droo

I've got a 50l 2HP for sale if you want. Bought the silent type to replace it cos I couldn't hear myself on the phone while it was running, which it does quite often in a shop. Probably seen about 6 months use. The Ryobi one I had before sprung a leak after about 4 years of mild abuse, but that was probably more due to me not draining it often enough. That 6l one will be fine until you encounter a stubborn tyre, but on a MTB with proper tubeless rims you'll be fine. Roadie or gravel may prove entertaining though.

As a general rule - replace chain only before 0.5% and you're good. At or just over 0.5 and you'll need to do chainring as well due to chain suck. Much over 0.5 and you'll need to do the whole lot, so just run it till it explodes or you have an event coming up.

Sounds like you got a dud. You've had a few "opinions" thrown your way about upgrades and extra cash and all, but you've bought a bicycle from a bike shop, not a supermarket, and your entirely reasonable expectation is that it should function as one. It doesn't, and you're annoyed. Spec levels aside, what you've been sold is not fit for purpose, although I suspect that if the hub was a Shimano you wouldn't have this issue. I've ridden a Deore on a singlespeed MTB for years with no issues. Take it back until they either refund you or solve the problem. Refund preferable, then take the money to @RobertWhitehead and get something proper for the same budget.

This goes both ways though. In order to buy local there must be options available, which are currently thin on the ground if you're not looking for an xc / marathon tyre. But at $90 a tyre before shipping? No thanks.

For Sale: Posting this here cos it's as good a place as I can think of - I've got a pair of NB Hierro 7, brand new in the box, size 44. Bought online, one size too small, and would rather offer them to someone on here than return them cos they were a steal. R 1 500, same as I paid for them. Will return them on Monday if nobody bites. As you were.

Typo, surely. I'm not even sure you can get the 32 in 120 anymore.

Thule store? Thule website? Either of these should sort you out in minutes.

Or a 3am start group so the fast fasters can get in by sunrise...

It's not the pulley wheel, it's the spacers that fit over the bearings. 3 of them have small holes, 1 of them has a big hole. Fit the one with the big hole over the tit on the cage and the thing will look like the picture with no gaps.

There's your problem. Pulley wheel should be flush against the inner cage. Pull the cage apart and make sure the spacer with the bigger hole in it fits over the nipple on the cage - check the pic from Garbaruk in my previous post for reference.

Spacer behind the cassette on an XD driver would cause issues for sure, so removing that would definitely help. 0.75 is way far gone for a chain and will be quite well into eating cassette and rings. 0.5% is the max wear if you want to save the bits with teeth, and shifting will start getting a bit sloppy beyond that as well. On the top pulley - diagram below is what I'm talking about, sounds like you may have one of the spacers on backwards which could well be causing your issue.

Questions - did you measure the old chain before you put it on? 3 months riding for you could easily wear a chain past 0.5%, and a worn chain on a new cassette will shift badly, and also have the fun side effect of trashing your new cassette in a few rides. Was there a spacer between the cage and spring when you took the original cage off? This could throw out spacing if it isn't needed with the new cage. Did you get the pulley spacers the right way around? 3 are the same, 1 is different and goes over a nipple where the top pulley attaches to the inner cage. How was the shifting with the original cage?

This is one of my reasons for the gravel frame with roadie wheels. 32c at 55psi fears no cateye and very few potholes.

Not a bad option either. I just know Philippe moves a fair amount of second hand gear through the classifieds so would probably be able to build something decent quite easily if he knew what he was looking for. An 8k roadie to later strip for parts to build onto a gravel frame is a pretty good way of doing that as long as it's got a compact crankset.

Gravel bike with road tyres is about the sweet spot in my sample size of 1. Curly bars for decent body position, and aero wheels make way more of a difference than an aero frame. The extra weight does make a difference, but the clearance for wider tyres and general versatility for training rides off the beaten track were what swung it for me. If I make it into the ballies racing group next year I'll have proven my point, but in the meantime I'm having fun as I go. If you're proper racing though, there's only one way to go.

There was a kid on a MTB in 1C. Held on until ocean view before he got spat out of the leading group Not a bad effort. By then I'd burned many matches trying to stay ahead of the splits. Closing gaps on the flat at 75kg is hard work, if not suicidal. On a MTB I'd rather not even think about it.

Saw this while getting through the rest of the thread, thanks. @JM_NEL good job, very useful for us wannabe alphabet soup racers to see how we stacked up against the rest of the field.

I'm also keen to see this...

Enduro aka MTB South Africa sells wax blocks. No additives needed. Save yourself the money on the wax pot and just buy the smallest slow cooker you can find. And check out zero friction cycling for the proper set of instructions.

As D&D said a while back, the race isn't won or lost in the first 10km. But never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups, especially those that only "race" once a year. Make your way safely to the UCT climb and enjoy catching all those overenthusiastic okes who are sad they didn't make it into the scratch groups when they blow up on Smits.

Got a bike for you if you've still got your entry. DM me if you're keen.

That's not a dent.

A few mild discounts, but it'll depend on what you're looking for and how late you get there. Pretty sure most of the big guys will have plenty of stock.

MK3 are rubbish IMO. MK4 are worth it if you can get them, but the Spank 395 would be my choice, all other things being equal. DT EX511 are also worth a look if you can find them.