Reghard111

I normally don't get involved in these discussions but being on a Disc bike since December I hoped my input might help? First of all, there is none of the fly over the handlebar super stopping power and getting rear ended by the whole peloton everyone warned about! The brakes feel like a well setup conventional brake at normal speeds (30-50kmh), but where they're impressive are on fast descents 60 kmh + where the bike still stops well with little effort and great feedback. In the wet they lack that same initial bite but once temp builds up they are in a different world and actually stop the bike like you would want them to! Added benefits are no moved brake arches causing dragging, out of round wheels rubbing and a much cleaner looking frame. Downsides are a bit of a weight penalty and incompatibility with conventional wheel sets. The whole story of discs being lethal and the pics at the beginning of this thread holds no water with me, just my opinion as it can be argued about for days. Here comes the problem though: At KZN champs I asked and I was assured no issue in running disc brakes which I did with not a mention about them. SA champs we were told under no circumstances could we use them unless we were in a pro elite team and I had to borrow a bike the day before the event. Tour Durban: I line up In VC batch and immediately the officials started pointing at my bike, making notes and phoning other officials. I asked what the problem was and they said they are not sure if I am allowed to run them. My reply was that I will be happy to pull out if they insist but then they need to remove every fun rider on a MTB with disc brakes as well. This seemed to take the heat off me and nothing else was mentioned. I did hear that someone in a batch before me was told to take his bike and go home because of the disc issue. My main gripe here is the lack of consistency, they need to decide if its yay or nay and stick with it. By the way, my bike is sponsored and the above points are from a neutral view point. I can say Id be very pissed if I spent money on a new road bike only to have it declared illegal. ....just my 2c worth...

Its simple MBP.....let your GF service her own bike.....

We will be there!

Most cars also had three wheelnuts....now they have five.

I have one of those........ been good so far and I weigh 72kg's plus VAT, duties,carbon emmision tax,levies etc..... except that it is open on top letting water run down the seat tube.... had to block it.

If its not Orange, its a lemon!

Not quite.... the unsprung mass does help but it is marginal, lighter wheels accelarate and decelarate much easier. You can take the flywheel off an engine and it will NOT affect kW or Nm! Putting a lighter crank on a bicycle does not increase the riders wattage... a heavier flywheel makes the car more drivable due to its momentum, more difficult to stall but a at a tradeoff as rpm will rise and drop slower as well as a bigger chance of locking up the driving wheels on a downshift. At a constant rpm this weight will have no effect. When it comes to laptimes etc the rule of thumb on a racecar: every kg rotating mass saved =4kg static mass. If the bicycle had to accelarate a couple of times the lighter wheels would help, at constant speed they will not.

I went the shortcut way, thought I'd be clever.... Just send it to Polar, their service is brilliant!

Blue Syrup?

I would love to see that finish line photo, and would actually be happy to be proved wrong.... maybe some guys just ride with three chips in case the other two fail.

You did.... maybe I should have taken them!

Never said that.... all I said is I rode with a guy that had THREE chips around his right ankle on one strap, this guy also finished at the (identical) same time as two other riders. As we were quite spread out at that stage it does seem odd....no? Maybe it is just coincidence.....

Yup, it was Dangle ! Not just any Dangle, but Famous Dangle!

Like I mentioned earlier, I rode with this dude with THREE timing chips around his ankle that came in at that time..... Didnt ask him which of the three he was...

I was riding with a VB rider on the N14 who had three chips around his ankle.....