i24

Some useless information. I once had a microwave that made light, sound and rotation but sometimes made things hot and other times not. Eventually I discovered that the municipal supply voltage was dodgy, at times the voltage got so low the microwave stopped working (< 180V). Eventually the municipality upgraded the substation and the microwave worked perfectly again! So maybe your problem is related to load shedding ???? But what I actually want to know is WHEN DO ENTRIES OPEN? (I hope they not closed already or sold out).

I don't see how you can reign in ebikes without some kind of inspections. So what is the alternative? Do nothing until there is a nasty ebike related crash and they all get banned? Ebikes are not going away. So the ebike riders and ebike industry need to come forward with practical solution and the man power to make it happen. I am more worried about ones that look like this rather than normal bicycles with discreet "mechanical doping".

The fastest e-bike is nearly faster than the winner! I am not sure if that is what the tour is about. For my money, the simplest and most effective way of controlling e-bikes, is to limit the weight of the batteries: Set a max kg limit for all batteries, including spares and swaps to be used during the tour. All batteries and spare batteries to be carried at the start. No swaps with outside parties or other competitors nor re-charging permitted on the route. Have scrutineering at the Expo. Weigh all the batteries and put a signed sticker/seal on each battery together with the competitors number. (You don't even need to look at the e-bikes). All batteries to be shown at the start, with seals. If you have a battery in your e-bike at any stage of the race that does not have your seal on it, you get penalized. This will work until the likes new battery technologies become commercially viable. No need to try and police the legality of controller software. (Many of the e-bike riders who passed me were wearing heavy back packs ????) I had a lekker ride yesterday. Perfect weather, lovely view, I did not see any crashes or riders getting medical attention, and unlike last year, the e-bikes did not interfere with my ride. ????

Make a plan! One year I attended a wedding in George on Saturday night and rode the Argus on Sunday morning in Cape Town.

I wonder who earned a commission on the sale?

The results of the survey of participants vaccination status was also mentioned. I think they said of the 50% who had responded about 75% had been vaccinated (I can't recall the exact numbers).

There was a presentation by the CTCT at the recent PPA AGM. The costs of antigen tests was brought up, they said if CTCT were forced to pay for the testing, they could not afford it and they would have had to cancel the event. ☹️ The rules for vaxed verses testing were not drafted by CTCT, those were the terms they were required to meet to get permission for the event to go ahead. They did however hint that vaccination will likely be a pre-requisite to participation in the next CTCT, in March 2022 - this is the way the world is heading.

Let me guess. Outsurance cover, if it was in place, they would send the bike back to the same guy and get it welded again ... ???? And make you pay excess and loose your "bonus".

Weld repairs on airliners are common. BUT, there has to be a documented repair procedure. This has to be signed off by the aircraft manufacturer and approved by the governing authority (eg FAA). The procedure would typically state: What the part is and what damage is to be repaired What weld process to use, current, voltage, gas, filler metal spec etc. Weld preparation and inspection . Weld pre-heat, filler metal preheat and how temps are to be measured and recorded. Welder qualifications (typically welding a similar test sample which is then cut up and inspected). Welder qualification renewal (when was he last retested). Heat treatment (time, temperatures, quenching etc). Reinforcement jigs may be required to prevent deformation during treatment. Post repair inspections (eg X-ray, or dye penetrant inspection) and dimensional checks - in case the part deformed during heat treatment. Post repair coating/painting (another whole procedure). Then there is the paper trail which goes in the aircraft repair logbook: The part serial number, hours flown and number of take off/landing cycles. The above weld repair procedure. Material certificates for the filler material, gas etc. Pre repair inspection report Records of pre heat temperatures. Welder identity, qualification and renewal tests dates. Heat treatment reports. Copy of the chart from the temp/time recorder on the heat treatment oven. Post repair inspection report. All of the above paperwork is subject to getting audited, by the likes of SACAA. So the welder may be very experienced, fully qualified and have a very good idea how to do the work and what process to use. But he is not qualified to write the repair procedure. Also he is likely not the person responsible for post weld heat treatment, post repair inspection etc. This has nothing to do with bike repairs. There above costs way more than a replacement frame, never mind the cost of repainting. Carbon frames are much easier to repair to original strength. It is just difficult to not add extra weight and make the repair look invisible. But this is still a job for skilled/experienced repair guys.

I am very surprised that a responsible manufacturer would have offered "1. Repair". This was never a viable option. It's only purpose that I can see is to deceive a future owner. A typical Aluminium bike frame is made from "6061" or similar tubing. After welding it gets "placed in an oven at 530C for 40 min" then quenched to room temperature (eg in a water bath or spray). Then optionally, re-heated to 177C for 8 hours (which makes it stronger). There is no way any of the original paint would survive anything like this. Your photo's show that there was no recognized heat treatment. (If they claim otherwise, ask them for their heat treatment procedure, it should be documented). You might get away with a simple weld repair, without heat treatment, in a low stressed part of the frame. For example if the damage was due to an external force above design force, like an accident, that is not expected to happen again. If the damage is a fatigue crack in a highly stressed part of the frame, a weld without post weld heat treatment will be much weaker than the original frame and that crack is going to reappear! Some more interesting reading on Aluminum bicycle frames. https://web.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-042612-124752/unrestricted/Material_and_Design_Optimization_for_an_Aluminum_Bike_Frame.pdf

Was this repair done under manufacturer's warranty, or was it an "approved" repair by one of their dealers? if so Momsem have some explaining to do. Welding aluminum is a science. Depending on the grade of aluminum specific pre and post weld heat treatment is essential. From the post repair, pre-repaint photo's it was clear this weld got neither. That is one of the most highly stressed areas of the frame, if it had cracked once there is no way this repair would not fail again. This was just a "cover up" job. The only motivation I can think of doing a repair like this is to enable the bike to be sold to some unsuspecting buyer - which the OP clearly had no intention of doing. This is an interesting story on how Giant make frames https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tech-inside-giants-taiwan-bike-factory-part-three/ "Once welding is completed, frames are sent off for the first round of heat treatment (to T4 spec, for those that are interested), checked again for alignment, then sent for the final round of heat treatment (T6 spec)."

As you point out, the boot lid rack damages the car. But the roof rack will do much more damage to both the car and the bike when you eventually drive under something too low - which WILL happen, at least once. Personally I would go the towbar option. But I already own one trailer ...

Ask them to provide you with a repair procedure document. It should document the welding process and post weld heat treatment. A professional shop should be able to do this. A really professional shop would also provide you with inspection reports and temperature charts from the heat treatment etc, to show that the repair was done according to the agreed procedure. If they can provide this, it will help with future sales and insurance negotiations. If they can't provide it, then is is likely that they will spend more on the paint job to cover the workmanship than the repair itself. So monitor it for cracks afterwards and post something here when they reappear.

There are two ways to wear out chain prematurely: Remove the OEM lubricant from inside of the rollers by soaking the chain in solvent, and/or washing it with mechanical assistance. Then fail to adequately re-lubricate it and keep it lubricated*. This is unlikely to happen if you never take the chain off the bike. Ignore all maintenance until the chain goes rusty. More likely to happen if you ride in rain and mud and park the bike outside. If you prefer riding your bicycle to messing with dirty chains, or you attach any man hour value to your leisure time, leave the chain on the bike, clean the exterior with a brush and maybe some degreaser solution, rinse with water and re-lubricate with your lubricant brand of choice. If you are keen to spend hours messing with dirty chains, then there are lots of posts on bikehub and youtube videos to give you suggestions on how to entertain yourself. * If you do manage to wash out the OEM lubrication from inside the chain, the following are methods which may suffice to replace it: Soak and manipulate the chain in a bath of hot low viscosity lubricant, until it reaches inside the rollers, then let it cool down so lubricant thickens up and stays inside the rollers. Soak and manipulate the chain in a bath of lubricant which is mixed with solvent. Then let the solvent evaporate so that the lubricant thickens up. Lubricant with liquid lubricant and repeat at regular intervals, so the internals of the chain get enough lubrication. Chain saw "chain and bar oil" (https://www.takealot.com/ryobi-chainsaw-lubrication-bar-1-litre/PLID34170073) is probably as good as any other lubricant that you can use for this, and cheaper than most alternatives. Have fun .... !

Note, not all testing stations in Cape Town do motorcycle drivers tests. I think Green Point and Somerset West do.

When you install the replacement, make sure the fitting on the end of the cable can rotate freely in the notch on the clutch handle. Otherwise the cable will bend at the end every time you operate the clutch, which will result in another premature failure.

This gets my vote - ban religion, politics, racism and sexism. Add a reporting function where readers can flag a post and list which of these it violates. Cyclists have a lot in common, from swimming pool pumps through woodwork, load shedding, getting divorced, emigrating and not getting recovering from covid. Discouraging these topics would remove a lot of interest, a lot of activity and many page views from the forum.

Reading between the lines of the V85 reviews. I think the 6th gear is a genuine "overdrive". So it will cruise on the freeway at low revs on cruise control, all day. But if you need to unleash all 79 horses (or what remains of them by the time they get out of the shaft drive into the back tyre) to do some overtaking into a headwind, then you need to change down first. But I have never seen a V85, let alone ridden one. I think the first one just arrived in SA and that was in Gauteng. So let us know what it is like if you try one out.

I have a 1979 V50 MkII. I bought it in about '83. Mine's a keeper and I think some of the parts are still interchangeable with the V85. Mine has excellent handling, good brakes and most parts still available. I import parts from https://www.stein-dinse.biz/. UK also has good on-line suppliers. There is an online Guzzi forum, with many UK based participants at http://www.guzziriders.org/. Check them out if you are thinking about a V85.

Just make sure the helmet fits - not too big. Don't worry about the mark on the fender - then you won't feel so bad when you drop it! ???? Don't go near Trac Mac - your wife will not appreciate further disruptions to your cash flow. And for that matter, don't go near Flying Brick either. ???? Petrol goes down in price next week ???? Ride carefully and have fun!

Thank you for using the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust Online Entry System. You have been successfully entered into the event. Event Name: Cape Town Cycle Tour Event Date: 10 October 2021 2 down 17998 to go!

Now there is an idea! A mass cycling event that goes on for 5 days! And Cape Town has the ideal location and weather to go with it

+1 on the Bosh 12V drill. However I think mine got branded "14V". This is just a confusing sales "interpretation" - when the Li batteries are fully charged, they approach 14V. The tool, batteries and charger are identical to 12V ones. I use mine for most drilling and driving jobs. It is not too heavy. I keep a screw driver bit kit and a drill bit set in the box with the drill. I also have an adaptor to connect it to 1/4" sockets and allen key sockets. The only challenge is to keep swaping bits between screw driver and drill. For heavier drilling, masonry work, hammer drill etc, I get out the extension cord and my old corded drill.

My nephew lives in Melbourne. He went camping a few days ago and they had a snap 5 day lock down. He had to stay at on at the camp site for the rest of the period and "work" on his laptop. Back in Cape Town, our second wave is falling fast. We are down to "just" 200 new infections per day and below 20 fatalities per day (Western Cape numbers). Lock down down to level 1. They estimate up to 50% of our population has been exposed to the bug. So while a "3rd" wave is a distinct possibility, it is going to take another new variant, or a complete change in social behaviour to spread the bug through the other 50% to make it happen with the intensity of the 2nd wave - even without vaccines. Which is just as well as not much is happening on the vaccine front here. Selected health workers only getting it at the moment. Then we still have to see which vaccines are actually effective against the SA variant, and how long that protection lasts. So while it is still dangerous out there - (I stay away from crowds and wear a mask when I can't avoid them) we don't have to worry about regulatory lockdowns for a while. One thing we have in common with NZ. International travel from SA is very easy to plan - postpone indefinitely!

That exercise probably burnt best part of 100 Gallons of kerosene...