droo

From the photos you posted one of two things has happened here. One is that you're a slow learner, ran the fork too long and wore your stanchion out again - doubtful, since you've had to fork out for a replacement already. The other, more likely one is that the bushings weren't done and the old wrecked bushing has taken the stanchion with it.

Best PF92 solution I've found so far. Install the shell once and forget about it. Change out bearings when they get rough.

Did you replace bushings at the same time? If not, see my previous post.

Sounds like your cartridge has popped. Service and new cartridge and you're good to go, hopefully someone will be along with a recommendation for a decent mechanic in your area. I don't know the Woesrand well at all.

I've got, PM me if you want me to send you one.

What make of post? What's the service history? Has the saddle been adjusted recently? Chain lube or silicone spray are not solutions, neither is grease under the topcap. It either needs service or adjustment, both of which are easy enough if you're mechanically inclined - if not, LBS.

^ what he said

If Holdfast doesn't, you can just take the existing adapters down to your local machine shop and they'll be able to sort you out. That's not a tough job.

Chat to the guys at Rook Cycles. They've been through this process and may be willing to share insights. You're going to need to move some pretty decent volume if you want to even think about making money though.

Ish. Never got one to work perfectly.

There's a reason why almost every frameset is available in black...

The ultrasonic cleaner is great for chains because it will rattle the dirt out from inside the bushings and rollers. Cassettes have no moving parts so this is unnecessary. Just clean it with degresaser and be done with it.

On a budget the new Ryder Trail Boss look good, pins are replaceable but not sure about other replacement parts. Slightly up from that, the Burgtec composite pedals are pretty bombproof, and you can get service kits, axles and pins.

I'm in Woodstock if you'd like me to have a look for you, but if you're further out of town I can offer a few more suggestions.

Find a decent wheelbuilder and get them to check it out. After 5 years you'll definitely need new spokes, and by that stage replacing the rim won't be that much more of a stretch - hub, spokes and labour will make up about 70 - 80% of the cost of a new wheel anyway.

I support all the reasoning in this post. Also, when do we get the pictures?

Not much, but from what I've seen the Microshift and LTwoo stuff is decent - for the price. Won't hold a candle to Deore, but at half the price it's worth a shot if you're on a budget. I reckon it'll improve over the next few years though, the current stuff is quite a bit better than the first gen.

I'll add to the chorus, for what it's worth while LTwoo may not be range topping stuff, it works fine for most applications. Hold off from chucking it in the bin and just get it properly adjusted. Park Tool's website is the place to go if you want to learn to do it yourself, which is definitely the way forward if you're likely to be doing any kind of distance you'd rather not walk.

A theory: During the plague, everyone wanted a bike. Either to get around without being squished into public transport, or because they'd woken up without a babelas for the first time in 20 years and couldn't figure out what to do with their day. Add in the money people couldn't spend on travel and entertainment and there was a fair pile of spare cash floating around the industry. Demand increased. The industry (with a few notable exceptions) saw this and tooled up. Supply chain issues and standard issue lead times meant that there was a pretty long lag between all this happening and the increased supply actually becoming available, by which time the world was opening up again, people were travelling again, jolling again, and the bike boom was winding down. This left warehouses full of stock which nobody was buying, and orders that were already placed for the following year's stock that couldn't be cancelled. Cue (among other things) the sales. Manufacturers, distributors and shops discounted the stock they couldn't move (often heavily) to make space for next seasons commitments, resulting in a flood of cheap new stock on the markets. Suddenly buying new wasn't that much more expensive than buying used, and it comes with all the new bike perks like warranties. RIP second hand market. Especially anyone trying to price their stuff relative to what they paid for it. Which is basically everyone.

Namgear do a bike polish that'll make your tyres nice and shiny, but they'll need to get a bit of dirt on them before they stick to anything again. AFAIK it's meant to just be a frame polish though.

I'd guess to be ridden in a sports hall or similar, where you're not allowed black soled shoes. OP - you'll find a few non-black roadie tyres out there, check with places that sell fixies and commuter bikes. As far as I know WTB make their Thickslick range in quite a few colours, Rook Cycles in CT used to bring them in.

Alu rim with carbon fairing. The spokes attach to the alu rim, so the carbon bit is just for aero. It was a common way of making carbon clincher rims about 10 years ago. This isn't a construction that's used much anymore, if at all.

That's just a fairing, not a structural bit of the rim, so it shouldn't be too difficult to touch up.

You can get some very decent composite flat pedals these days, Ryder do a pair for about R 500. The most important part of the package is the shoes, and this is what makes the experiment an expensive one. Skate shoes or hiking shoes are ok, but the stiffer, grippier soles and reinforced toe box of a proper riding shoe are what makes all the difference. Etnies do a range of MTB shoes that are the best value I've seen to date.

I did this to the offending frames, no difference. Worth a shot though, since it's way cheaper than rebuilding a bike.