emortal

Definitely on the way home 10km. If you have a bad day at work, you want to have the option of skipping. If you murdered yourself on the way in you will regret going to gym. Also after legs day, rather have 10km to get home, rather than 20. Also you will have less far to travel if you want to gym on a weekend. I would also worry about over training with 60 km a day plus gym. Also with the closer gym you can drive those days and add cycle to gym from home without it being too heavy.

Can't give a testimonial as I haven't tried any of this out, but I remembered this thread when I found this link... Joe Friel’s Quick Guide to Training With Heart Rate, Power and Pace http://www.trainingbible.com/bkp-all/documents/UsingHeartRate-Power-Pace.pdf

For those who like to see the outcome: 2013 GT Karakoram 29er Shimano ALIVIO 9x3 Tektro Hydralic Disk Medium Frame (Short legs ) From LBS. Thanks for all the advice! Happy as a kid with a new bike!

Feetup, thanks for taking the time to lookup the Momsen. As a 26er it is less fashionable, not that I care, but a lot of folks do and so it does ding the price. The XCR fork is better spec than the one on the Trek. The Alivio vs X4 looks about par, they are both low end, but not the lowest. Can't really comment on the Tekro (sp. Tektro?) disks, all I know is disks should be hydraulic, but hydraulics are a waste on V-brakes, and its easier to upgrade existing disks, than to do a conversion (some frames especially the cheapies that come with V-brakes don't have the space &/ mountings). XL frame would probably be too big for me though. It looks like a good deal, but I've moved up in my ambitions As porqui said, and feetup demonstrated, If you have a mate who knows a bit about bikes, then second hand will get you twice the bike for the price at the low end, (they will know which features are expensive nice to haves - like 29ers, vs a suitable groupset). Unfortunately my mates are generally not interested in bikes. Except for the hippy, who thinks Game is overpriced, but wouldn't buy from their capitalist buts' anyways. Rode his bike to Knysna on holiday . The others would ask where the engine is, and the rest would warn me of the dangers of taxi's. Will harass the LBS on Monday / Tuesday. New Years is messing with my timeline. If they don't confuse me more than I already am, I should have a ride by the end of the week.

I've come to terms with this being a lot more expensive then I initially planned, so I've culled a couple of plans I had and pooled the monies, everything I got for Christmas (I asked for cash), and was a stingier Santa. Sold some *** I've outgrown / lost interest in. And now have R8k for the bike. Will soon be making a nuisance of myself at LBS. Worked out the actual distance and Linden Cycles is actually the closest. This is the sort of thing I have in mind: http://www.trekbikes.com/za/en/bikes/mountain/sport/x_caliber_29/x_caliber_6/ 29er hard tail aluminum frame SR Suntour XCM hydraulic lock-out front fork (100mm travel) Sram X4 shifters w. Shimano M191 front derailleur and Sram X4 rear Shimano M395 hydraulic disc Looking back on this thread, I seem to have learned a lot, but it's still all theory. I will have to use it for more than commuting though, to justify spending so much on toys . I've got a grand for a helmet, a part of me says I need something like this, but I wonder if this is just leftovers from falling off riding bmx as a kid: http://www.bellhelmets.com/cycling/helmets/dirt/helmet-type/full-face/sanction Any last minute advice would be appreciated.

To follow up, decided I've been too cheap. For a long time was considering a hybrid, and used it to motivate me to save. But on second thought a MTB is more versatile, I can just get a set of skinny wheels with slicks if I want better road performance, but I can't put MTB tires on the hybrid. Have managed to scrape together R4500 for a bike, and the longer I wait the more I can scrape. But I dont get to ride... Was eyeing this: http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.co.za/titan-cruz-26-mountain-bike-1.html But should I rather go for this: http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.co.za/titan-cruz-29er-mountain-bike.html Will get from LBS, but they have no website ...

Thanks MH. I do see that there is a lot more value on offer second hand, but I'm afraid I'm doing comparisons based on new price vs used price. I'm pretty sure I'll go with tubeless. Thanks for the Welcome Caerus. I don't think I will make it on a single speed. I've got to cross "Valley Road" on my commute so, I will cry without any gearing so probably 7 gears will do the job, my road bike had 21 gears so I'm not afraid of that aspect. Some of the way the roads are not in good condition, and there is a good short-cut off-road I was counting on. I also prefer MTB handle-bars, I learned to ride on a BMX, and I never liked the road handlebars and stance. Thanks for all the pointers so far, and so will broaden my horizens a bit and consider second hand options.

Hmm. Thanks! Thats an 80 km round trip (if I don't get lost in Spartan again!). So with AA rates, about R300 (excluding e-tolls). And a similar cost if I need to take it back. I've heard good things about them (FLS) though. Is it going to be worth stiffing the LBS?

Sure. Unfortunately it's of no immediate use to me as I'm not sure what the difference between aluminium, carbon fibre, and unobtanium is. I'm only 90% sure that 29 vs 26 is about wheel size. Thus I R noob

Hi Hubbers, I've been lurking the forums for a while, and have decided to commit. I've not riden a bike for about 15 years, at least not one that could make it out of the gym without carying it. Anyhow I've quit my stressful IT desk job, and am now doing something much closer to home, but not as stressful (nor lucrative). The office is 3.5 km from home, so walking is an option, but I would like to cycle. There is a fairly uncoperative hill on the way (both ways!). I'm 5'9 and 90kg's, that's a little overweight ;-) I'm looking at getting a MTB, without spending too much. My closest LBS is Fountain Cycles (FC) - its fairly dead and unfriendly, but the owner was attentive to my needs, and didn't try to hard-sell me. I've also checked out Linden Cycles (LC), which was super busy and friendly, and chock-a-block, but out of my way. Also checked out Northcliff Cycles (NC) which seemed to be between the two, but it's not as far away as Linden. I've got my eye on a few cheapies, I prefer new, so I can shout at people if something goes wrong: http://www.sportsman...ntain-bike.html http://www.sportsman...ntain-bike.html http://www.bicycling...rs-guide/a90-2/ The price range is around R2500. Cheapest place is sportsmans, but the way they treat the bikes, does not inspire confidence. Bike shops are about R400-R500 more expensive for the same bike. Am gonna get a full helmet, I need my pip. If the commuting takes, my commuting savings can go towards a better bike. Would appreciate any advice from other commuters.