Scooterza

From what I can see, that woman braked unexpectedly and very abruptly in an area with no hazards. Some might argue that the guy should have left a bigger following distance but the reality was he was probably planning on overtaking her and she braked before he got the chance. Then the went mental for what seemed to me a relatively minor bumper bash. If I was in his shoes, I probably would have apologised for bashing into her but would have stressed that she braked really hard and unexpectedly and when she went mental, I would have ridden off. He was way too nice!

Bwahahahaaaa! Took a moment to get it but very good...

What you want is a tube that is tight in your rim but as I mentioned, a 20" tube on a 26" rim was already tight so I would use a bigger tube on a 29" rim. Otherwise it will probably be a bastard to get it on without it continuously popping off. So on a 29" rim, a 24 or even 26" tube should do the trick.

Hmmm - not 100% sure but I think it was about R140. The stans was about R90 or so if I remember. Bought it all from Cajees Fourways.

Found it - http://www.cyclechallenge.co.za/route.asp

Where did you see the route?

Sounds like someone is using a strap on.

Step 4 is to cut the tube. Usually the tube has a flash line (little rubber ridge) that you just follow as you cut. At the end you have a flat "ribbon" lying in your rim. Apply soapy water to lubricate the whole process. Also wipe off all the white talcum powder off the inside of the tube. http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/3223/cuttubeshowingvalve.jpg http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/1341/tubeinrimcutopen.jpg http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/1812/tubeonrimwithsoap.jpg Step 5 is to put on your tyre. Sadly I got a bit sloppy with photos at this point. So you just carefully put your tyre back on the rim. Ensure that the tube is still overlapping all the way around. Leave a small gap where your tyre is not in the rim to allow the introduction of slime. I used Stans and it worked very well. I put in a full 1.5 caps full. Then I popped in the last bit of the tyre. Step 6 is to inflate the tyre. I tried with a bomb and ended up using 2 bombs before I ended up driving to the garage to use their compressor. Even with the compressor, I had to blast in air for a while before it suddenly "popped" against the rim. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE LOTS OF SOAPY WATER on your tyre to seat the tyre nicely and to pick up leaks. Once it has inflated, slowly rotate the wheel, holding one end downwards and shake it up and down (ie hold it like a big disc with one end low down and shake that up and down, rotate the tyre, shake etc.) Look for the bubbles indicating a leak. If you see one, hold that end down and shake. You are trying to coat that area with the sealant. I had a problem with one wheel that had a bit of a slice in the tyre - maybe 4mm long. I used one of those little rubber plugs to fill the hole and that worked perfectly. Once I put in the plug, the sealant did its job. You will now have an inflated wheel with the rubber of the tube hanging out the sides: http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/259/tyreonrimtubetobecut.jpg I just used a pair of scissors to slice away at this. By pulling on it a bit and using sharp scissors, it just peeled away. http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/3959/detailoftubeandtyreonri.jpg I weighed my wheel again to see if there was a change. This was the rear wheel and shaved off 188g: http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/8108/massafterconversion.jpg And finally the finished product - yes your wheel will sparkle: http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/1821/finishedproduc.gif For the first day or so, I had a bit of leaking but I just took off the wheels, shook them around a lot and pumped the tyres again. Since then, if they are still leaking the leak is very small and slow cause I haven't noticed it. I have ridden a few times since with no hassles. I did a ride in Marico (anyone who has done the Groot Marico MTB ride will know the area) and the terrain there is very tough - lots of rocks and thorns. Rode over this all and no punctures or burping. When I got back, I found a serious thorn in the tyre and never even noticed it! (By the way, with tubeless do you just leave thorns in your tyre - a case of leave sleeping dogs lie?) So I am pretty happy so far. I do FEEL like the bike accelerates better and I like the softer tyres - softer on the ass when riding over rocky roads.

I have been toying with the idea of doing a tubeless conversion "Ghetto style" for a while now. Big Ben made a very useful post with a few pics that helped me out a bit so I decided to do the same but take quite a few pics with a "proper" camera. I hope these help someone else. This post was made about 2 weeks after the conversion. So step 1 is make sure you have all you need: 20" tube (with appropriate valve - luckily I already use Schraeder) Tyre levers Tyre slime Scissors Soapy water Some way to rapidly inflate the tyres (I found bombs didn't work though others hubbers have had success) http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/3027/startpointrearwheel.jpg I thought I would check the weight before conversion. I MUST point out that my tyre had a LOT of slime inside the tube beforehand which would have made it pretty heavy: http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/9789/massbeforeconversion.jpg Step 2 is to take off your tyre and tube. Someone suggested that turning your tyre inside out may help with it "seating" better against the rim later. Not sure about that but tried anyway. I can say that turning it the right way again was a bit of a pain as the wire bead got very tight! http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/7519/tubeandtyreoffrearwheel.jpg http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/2356/reartyreinverted.jpg Step 3 is to fit the 20" tube to your rim and inflate slightly. This is actually quite tricky as the tube fits very tightly into the rim and it keeps popping off. Get someone to help you at this step to hold the tube in place whilst you pop it into the rim. http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/4956/tubeinrim.jpg http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/2176/tubeinrimdetail.jpg

This is very sad. He was clearly young and fit - what happened?

Ahhh yes - been there. And you are watching the back wheel and generally keeping an eye on the "rear" of this person in front of you and suddenly reaslise you can see this guys pimply hairy arse straight through his pants. Enough to make you cough up your cytomax. Not cool

For anyone not sure about patching tyres, there is a post under Tech Q&A (there are probably several) where a number of people give tips on fixing a flat. https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/61484-patching-tubes/page__p__925959__fromsearch__1#entry925959 Check it out - if you follow the instructions there, you should be good to go in 5 minutes or less.

Northcliff Cycles though might be a bit far from Sandton. I can second Cycle Lab. I have been pretty happy with the result the 2 times I took my bike there.

Oh and as for being a peace loving hippie - erm, I also get the MOER in: https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/34136-littering-again-bike-fight/page__p__575688__hl__littering__fromsearch__1#entry575688

I think healthy debate is fine - to expect everyone to agree is naive. And by all means if someone says something stupid, take him/her down. But in a respectful way if you know what I mean. Also, if someone profers his or her opinion or makes an effort to do something, let's try not to be paranoid and wonder if there is an alterior motive. Going back to the cycle club example, if a club does something, some hubbers jump up and down and say that it is just a way to get money out of people etc. My comment is, "Maybe there is an intention to make some money but usually their effort has a positive impact on cyclists too, so if they make a bit of money whilst improving things, so what? Clubs/shops have to make money. If their offering is not worthwhile, then don't take it up but no need to bring their mother's virtue into question or personalise comments." Similarly, someone asks a question and another responds. Then sometimes some other idiot will come and slate the response. Why do that? Just idiotic. Before you know it, the post has degenerated into an argument that goes nowhere.

I was just chatting to the manager of one of the bigger cycling clubs about the hub. They were saying they no longer read or post on the hub because of the numerous times they get abused for anything and everything they say or do. It got me thinking that the hub is actually a pretty aggressive place in my opinion. Think about it - if you post a positive review on a product, within minutes someone is asking you if you work for the manufacturer/importer. Almost every thread seems to turn into a slanging match. Why is that? Surely this ought to be a place where like-minded folks should be able to chat about a hobby they love? So folks - do we need an attitude adjustment?

Hi Ikes There are many websites out there that will help you to determine the correct bike size to fit you - you measure every conceivable part of your body and it tells you what frame size will suit you best! Search on the hub for the sites. I bought a KHS Flite 700 for R6500 about 3 years ago and it has been a GREAT bike - love it. If you have the budget, then you can look at spending as much as 15K but I am not sure you need to spend that much if your last bike was an RC2000 to notice a massive difference.

No you're F(*&(*cked. Get your will in order.

Bwahahahahahaha! Good one! Reminds me of a far side cartoon where a guy with a wooden leg is walking by and in the background is a snake with broken fangs.

Next time ride with something like a stick. When her dogs go nuts, you ride past her and smack her.

Not cool! I would like to hear what the organisers have to say. There was a similar incident (mentioned on the Hub) with the 94.7 (can't remember if last year or the year before).

Eish! Yes I grapple with this issue regularly. Married with an 18month old son and finding time to get in a bit of cycling is a challenge. I spin at night in front of the TV sometimes and have bought a bike seat for my son so I can put him in that when I go for a ride. But you have to take it really easy - no rough stuff - when he is on the back. Have bought wife a bike but she cannot ride over the same terrain or keep up so it is either take it easy and ride with her (no real training benefit) or try to find a slot where I can get out and do a quick 1 or 2 hour ride solo. I enjoy riding with her but it's doesn't tick the same boxes compared to riding solo or with mates. We had a big fight about this just this weekend - I was trying to indulge my other passion - fishing. Was fishing at Jozini and caught a few nice ones. Wanted to have another fish at sundown but she wanted to spend time with me. I guess you cannot argue with someone wanting to spend time with you but when you get that urge to fish (and you cannot indulge that much in JHB) it is hard not to want to rush out there and catch a big one! http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs189.ash2/45270_464673960148_739155148_6878332_7932309_n.jpg

Hmmm - lube. Durex has brought out a new line. They have things like spearmint and strawberry. Each to his own but I don't think it is meant for your mountain bike but if you go that route, use a LOT!

I have the KHS Flite 700 and I am very happy with it. I find it comfortable and easy to ride. BUT I must say I am not someone who has ridden dozens of bikes so I don't have a lot to compare it to. I must admit to a certain enjoyment of riding a bike that is not all that common - you don't see many of them.

I rode the Braamfontein Spruit yesterday afternoon. Pretty cool - some new ramps etc have been added. There is one just after you cross Conrad Drive (heading upstream) where someone has made a ramp over a ditch. Pretty awesome. Thanks to whoever did that. I must say that the upstream jump is significantly shorter than the downstream one. That downstream one looks nasty - has anyone jumped it? I jumped the upstream one and that was a bit of an adrenalin rush! My brother said my rear tyre landed on the edge of the ditch so I only just cleared it. The thing with those kinds of jumps is you must give it stick - if you don't and you hit the other side with your front wheel, the result would be ugly. I haven't been lower down on the spruit recently - a while back I noticed someone had built a series of jumps. Great stuff. Nice that we have a bit of urban single track that is challenging.