Wimmas

Bought my bike towards the end of November 2020 and immediately converted to tubeless with stans sealant. Had to top up around mid April this year, which is about 4.5 months. However, I think I pushed it a bit. The wise thing would be around every 3 months. If you take your wheels off, shake it and listen if you can hear sealant. This will give you an indication as well.

Even if the tyres are not Tubeless or Tubeless Ready you can still convert it to tubeless. I have done this many times with success. The only thing is the sidewalls are usually paper thin, so the first sharp rock you hit with the side wall it will tear and the tyre will be worthless. All you need is rim tape (R40 per tyre from Cycle Lab), two tubeless valves and some sealant of your choice. Very easy to do. Alternatively get tyre liner and tubes which are slime tubes and you are good to go, but this is the heavier option.

I am very familiar with this shop as I live in the area. I do not set foot in that store. I will rather drive to Cadence World in Krugersdorp. Had one or two bad experiences with them on small repairs and purchases and decided long ago they will never ever receive my support even if they are the last cycling shop in existence. Their operating hours are inconvenient, no items have pricing on it as each customer receives their own unique "special" price per item.... One of those "let me speak to my boss and get you a good price" type stores. Then it is an item which costs R400 in any other half decent store, but they tell you it is R600 at normal RSP, but for you it is R450. Once bought a cassette removal tool there. First turn it broke. That was the final straw for me. I have very little faith in their competence. Will not let them touch my bike. A work colleague took his bike there for a full service and had endless problems with it when he got it back from them. In the West Rand, just go to Cadence World.

Smoked for 10 years from age 17 to 27. Stopped through vaping and still vape to this day 4 years later. More of a hobby now than anything else as the nicotine content in my juices are so low. Never crave nicotine anymore. Feel great and performance on the bike has improved ten fold. Never feel anything wrong with my chest. Most of my cycling mates do not know I am an ex-smoker.

Agreed! Did the small mountain and day 1 was proper climbing. Never seen so many push their bikes or take a rest half way up or at the top. Second day was very fast paced. Had a great weekend in Clarens with quite a few G + T's with a lot of good food!

Also going! Coming from JHB and was thinking of taking N3 to Villiers, then R26. Never travelled to Clarens before and I drive a small car. If this route is a mess, please let me know which alternatives are better. GPS wants to take me on N1 to Vanderbijlpark, Sasol, Heilbron, Petrus Steyn and then at Reitz on R26.

Both my bike and my GF's stands in our room. I use hers to hang my towel over. Dries quickly

I entered for the Amohela Classic in Clarens on 24-25 April. Two day event. Went for the smaller event as I have never been in Clarens so my girlfriend and I thought we'd make a getaway weekend of it and it's overdue to have a break, hence I entered the smaller event cause if I entered the 60/50 I would be too tired and sore to enjoy the little town. Feel the fees were reasonable. R790... Day 1 43km and day 2 40km, plus you receive a medal and goodie bag worth R400. Looking forward. The larger event is just over R1k, still reasonable for a two day event. Seems like it's the exception and agree with the OP, some races charge excessive amounts. Wonder why...

I have Stans Crest S1 which are 23mm with a 2.35 front and 2.25 rear, on a dual sus. No issues on either. They ride great. I weigh 72 - 73 kg, front around 1.3-1.4 bar and rear 1.6-1.7 bar when riding MTB. Also in JHB and ride Cradle Moon often. Did blue, red, yellow the other day at those pressures and 100% fine. Did Northern Farm red last weekend and even with all the roots and those same pressures, no issues. My opinion, 25mm should be fine.

I have a 32t with a 10-50 cassette GX setup and it is perfect for me. I have not found myself spinning out on any MTB ride. Road yes, but who cares.

Not 100% sure but I do not think you can measure it on garmin connect. On Elite HRV it states it won't work with smart watches. I see a chest strap is recommended and as we all know, they are more accurate, hence a cardiologist will never use a wrist HR monitor. Even a biokineticist uses a chest strap when going for a fitness test. I also have a Garmin Vivoactive 4 and have not seen anything like HRV on the apps. The stress measure is probably something similar as I think it measures how your heart beats, but once again I am clueless. I only know how to start and stop a bike ride, and how to sync it with my phone. Luckily I have a chest strap. Got the Polar H10 a few years ago for R1,200. See they are now at R1,800 already. Measured again this morning when I woke up, lying down and it was 68, so only 1 down from last night. Will check again tomorrow morning.

Went online, logged in and requested a quote in November. Still waiting for a response....

Bit a of derail - Been reading quite a number of comments mentioning HRV. Had no clue what it was and did a quick google search. I have a Polar H10 heart rate strap lying around so I downloaded Elite HRV and hooked up my Polar H10. Did my first reading tonight and have no clue what the numbers mean. I am a 30 year old male and my reading was 69....started in the low 70's. Did another quick search and it seems HRV can be quite complicated. I believe the Polar H10 should be accurate, but some sites mention you need to monitor it in the morning, others saying higher readings not always good, lower readings not always bad etc. Anyone able to explain to a noob in noob terms how I go about it? When to measure, what app, how long, how often etc?

That's bad! Touch wood I have not had it that I know of, and my training has been good the last few months, but these are the types of stories which scares me. If I have to get it and survive, I will be too scared to get back on the bike for a long while. How old was he and did he have any heart issues you know of?

I have a Ryder wireless clock which I recently took off my old bike. I now ride with my GPS watch and have no use for it. It is in perfect working condition with the original box and user manual. If someone needs it, I am based in Roodepoort. Just come and collect.