johanpre44

Couple of good points. Think I will go for the little wider tyres (according to documentation a 28mm should fit, but n larger). I will probably do 1000 to 2000km a year, so if the gators will be good for about 4 or 5 years without perishing that will be great and worth the extra money.

I'm a mountain biker and recently got a second hand road bike for occasional road rides including the odd race (like Ride Joburg or CTCT). On the mountain bike I already have a preferred brand and model of tyres, but looking at the road bike tyres it's kind of a minefield. Asking around a lot of people suggest to just get Conti Gatorskins, but they are expensive and kind of hard to find. I'm also not sure if wider (like 28mm) is better and if there is much of a difference between the wire/rigid or folding beads. Puncture protection will obviously be great (even though they are rolling slower). I have seen good prices on: Pirelli P7 Sport (R350-R500) Maxxis Re-Fuse (R400-R420) Vittoria Zaffiro V wire bead (R320-R370) Any suggestions for good tyres that will be fitting my use as described above or any comments on experience with the above three?

Never thought about asking the local laundry to change the velcro, very good idea! Was thinking of getting a new pair and fixing the old ones and using them every now and again until they really fall apart. Really want to fit those Giro's, but no idea who stocks them around JHB (will even drive to Pta if there are shops that side stocking them)

I'm looking for some new MTB Cycling shoes (probably the XC Kind, don't really like the gravity kind). My Current shoes (Specialized MTB Sport or something) have been going well for the last 6 years but the Velcro straps are not working too well any more (they pop loose every now and again). I'm not too serious and don't need the latest and greatest (and kind of on a budget), but will prefer to get shoes with BOA or maybe laces. Other than Cyclelab in Fourways I don't know any other Westrand shops with a good selection of shoes (don't find the selection of shoes at Cyclelab that great anyways). Shoes that are of interest: Giro Guage with Laces (the Privateer lace is at Cyclelab but the price is a bit too high to my liking), no idea where I can find/fit a pair of these Specialized Expert XC (easy enough to find) The Shimano XC5/500 also looks very good but I suspect the price is like the Giro Privateer Lace if not more, but the XC3/300 seems like a good option (seems like Shimano also have a "wide" version of their shoes which should work better with my feet) Any other suggestions? I really prefer to go to a bike shop to fit and buy the shoes rather than buying online and not having the opportunity to fit.

The non-drive side outer flange is the same size as the inner one, otherwise they are almost exactly the same. Will make a plan to buy from you some time (can use the old end cap, assume the thread should be the same).

My wheelset is on Page 42 of the 2012 Prolite catalog (https://issuu.com/prolite/docs/2012_pro-lite_consumer_catalog). Pic of broken axle (hollow kind with 12mm Inner Diameter and 15mm outer diameter). QR end on the drive side is machined and the end cap on non-drive side is also QR specific and does unfortunately not fit on the 135x12 Axle Something like this (https://reverse-components.com/en/products/135mm-ø12-10mm-rear) will be a brilliant solution to allow me to just use the 135x12 Through Axle (but the prices are crazy). I found a Shimano Cup and cone MTB Hub in my spares box which is busted but the steel axle is still perfect, think I'm just going to make some spacers to make it fit the 12mm Inner Diameter of the 135x12 axle (3d printer to the rescue).

While out for a ride yesterday I noticed that the freehub of my 2014 Prolite Aneto rear wheel was not "freeing" too well, so decided to cut the ride short fearing that something with the pawls is very wrong. Opened up the hub to have a look today and found the read axle is broken (cracked quite badly where the freehub and hub comes together where I guess most stress is on the axle). The wheels came with a set of axle adapters, one of which is a 135x12mm Through Axle. Any ideas how to convert this to a 135QR? I was thinking of just buying a replacement Shimano MTB rear axle (they should be around 146mm long with a 10mm outer diameter) and use a couple of O-rings around it to get it to sit tight inside the 12mm through axle. Unfortunately I do not know anyone with a machine shop I can ask to quickly fabricate a part that will fit inside 135x12 through axle that will accept a regular Quick Release. Any suggestions?

Janee, Afrikaans is vrek snaaks as dit by al die name kom. Een van die skool terme wat ek onthou is anglisisme (weet nie of die spelling reg is nie). Dus kan ek "Bicycle" vertaal in "Baie-Sukkel". Of soos wat ek hom ken as 'n "Martel-pyp". Die "draad" het nou my dag gemaak!

The valves, can never remember which is which. Ai tog. Presta? Is that the one like the car where you "press" the valve to "open" it and let air in/out? Wrong again... Since my "moedertaal" is "Afrikaans" at least I have an excuse when I mess up things like color and colour, tire and tyre etc. By the way, I do not even know the correct Afrikaans names for all the bicycle parts, that will be a fun addition to this thread. I know a Saddle is a "Saal", but no idea what the seat post is called in Afrikaans.

My current shoe is an EU46 (says UK 11.25 on the inside)

My almost 6 year old Specialized Sport MTB shoes are getting really old now (and the non-sticking Velcro can be very irritating when they pop loose mid ride). So I thought it's maybe a good idea to start looking for new shoes. I was thinking of getting the Giro Guage Lace (seen prices as low as R1300 on some online stores). I have a pair of funny feet and really need to fit before I buy, but not sure where to find a pair to fit in the Westrand. I usually go to Cycle Lab, but Giro Privateer Lace is well over R2k (not in my budget). The other cycle shops I go to to get bits for my bike do not stock any cycling shoes. Any suggestions for good laced MTB shoes that does not break the bank (+-R1500), or shops (Johannesburg, Westrand) that maybe stock a better variety of shoes compared to Cycle Lab? Think I will make a plan to visit Specialized again and see what the cheaper 2FO and Tahoe is like, or maybe look at an XC shoe with Boa dial.

Think its time to look at getting some shaft clamps. Quite surprised how big an improvement the lower service and seals made. Will take the bike for a ride on friday (local green belt)and see if its still making the funny noise on bigger hits. Droo, I may just take you up on that offer!

I serviced my Suntour Epicon Fork, just the lowers and replacing the dust wipers. When removing the nut on the bottom of the damper there was a lot of oil draining which I suspect came out of the damper over time. The damper has been sounding funny on big hits for some time. Best option is obviously to replace the entire damper cartridge but it seems like it will be expensive (https://www.dragons.co.za/sr-suntour/parts/src05js-fun063-20-epicon-axon-29er-rlr-cartridge). No idea if and when my lbs can get this part. Question is if any of you tried to rebuild a Suntour damper?

It's a remote lockout, always goes back to unlocked if not pulled by the cable, seems spring loaded. Thanks for reply.

So I noticed a while back that my sister's Scott Scale 960 (2016) fork is really "sticky" (very slow moving up and down regardless of the air spring pressure). So I thought it's a good time to give it a service. Was easy enough to remove the lowers from the Rockshox XC30 TK with Poploc (A1-A3, 2012-2015 models) and it seems the grease was very "sticky", obviously the problem. But to be thorough I thought let me just do the rest as well. Removed the air spring from the uppers (had a bit of air in the negative chamber which was a bit of a surprise, but easy to sort out). The big problem I have is to remove/open the damper side to clean and add fresh oil to the Tk/Turnkey damper, but I cannot get it to go out more than maybe 10mm (can se the threads and maybe another 5 mm). Pretty sure I can hear an o-ring or something on the inside when I turn the 24mm top-cap, but other than that I cannot get it to move out any more. Any suggestions? Not getting too much from Google at this point. Think I will visit my LBS on Friday, but if I can get it sorted sooner it will be great.

If only 6 months I will get a warranty replacement (they should have at least a year). Hope you don't use a pressure washer on your bike. I've just picked up my pedal tool (Shimano TL-PD40) today. My LBS found one for me (very cheap, was R50 or something). Any LBS should be able to find them for you (if they can source any other Shimano bits). You will also need a 10mm and 7mm spanner. The tools also have markings for which way around to loosen the sleeve-nut holding everything in the pedal (two sides are different directions like pedal/crank threads). Taking it apart is very easy, I'm just a bit worried about the seal on the axle which seems to take a proper beating when you open it (turned out OK putting it back together again, suspect the seal is just very old anyways). Make sure you know what goes where and which way around as you take it apart. I just lined up the bits as I took it apart. Note that there are two plastic chamfered bushes/spacers and a cone nut (10mm), very important to put them the right way back. Think I've given some 7 year old PD-M520 pedals way more life and removed all that play.

You can always take the lowers out if you do not have the tool to ensure that it's drained of any water and cleaned of any "grinding paste", my old forks coil spring started rusting, hideous noise...

Sometimes parts are cheaper online. I've never tried to order from international online shop because it seems crazy expensive when it comes to shipping/duties/VAT. The LBS I prefer to go to is great, sometimes I cannot even find prices on parts as cheap as they are in the shop. I have also recently found that the LBS can sometimes find parts that I struggle to find online (Rockshox shock pump adapter for rear shock, Suntour fork dust wipers etc.), just need to wait a bit. Had some good service from online shops, but they still cant rebuilt a wheel and sort out a warranty claim on a cracking rim.

Like the fact that the Silverback takes two bottles (one thing I miss when riding my DS without the hydration pack). For me one of the things that most "off-the-shelf" bikes suffer from is cheaper wheels. Prefer a bit of a wide rim (23-25mm) with sealed bearing hubs (nothing wrong with Shimano cup and cone kind, just need to maintain them properly). Dropper also makes a massive difference.

Can also use old coffee grind (course grind works wonders). Think I have to go make a coffee now...

1. I've had too much creaking/stuck/sliding seat posts to know that I have to use some sort of assembly compound (rather than grease or nothing), which cost me a new seat post, lots of swearing and new paint job on a steel frame. Also remove seat post, clean and reapply the compound every couple of months to make sure no creaking/sliding happens. 2. Get the right tools (still missing the master ling tool) 3. Lock-tight or grease those threads! Know when to use which. 4. Lock-on grips 5. Get the right oils and grease and you can get new life into a very old suspension fork 6. Always have at least on set of spare disk brake pads on hand (helps having lots of bikes using the same pads)

Resprayed my own steel frame couple of years ago. Turns out doing more than one color is a mission not to mention expensive. Used the Rustolium brand and got Undercoat (helped to smooth out some of the dings on the frame), And then applied the color and after that dried applied the clear coat. TO go cheap just the clear coat will work. To protect the threads I used an old taped up BB and cage nuts (you can do the same for the through axle). Also make sure to use an old seat post (great for handling the frame while spraying). I also removed the headset cups, but cannot remember how I covered the inner surface of the head tube (guess just taping the inside will also work). If you want to add some branding, maybe get some vinyl prints/cuts and stick it to the frame before applying the clear coat. Only problem is that the paint chips easily compared to a professional paint job (where the frame will be baked in an oven to get the paint to cure). Not too bothered with the chips since I'm not near the coast. Is powder coating not an option? Not sure if there is maybe an electroplating option as well (think Dave Mercer did it to some of his Hungry Monkey frames, result looked really good and is apparently very hardy)

My almost 14 year old have been riding my old 26er for about a year now, and he loves the bike (at least I don't feel that bad considering the money spent on upgrading the very cheap bikes wheels and drive-train). No problem with tires, all the other parts (drive-train/brakes) are readily available. Finding different sized frames and decent 26er air forks is a mission... Your bike looks like a pretty good one, even though it's still a 9 speed. Don't let all the new bikes make you feel like you need a good one, as long as it works you can still have all the fun you used to have.

All my short-term insurance is with Discovery Insure who gave me a very good deal on my cars years ago. Not too happy with the bikes, damaged both wheels on a 50k mtb (two rim replacements on different occasions), excess (5k) both times more than the repairs. Apparently the excess cannot be changed (linked to the value of the bike) which is kind of a deal breaker for me. Will be trying others some time soon.

I would love to get the new Garmin Instinct, only catches is that it's not the proper multi-sport (when you can do one activity and switch between bike/swim/run), not that it bothers me. Other shortcoming is no cycling power meter support, again not going to get anything like this soon. Problem is that it's R6200 and I regularly see Fenix 5 for R7000. If the instinct was closer to R5000 it would be easier to justify (but then again, there may be some specials coming up when most retailers starts stocking it)