openmind

What is a bike anyway, it’s just a collection of parts. What constitutes original is just what collection the product manager came up with when they sold the bike. And only if you bought a complete bike. A bike is what you make it!

At the time I felt it was an already over-debated topic and Morne's comment made me mad, hence the short and sharp reply. Sorry. I agree that it is not that hard to build a bicycle, I build all my own (except for the wheels). That's if you have the inclination, time, patience and the budget to pay for your own mistakes. But just because you find something easy does not mean that someone who does that thing for a living should be charging peanuts for it. That's my issue. And just because you like to do something yourself does not mean that someone else should not be able to make a fair wage doing that thing for other people who don't want to do it themselves. Also, you only need to get to know your own bikes, a shop mechanic needs to be able to wrench any bike and still be profitable. If they can't they will do something else and you will have to fix your own mistakes, service your own forks, build your own wheels etc etc. So have some respect for the cost of labour. You get what you pay for. If you don't, then go somewhere else, but don't de-value the whole industry. One day it might just not be there anymore.

bull****

So sorry to hear about this! Hope you're ok and have support recovering from your traumatic experience. Keep riding if you can, we can't let them beat us. Hook up with some mates and avoid dodgy areas. See if there are commuting "busses" in your area where you can hook up with other cyclists to ride home in a convoy.

There must be a bike stolen off a car every day in Stellenbosch. Just don't do it people, take it off the rack and with you to the shop/wherever.

Ha, I bet you he has eight years of experience that have taught him that BBs creak sometimes and then they come back with someone pissed off because "I paid you to fix it and now it's creaking". You can fit a BB in 5 minutes if you don't give a **** but if you care and want a happy customer you need to draw on experience and take your time. If its PF30, this times by 10 - what's the condition of the frame? Do I need to use grease, carbon paste or locktite? Is the crank spaced correctly? etc etc I wish that there were bike shops that only sold stuff (retail) and then workshops that only sold time. That way it would be much easier to differentiate value. If you don't sell your own time for a living you have no idea how hard it is. Mechanics need to eat too.

Unless you like your handlebars way up in the sky, size down rather than up. You can always add a few spacers and a longer stem to a smaller frame, but there's no way to trim your head tube if the stack is too high. It's a racing bike after all, so you will want to be a bit low. If it's uncomfortable at first, add some spacers and do some core work and stretching. Over time remove the spacers and lower your position as you get stronger. If you like high handlebars, don't get this bike, get an "endurance" frame that will have a taller head tube and slacker head angle to stabilise the higher bars. I hate to think how that bike in the pics earlier in this thread handles! Probably twitchy as hell.

15mm is way too much - aim for 2-3mm or so. You need that top bolt on your stem to have something to tighten up against, otherwise you will crunch the stem.

You know what's weird is that I'm into bikes and computers and there is a lot in common between Shimano and Microsoft. I used to hate them both but man in the last few years they have both eaten the humble pie and come up with the goods.

There is a huge amount of pleasure to be had from trying to ride stuff that is, on paper, "too technical" for the bike you're on, i.e. being under-biked. It puts you on your guard, heightens the thrill and does wonders for your skills. In my experience it makes you fall in love with riding again. My first 29er was a Niner Air 9 Carbon with the rigid Niner carbon fork that I got after riding a full sus 26er for a number of years. I rode all the trails and singletrack that I did with the old bike and after a few scares got the skills up enough to stay alive. Fun factor was 110% although the hands took a beating after a while. After a year or so I put a squishy fork on it to get me through the multi-stage races Then a few years ago I got a gravel bike. I'm an old roadie and wanted a road-like bike that would not mind riding next to the road if the traffic got gnarly. I soon found myself riding Jonkerhoek singletrack on the gravel bike for the same reason - go under-biked every now and then to remind yourself where the edge of the envelope is (not always where you think it will be). I realise I have the luxury of multiple bikes. If you can only have one, you'll need to pick more carefully. If I could only have one, it would be my 100mm dual sus XC bike with lockout (and with two sets of tyres). Most bikes are far more capable than the marketing people want us to think. Just pick your lines properly.

Fascinating lockdown photoshoot by cycling photographer Brazo de Hierro: https://cyclingtips.com/2020/05/light-behind-lockdown-gives-a-glimpse-of-cycling-in-the-darkest-moments/

I agree - the best thing about Shimano 12 sp is the sensible cog sizes at the lower (easier) end of the cassette. Much more linear than sram. The Sram 50 tooth is a bailout gear, leaving you hunting for the right gear between cog 1 & 2.

It's "fubar" (effed up beyond repair) "foo" and "bar" are temporary variables used in programming

Ok, back to the topic 1. Use a torque wrench 2. Don't drip lube into cable casings. It pulls dirt in and gums them up. 3. Don't try to adjust an old-school cantilever brake unless you absolutely have to - you need at least three hands for this and a free afternoon, possibly even a whole weekend. 4. It is not physically possible to set an Ultegra 11sp front derailleur without it rubbing in at least three gears. 5. The best way to get sealant in a tyre is with a little 60ml Stans bottle through the valve. 6. Leave suspension services and wheel building to the experts I'll add more if I think of them.

I was riding up Helshoogte pass from Stellenbosch at about 11am this morning when I saw two guys walking down in the yellow lane just after the top of the first drag of the pass out of town. They looked a bit dodge, so I dropped a few gears and stood up on the pedals just in case. Sure enough, as I passed them and kept them in my peripheral view, one of them started to sprint after me. He had two goes at trying to catch me but I managed to sprint away each time. I moved into the middle of the road and flagged down a car. At this point the guy sauntered back to his mate and they just carried on walking down the road. I decided to keep riding. F that. Just thought I'd post this as a heads-up. If I was less aware I think he may have got me. Don't trust anyone walking in the road. Give them a super-wide berth, get ready to sprint and use the whole road if you have to. Yes, I know I should not ride alone, but that's not always practical. Maybe I should get some mace. I still had a lekker ride with some free sprint intervals thrown in.

Rons are awesome tires. Super fast. Put them on the front and back. I read somewhere that a Ron in typical racing conditions is faster than a Ralph.

Great race, great weather and well organised. Well done PPA! Started and finished in B group that was occasionally put on the rivet by a pair of Euro pros from Bardiani CSF. Nice to ride with that sort of pedigree. Good riding fellow Bs, thanks for a great day out!

Both my kids have used and abused our JSL20 and now my cousin's son has it. Once I set up the V-brakes properly (easy) I never had to touch them and they always worked well. Kids had great confidence on that bike - light, handles well. Get one, you won't regret it.

Yes, that's where it was. Good to hear that it was not as bad as it looked, thanks for the update.

That's for sure; I was in no mood to shop. The only reason I spoke to anyone at a stand was to ask for the quickest way out of the place.

So, I’ve left the expo with no number. Got to get back to work (in Stellenbosch). About 3.5h total in traffic and an hour waiting in the number queue, all wasted. The organisers better have my number at the start or I will race with my own homemade number.

A rider went down badly after around 35min in the AL bunch - a few of us stopped to help and wait for medics. Anyone know how he is? Short-ish guy riding a black Scalpel.

Many of you are confusing power with torque, they are not the same. On the same bike under the same conditions the same person will need to put out exactly the same power (watts) to go a certain speed, regardless of whether the crank is 160mm or 180mm. The longer crank will reduce the amount of torque (Nm) required, but will force the rider to pedal a larger circle and thus use their muscles differently to if the crank was shorter. Human physiology is complicated and the ideal crank length will depend on how you are made, i.e. at what length (torque) you are able to put out a given power most efficiently. That is not an exact science hence the need to experiment.

I'm 1.88m tall with a 94cm inseam and have used 180mm cranks on all my bikes for more than 15 years - MTB and road. Some time before that I moved up from 172.5 to 175 and liked how much better it felt on climbs. On the simple principle of "if a little is good then a lot is better" I moved up to 180 and the benefit (for me) was amplified even further. I easily spin at 120rpm and have learned to avoid pedal strikes on my MTB, even the full suss (at 3 o'clock my pedal is the same height as any other crank length). Here's the last word on crank length: - in a nutshell - use what works for you, but do experiment. https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/06/crank-length-which-one/ If you buy them at the right place they are the same price as 175mm cranks. More tall people should try longer cranks in my opinion, they do make a difference.

So we just walk that section - a CX bike hangs nicely on the shoulder.