BigDL

I seem to recall one in JHB a couple of years ago that was quickly stolen

Saw a lot of them in England

Good luck

I have a 50k entry going if anyone wants it. Full of flu

I have only had great service from Cycle Factory. Jacque seems to really go out of his way to provide a quality service.

Did this event last night. What an awesome evening. Great single track in the dark with a lekker Braai and social catch up afterwards. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun and, although the course was only 20 k's, it incorporated most of the BRB's fun features, with the added challenge of darkness to round it off. Would be good if they make this a monthly event.

So, a month or two ago, after a fairly hectic fall on my hardtail that resulted in having to buy a new front wheel, I decided to start looking for a new bike. After some of the experiences shared on the hub, I was pretty nervous about it, but started visiting shops. Here, for what its worth, is my experience. I started at Lynnwood Cyclery and had a look at the specialized Camper Comp, on the advice of the guys there. Service was outstanding and they offered to let me come on a group ride and ride the bike. I never did, as the next day I had business in Melrose Arch, so popped in to the Concept store there, where the guys kindly offered to lend me a bike for the weekend. So, I arrived on the Friday, whereupon David spent an hour setting up the bike for me and talking through all of the features. I took the bike for the weekend, rode it well and loved it. However, based on my normal impulsive purchases, I wanted to ride more bikes before I made a decision. Next stop was Cycle Lab Centurion and Fourways. Nice guys in both stores, but really only interested in the sale. When I asked if I could ride a bike, I was told that I didnt need to test them as the factory tested them already. In fact, I was shown a video on a laptop featuring a factory test. I gave up and left. Tool Up Cycles are always my favorite LBS. I chatted to the guys there and Frikkie arranged for me to borrow a Rocky Mountain Element 950 for the weekend. When I told him that I was riding the USN 50k that weekend, so perhaps another weekend would be better, he insisted that I use the bike for the race. His last words, after setting me up were "As you're testing it, make sure you ride it hard". I liked the bike but it did not feel comfortable for me (I am long in the body and short in the legs, like a baboon). When I returned the bike and gave the feedback, Frikkie immediately suggested that I try another Rocky Mountain, The Instinct, and began to scour the country looking for a demo bike. In the meantime, after chatting to the trek store in Rivonia (seemed to be doing them a favour by calling them. Short conversation) and Anton at Summit Cycles (unfortunately didn't have stock of the bike he recommended, but was a pleasure to deal with), I happened to be driving past Bruce Reynecke in Pretoria and stopped in to look at the Giant Anthem, as I had been advised to do on the Hub. Hylton bent over backwards for me, arranging a brand new bike to be built as a demo bike and lending it to me for the weekend. I took the bike out and rode BRB and Rosemary Hill. I managed to crash the bike during a moment when my skill did not match my ambition (becoming a bit of a norm). However, I absolutely loved the bike. It felt good and really suited me. When I returned it on the Monday, I pointed out the scratch from the accident and offered to cover any damage. Hylton would not hear of it. Frikkie, in the meantime, had arranged an Instinct for me to demo and I collected it. It was truly love at first sight (probably the most beautiful bike I had ever laid eyes on), but I could not get used to it, despite riding over 100k's on it over the weekend. I reluctantly returned it and walked away with a little tear in my eye, similar I suppose to the feeling you have when you fall in love with a girl and slowly realise that she is wrong for you. I desperately wanted to support tool up, but the bike just wasn't right for me. So, I went back and bought the Anthem. Hylton gave me an awesome deal on a 2014 model and within 24 hours had it converted to tubeless and had fitted the tyres that I wanted. I drove off with my brand new bike and have not looked back. In my shopping period, I had interaction with probably 30 bike stores in Joburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. I came to realise that most of them employ great guys who genuinely want to help. There are some knobs, but they seemed to be few and far between. I also realised that buying a bike without riding it is a dumb thing to do. My last bike was bought unridden and I had 5 years of frustration as a result. All in all, I think that the bike shops in the areas that I visited were, in the majority, great places and have largely restored my faith in the SA cycle sector.

I recently changed vehicle insurance to King Price, saving R600 per month on the vehicle. They also added my Giant Anthem X (insured at 30k) for R1 and then my kids bikes and my wife's bike and two cellphones for an extra R150 odd per month. Seems like a great price, but not sure what they are like come claim time. Anyone have any experience?

Use it. Love it. I am competitive as hell and use it to target myself for rides and to compare improvements. Sometimes you feel like you did better but strava clearly demonstrates if you did or not. Don't really care how everyone else is doing, just like to keep beating myself

Worth a watch http://www.thebikecomesfirst.com/ever-wondered-why-cyclists-ride-two-abreast-heres-why/

I'll take a number 2. (The t shirt I mean)

Sherbet. Didn't read the name properly. Wrong Wyatt. I will withdraw my immediate and impulsive offer

I'm in bud

Never been there unfortunately, but the usn events are normally pretty well run

Usn #2 is on the 28th of Feb

Ha - maybe the new Vitality club could sponsor her. Then I would happily join

Add details and I will add some bucks

Medals were there. You just had to go and fetch them from the gazebo at the end. My son was adamant that he wanted one.

Agreed RE the marshaling. Would be even better if it was backed up by some serious sanction where people are caught.

Guys Sorry, last request for some help with a decision. So i tested the Specialized camber comp (unfortunately they only had a carbon loan bike) and the Rocky Mountain Element 950 2014 aluminum. Couldn't find any shops with test bikes in any of the other brands. Loved both bikes. However, as a technical noob, which of the two would you say was the best value for money. the Camber comp would be the 2015 model at around 29k and the Rocky mountain is the 2014 model at around 31k. many thanks in advance.

My boy did the 10k as well. His first race by himself. He crashed pretty badly and finished with his shoe soaked from the blood running down his leg and a sprained hand, but really proud of him. Agree about the lighties who seem almost pro in their approach, but good luck to them if they have that level of commitment. Could be a future champ in there. My boy just enjoys the riding and hasn't got the passion to be a champion. He commits his energy to his other sports and just rides MTB for the fun of it.

Chatted to them at one stage. They seemed to be having a great time

Did the 50k USN event at BRB this morning. Great event, but Really disappointed to see guys taking shortcuts on the 20k's that went through the normal brb area, cutting huge chunks of distance by using shortcuts. I saw three different incident. I can't understand the logic. If you don't want to ride 50k's, then don't enter for 50k's. It's not as if I was anywhere near the front and these okes were fighting for podium places. So what do cheats do? Do they go home and tell their family that they cheated or do they just lie and say they rode the whole event?

We normally go from around 4.45 to 6.15

Quality