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PlemPlem

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Everything posted by PlemPlem

  1. It's very simple - the riders that use it should spend some spare time there and get stuck in to maintain/ repair it. If everyone does 20m of it it should be in a good condition pretty quickly!
  2. I have competed at various cycling Granfondo's in Europe over the last few years and have always had specific cover with Bryte insurance (through my Nedbank Amex card). Anyone can buy this specific for your trip and they have various options of cover available. Pricing is also quite reasonable with prices per option ranging between R700 up to R2800. I hope this helps.
  3. White Inc; i.e. Nic and Diane White di@whiteinc.co.za 082-451 8107 (Di)
  4. Fulcrum Racing 5 are brilliant wheels for their price.
  5. Definitely I will second the Lake option! After 12 years of Specialized shoes, I developed severe "Hot Spots' on long rides. Nothing I tried with regard to set-up, geometry, different inner soles etc. helped. Finally I tried Lake as they offer true half-sizes and two different width options. I have not had Hot Spots for the last 2 1/2 years. Highly recommendable
  6. Pt 1 - I guessed , took it as such! My comment was also supposed to be just a bit of 'dry humour'. We are all mates here looking out for another (I hope)! Pt 2 - After approx. 20 odd Argus', I know the corner well. Coming up is a bit of a bitch where the gradient suddenly increases in the corner. But I have also ridden the opposite way countless times while on numerous holidays and training rides, heading back to Ocean View and back to the Southern suburbs via Old Kaapse Weg. BTW, this corner is not as bad as some 180 deg. switch-back in Alps. Its always necessary to ride within the applicable laws of physics!
  7. Wouldn't have happened with a different brain
  8. Cool Heat locally has stock. They can supply to any LBS if you order it from there!
  9. I previously used the car wrap material VPS on my older bike in 2014. They did a good job with only a few gaps but importantly covered the main areas to be protected such as chain stays, all the major tubes (top, seat, down, head) forks and all around the BB area. The cost then was around R1200.00. Seven years later a few areas look a bit secondhand but underneath the bike still looks brand new when I had the chain tube piece replaced. I used a different car type material last year on my new bike. They offered a shine and matt finish, was pretty flexible and did a good job except around the head tube, where a bit of head set grease seems to have prevented proper bonding. But that can easily be replaced when I get a chance. I did have a chain jump off and tried to snag itself between the chain stay and the chainrings but the stuff held up and did not go through to scratch the paint. The overall weight of the wrap went up only by about 100g and the cost this time around was R2500. For an expensive bike its a small price to pay and the protection gives you piece of mind for the everyday bumps and scrapes that will happen when handling/ travelling. I can highly recommend this but get a reputable supplier and watch them when they apply it!
  10. Elite Direto. I managed to get a good used unit with the Sterzo! Very quiet, up to 1600W, brilliant connectivity with all protocols and very accurate data numbers!
  11. Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga. Brilliant accommodation at Wetlands Game Reserve, really cheap with good food and fantastic MTB/Gravel riding!
  12. I have been using Rotor Q-Rings since 2004 and will not go back to round. If you are strong on the climbs but spinning out on the flats than these might be for you as I tend to push bigger gears for longer. I would recommend to give it a go and try and give it at least 4 - 6 weeks of before making a final decision whether to keep them or not.
  13. You are correct and that's what I think he tried to say. The longer cranks certainly have more leverage and will therefore give you more torque through the pedal stroke and also give you more power in the downstroke. The shorter crank length will have less torque. However, due to the longer crank circumference, it might also slow your cadence down a bit. also, any crank length change should always result in a saddle height adjustment.
  14. Very simple! Just do what I did when I started training for a major Granfondo in Austria: I lost 11kg from 93 kg down to 82kg. Lots of climbing training. Change to energy efficient diet. Lots of climbing training. Adopt regular indoor 3 - 4 a week with endurance and interval training programs. Lots of climbing training . If possible, change to power meter based training to accurately assess your training progress. Lots of climbing training. If possible, get a performance coach to assist you with the training analysis. Lots of climbing training. Make sure your gearing is suited to the planned climbs. And finally, lots more climbing training.
  15. I have broken both sides. The right one in 2001 was in two pieces, the left one in 2017 was in three! Both times I had a plate inserted to screw the clavicle back together. On both occasions my Orthopedic surgeon told me to get back on the IDT within 3- 4 days. After that, I was back on the road after six weeks. Then removed the plates after one year. Medical Aid paid all costs at each occasion as they are all related to the same incident at that time. Get your quack to spell it out in detail during the op authorization. Without the plates you run the risk of not achieving a straight shoulder/ clavicle recovery and live with residual problems. Both my shoulders are perfect without pain or any sort of loss of feeling or strength. I would certainly recommend the op route as the initial hassle might be bad but the resultant recovery is just so much quicker.
  16. Nespresso and get the little generic capsules. Lots of different flavours!!
  17. Based on all of the above and other comments, those are the reasons why I have decided a number of years ago to perform all technical work on my bikes myself! No more scratches on the frame, no excuses, no exorbitant costs and no waiting (except when parts are not available). Granted, It took a bit of trial-and-error but very soon one can pick up all repair/ service procedures if one is not an imbecile. This is no rocket science and in case of doubt, there is nothing that one cannot learn from YouTube!
  18. There are a few things to try first before spending any cash; first of all there is no lube on the chain or the cassette!! Depending on the use get a good dry or wet lube. Secondly, the cassette still looks in a good condition. Adjust your B-bolt to move the upper small derailleur wheels as close as possible to your largest and smallest sprocket to ensure the chain runs as long as possible on the sprockets. Thirdly, check the chain with a chain link checker. Park Tools has a simple but effective unit. Fourthly, chain the overall chain length whether that might be maybe too long and maybe take out one link to shorten it. Lastly, always change the chain first to see whether this might fix the issue, if not then you can still try another cassette.
  19. Cape Town drivers should all be banned permanently!
  20. Not really, but I will start a new thread soon. That will get the collective juices really going!
  21. You misunderstand me; I have no problem with anyone else riding whichever type of brake type they want and I fully get that the cosmetic and feel good factors the way disc brakes look on a bike gets certain people going and might therefore change all and switch! But not me. This is was not meant as a griping or moaning session, rather I tried to start a discussion about the pro's and con's of both as this topic seems to grip the cycling world in general. My mates overseas also discuss this at length and some of them regularly ride in the high mountains on both brake types. I just wanted to hear what others are leaning towards and why I made my decision the way I did; i.e. why rim brakes are better for me (not others). My last point towards futureproofing was to emphasize why that reason does not make sense as any equipment bought today cannot be exchanged tomorrow. So whatever you buy this year is something that you will have to deal with for the foreseeable future, warts and all, and I just did not want to do this yet. When the time comes and I might be in the market for a new ride, I will assess the comparison again then. Like I said; this topic is bound to split the cycling world!
  22. Well, then in five years I will buy the latest/ greatest/coffee making etc. groupset with my new shiny Pinarello F28!! Until then I will ride my rim brakes; but I will not be currently forced to buy some equipment that doesn't quite cut it just because the industry wants us to. If the ongoing technical development (or lack of it) in five years time still forces us to deal with weight/ technological bull****/ squealing whatever, guess what - I will make the same decision!
  23. These are my Fulcrum Racing 5 training wheels that I already had. I race with 303 Firecrests. Again, with Swisstop carbon rim brake pads, I have not noticed any significant reduction in braking performance.
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