Tractor

So true, I can't start being half assed about it now only to regret not doing it properly later

Thanks, it turned into a bit of a "labour of love" but I'm really happy with the results

I threw the packaging away so got this off the Tork Craft website - I just used the green compound. There's a chart on the back of the insert that tells you which compound to use for the different types of metal and the finish you want. The disk just attaches to a power drill. I found that my smaller Makita worked way better than the bigger one - it's lighter so easier to handle and it can be set to a slower speed which seemed to work better. I also found that reversing the direction of the drill helped in some of the harder to reach places. It is dirty work and I eventually ended up wearing a dust coat, my cheap ass running gloves and a pair of old clear cycling glasses and still ended up looking like an 18th century coal mine worker afterwards. At first I tried doing big sections of the tube at a time but found that if I concentrate on a small area and get that to where I wanted it to be before moving on it actually went faster than doing the big sections over and over. The kit cost me R160 at the local Builders Warehouse.

Imagine being able to jump on a dirt road here in Jhb and cycle all the way through to Pretoria without having to worry about cars! Logistically longer training rides would just be so much easier

The words that got me sold on the good stuff - don't think I could polish a bike every month or so, unless I wanted to go for the Nadel fiddler arm look

Just when I thought all the work was finished - now it's not just any polish but only the Chip Foose special edition super wax

Under the guidance of divernick's earlier posts I'm just going to use some car wax

Now to find the missing hanger!! Has anyone ever made one up? I can template the shape from the frame and make it up from aluminium plate, surely can't be that difficult?

Thanks to some inspiration from divernick a-polishing I did go. Cheated a bit by buying a polishing attachment for the drill from the local Builders Warehouse but it's still pretty much a dirty and LOOONG process. Pictures of the polished frame without any wax on yet.

Terrible news, RIP and condolences and strength to friends and family

Longest I managed on the On-One (32-16) was the Crater Cruise long ride some years ago which turned into a LONG day in the saddle, but I must admit I enjoyed every minute of it. Best of luck to all riding their SS this weekend - may the down hills be with you, may the up hills be short, and hopefully you're geared right for the straights

WOW! That really is awesome, well done. So much for the spray painting or powder coating idea; I reckon it needs to become a labour of love and be polished

I got it without one but I think I saw one at Solomons in Pta that will fit - looks like there's 2 different types of hangers for the RM frame; do you perhaps have one lying around?

Can I just use a very fine grit sandpaper or emery board / water paper to get everything shiny and then put the wax over that?

Thanks! I was going to have the frame sprayed but after stripping off all the paint I'm not so sure anymore. Perhaps polish it as you say and then clear coat it? Or can the frame just be left polished without a clear coat? Maybe powder coat it (which is like a fifth of what it costs to have the frame sprayed)?

From a fully painted brand new RM frame to a raw aluminium frame minus the cable guides

Slow progress thanks to work driving me nuts BUT I did manage to strip the frame of all its paint. Don't know if it's maybe the quality of the paint on the RM frame (cheap?) or the quality of the paint stripper (potently bad ass?) but it actually wasn't that bad of a job to do; basically a morning and it was done.

The guy looks like a freaking alien, surely not that hard for the dumbass cops to find him in the area? Problem is he knows his way in and out by now so you are going to have to make some radical changes to stop him and his mates

Just one more bump and there could have been a whole lot of pain!

R1200 for the bike (lets say no haggling) and minimum R1900 for a decent spray job here in GP = R3100 for what really is just an old bike. You'd be better off buying something like a SE or simple Sam single speed / fixie for R4500 brand new - they don't only look cool but are awesome to ride as well

Take the usual precautions, remember Lesotho is a really poor country. If you're keen on horse riding perhaps stay at Malealea Lodge and join one of their trips (from a half day to multi-day), there's plenty to do in the area so might be worthwhile using that as a base and exploring from there.

Plenty to do in Lesotho, if you're keen just to mtb base yourself at a place like Afriski and enjoy the area - bike, hike, run, etc. Other attractions / areas worthwhile having a look at would be the Khatse dam (you can camp at the lookout point near the dam wall which is pretty cool), Malealea, Maletsunyane Falls, etc. Just remember that although the distances in Lesotho aren't huge they take serious time to travel (twists and turns, up and down) so plan accordingly and don't drive at night

Typical Highveld thunderstorm we've just had - normally short and sweet, usually worthwhile just waiting a while for the worst to pass and as previously mentioned switch on ALL lights and pedal

Nice to see a variety of stuff all in one place which would normally require visiting a couple of different stores. Hopefully it goes from strength to strength and grows

Freaking excellent