T_Boss

Just my own first hand experience, and admittedly, I prefer the direct to consumer option most of the time - I am very happy with Naked. I insured my bikes with them from when they started, and have since moved household and cars to them also. Premiums cannot be beaten, and in June last year I needed to claim for a stolen bike, there were no questions asked, and from lodging the claim to collecting my new bike took less than 3 days. Over Christmas, my cellphone was drowned (even though it was supposed to be waterproof), again, hassle free claim process, and although it was over the Christmas holidays, it only took a few days from claim submission to having my new iPhone dropped off. Im a very happy customer.

Sunset Ride overlooking Walker Bay

Even then it’s soul destroying being an ambassador or taking a sponsorship. Been there, done that never again

Based on what information Nico? I dont expect explaining myself here will do any good, but here goes nothing. 1. The people involved in the cancelation of their booking last year - the ones from that the facebook post that kick this whole thing off - were refunded in full, 24 hours after we cancelled thier booking - and over a week before their planned departure - an the date of the facebook post being put up. The matter is sub judice, and I will not discuss it further. 2. Chrisjvvr, who engaged on this post, after being alerted to the facebook post, was an unrelated incident, and there was a misinterpretation of the T&C's as per the booking made. We have come to an arrangmement with him directly. We have always had a presence of FB, and have shared a grand total of 2 facebook posts from the company profile this week. If this is considered "flooding", I apologise, and if they offend you, you are welcome to unfollow. It is clear that members here are only interested in one side of the story. This is unfortunate. I will however refrain from posting to this platform for the forseeable future, in either a personal or profesional capacity.

cut the corner off a carboard box, works just as well as the plastic spacer thing

The money was paid back, unconditionaly, a week before the post was made on facebook.

Firstly, Regarding the connection between me and the well documented "wood fetcher" incident from 5 years ago, that has been discussed ad nausea on the 4x4 community forum. This has been brought up a few times on bike hub in the past. I have never tried to hide from the fact that I was the person responsible for this. There were a lot of factors involved that led to that unfortunate event, and the fallout that ensued. All parties directly affected then, with that specific incident and the subsequent closure of that company (Authentic Adventures), where refunded in full. Apologies were made directly to the affected parties as far as possible. This incident as unfortunate as it was, has been settled and put behind me, and those that were directly affected. The persons that keep bringing it up, and making seemingly informed statements regarding it, were not directly or indirectly affected. I have owned up to the mistakes made, and lessons that were learned. I realise this is a legacy that will in all likelihood follow me around forever, but as I have said, I have never tried to hide my connection to this, to anyone who cares to ask and am open to discuss this further in person with anyone who would like to clear up anything relating to it. Now, to move on to the concerns regarding the Facebook post from 30 December. I will not go into too much detail about this, as I have engaged the services of an attorney to deal with the affected party on this. I will, however, like to point out a few basic facts. Adventure Cycles did mess up the booking for this group. I have admitted to being at fault in this regard. I became aware of this on the 18th of December, and there was no way of securing accommodation at the destination at this point in time (Their booking was for the 30th of December - 5th of January) At this point, I made a mistake of trying to hide our error, by talking the group into postponing their trip to a later date, because of the uncertainty relating to possible new travel restrictions that may be implemented. We had at this point already made the call to postpone a number of cross border MTB trips for the period of 29Dec through to 14 January, based on clients concerns about impending restrictions. The group opted not to postpone and left without another option, I informed them on 23rd of December that we have to cancel the reservation. A full refund was paid to them on the 24th of December. As I said, this had now become a legal issue, and I will not discuss any further details regarding this specific issue - other than to state that this was also not an MTB tour to be facilitated by Adventure Cycles. We were only engaged to arrange the accommodation for them, for a trip they would be undertaking on their own. It was not part of our regular or scheduled tours. This is/was in no way a scam or scheme as has been alluded to. In fact, there is no upside to the company or myself in this regard. There is no way I could possibly stand to benefit from this. It was really just an unfortunate administrative error on my behalf, which has turned out into a very damaging ordeal. If any one wants to discuss this with me, me contact details are available, and I have nothing to hide.

Hi Chris. I am sorry if we have missed calls from you. But as was stated in the email when we announced that the Makgadigadi tour you had book was to be cancelled (because at the time, the borders were still closed), you were sent an email highlighting various options for alternative trips, or to postpone to another departure in the new year. If there were no alternative dates avialable that suited you at the time, you were issued a credit note, which is valid for 12 months - after which if you have still not booked an alternate trip, you can request a cash refund. Your credit note was issued on the 2nd of October, ans is still valid. Herewith a link to the T&Cs on the website - https://adventurelogistics.co.za/shop/tcs/ I will also resend you the corresponding email that highlights the same.

Chest mount works well, but be sure of the angles you mount it at, especially when your getting loose and moving around the bike. first time out, I set it up while seated.... and thought the angle was great, until I stood up and got behind the saddle, and had the whole trail with me just filming the handlbar and front wheel..... (as an aside - EWS rules dont allow chest straps, only helmet or bike mounted cameras - not sure if its a safety thing, but maybe something to keep in mind)

Join us as we kick off the year in style - we will be doing another Night Ride from grounded on the 20th of Jan 2021. In line with covid regulations, we are limiting the event size to only 35 people, and mask wearing and all other protocols will be followed at the start and finish. This promises to be great fun again, and we will have a representative from ER24 to give a talk on what to do if you are the first responder at an incedent while out on your bike. booking is essentail, both for covid complaince, as well as to arrange catering, and all the details can be found here: https://adventurelogistics.co.za/mtb-adventures/local-mtb-adventures/launch-event-night-ride-21-october-2020/ Hope to see you all there to kick off the new year

This probably belongs in the other thread about bike shop service costs - but, look at it anothet way. A minor service is basically just that - and maybe adjusting chain tension just a little - but, a proper clean, like the bike shop does, and then doing a quick check of the indexing etc and applying lube - will take half an hour to 45 minutes to do properly. maybe closer to an hour if the indexing is a bit fiddly and it needs one or two test rides before its just right. Now, in your day job, what do you - or your boss - charge for your service per hour? In pretty much any mid to upper LSM type job (where most of this forums members fall), it will be double that, at the the very least. So essentially, when you look at the time cost, you are saving yourself at least R400 by letting the shop do this for you, freeing up your time to do what you get paid to do. On the other hand, since it is really that simple, instead of complaining about the cost of a "minor service" you could just do it yourself, on the weekend, during your off time - and it would cost you nothing. but also, if you are the kind of person taking your bike to the shop for a minor service (and there is nothing wrong with being that sort of person - it takes all kinds), you probably wouldnt notice things that an experienced mechanic would - and could point out to you, to plan and budget into your maintenance schedule. That experience and knowledge comes at a cost too

Then they should do like the aviation industry does - Bond the mech - Sponser the course fees, but sign a contract that they have to stay on for x number of months/years after, otherwise they need to buy themselves out. every month/quarter or whatever is agreed, the buyout value decreases. Problem is South Africa loves certification for the sake of certification - as soon as a new minimum requirement is introduced, there will be 20 new certificate mills offering the qualification, and they will pass everyone that bothers to pay the course fee

Replace tires when punctures become an issue - that in my mind is the ultimate indicator of when I tire is shot.... Apply the same concept to my 4x4 tires as well. when things that were previously benign start causing punctures, its time to change - However, in the past 18 months, on both my car and my bikes, sidewall cuts have seen to it that I have a regular supply of new tires - against my wishes What grinds me is when I have clients arrive for a multi day riding trip, with tires that are so old the cracks in the outer casing are easily noticable - and I just know we are going to spend a lot of time next to the trail fixing punctures......and I ask them why they havent replaced the tire - the answer is "but the tread is still good". Tread wear is not at all a meaningful indication of the state of a mtb tire....

I know the OP has tried to explain over and agian that this thread is not about bikesnobbery, but it just seems to keep coming back to it. Who cares, as long as people are outside enjoying riding their bikes. Whats the value in knowing the correct technical term for evey single component, if you need to take your bike to a bike shop to adjust your shifting?

No, you are wrong, Steri Stumpi is the OG - forever - but I agree, the new low fat version must fall....