i24

Oops ... 🫢

Brakes?

Chris. Have you considered using (2) to seat a tubeless tyre? Could be useful if you could get all, or most, of the air into the valve stem...

You can use (1) to seat a tubeless tyre. Just take the core out and hold the nozzle against the valve stem. When it "pops" put your finger over the stem and quickly fit the core, then pump to required pressure with a proper adaptor.

If you find yourself in a situation like this, try doing a 180 turn and head back the way you came. Hopefully the aggressor will break off at this stage rather than doing a 180 to follow you in the wrong direction. If they don't you should still get a head start to get clear. Better to avoid the situation in the 1st place.

It depends on how they have been stored: If you riding off road, you might get away with those for a while.

One thing to beware of is using a modern car synthetic oil in a bike with a wet plate clutch. These oils have low friction additives which can upset a wet plate clutch.

Hmm. Maybe give them a 5 star review. But in the text state you are only giving them 5 stars so that the review does not get taken down, that you do not recommend the product and that you would not purchase it again ...

It comes down to, do you want to: go fast on a slow bike go slow on a fast bike or dream of going fast on a fast bike (occasionally) These days I only get to ride occasionally, on a slowish bike, but it still brings a smile to my face.

No saddle bags reduce aerodynamic drag by reducing the turbulent wake behind the riders backside. They help you go faster, like a MotorGP bike. As a side effect, they provide UV protection for your spare tube so when the day comes and you finally need it, you don't find it perished and punctured.

I use a fanny bag to carry the phone, food and other stuff that does not go into the saddle bag.🤫

I can confess to using saddle bags. I even have one that looks the same as the OP's. I have worn out a number of saddle bags and even a seat post where the bag touches the bike, but never had an issue with my legs rubbing on a saddle bag. Ivan I would suggest: Get you saddle adjusted properly. Ideally with a bike fit, or at least with advice from a bike shop or experienced cyclist. Once you are happy with the saddle position, don't mess with it. Then make a plan to get the saddle bag clear of your legs. I am not too sure how but usually it is not a problem. But if it is for you on your bike, try another saddle bag. Regarding saddle bags, I have one on each bike. The contents set up for each specific bike. Spare tube (correct size, valve type etc), puncture kit (tubeless on the MTB, conventional for the tubed bike), chain master link (correct for chain type), valve adaptor for presta valves, core removal tool for shrader ones, then tyre levers, some cable ties, duct tape etc. I carry phone, food, multi-tool, mini pump etc on me as these move from bike to bike.

Western Cape Law Enforcement does not have the powers, nor the budget, to investigate or arrest. There is only so much the Western Cape can do without a functional national Police Force. I am not sure if there is much point in shouting at Allan Winde, the solution to the problem lies with central government.

If you keeping the Harley, you have a bike for highway trips and 2 up occasions, It might be worth looking for something smaller and younger for #2. Anything from a nearly new Hero to a 650 thumper would be traffic friendly for city use and less stressful when you go off road. Remember that not all bikes were engineered to last 20 years and you should keep some budget for riding gear, boots, helmet, goggles etc.

Elon Musk talks about an "idiot factor". Which he defines as the price of buying a component divided by the costs of material used to manufacture the component. The higher the idiot factor the greater the scope for business efficiency improvement. Applied to the cycling industry, the "idiot factors" are very high and it seems the idiots are wisening up and looking for improved efficiency with their discretionary spending. 🫢

Fit 40mm or 50mm gravel tyres, convert it back to 2x gearing (if you previously did the 1x thing), and look for one of those semi-drop type bars that accommodate your existing hydraulic leavers, or fit some "aero extension" bars in board of the brake leavers (time trial bike style). Then wait for this thread to reach the conclusion that you are on the optimal mount 😏

The more this tread goes on, the more the fashion gets back to my "pavement special". A rusty, vintage, rigid, steel frame, Hansom MTB. It is currently rolling on 50mm touring tyres and has 3x7 gears (but the frame and cantilever brakes will accommodate full knobbly MTB tyres). The rigid steel forks have that forward bend typical of 70's bikes which give them a little flex. I just have to wait for the straight bars (with 90's style bar end extensions which definitely don't help) to come back into fashion. And it is made out of heavy duty tubing which weighs plenty and the rust on the spokes does not help with aero ☹️ I have ridden it to the wireless mast on Tokai on MTB tyres - once - then I bought a suspension MTB. I have also ridden the Tokai green belts, on touring tyres, which it handled surprisingly well. It's limitation is corrugated gravel district roads - those are a killer and I would definitely chose a suspension bike for them next time.

This! Get sorted on a 2nd hand bike - your refund cash should go a long way.

I did a 2nd Lap of the CTCT over the weekend. But this time I used my Motor Guzzi (de-restricted ICE) "E-bike". My son rode with on his Transalp. We carefully obeyed all rules including stop signs, robots and speed limits. We did not pay entrance fees but we did pay the toll on Chappies and I topped up with energy juice before we started. We modified the route slightly by starting and finishing on the M3 and closed the section between the Stadium and the Grand Parade via the overhead freeway. So distance was about 112km. We started a bit late and there was quite a lot of traffic, particularly in Kalk Bay and Camps Bay. I did not pay too much attention to our time, but we were comfortably faster than 3 hours 😏 View was as expected and it was fun to cycle up Hospital Hill at 80km/h, Suikerbossie at 70, Edinburgh drive and Smit Winkel at 60 ... 😁

Some feedback. Locktite on the BB did not fix the problem, so I took the Hansom to Woodstock Cycleworks.... They ordered and supplied a new Shimano chain ring/crank set and a new BB. But it turns out that the BB was situation worse than expected. The bottom bracket housing was distorted - likely since manufacture as it is made from a seam welded tube - and the thread was stripped enough to let the BB slip. But Nils was totally committed to getting it fixed. First attempt involved inserting a metal shim between the BB and the housing. A bit brutal but Nils reported that it has worked before. Alas it did not quite work on my Hanson, and it came loose after about 20 km. So I rode the argie on my DS MTB. I was ready to give up on the Hanson but Nils said to bring it back. His 2nd attempt was to "panel beat" the BB housing to correct the distortion and to restore some "tapering" where the housing had stretched. After that he re-cut the BB thread. This restored enough thread to secure the BB. Nils refused to charge for his labour for this 2nd attempt. The BB has has since completed a few rides, including some significant climbs and it is still holding. So the Hansom will carry on rolling for a while, hopefully another decade or two 😄 With regards to Woodstock Cycles. They were totally honest and committed. Most LBS would have refused to touch this bike and rather try to sell me something that I do not want. Nils was understanding why a grey beard like myself chooses to ride a bike that could have been scrapped years ago, and went out of his way to keep it rolling. (Indeed he has a similar Hansom MTB hanging up in his shop). Their shop looked full and pretty busy, which is great, because we need them to be around for many years!

They are in Bloemfontein. Maybe the boss subcontracted the artwork to a family member. But if you shop around I am sure you can find more specialized graphics at your Lm-BS.

If you can put up with graphics, and you are looking for a "more capable E-bike", you could try a CBX-500 for R112 399.00 https://www.hondacentral.co.za/product/honda-cb500x/ No range anxiety and very capable of a sub 3 hour argie but you will have to pay extra for the Honda "cap". 🫢

The new Honda Transalp 750 is currently on offer for R169k https://www.hondacentral.co.za/product/honda-xl750-transalp/ Zack Courts of Daily Rider rated this his best bike tested in 2023. What is the equivalent MTB, and what does it cost?

That is sad. It would have been better if those sub 3:50 e-bike times had never been published. Perhaps the obviously too fast e-bike riders should be banned from next year's event. (It would be great to have an Isle of Man style TT event around the peninsular but not on the same date as the CTCT).

Can we get the PPA involved in this one?