Rock Guy

Nevermind, all the T's and C's. The trails really aren't that great. I mean it's a beautiful valley, but the trails aren't well maintained and are very limited. You can go and ride MUCH better trails in Stellies for absolutely zero rands. Or you could join the Winelands club AND Tygerberg MTB for less than a quarter of the price ( where you'll have access to world class single track and stunning scenery). Not sure what exactly these Lourensford okes a growing in that valley, but they should seriously consider smoking less of it. Seems they have lost touch with reality. On the other hand, if you're the kind of person that actually wants to pay this much for "exclusivity" it is perhaps best for us not to cross paths.

How long is a piece of string? Most people I ride with have had rear hubs die one way or another (myself included), So I'd argue it is something that happens fairly regularly. 10 000km is not a negligible distance to put on a wheelset. How often do you service your hubs? I.e. pull apart, clean and regrease (not including Dec after hearing suspicious noises). If the answer is "never", then I'd say you got some good zero effort milage out of the hub and bearings. Sadly though, nothing in life is free and now the gods of cycling have come to collect.

I also saw that on one of the Stellenbosch Whatsapp groups. I ride that road very often and always thought it was a much safer alternative to the R44 heading to Somerset West. I have not seen any further info on the incident on Bikehub or elsewhere.

If had to guess, the DQs are probably related to confusion in the start chute. I started in F (first race in years, so no relevant seeding), and it was impossible to know when the F batch was actually supposed to start. Seemed like people were just sort of guessing. I personally just followed the masses. If there was any instruction over megaphone, I certainly could not hear it. Also, the actual batch starting areas on the sports field were completely disregarded and unused. Poor event coordination in my opinion. That said, I really enjoyed the race.

Pretty much

The response I've received from Castelli SA on the matter has been somewhat disappointing so far: "Just from my side – at 1st glance, the fabric has 100% been caught on something prior to the training session. This as we know can happen with the smallest sharp object catching the fabric at any time." Waiting on a response from Castelli Italy, but if the local rep basically thinks you're a scamster (and that all bibs are presumably made of delicate parchment paper) it does not bode well.

Thanks for the advice I'll go check them out. They're not too far from where I work either.

It's supposed to be some fancy pants new lighter weight material. You can ready the marketing blurb here: https://www.castelli.co.za/products/black-november-2-pair-deal-castelli-superleggera-bib-2020-21-black-bib First time I'm trying Castelli So I had no idea what the quality would be like. Maybe it lasts, maybe it doesn't. The fact that it arrived pre-punctured certainly does not inspire confidence though. Which Assos bibs would you recommend for road cycling?

Should have probably read this thread before ordering from Castelli. Noticed a hole in the spandex on a brand new bib short, wearing it for the first time yesterday on the ITD. I'm not very optimistic on how the warranty replacement "experience" will go down.

I'll escort myself to the door now. I know better than to try and be rational on BikeHub. Good luck in buying your new bike @Dylanmtb. Post some pics here once you take delivery. You're looking at the right brand for a good value bike. Maybe Titan can upgrade the wheelset for you??? Otherwise Lyne are pretty good replacements at a reasonable pricepoint. Opt for wheels that are a bit over-engineered. They will be heavier, yes, but nothing is worse than wheels that buckle after every ride.

Fooled you once, shame on them. Fooled you twice... I too have destroyed a ton of wheels. I also ride trail/enduro. My garage is decorated with the carcasses of countless wheels in various states of disrepair. There is no point blaming a manufacturer if you bought a bike with specs that weren't fit for purpose. You should have done your homework. In order to get a product to a certain price point and meet the required profit margin, compromises will be made. Sure, the bike company decides on what these compromises will be, but ultimately you choose what you buy, and different companies compromise in different areas. Personally I don't mind buying a bike with wheels that aren't fantastic. You can pick up a decent wheelset for a reasonable price once the OEM ones die. They key thing here is knowing that the OEM wheels will not last very long and budgeting for a replacement wheelset. Replacing poor quality suspension or drivetrain components are going to cost you a pretty penny, and can make for a horrible riding experience, so I prioritize these when buying a new bike. But hey, I guess you could stick to buying poorly specced bikes and passing all blame to the manufacturer. It just seems like a very frustrating way to live.

Generally speaking, for cycling components: You can have it light, you can have it strong, you can have it cheap. More often than not, you can only pick two of these attributes. The problem that occurs is when people want cheap and light bikes. This is when manufactures install garbage components. Cheap, light components will never last. Sadly, price and weight are arguably the primary factors that people consider when buying a new bike. So really we cant blame manufacturers for giving us what we are asking for. Value for money is a different story. I'd argue that some brands are selling their bikes at much higher price points than other brands, even if the components are very similar and the frame manufacturing is all done in the same factory in Taiwan. This is why brands like Titan, Silverback and Signal exist. The big name brands have overpriced their bikes by such a margin that a whole new (decent quality, mind you) value bike market has come into existence.

So…this happened As far as my wife is concerned, this bike was exactly 50k. Took her for ride this morning, just beautiful.

I've looked at the Titan, but my preconception of Titan having historically been a value brand, focused on the lower end of the market, causes me to worry about manufacturing quality. The fact that this bike (the Valerian Carbon Elite) is incredibly good value, makes me even more suspicious. I don't know of any other SRAM Rival specced bike with carbon wheels anywhere close to this price point. As the saying goes, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is". Are Titan just being very aggressive in pricing to win market share? Are they making compromises to come in at a lower cost point? Do they have to drop the price to account for the fact that you may have buy coffee for all your buddies on rides because you're not riding a "Roady approved" brand?