am lap where you go out in the dark and experience the african dawn was also special. Same time next year then...

Hi Merlin The Manitous are fairly complex to set up, I have the SPV S Type. But if you follow the files that have been sent to you you should be fine. I can't remember if the Swinger has an SPV chamber, but for big jumps I think you want SPV pressure as low as possible (50 psi), set up the main air chamber to suit your travel needs. This gives the most relaxed ride. Then gradually increase the pressure in the SPV chamber till happy. Good luck.

Howdy all Quick question for all- does PM allow pictures to be embedded - I fear not ? Pic for Thys on component level assembly & switch on end plate. The red monstrosity at the end of the battery lead was a red herring atempt at a quick release connection and has since been tossed. Will upgrade to cellphone charge type jack plugs - hopefuly much better.

Howdy First post ever. My solution for my own triple cree (51mm dia) was to visit Builders with components & ruler in hand. For a one-off build that still looks semi- decent I bought a Mag-lite knock off. The components fit in the head perfectly, you saw down the aluminium flashlite barrel to suit your switch installation ( and heat sink area calculations ). You can use either the aluminium end cap as original, or I used the plastic internal cap from the light mechanism. Slightly fuzzy picture attached and happy building.