NGM

Sure, will hang on to them.

I've had these 3 bike touring pannier bags sitting around at home and wont use them again. They were my partners pannier bags on a long bike tour and during heavy rain some of her kit inside did get a bit wet. That aside, they worked well and clipped onto tubus racks without trouble. Someone can have them for free if they collect them from me in stellenbosch. Otherwise they're going to the charity shop.

Everyone from 5th to 37th place is on the same time. Position is arbitrary.

This is how I feel about it too. The order also matters. If a buyer exhibits behavior I disapprove of after I've given them my word, then I'd be OK with going back on it. It's new information. But if I gave them my word in spite of this/after the fact, then it's on me to honor that. And if a 3rd party contacts me in the mean time saying "I can be at your house in 20 minutes with the cash" then I would give the original buyer a deadline, just to be sure he keeps his word too.

It was this post that prompted me to do the same. I was gifted a garmin 800 with a cracked screen from a family member who doesn't ride anymore. I emailed garmin and eventually got a badly worded email back that essentially said "We can't replace individual screens but feel free to hand-deliver the device and one of our technicians will book it in and then given you a quote on a replacement unit" or something along those lines. So I picked up a replacement one from AliExpress and, like you, 2 mins and it was replaced. It's working well so far. The only pain in the whole process is AliExpress' delivery company, imile, who just come across a dodgy.

Ah right! Well I hope you enjoy it. I recently read a book called "The best, the emperor and the milkman: a bone-shaking tour through cyclings flemish heartlands" - basically an englishman touring flanders watching as many classics as he can, fueled on beer and fries/frites. Sounded like fun, at least for a day or two.

This is getting silly. We all know the only plausible option is Adrien Boichis. Beers and Boichis. It might be the greatest south african team name ever.

I lived in the UK for 8 years before coming back. While the winters were pretty miserable one of my big regrets was not popping over to belgium to watch cyclocross (on TV it looks like a great vibe) and some of the cobbled races. So if you manage to do that, you will be making at least one person from big sky country a little bit jealous.

I just want to manage my expectations here... is that a "no" on florian lipowitz?

Thanks.

I recently bought a replacement garmin screen off Ali Express and received a whatsapp from iMile (their couriers i believe) asking for my ID number as it's required to clear customs. The message looks legit but at the same time, I generally don't click on links in Whatsapp, especially not ones asking for my ID number. Has anyone come across this in orders from AliExpress?

Well the amateur rider did upload this photo to his ride on strava: So I'd imagine if jonas had just slowed down he would have done the same to get some better photos. That's speculation of course. But to assume Jonas could have just pulled the brakes to let him go past might be a bit like assuming a famous actor could just slow down and let the paparazzi drive away. Then he posts a self-righteous rant, most likely because he actually feels bad about it and is being defensive, or because he wants people to know he handled a descent better than a TDF winner. I'd find it annoying if i was out training. In fact its the main reason I didn't go pro.

While not specific to deer park, all you have to do is read the first paragraph of this to see one of the many reasons that there is an incentive to remove the exotic trees from table mountain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose's_ghost_frog Note, this frog exists nowhere else on earth. Unlike the invasive Grey Squirrel which has a healthy population in its native US and several countries in europe where it was introduced to devastating effect. Large stands of Eucalyptus and Pine are known Stream Flow Reduction Activities. A world famous study on this was actually carried out in Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch. I'll happily read any evidence to the contrary. The people in the 1700s who thought the vegetation was dull and boring probably didn't realize they were looking at the smallest (by land area), yet most genetically diverse floral kingdom on earth.

Also wondering this. He used to be the default/go-to guy, along with Jared.

I've been stopped by customs both times I've brought a bike box through arrivals in CT. The first time it was a bike I'd brought over from South Africa in the first place, and could show them the receipt indicating purchase in RSA. The second time it was a 2nd hand frame I'd bought in the UK. I again had to show them the receipt (ebay) and in this case it needed to be below R5000 (it was - a 200 pound frame), to meet this requirement (see the last paragraph): https://www.sars.gov.za/customs-and-excise/travellers/duties-and-taxes-for-travellers/ This happened last year, so fairly recently. My point is, it's not a formality or forgone conclusion that you will just waltz through. In both cases I was walking with what was very clearly a cardboard box containing a bike, so maybe it made their eyes light up. If you have a more discrete and generic looking padded bag you are less likely to be checked in my opinion.

I love a pedantic rant, genuinely. When they are well articulated and involve cycling it's even better. A related pet peeve is when people (quite often the POTUS) say "I feel badly for him". To "feel badly" means that the mechanism or skill you use for feeling is inadequate, or not working properly. It's like saying you ride badly, i.e: you are not good at riding. It certainly doesn't mean you feel sympathetic toward someone. Also, the chorus to this 90s classic now makes a little more sense. Thanks.

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Yeah I saw that one in amongst the rest: https://bikepacking.com/bikes/32-inch-bikes-2025-made-bike-show/ I find the bend on the Btchn's seat tube to be a little aggressive for my tastes, despite being nice looking otherwise. The Neuhaus Metalworks bike I could definitely throw a leg over.

The unicycle folks have been way ahead of us on this one: https://www.unicycle.com/unicycles/road-touring-29-32-36/

If I'm being completely honest with you guys (and I always try to be), an FTP shortfall of about 300W was another big factor in not going pro. But the principle remains. I don't want them telling me I can't race a 36er.

The UCI banning stuff is my main reason for not turning pro.

Those are the only two options I'm aware of if you want 105 STIs with 11 speed mtb casette. But I'm no expert. Shimano CUES does seem to be a step toward standardizing pull ratios.. I've also successfully played around with bar-end shifters to get an mtb groupset working with drop bars, but this is not for everyone. Some interesting reading (that includes the 2 shimano options you mention above): https://bikepacking.com/gear/guide-to-mullet-drivetrains/ Given that you now have two 11spd mtb RDs, I suspect the tanpan option is cheaper? And it means you can at least make use of one of them. The 105 STI plus 11spd GRX RD would sort out your pull ratio issues but you MAY still need an RD extender (also wolftooth) on top of the GRX RD. Again though, I'm not an expert and haven't played around with any of the wolftooth stuff specifically. I have heard good things about the tanpan though.

Did you mean for this to be on another thread?

A decision was made on the day (in fact mid-race) to neutralize the GC contest with 50km to go due to rain, effectively removing all risk for Tadej and allowing him to attack and go for the win. He wouldn't have attacked otherwise. He even says as much here: So ya, an incredibly big call for Visma to predict all of that 1 week beforehand and base their entire strategy around it.