Wimmas

Well seeing that 1.5 million people will be returning to work, I would assume it is going to become busy. I have no riding partner, and would rather not take my chances to cycle alone on Hendrik Potgieter and be hit by a taxi or robbed at gunpoint. Then I'll wait until I can go cycle at the craddle or one of the farms in the West / North of JHB.

This does not help me. I have to load my bike and go cycle at the craddle, which is around 22km from my house. I cannot cycle in my neighbourhood as it's too many main roads and robots. Also too dangerous to cycle alone around here. Much better in cradle with many riders around (obviously keeping safe distance from one another)

Also been watching the Sasol share price. Lowest I have seen it is at R24 some change. I am a massive noob with share trading, but wondering what will happen with the Sasol share price. Can a massive company like it really fail, what are the chances the share price goes up to reasonable levels again? With markets declining world wide at the moment with this virus, there will be a time where investing in shares will be very favourable, but when? So many investors selling off shares as there is too much uncertainty and prices plummeting daily.

I agree, but it will always be debated. To me many have this idea in their mind that supplements help. In my 10 years+ experience of training the only supplement which really helped with performance was Creatine Monohydrate used with dextrose. All the rest is personal preferance but had no impact.

Thanks for the advice! I also think it's a personal thing and trial and error, as well as other factors. Played around with the bike yesterday here in my complex and went to Hennops again today. Ended up riding on the following pressure: Rear - 1.5 bar Maxxis Ikon 2.2 (Standard tyre) Front - 1.3 bar Maxxis Ikon 2.2 TR EXO Grip was great, rims did not touch a rock / root once and neither did tyre feel like it was going to come off the rim. Think this is my sweet spot. Those pressures might be way out due to the unreliability of these pumps we use, but as long as my pump gives me those pressures on the respective tyres I am happy.

I am going crazy regarding tyre pressure. I used to cycle a couple of years ago and started again recently. I got a 29er with the standard 2.2 Maxxis Ikons (Non TR / EXO etc). Did not have a pump with a pressure gauge, just used instinct with pushing down on the tyre with my thumb like in the old days. My logic tells me I need to at least be able to push the tyre in slightly with my thumb, then it's not too hard. Last weekend went riding at Hennops. Front tyre sidewall tore about 1.5 - 2cm from a sharp rock. I initially thought my pressure was too high. Ordered a new Maxxis Ikon TR EXO (Better than the standard tyres) and a floor pump with a pressure gauge. Cleaned the rim and installed the new tyre with some Stan's sealant. Started out by pumping to 2 bar. When I felt the tyre by hand, it felt very hard vs what I rode last weekend when I tore my sidewall. Got me thinking now that maybe the tyre was not pumped too hard, I just maybe had bad luck. Or could it be the brand new pump has an incorrect pressure gauge? (Seems highly unlikely). I weigh around 83 - 84kg. Guess what I am asking, when you feel the tyre by hand, should it feel hard or should you easily be able to push it in slightly?

Went riding today at Hennops and blew the standard Maxxis Ikon 2.2 front tire sidewall on a sharp rock. I'm running tubeless. I am mostly to blame as I think I had the tire pressure too hard. Now I need a tire which will not break the bank. It's Januworry so cash is quite low. Had a look around and the choice is between Conti Pure Grip TR and the Maxxis Exo range. Conti's are around R350 - R450 and Maxxis are around R500 - R550. Although I see the Conti X King protection @ R600. Is it worth the extra cash? Checked some reviews and the Maxxis Exo Ikons seem decent, also not as heavy as the Conti's. Please help a brother choose.

First of all - I live in a part of the world where you have no choice but to ride on tar due to the limited amount of MTB trails in this area, and where there is place to ride off road it's dangerous to do it alone - cyclists get thrown with bricks etc., that's why I mostly train on tar! I'm also not a billionaire who can afford a road bike, so yes I ride on tar with my MTB. I'm not going to quit cycling because there's no MTB trails and I don't own a road bike, I love the sport, but hate the "You ride on tar with a MTB, you're an idiot" or "You don't use cleats? Well you can't cycle" etc etc. I've seen a thousand times that MOST (I DIDN'T SAY ALL OF THEM) of the guys with the fancy bikes and gear ride like sh#t at races. This sport has many people with money who only participates to show of the money, and not a love for the sport. Secondly, there's a difference between making a honest mistake and hitting a cyclist, and monkeys that purposely try and push a cyclist off the road. If these monkeys hit the cyclist while they having a jol trying to get a reaction from a cyclist and the cyclist gets injured or dies, then it's not called a mistake. Thirdly, cyclists who do not adhere to road rules and disrespects vehicles are the reason that most vehicle drivers hate ALL cyclists, as there's a stereotype (Why the F do cyclists always drive the whole road full, Why the F don't they stop at the stop sign, Why the F do they act like they own the road). So those cyclists who think they're clever and disobey road rules, need to be banned from cycling. I would love to get a camera and plan on getting one in the near future - just a pity that in this country it will probably increase your chance of being attacked while training for some criminal who sees $ signs. I like the blowing kisses idea, I'm sure that'll be a blow to a tough guys ego

If it was the students it would still be fine, but it wasn't/never is! The road I train on is very quiet but unfortunately the 2km's drive to get to the road and the 2km back is where all this k@k usually happens. Seems that these people are just always going to get away with it, just like the government. The problem is that people just accept this behavior, just like we all accept the government and don't do anything about it. I.M.O, if a vehicle is at fault for bumping a cyclist (resulting in anything from a minor injury to death) should receive harsh punishments. Then they'll be more careful about knocking a cyclist

Hi guys I'm getting fed up with vehicles (I'm not going to go into detail about who and which vehicles) that disrespect me/other cyclists, on purpose, and for no reason. Today, near the end of my training session while I was cooling off the last 2km's, a specific vehicle full of idiots tried pushing me off the road 3x and laughed about it as well . Right after that another guy drives past me and for no reason just pulls up infront of me and stops where I cycle (half on the road, half on the pavement) - not even to pick up someone or whatever - just no bloody reason, just to spite me. This seems to happen quite a lot these days or maybe I'm just more aware of these idiots. I've really felt the urge to kick off a mirror or kick dent into their fender/doors. It's all fun and games if it happens once in a few months and by mistake, but 4x in one session really p!sses one off! How do you guys handle these situations?

Well I guess that'll be a first and last then. Like I said - luckily brakes are still top notch! Will rather use alcohol the next time.

My XC32 seems pretty solid. Maybe a 2mm movement. But I never ever lockout, I don't really see the point. Many guys reckon there's a bounce effect when training on tar and you stand and sprint etc. Doesn't feel like it to me. I just ensure the pressure is fine for my dikgat (80kg's). I'm also scared of locking the fork and hitting potholes or something on the tar and screwing up something like the hub or some bearings.

Haha I'm glad you find it funny but it's true. 2-ply cause it's nice, thick and clean. The brakes actually work better than before and there's no squeeking etc. 2-ply toilet paper, parraffin and BAM, lekker brakes for tomorrow's race!

Just washed my bike with the hand/bucket method. Took 2-ply toiletpaper and some parraffin afterwards and cleaned the rotors. it worked, braking is percfect

Ja I think I'll try the hand/bucket wash style and avoid the hose for a while. Big ups for the genius recommending oil. I'll sommer soak my calipers,rotors and pads in a bucket full of old car oil. Think that'll sort the problem out!

Hi guys After every bike wash my hydraulic disc brakes don't perform well and takes a few rides for them to "recover". It feels like I'm going to break the lever off and there is minimal braking power. This ALWAYS happends after the bike is washed. I use car wash soap and dilute it in water etc. What could it be?

I'm 168.5cm and ride a Alloy Momsen 17" (M) but it's almost to the "slightly too big" side so maybe you'll be fine but I recon a large.

I must say I haven't been cycling that long (8 months) and most cyclists I've came across are friendly but there are the odd one's out who have a dik houding. Something similar happened to me two days ago where a guy almost tried to ride over me with his bicycle after I slowed down to cross the road. Didn't even see him. Then he tried to dice me like they do in Brakpan and I just laughed it off as I was busy cooling off. Hoping to see him at Dirtmax tomorrow so that he can eat my dust. I'll be polite about it as well!

Just another reminder of how little some road users feel for a cyclist: The other day I was training on the Eleazer road in the Potchefstroom area (This is usually a quiet road, with "beware of cyclists" signs and mostly used by farmers or the army). Along the way I ride past a stationary truck loaded with cows. He was stationary because the police stopped him. I still thought WTH is going on here - did the oke steal those cows or what? Anyway, they were faced in the opposite direction that I was travelling in. So about 5km's after I passed them I looked back just to see if there aren't any cars coming that look like they're going to kill me. I saw that this truck loaded with the cows was coming down the road at a slow pace followed by a convoy of police vehicles etc. So they obviously turned the oke around and escorted him to wherever he came from for whatever reason. In my gut I felt something did not feel right so I kept looking back every 5s. Something just told me "get off the road", so when this truck and police vehicles was around 30m away from me I went off the road and rode probably a meter away from the side of the road. When they passed I saw why my gut told me to get off the road - it looked as if the truck was trying to ride so close to the side of the road just to see when his wheels will touch the sand. I literally felt the wind, was blasted by sand and almost thrown off my bike. Immediately my blood boiled and heart was racing. Guess what, they just carry on riding and the police do nothing. They just saw me almost fall and be traumatised by a huge truck for NO reason. There was NO oncomming traffic so there was no reason for the truck to almost drive over me. If I had a gun with me, I would've been in jail now!

First of all - the pic you posted is the 2012 TFS 900 26" and not the Big nine TFS 500. Second, the Big Nine TFS 500 2014 model should go for around R11 500. Third, you can either shop around your location to check out prices or just go onto yellow pages site and find numbers of cycling shops within 100-200km from you, phone them and ask for a quote and then grab the best deal. I know of a few cheap shops in the North-West and KZN but I see you're in Gauteng.

At that length he'll most likely need a large frame. I'm 168.5cm to be exact and I ride a Momsen AL329R medium. Different brands' geometry differ so let him see what fits him. Get something with a decent fork and rims - the rest are cheaper to upgrade than rims and fork.

Call me cheap (I'm a student) but I got sunglasses from Mr Price Sport @ R120. They're 100% UV protection but not polarized. They look pretty slick and do protect my eyes from the sun rays. They also provide a light vision, it's not dark and one can still see everything as you would if not wearing sun glasses. When I'm all grown and rich I'll get a set of Oakleys for R1800

It differs from person to person but there are a few basics. You want your cadence in the 80-100 range if possible (the number of revolutions your crank does in 1 minute). Newbies tend to ride in a gear that's too high and quickly wear themselves out and drain their energy. You shouldn't be spinning at a cadence of 120 the whole route but also not look like you're doing a Sunday drive through the neighbourhood. Shift gears as you would with your car. If you slow down or stop, gear down before hand or while slowing down. When you pull off the bike is in a light enough gear to move forward as quick as possible. Always look at the trail a few meters infront of you. If you're on a decline and approaching an incline, especially if it's sudden, shift down before hand. Try and avoid shifting on the front chainrings will doing an incline and even if you shift on your rear cassette while on an incline, try and keep as little as possible tension on the chain when shifting. If your chain is under a lot of tension on an incline and you shift, you can hear the pain your chain is going through as well as the teeth on your chainrings and cassette, so when shifting on an incline, pedal a bit slower (remove some tension). Then your components will last longer.

Don't stress about it. It's not as difficult as some people make it to be. You'll be fine

Right. Convenient and easy to remember (RR)