Blackheart

'Course she does.

HI, just completed this and super stoked (so i'm posting it again, if you have already seen this over at Left Field XC, I apologise). Specs: Frame: Niner ROS Fork: RS1 120mm Wheels: AM classic 3834 on Tune King & Kong Groupset: Eagle XX1 Brakeset: Formula Cura Seatpost: RS Reverb Stealth Stem: Niner RDO 80mm Bar: Niner RDO carbon 780mm Saddle: Fizik Tundra 2 Carbon Pedals: Time Absalon Tyres: Maxxis Ardent 2.4 Skinwall (because I'm a slut) A big thank you to Nev at BikeMob/Niner and to those of you who I bought stuff off from here.

Following on from my previous post, here's the finished build. Specs: Niner ROS frame RS1 120mm fork Tune King & Kong hubs AM Classic 3834 rims XX1 Eagle Formula Cura brakes RS Reverb Stealth dropper post Niner RDO stem & bar 780mm Maxxis Ardent Skinwalls (because I'm a slut) Weight all in: 12,4kg

Niner ROS

I've been recovering from injury and then surgery for the best part of year now. During the downtime I sold all my bikes and am now in the process of building up a left field trail/fun/race bike. I too was bored with cookie cutter/jelly mould tupperware bikes, so decided to build up something different. Parts started arriving today and I'll put up a pic when its all done. Basic spec: Niner ROS Steel frame. RS1 120mm fork. Tune Hubs with 3834 AM Classic rims. XX1 Eagle. RS Reverb dropper. Should be a fun experiment.

In the context of this thread, here is my most recent buying experience in Hubland. My nephew recently turned 21 and pooled all his birthday money to get his first 'real' mtb. He asked if I would assist him with finding something on Gumtree.... I introduced him to the wonderful world of Bikehub. Stay away from Gumtree says I, the guys over at Bikehub are cool, and we'll, find you the right bike at the right price, with the right name on the downtube...... Que a 2 week bombardment of screen grabs and questions at all hours. He was so excited. We eventually settled on the right bike, fair price and local enough to check out. About an hours drive away. He set up a viewing time with the seller and off he went, I was unable to go with him so he was armed with a basic 'walk away' checklist. His report back: The seller wasn't at the meeting place at the agreed time, and when he did get hold of him he was told that the bike had been sold.... Now, I wasn't there in person, but I can't think of a good reason why he would make that up.

I must say I'm a bit gobsmacked by some of the attitudes/views here, in both directions. Sure we all have varying ideas of how to conduct sales, but surely there are some basic values which apply regardless. If I'm selling something I will first establish what I believe is a fair price. If I post an add without listing my personal criteria for conducting the sale, then I have to expect lowball offers, non constructive comments, and to receive replies via all the listed avenues. As such I should assume equal importance to each communication. If I'm buying something I should also know what a fair price and have realistic expectations thereof. I will not engage in communication if I do not have the cash immediately to hand to conclude, and in all communications I will be honest and respectful. Aren't these just normal, basic ways of conducting oneself in any business dealing? Or maybe it's just me and this has become a different place to operate in?

Is there an issue with pm's reaching the sellers? I've enquired after a few items for my new bike build recently, some have replied within minutes, some have not acknowledged at all..

Hi Cois I was diagnosed with a high grade non Hodgkin's lymphoma, I was initially given 2 weeks to live due to the size of the tumor and how involved it was with my colon, liver and spleen. I had half my colon removed along with various other bits and pieces, 8 months of chemo, 31 consecutive days of the highest dose radiation treatment. That was 20 years ago this year. I don't list the above to boast, or to prove anything, just to let you know that I've been through the ringer, I know what it's like in the trenches, and I'm here to chat anytime. If you don't feel like chatting, that's cool too, but if you do, I'm here. Please feel free to pm me anytime, or if you'd rather chat here, also fine. If we don't chat, can I please leave the best single piece of advice I ever received. My Oncologist once told me, and I held on to this so tightly. "I can only guarantee you one thing through all of this, it is not certain that if you fight with everything that you will live. What I can guarantee is that if you don't fight with everything you have, you will die."

"He's been cleared....so why's this thread still going?" Armstrong was also 'cleared' by the controlling interests of the day, and many others before him... The more things change the more they really are just the same.

Loads out Riebeek Kasteel way.

I'm about to release such an app within the next month or two. We've been developing and testing it for the last 18 months and are just about ready. Key features: It will be available for Android and iOS. It will have a user setting for the crash alarm threshold. Alarm will fire off a packet of info containing the location and the severity of the impact (based on the G force recorded). The recipients of the rescue signal can be chosen by the user, multiple or singular. We will be linked to a central control room which can notify emergency services. The information will be recorded and correlated in order to be sent out as notifications to subscribers. This will allow tracking and advance warning of hotspots. The app will also have a manual activation which allows for a user to alert recipients of 3rd party incidents. There will be a proper launch happening soon. Will keep you all posted.

Just arrived back in CT to this news. Best Christmas present. Massive thank you to all who made this happen.

"I understand this comes as a shock". Only shock is that you think it might.

Does it cure bilharzia too?

I can't speak highly enough of this: Bluegrass Goldeneyes. A gift from my sister in the UK vis CRC. Light, comfy, vents well, good protection, some well thought out features like the soft kevlar chin strap and a gel strip around the front. Worth a look.

Yes, it was breeding time and she was injured. He didn't care....

Some years ago I did design work for the Joburg Zoo, one of our little projects was to keep 2 Orangutans apart for a few weeks. We erected a diamond mesh screen bolted with M12 bolts with lock nuts, to a steel frame rawl bolted into the concrete wall. We tightened the nuts with a socket and a pipe extender as hard as we could, with loctite as a back up. It took about half an hour for the male to figure out how to loosen the bolts with his forefinger and thumb. We then tack welded the nuts, took a little more effort on his part but he still managed to break the welds and undo the bolts just using his hands.

I have suffered with this in the past too. Tried all the corrective hardware.....For me it was mostly down to wrist angle. The Ergon and Specialised grips align your forearms, wrists and hands in a more correct fashion. Contrary to popular misconception, the little wings (que Jimi) are not for resting on. However.. They generally increase surface contact area and that was an issue for me. I took some time out to train my wrist alignment, without having to use grips which did it for me. I think it's a very personal thing, but for me: Wrist angle without the crutch of a shaped grip. Weight distribution between all contact points - feet, arse, hands. Core strength. Hip angle and rotation. Gloves with no padding whatsoever. Hope this helps.

Just don't tell them it's for a bicycle - the price tends to increase.....

Hi I've had the same difficulty in the past raining for Trans Karoo, Trans Baviaans and 100 Miler. It's a bit more than 45min (depending on where you live), but I've found it to be perfect. Use Riebeek Kasteel as your starting point, you can basically hit most of the district roads out there and get a decent 4/5 hours in on the right kind of surface. Once trained exclusively on the road for TK and had great leg speed but got hammered by not training for the corrugations. I believe there are some routes on Strava, if that helps.

Absolutely agree. Vinales pressures Rossi, Rossi outbreaks himself and goes down. Vinales sportingly sits up and waits for Rossi to remount and catch up.. And that's a teammate.

Damn. Again..

During yesterdays 100 miler, I was pondering how the rest of you fill the silence in ones head. I've found counting pedal strokes to be the surest way of going insane. In recent years I've taken to the longer races and have found a pattern of singing, playing guitar riffs, being commentated on and having various existential arguments with myself. For instance, yesterday I began by singing all the Chris Cornell songs I know. That started to make me sad, so after debating the correlation between extreme artistic talent and dying young, I switched to Dave Gilmour solos. After finishing Comfortably Numb at Wembley, the commentating began. It's usually Phil and Paul, because of the comedic potential. Phil "He's cracked Paul, he's cracked!" Paul "I don't think so Phil, he doesn't have the acceleration of the pure climbers. He's got to get the turbo spinning up on that big diesel engine, and he'll work his way back at his own tempo. He is after all what we call a diesel in this sport of professional cycling." Phil "You know what Paul, I think you might be right." I think I should stop there, before I reveal myself too much. Curious about how you all pass the time..

Did my 6th one, found the corrugations the worst yet..and more sand than usual. It was my first one on a FS, and I'm really glad about that! Respect to all who took the start, and to all the finishers.