Lance212

I have the dubious honour of living across the road from my LBS in Bloem. Jean & his team are never to busy for a friendly chat or to dispense sensible advice; and because they don't use bullying sales tactics but offer quiet, quality service, the place is always full of happy customers (and staff). Last month I bought a secondhand Raleigh RC2000 there - Sora brakes, Tiagra crank & derailleurs - with not a scratch (even my girlfriend, who hasn't the slightest interest in cycling, described it as 'very pretty'). Its strange getting on road bike for the first time since 1987 (anyone remember the Invader 10 speed?) and it still feels a little weird! Like a new puppy, it shares the garage with the big dog, my Momsen 329, which is my regular commuter and weekend toy. If you find yourself in Bloem (what you have done to deserve that I don't want to know), do give Cycle World a visit. It s small shop, of course, but there are good people working there. Btw the high price of petrol has had one pleasant side effect in Bloem - a marked increase in the number of cycle commuters.

Good luck with the search Sabrina. The Axis AR40 is a good place to start. Btw my girlfriend thinks you're crazy, for the reasons posted by all the comedians above :-)

Thanks very much everyone, its a great site, this. The bike is going well- in fact its so smooth I'll have to find a slight detour because I don't get much of a workout on my daily commute anymore! Cheers, and a good 2014 to every "spokes"-person on The Hub.

On the weekend, I spotted an ad on the Hub classifieds; clearance sale of 2013 model Momsen AL329 for R6995 (normal price R9000). Manager (Andrew) gave me a good trade-in price on my old bike, and I took delivery of the Momsen the next day. Great bike, great service, great deal. Just one thing- the Hillcrest branch doesn't seem to appear on the Cycle Logic site's map, but it is definitely worth visiting. Just visiting from Bloem; this was a nice and unexpected Xmas present to myself.