Mountain Bru

I'd also love to know if this screen shot the OP posted has been selectively snipped and it doesn't say "T's & C's apply" somewhere, and one of those T's and C's is that the prices are subject to change without notice. I feel like that's normal practice when it comes to these things, but I'm not sure if it's the case here.

This thread is exactly why I think opening a bike shop is a terrible idea. If I was Castelli, I would have refunded the OP and sold the bib to someone else just to avoid the hassle. It's probably best I never go into retail. Like Dipslick, I think I'm also a tool that cycles.

If you want to appeal to the pitchfork brigade, you have to post the emails here..... We need to know the details.... Based on the emotions you've expressed here, I'm not sure you were entirely unemotional in your mails with them?

Never had any issues with them. Always had great service. I'm 173cm, 67kg and large fits nice and snug. I'd say if you're skinny, 1 size bigger. If you've got some muscles or a dadbod, maybe 2?

Great finish from Mas today to come 2nd. To even be close to Roglic on a finish like that is seriously impressive.

100% ???? I checked out the website for the event.... Not the most flashy or colourful, but everything I actually want to know is right in front of me, and the route is available without having to ask. Awesome stuff Mr Frosty! I get that people want to make things flashy and exciting and colourful, but for flip sake at least make sure it's not a treasure hunt to find basic details. Another pet peeve is events not posting GPX files for routes. And then when you ask the organizer for it, you get told that the route is well marked so you won't get lost. Flip sake. How can it be so hard to do something so basic.

I'm 100% with you on this. When I go onto an events website, there's probably only 4 things I want to see: When? Where? How long? How much? Sometimes you get lucky with the first 3, but even that is guaranteed.

Missed the stage and turned on just as they were showing the mini-highlight real.... Took me a good while to figure out what happened and how Eiking got on the podium. Can't wait to hear the LRCP recap to see what I missed. When you see how often Roglic crashes, it really puts into perspective the achievement of Froome to win so many grand tours (and I hate to say the Texan too). Like pushing on and trying to take time is risky business, and to consistently win grand tours must require something special mentally to stay focused day after day for so long and not make mistakes or get caught up in a crash. Pogacar is obviously also a machine and seems to be good at staying out of trouble, but I feel like he's also been fortunate in how his TDF wins came - last year he took the leaders jersey on the second last day, and never had to defend it or control the race, and this year he took so much time on stage 8 that the pressure was off and the other guys seemed to be riding for 2nd from then on. Still amazing achievements, but not quite the same as trying to defend and extend a 30s lead.

I know this can be hard to believe, but you don't have to pay duties when importing stuff from outside of the Western Cape I have no real experience, but I'd bet Castelli's bibs are far better than anything local. They stock them at CycleLab if you want to try some on before ordering online. In terms of fit.... You want slight compression to make sure nothing moves when you're riding, but nothing thats gonna cut blood flow or be uncomfortable, especially in a riding position. The shoulder straps might stretch slightly depending on the material, but I don't think you should be banking on that. Also make sure the legs have some sort of rubber in the elastic at the end and that they fit snuggly there, otherwise they'll ride up your leg.

Whats the story with the barn doors? Are there specific models or years that came with them, or is it just an option that someone chose when the specced the car? In my mind, they're way more practical than such a long boot lid that needs 2m of space to open

Pics or it never happened

Their stock levels are a joke sometimes, but have a look at Castelli or Sportful. https://www.castelli.co.za/collections/bottoms-mens https://www.sportful.co.za/collections/sportful-mens-2021-bottoms At the price you're looking at, I reckon those are muuuuuch better quality than FA. I have no experience with Ciovita bibs, but I wouldn't bother with FA. They also usually have some sort of 20% off if you spend R2500 deal going on. (If you just want 1 thing, I'm sure someone will team up with you, or send me a DM) Just be warned, they're a small fit, so order 1 or 2 sizes bigger than what you think. For reference, I'm 1.73m, 67kg. I'd probably take a small (maybe medium if I've had a big meal) in FA. My Castelli bibs are Large and they fit lekker toit. .

???????????? That killed me. Whatever you identify as, I recommend getting bibs that match your anatomy.

Would really love to see some actual data to go along with this dudes subjective feelings about things and possibly misguided conclusions... He says stuff like "my muscles don't fatigue as much on short cranks" but never says anything about if he's doing the same power. Maybe he's doing half the power and now he feels like his muscles are super strong. And speaks about mashing the pedals on long cranks.... But is he even doing the same cadence? Speaks about how long cranks tax your legs more so he wants short cranks for long rides, but is he even doing the same times on the laps he does? If he's going way slower, its not the cranks that are taxing his legs more, it's the fact that he's putting out more power. He adjust the height of his saddle twice in the video (but maybe he did every time) but never adjusted the fore/aft, so his position was slightly off for every crank but the one his bike is set up for, and that make all his comments about easier/smoother spinning etc completely useless. I'm not saying that short cranks aren't good, just that this video is seriously lacking in objectivity and usable information. It would have been way more useful if he just did 250w at 85rpm for 5 minutes on an IDT (with the correct saddle height and fore/aft) and then drew conclusions.

What about on alu cranks?

For sure. I'm sure there are loads of people that have chosen to ride short cranks for a number of reasons. My point is trying to figure out if the OP actually wants shorter cranks, or is only wanting short cranks because he doesn't want to bin his "broken" 170mm cranks, I think that's a really bad reason to switch to 160mm cranks.

I've heard carbon is much easier to carve if you heat it up with a blow torch first....

Possibly a more relevant question than "Can I cut these shorter?" is do you want shorter cranks? If they're currently 170mm, you'll probably have to go down to like 160mm, which is maybe not a good idea in itself and so it's irrelevant if they can be cut shorter. I'm also interested to hear why crank boots are a bad idea though. I've never heard anything bad about them.

Absolutely ????. And then sommer pull a trailer too (based on the average hubbers preferences). And then only ride on jeep tracks

Yup Also once spent the day in my MTB shoes. I reckon having "emergency spare clothes" at work is a good idea - onnies, socks, shirt at least.

Is there even another way to ride?

Haha. Didn't realize the Scalpel was such a good bike

Time for a "1 Car to rule them all" thread? There's already been some votes for a Caddy Maxi and Suzuki Eritga, but I don't think those qualify as off-road vehicles. If I had to buy a new car/SUV tomorrow, I have no clue what I'd go with. Fortuner seems like the default option, but has the "1000L of extra boot space and 1000kg of extra car" problem 90% of the time.

No no you've got it all wrong... The camelback equivalent is a trailer. It's literally the place where people that didn't buy the right car have to put their stuff because their car doesn't have sufficient storage (just like camelbacks). A roof top tent on a car is the equivalent of a dropper post... It makes you feel more confident to go places where you wouldn't with a standard post, but is ultimately not really necessary 90% of the time.

I wonder how many shimano spares are in there.... Might be worthwhile for the epic riders to gamble on a bag or 2.