Mountain Bru

His airways look quite closed though? ????‍♂️

As long as you're not an industrial ""engineer""....

After reading through this thread, I've concluded that bikehub should be rebranded to "Engineers on Bicycles".... Not even being sarcastic. It seems 80% of the guys on here have some kind of engineering background.

Racing snake oil.....

You Sir, are the real deal. I'll gladly buy stuff from you any day of the week. Unfortunately, loads of stuff is sold by guys who are just looking to get rid of their bike/trainer/wheels or whatever, so they create an account just to post an ad, and disappear as soon as it's sold, which isn't evil or wrong. But those are very often the "problem cases". I don't think it's always intentional though. There are definitely some guys that are intentionally deceitful, but I like to think that in the majority of cases, people aren't being deliberately deceptive, they're just uninformed or don't know any better. For example, I look at a drive train where everything is coated in black sludge from years of lubing without cleaning it, and think it must be toast and that there's a good chance I'll have replace half of it if I buy the bike, but to an unknowing owner, he just thinks to himself that he rode the bike yesterday and it all worked fine, so he writes "great condition" on his ad. A simple comment of "Hey bud, when last did you service the bike or replace the chain?" can help everyone that sees the ad know what they're buying, and can actually help the seller if he actually replaced the chain last week but uploaded old or bad photos.

Oh so that's what the pro's have in their nose when they warm up.... Leftovers from their sniffing sesh....

Haha. Same....

Did anyone else listen to this interview with Jay Vine during the Vuelta? (Starts at 30:20) Found it really interesting how he said he could basically race with bad tactics in Aussie races and still win, but things are just on another level on the Euro scene. I'd assume the Aussie race scene is more competitive than here, so our local riders must have an impossible job trying to compete in WT races.

Reminds me of Froome impersonating some Kenyan cycling official to get into the U23 world champs.... https://www.businessinsider.com/chris-froome-impersonated-official-2016-7?IR=T Didn't turn out too badly for him.....

What do you have against Springs Boys High?????? ????

Which basket are you using? Any guesses on the pre-infusion and extraction times?

Allegedly, the beans I'm using are 2 weeks old. (As in roasted 2 weeks ago). The day I bought them, the lady said they were roasted that morning, so I should wait a day or 2 before using them. But thinking of the taste, they do seem slightly old. They've been sealed in an airtight bag since I got them though. But I'm not sure if I trust the roastery. Anyone have any experience with Roast Masters in Pretoria East? For that matter, anyone have any suggestions on coffee roasters in Pretoria?

Here's another idea..... What about giving the seller the option to allow comments on their ad? If I post something, I'd always allow comments. It would save me getting 20 DMs because I forgot to list a seat post diameter, or having to reply to 10 messages asking if something is available with "kind of, you're 3rd in line" or whatever. And if I'm selling something, it would actually benefit me as a seller to have guys commenting stuff like "awesome bike, I wish it was a large". I would also always sell something to whoever commented "dibs" first ????. @ACE Cycles, apart from what Hairy mentioned, it's also an opportunity for sellers to create some "good vibes" without having to post on the forums. For example, if you post a few ads, and I can see that you respond to comments, and are courteous and helpful etc and that there aren't any "this guy screwed me over" comments, I'd feel more comfortable in trusting you without just relying on your ratings, or your forum post count. For the buyer that isn't engaged on the forums, it can really help to build some confidence in sellers if you see some engagement under the ad. I bought my first bike off the classifieds way back when, and was clueless about bicycle and the forums, but I saw in the comments under an ad that the guy seemed to be a decent human being, and saw from the comments that the bike seemed to be a good deal, and pulled the trigger. You might say the rating system should serve this purpose, and I guess it does in part. But technically there should only be reviews for concluded deals, so non-responsive sellers don't get rated, guys that respond to "the year model on your ad is wrong" with abuse don't get rated, guys that beg and harass you for lower prices don't get rated, guys that consistently low ball you don't get rated, etc etc etc.... And also, if I were to open an ad, see that 5 guys have asked questions and the seller hasn't responded in weeks, I'd know to just ignore that ad without becoming the 6th guy to just get ignored. If you look at half of the "I'm upset about the classifieds" threads that people start, lots of those threads wouldn't exist if there were ads on the classifieds (like the "why don't sellers respond to my messages thread", or the "is it still available" thread)

Sounds like you should be an expert barista in that case....

While we're on the topic of machine settings.... Can anyone give me some advice on dialing in my machine? I got a Barista Express last week, and since then I've been trying to find a suite spot for everything. It's not bad at the moment, but it's not as amazing as it could be (and should be). At the moment, I have my grind setting on "10", my dose is 18g (which I measure), I pre-infuse for 3-4 seconds, and then pull the shot. Oh and I'm using the double shot, single wall basket. But the pressure currently goes pretty high (past vertical on the dial), and the shot extracts far quicker then a want. It's usually around 18s for a 45g yield, and then I stop the shot because I can see the extraction is finished by the white, watery consistency coming out of the portafilter. Anyone have any suggestions on how to slow the extraction down so that I can get a 2:1 yield, so 36g, in around 27s? (For the record, I don't see any signs of channeling on the puck, but my eyes are maybe missing something....)

Yup. Apparently from what I've read / watched, 90 to 93 deg is optimal. The temp of what you have in your cup is probably more dependent on if your machine is warmed up, if the portafilter is warm, and if the cup is warm. (And then obviously how hot your milk is, if you defile your coffee with such things (which I do, but only a little)) But from what I understand, there's no real optimal setting for each parameter though (water temp for example). It's all a combination of beans, grind setting, dose, tamping, water temp, pre infusion time, and extraction time. So the goal is to find a goldilocks combination of all of those things. But as a "rule", apparently light roast beans require more work to extract, so higher water temp, finer grind etc will make better coffee. Whereas darker roasts extract more easily, so a lower temp might work better. But we're talking 90 or 92 deg, or a 17g or 18g dose, or a 25s or 28s extraction time.... The differences in settings are tiny, but the difference in result can be substantial.

I

To respond to this properly (in a honest, not sarcastic tone): I think there are a few different kind of threads that were on "le hub", and some were definitely not lekker and I'm glad they're gone. I don't think I've ever heard anyone advocating for the return of a "girls on bikes" thread. I've also never read anyone advocating for swearing to be allowed on the site, or for the allowance of racism, or sexism, or misogyny, or any other talk that typically wouldn't be acceptable at a workplace coffee table. I'm sure you have 99.9% backing in shutting the threads down were that was the theme or focus of the thread. But then there are other threads that are about current affairs for example that are the kind of thing on everyone's mind, and that people want to talk about. This would be the same at dinner with friends, having coffee with a co-worker, or with a stranger you just met at a braai. Yes, the forum is primarily a cycling forum, but we're humans, not just cyclists, and even among fellow cyclists, other topics are discussed. If this is a community of "internet friends", then it stands to reason that such topics would arise and be discussed amongst each other. For example, I found incredible value in the Coronavirus thread at the start of the pandemic. It has nothing to do with cycling, but I would have been worse off without it. Those non cycling related (NCR) threads tie the community together too, not just the cycling related ones. Taking them away is taking away more than just some meaningless chatter. It's creating a restrictive environment where free speech is not allowed. I'm not talking about the law or the constitution when I say free speech though. I more mean that you've created an environment where someone else tells you what you're allowed to talk about and what you're allowed to say. If I was your employee, or if this was some kind of cult that I knowingly joined, I might feel differently about that situation, but my approach to BikeHub is to see it as a community of fellow cyclists. Maybe that's the wrong approach according to your vision for the site, but for as long as that's the expectation coming in, it's going to be incredibly jarring when someone tells you "you're not allowed to talk about that topic" or "this discussion is over" by just closing a thread or deleting messages, or changing your words, or deleting threads that people are actively participating in (yes, those all happen). And that's not limited to NCR threads. If you decided that the new Giant Anthem thread, or a upcoming race thread, needed to be closed, I'd feel equally aggravated. The issue isn't the actual threads being closed, it's the feeling of being controlled and told what you're allowed to talk about like you're in kindergarten. I'm sorry you find my comments grating though. If you read again, you'll see I didn't say you've turned your back on the forums, I said you've turned your back on the community in favour of keeping the "classifieds only" users happy. In my mind, a "classifieds only" user isn't really part of the bikehub community, in much the same way that I don't believe everyone selling washing machines on OLX is part of a "washing machine community" there. Some guys clearly don't even cycle and are buying and selling stuff on the classifieds just as a way to make money off the cycling community. You even alluded to this yourself in saying that the classifieds are what keep the lights on, and without them, the site wouldn't exist. I really understand the need to protect your revenue stream, and that's the classifieds users. It is however clear for everyone to see and enjoy the upgrades done to the site, and the much improved interface etc (and I'm sure everyone is grateful). But as you said "we did this because we see the value that the forums add". But saying the forums add value is not synonymous with saying the BikeHub community ads value in my opinion. The forums are just a place where the community can interact. You can have the best forum interface, but if your members or community has left or moved on, that interface is worthless. Saying the community must now be happy because you upgraded the interface or worked on the backend of the forums is the equivalent of your boss at work ignoring all your requests for the stuff that matters to you, and then giving you a new laptop you didn't ask for and telling you to be happy, and then being upset when you still complain that the aircon doesn't work, you don't have half the tools you need to do your job, you have unrealistic deadlines to meet and your salary isn't being paid on time. Yes, a new laptop is nice, but I'd rather have the old one and get paid on time. Yes, the new interface and improvements are nice, but I'd rather have non-cycling related threads on the site, comments on the classifieds, and for threads to not be closed every time the admins decide the conversation isn't valuable enough or is maybe not going in a direction they like. As was stated by someone else, there might be some bad eggs commenting here and there. Punish the bad eggs, don't give up baking the cake.

This thread basically is the hub now. If you need help with something, need to pass some time having a chuckle, or actually want to learn something about a bike, this is the place to do it. Some of the funniest post's I've seen on this site have been there, and surprisingly I've even learnt some cool stuff from other guys (Why Cotic put brakes on the right fork leg as an example) It's basically the final fortress of the community minded hubbers.

And then the big boys came out to play.....

This is kind of my point. The reason bikehub is what it is today is because of the forums. Yes times change, and yes, as @Eldronmentioned, there were clearly some dodge threads that needed to be removed (like the girls on bikes thread), but without the forums of TheHub, I don't think the BikeHub we see now would exist today. The forums created the community, who then created the classifieds and sold stuff to each other. But without that community, there would never have even been a classifieds. The admins have clearly now decided to turn their back on that community in favour of keeping the "classifieds only" users happy. As you can see in the below post from Nick, us forum participants are the minority now, and therefore we must bow to the classifieds only users. It's all about the moola I guess, and obviously the forums don't bring in much of that. @Nick & @Matt- A vocal minority doesn't mean that the majority don't share the sentiments of that vocal minority. It just means that only a few are willing to say something. As you can see in some of the previous posts here, other guys maybe didn't say anything and just left the site. For example, it could be that only very few people want comments on the classifieds and are vocal about it, but seen as that thread is probably the most popular one on the entire site these days, that's unlikely. It could be that only a vocal minority want less moderation on topics and posts, but seen as an entire discord community is developing just to get around your moderation, that's unlikely. You might have a larger following of non-forum participants in your user base, but I'm gonna guess that loads of those guys are just using the site to make some moola buying and selling stuff on the classifieds. In my opinion, this site now caters to sharks in the classifieds better than it does to the cycling community. In contrast to the sharks trying to milk every cent they can from the cycling community, the "forum users" actually have (or once had) a sense of loyalty to the community of the site, and would support each other and sell stuff to each other for bargain prices just to help a fellow hubber out, even when they could have possibly got more for their stuff elsewhere. That's obviously dead now because if you tried to sell something for a bargain, the resellers would be all over it, and that thing would be re-advertised at a higher price faster than you can blink. For better or worse, this is the environment you've created.

Mate 2 threads were closed yesterday, let alone the last 2 - 3 weeks.

It's such a crap situation for me (assuming you're quoting me). I want to be part of the community of BikeHub, but hate how the community is being "managed" and controlled and told what they can and can't do, and how the desires of the actual "community members" are completely overlooked and ignored. Look at the "Petition to bring back comments on the classifieds" thread. Clearly, the community wants comments, but a decision was made against that. Look at the "End of non-cycling related content" thread - I think many threads were deleted that many many people would have preferred were left open, but that didn't matter. Look at all the threads that have been closed or deleted lately - it definitely wasn't at the request of the community. But there isn't really an complete alternative. The discord chat is way better in my opinion (and strangely doesn't have moderators), but the classifieds here make me reluctantly come back cos I'm looking for a few things, and discord doesn't have a classifieds, and it's unlikely to find a frame or whatever on OLX. But if there was a alternative to the classifieds, I'd gladly use that, and discord, and not come back here. (This isn't a sarcastic post, this is my honest feelings about my interactions with the site)

Apparently unrelated banter is a reason to close a thread too? ????‍♂️ If memory serves, there was nothing nasty or out of order in those 3 - 4 pages of banter, only jokes and silly comments. Apparently, no politics, religion, current affairs, or unrelated banter is allowed on this site. And of the other 3 reasons for closing the thread in question, apparently we can only discuss transactions that originate on BikeHub, and if the people involved in that transaction are banned, then the thread gets closed too. I assume if @TDFN gets banned, this thread will get closed too (it'll probably get closed in any case though). I understand why the buyer and seller were banned, but that's not necessarily a reason to close thread in my opinion. Seen as the admins were happy to share that the guys were banned, they could have just let everyone posting on the thread that the guys were banned and left the thread open and allow it to fizzle, rather than basically saying "we won't allow you talk about this anymore". I wasn't able to ask questions of Matt before the thread asking why threads are closed, was also closed. Apparently that's also not allowed.

Best to comment quickly before this thread gets closed too....