Bruce B.

Total distance on the long event?

I have similar measurements with a long torso and a 178cm height. Two thoughts. If you are blowing your hands off in the rough stuff, look at increasing stack height (by fitting higher rise bars, not stem spacers). With geometries settling down a bit stack height is becoming more important for fit now after everyone chased reach for a few years. A more upright seating position will also help with the numbness. Also, look at the bike's front centre measurement rather than effective TT. Effective TT accounts for seated dimensions BUT if the bike has a slack ST angle then the effective length to handlebars can feel shorter when standing on the pedals despite a roomy seated position. Takes a bit of maths if manufacturer doesn't list it but it's a useful measurement for comparison and gives an indication of where you will 'fit' in the bike's wheel base.

Hi, Can anyone direct me to shop in Cape Town with a good wheel-smith. I have a set of factory built wheel (29er mtb) on my bike that need to get some love. Kicker is that the front wheel is a lefty so the shop needs to be tooled for that. Thanks!

yoy've got do some open water swimming too... 'Start Skok' can puch your heart into the red, difficult to get it back down once you start banging out the bike. Focus on quality over quantity for xterra. Do difficult sessions but try control heart rate. In my experience brick sessions are over rated; you don't go hard enough on the bike and are usually too poked to tap out the run after. Rather do double sessions. Long bike with efforts in the morning, 45 - 1h temp run later in the afternoon. Or 1 hour temp bike followed by a run session with some long controlled intervals in the afternoon. Running off the mountain bike is a lot easier than running off the road bike/tri bike. just my experience.

Schwinn and GT had mid level offerings 2 years ago.

just to set the record straight, I run a regualar 52/39 175mm crank on my bike... I am just schooled in all thing mechanical so know the math. p.s. Many pros use a conmpat set-up over some of the high cols on the TdF so don't be a hater...

a compact also gives you a wider spread of ratios for the cassett on the bike. so if you run a 11-23 with a compact crank you get the same as an 11-25 with a normal crank set-up, plus the added advantage of more usable ratios inbetween. and don't through the 'you miss out on the 53-11 top-end' chirp, very few ppl will ever run a 53-11 out and if you do go down a hill that you can, why are you still pedalling?

Need some help regarding the best route into Cape Town from Milnerton/Tableview. Recently got hold of a road bike and keen to ride the penincular as part of my training. I know a lot of guys ride Marine Drive - N1 - Lower Church, but not keen to ride the N1 (not always feesable either at the times I need to ride). Can you duck through the harbour? Any other ideas? IRT bus lane? Thanks.

final bump...

morning bump...

To all epic riders who are making use of the motorhome service and need a last minute driver/helper. My significant other has just finished her masters in food science and is free to help out any teams that are looking for someone. She rode the epic last year so she knows how things operate in the village and what riders need at the end of the day. She is an accomplished cook and is willing to help with customised menus if needed. PM me for more detail or contact details.

doesn't matter what the boys have done for the sport, they have obviously taken their eye off the ball and are now trying to milk us a bit. if they really were still doing a lot for the sport they wouldn't be trying to solve the price/profit problem simply by pushing margins...

if retailers pulled their socks up, they would sell more stock and not have to fix prices... I'd change my chain every month if it didn't cost R600+ every time...

Just heard from a friend at MTO - 50% of Jonkershoek plantation was destroyed by fire last night... still burning under the Pieke. not sure what this means for the trails, but it can't be good...

ti rotor bolts will shave a few grams... also try a 140mm rotor at the back.

you better do the name on the top tube proud! hope you have a good rip on the new wheels...

don't worry, you'll probabaly get the blame for the guy crunching the ML anyway... it's never the motorists fault...

had my RS reba sent for a service last year, cost R400. I think the service is in the region of R300-R350 plus then shipping...

a round tube has a 1 to 1 profile... it is as wide as it is high. a 3 to 1 profile allows the tube to be squashed (you can think of it as squeezing the sides in to flatten the profile) that tube and give it a more areo profile by giving it a 'sharper' cutting edge and a longer 'tail' as it moves through the air. 3 to 1 allow the tube (or other frame element) to be 3 times longer or narrower that the opposing dimension. this allows the tube to move through the air easier and creat less disturbance behind it (all to do with fluid dynamics and critical flow - costs pro teams a bunch in wind tunnel time...). hope that helps.

all you are really looking ofr is lanolin with a mild anti-septic... milko works, so does baby nappy rash cream

if sram can get a handle on the weight, you could effictively have a compact xc crank set up with all the advantages of no shifting, being able to run a short cage mech, tighter chain line and increased bash clearance... but again - the weight is the issue and some people would rather go light than go smart...

monocoque refers as much to the manufacturing process as to the design concept. in saying that, most carbon bikes are a hybrid, using tubes to save on material, but monocoque theory to intergrate the different elements. those massive sections at the joints are used to transfer load between different tubes just like in the skin of a full monocoque design. and to kick the other argument around, a standard frame is a 2D space frame, more comonly known as a truss...

what size tyres you gonna run with those?

they had to evacuate the sports science centre and cancel the international hockey at the astro last night, couldn't even see never mind do anything that required breathing... looks a tad better this morning, but a few people were worried about it getting into the houses last night... JH seems to have escaped the flames...

ok - looks like the fire may be outside the reserve... but still means that Stellenbosch is smokin'...