NGM

Useful feedback, thanks. What tacx model did you go for?

Your answer reminded me of something I forgot to ask. In all likelihood, my wife will want to use the kickr as well. Our bikes are both 11s shimano with quick release, so I will buy a new shimano 11s cassette for the trainer. I know it's better to let one chain and cassette wear down together, but putting that aside, swapping bikes out from time to time should be too much of a hassle right?

I am thinking of getting of buying the wahoo kickr core and have a couple of questions. Skimming through this thread it seems there are some reliability issues (belt and bearing failure seem common) but provided you are within warranty period then it's replaced (or less likely, fixed). The unhappy customers mostly seem like people who are outside of warranty and have no choice but get rid of their unit because, say, the belt has failed. Which is fair enough,I'd be annoyed. But I'm just trying to work out my own worst case scenario: which is that I pay R12K for a new one and have 2 good years, after which the warranty expires and I may be up a creek if something goes wrong. This is risk I'm prepared to take; I would have paid that to have a nice indoor trainer given the winter we've had in the cape. I'm just trying to work out if there are any other pitfalls I should be aware of, particularly if buying the kickr core. They seem to be discounted at most stores. It might just be one of those falsely inflated prices tricks that nobody falls for (Was R10 Million, now only R12K) but it may be because they are becoming obsolete for some reason I'm not aware of, or a known fault, etc. So I just wanted feedback: are most people generally happy with their Kickr cores? Would you buy something different if you had the chance? I see myself wanting to subscribe to one of the bigger apps (Zwift, Rouvy) - I take it plays nicely with all of these? Is local wahoo support good?

Ah right, thanks!

This news is already 6 days old, but haven't seen anything here. So just sharing this as a PSA: https://bike.shimano.com/en-US/information/customer-services/corrective-actions/11-speed-hollowtech-ii-crankset-recall-notice.html Recall will apparently be at global scale. A bit more info here: https://www.bikeradar.com/features/opinion/shimano-crankset-recall-analysis/

I see he has the L'Angliru KOM. Primoz and Jonas showing true class by not uploading their rides....

Seriously dude what's the No 1 rule about fight club.

Interesting, I can find at least 5 websites where they claim it is Small Knob. I guess Panaracer got tired of immature people like me and changed it.

Hahaha I do, but I know some don't. It's a conundrum.

You take that back!

Hahahah, for real though: https://bike-addict.co.za/products/panaracer-gravel-king-sk-700c-gravel-tyre-black

Correct, good memory. I switched to specialized pathfinders and didnt look back. Only other thing i can add to this convo is that the SK in Gravelking SK stands for Small Knob.

Ya, Sepp is on the team to be a domestique. It's what he signed up for. Jonas and Roglic are there to win the GC. And they are clearly stronger riders. Generally speaking, Sepp can't hold their wheel when things get really tough. And we've even seen that in this tour. Sepp wasn't attacked yesterday by his own team, despite what thousands of angry fans are saying. He just couldn't keep up, and if anything it looks like the other two didn't ride full gas to the end for that very reason. So what we are really saying is that they should let the weaker rider win because everyone really likes him. The argument that he deserves special treatment because of all the work he did for those guys in the past is not much of an argument. He's there to work for them and likely enjoys a handsome salary and the prestige of being in a GC winning team, winning bonuses, etc. But... running a team is an exercise in publicity too. The sponsors want winners, sure, but they also want to be loved by the public. So for me it's in Jumbo's best interest as a business to win AND get the nice guy over the line first, or face some sort of public backlash, whether it is warranted or not. Then there is also the team dynamics to consider. If he gets dropped today and loses red for good, will he really be willing to empty his tank next summer for JV? Unless something really drastic happens, he can win from here. Could be pyrrhic victory if they don't at least try to help Sepp win. Again, all just my opinion. And re-reading this I sound like an important part of Team JV's Management, instead of the keyboard warrior that I am.

Maybe I'm naive but I think they are genuinely shepherding him along while still keeping their options open with Jonas and Primoz as failsafes. If JV riders 2 and/or 3 make a mini attack, and then other GC riders end up being the de facto domestiques for Kuss to try and close the gap. If riders try to close the gap, Kuss benefits. If they don't, then a JV rider in 2nd or 3rd gains valuable time, without Kuss losing any to a rival team. The net result is Kuss keeping his initial buffer of a few minutes over all non-Jumbo riders, while RV riders 2 and 3 end up within a few seconds of first place. That said, I think the win is just about in the bag now. Tomorrow is the last mountains day. So if there are no external GC threats tomorrow but Jonas and/or Primoz intentionally put time into Kuss for no reason other than wanting to win for themselves, then ya, it would really be kinda lousy and would blow my previous paragraph out the water. But I guess they are all entitled to try and win. It was never on the cards for Sepp to win this, it's just something us sentimental fans would love to see. Also, I don't know as quite as much about cycling as King Kelly.

I guess Remco's prospects probably depend on how long a leash he gets from the peloton. At this stage it's pretty long. I personally don't think he excels on REALLY long climbs (not to say that he doesn't have an incredible "engine") but if he and a bunch of other breakaway regulars get 10 minutes then it could happen. That said, if Kamna is one of those breakaway regulars, I know who I will be shouting for. As for the GC, I'm with you. I'm hoping Vingegaard's gains yesterday were just an insurance policy on Sepp blowing up today, I'd love to see Sepp win. But I guess in the team bus the instructions will be that the strongest man on the Angliru must go. And if that's the case, for me the most likely outcome is Vingegaard gaining a minute or two on the next closest rider.

Ya for sure, i think I'd heard as much (about him not being keen on the GC pressures). And it wouldn't make sense when Roglic and Vingeguard are both superior GC riders anyway. It would just be a really fun thing to see if they said "What the hell, we've won a number of tours this year, including the two biggest ones. Let's just have fun and see if we can get Sepp onto the podium".

Yeah, such a likeable guy as well. While I think most people (myself included) are only half-serious about him going for it, if riders like Vingeguard and Roglic did actually ride for him as the GC guy, they would get all-time legend status in my eyes.

And you guys thought I was joking.

Bernal should count himself lucky to have only one weak leg. I have two. For me the GC race primarily comes down to Vingeguard's fatigue. If he has the same legs he had at the Tour then I just can't see any outcome other than all the others losing minutes to him in the mountains. But the Tour was brutal and only a month ago, so that might level the playing field out a bit. Note really on topic but.... I feel like Grand Tours are slowly becoming more climber focused. Take the 92 Tour: 3 individual time trials; 8km, 64km and 65km. Plus a 64km team time trial. I think there were only 2 REAL mountain stages. So Indurain could destroy rivals in the TT and then minimize losses in the mountains. These days the inverse strategy could be used. Crazy to think, but if he'd shown up on the scene now, Indurain might have "only" be a super domestique in the mould of Ganna. Or inversely Ganna might have been a GC rider in 92. It seems like a gradual trend toward more mountainous terrain and less TT, but the people who curate the route end up having a large say in the rider's legacy.

A nice interview with Sepp Kuss' two domestiques.

Despite the good surfaces, one thing I have noticed about the "utopian" western cape is how much busier the roads have gotten. I've been here for 10 years now and there were stretches of road where it was very easy to get a gap in the traffic (both oncoming and in my lane) if I needed to turn right. Not so anymore. Combine that with a declining appetite for risk and I actually do very little road biking on a genuine road bike anymore. I use a gravel bike just because it's that must easier to ride a stretch of road safely if it has no hard shoulder, it's easier to make a hasty jump up onto a kerb, etc. Plus I'm not too concerned about trying to be fast or aero' anymore, just comfortable and safe. Side note: I'm sure I remember some thread on the hub about a kzn race being cancelled due to poor road quality. I thought it was the amashova but a quick google tells me I'm wrong.

I think "Gravel is future" is unrelated to the comments about cost. The comment about cost relates to a general decline in the willingness to start the sport, whatever your flavor of bike. ie: Road cycling: expensive and dangerous. Gravel cycling: just expensive. Therefore "Gravel is future." That's how I took it anyway.

Looks like a session.

It's poor form. "The UCI is worse than a UTI" - some guy on pinkbike that I agree with.

Me too. I love his interviews. He has this "Cafe Ride" series of episodes on youtube where he chats to famous cyclists about their careers. I enjoyed the one with Bradley wiggins despite not being the biggest wiggins fan. He (Stephens) is modest, quick witted, always interested and always asking good questions. A very likeable guy.