johanpre44

I'm using my phone GPS with Endomondo to record the route (hidden in my pocket), Suunto HRM and basic cycle computer (speed and distance). Having all three devices is kind of irritating, but at least I have all the relevant information while riding handy (distance, time, average speed, heart rate and average heart rate - GPS is mostly used afterwards for measuring total ascend/descend and how fast/slow certain regular segments was via uploading to Strava). This is a lot of admin (silly me...) but its a fairly cheap setup. Problem with this setup is that any additional information (cadence, trip Ascend/descend etc.) will get very expensive. And analyzing the information afterwards is kind of impossible (cannot see my Heart rate graphed with the elevation etc.) What I would love to have is a Suunto Ambit which can roll everything into one device regardless of what activity I'm doing (and give me some more information than what I now have available), but its very expensive (~R4800 for the Ambit 2S without HR). A Bryton Ryder 40 on the other hand is not that expensive (with HR and Speed/Cadence for as little as R2700), I'm very tempted to get one of these but then I can't use the device for doing activities other than cycling (making the Ambit 2S that much more attractive). Like Maximum says, use Strava (or other app on your phone) and save up to get the best single device for yourself, you will not regret it! Note that the New Samsung Phones are Ant+ compatible (Galaxy S4 and up), so chances are you can use a heart rate strap with it that you should be able to use with another device later on as well (Like the Ambit 2S or Garmin Devices). You can also put your phone in a top tube bag like the Birzman Navigator III that will allow you to see some real time stats if/when needed (think having the phones screen on bright all the time will kill the battery quickly).

Used to have a cheap set of ergonomic grips (think RavX was about R120), they worked OK. After a year the Hard plastic Shoulder/clamp of the grips started to hurt my hands since the soft part of the grips eventually lost its shape. I have replaced these with a set of Specialized BG grips (R250), which is a lot smaller (feels like I have more control with the Spez grips). Ergon Grips seems brilliant, I just cant get over the price...

Not sure if this wants to make you ride or cry! At least the rider got a nice muddy face mask, should help keeping the skin young (or something I think,,,)

Also had good service from extreme lights recently, only complaint is the SAPO strikes which messed up the delivery (lesson learned, will not use SAPO again if I can help it).

Ouch! Suddenly I feel a lot better about my 300m over 20km...

Wish I lived closer to work. 20km with over 300m climbing is hard work! Traded some training rides for commuting, and getting huge benefits for doing so.

45km today was not easy, but I improved my time from last year by about 20 minutes (from 4:05ish down to 3:45). I was very surprised with the B starting batch, but thoroughly enjoyed the little traffic out on the route. The conditions was not too bad compared to last year, but there was a good few surprisingly deep muddy puddles. The fire road descend was scary with only the 2 tracks to choose from, descended slowly and carefully. My son (almost 9) did the 10km solo and finished 9th overall in his age category! Looks like dads not needed to keep him pedalling after all... I will plan for this one again next year! Another chance to try and pedal all the hills (two was a bit too much and I decided to rather take a stroll)

Entered the Half, and entered my son for the fun race, will be his first solo 10km (solo in terms of dad will not be right behind him)

There are some differences, think the components on the Sola 1 may be slightly better with Reba and 15mm axle at the front, but I do like the Big Nine 1000 frame a lot (142x12 axle at the rear and a direct mount front derailer) and the Ispec shifters. If the Big Nine 1000 had the same fork as the Sola 1, I will not think twice. As they are now its still a hard choice.

I think this Merida is a good choice, The 2k difference probably makes up for the nice wheelset (think the Mavic Crossride wheelsets are around 3k).

Not sure if I'm going to sleep tonight... Will not be able to get this picture from my mind...

Eina! Thats an expensive chain snap! Looks like there is no medical bills to go with all the damage.

Nice post, enjoy learning the workings of the bike! Funny thing about LBS's is that its hard to find one that is good at a lot of things (or everything). I have recently found that the one do not stock 26" mtb tires, except the most expensive, where another which I expected not to have had a great range of tires at reasonable prices. Good point made about just accepting that the people working at the LBS is just human, this will make things easier on us when we don't get the service we expect (which is sometimes way above what we should expect).

Some nice footpaths on Witkoppen/Northumberland visible from the road... I'm now very tempted to cycle out there over the weekend to try them out. Your KOMs are safe (I'm one of the slow guys).

I'm using Endomondo for live tracking (so my wife can see where I am and if I'm still moving). I then export and upload to Strava because most of my other friends use this (live tracking is available but premium version way too expensive), I do love the segments on Strava because I can use them to measure how fit I am and if there are improvements in my training (and its nice to have bragging rights every now and again). Panic button of sorts will be a very nice touch (maybe include as an option for the paid version). Will be great if this solution works on most devices (Strava is not available for Windows Mobile the last time I checked).

I think this new frame should not break where the others broke, drop-outs seems to be constructed a lot better! And double check if you will not need one of the bottom clamp front deraileurs, bottle cage mounts on seat tube may be a bit low. Enjoy the new(ish) ride!

Maybe try oats, I don't do long/hard rides without it any more... Those energy bars and gels can cause lots of awfulness!

I've got a set of 26" Fulcrum Red Metal 5 wheels (this is not the UST rims), any suggestions for tubeless ready tyres that will work well? I currently have Bontrager XR2 Team TLRs but they need to be replaced (running them with tubes). Unfortunately I could not find a set of these again (was R200 a tyre at Solomons about a year ago). Was thinking of getting Geax Gato TNT tyres since they have good prices (Evobike for about R300 a tyre).

I like Silverback, looking at getting a Sola 1 in the next couple of months (its a 29er). I also like the Merida 1000/1500, but they tend to be a tad expensive. Also maybe check out the Giant XTC 27.5 2 (it comes in Red) and I think the price will be good. Enjoy the shopping!

Now that's a lot of bicycles!

Think I will have to try more test rides, one ride was on a Pyga 650b with rear shock set for my weight. Riding style will probably need to change with a DS (try and spend more time on the bike rather than hopping of to do rough stuff on foot...).

That sucks, will make me think twice before getting that breakfast. Don't they have parking guards at northern farms? Only the person checking tickets at the gate?

I've tried a couple of Dual Sussers - different wheels sizes and all - and could not get used to the getting on and off the bike, the bit of sag is just too different to a hard tail. Have to agree with Chukky, bump is a bump, but I do like the efficiency of the hard tail too much. When I eventually go dual suspension, it will probably be a short travel (like the Momsen Vipa).

I started mountain biking about 1.5 years ago, bought a 2012 Silverback Stride 10 (very much the same spec as the Sola 4 but with 26 inch wheels and a much cheaper frame). The bike have been going well (more than 3000km done, lots of off-road and mountains) and I'm still riding it. I'm now looking for something better (specifically at the Sola 1). Couple of suggestions: 1. Buy the best you can afford (maybe push the limit a bit), and remember all the extras will need to be part of the budget (Helmet, Cycling clothes, pump, multitool, maybe a computer etc.) 2. Learn how to maintain the bike properly, lack of maintenance can cost dearly in the long run (I lost a rear wheel because of neglecting some play on the bearings). Taking the bike to the LBS regularly can also become very costly, so learning the easy maintenance stuff can save you a lot of money. I don't think you will go wrong buying the Sola 3, very good value for money that few other brands come close to. The components on the bike are good and will probably last a long time (I have been surprised how well my bike have lasted so far).

Pretty sure I saw something like this at Solomons in Woodmead a couple of months ago.