NGM

I've drifted this way too. I started on zwift, but didn't really enjoy the gamification of it all. My ideal scenario would be a separate screen to watch something on youtube while trainerroads just adjusts the program in the background. I balked when they increased the price though. So for now it's Rouvy which is the cheapest of the lot and feels a bit more laid back than zwfit.

@Belinda Roxburgh just tagging your name here so that you get a notification of the above post.

A chain wear checker is so much more than the name suggests. It's a BS detector too. If a seller says a bike is in great condition and but the .75% wear tooth is just falling straight through, you may as well walk away. And even if the seller has not said anything yet, the minute you bring the checker out of your pocket they start telling you everything that is wrong with the bike. Its R200 that saves you much more than that in the long term. I learnt this once the very expensive way and now never look at a second hand bike without one.

Bad press indeed: https://www.2oceansvibe.com/2025/03/26/somerset-west-adventure-tourism-conman-taun-bewsher-arrested-for-fraud/

That definitely happened. My recollection is that they had booked a tour and but then expressed their concerns on this thread, after reading the contents of the thread. Their tour was cancelled soon after that, with their comments on the thread given as a reason for cancellation. The thread was closed immediately thereafter. It looks as though their comments have been removed from the thread now though (probably for legal reasons). Either that happened or I'm looking at the wrong thread, but I'm quite sure the above events played out.

Hahaha I think your post arrived a second or two before mine.

A bikehubber called @Mailman7412 apparently did a trip with him. See this comment:

Do we know this for sure? It may well turn out to be true, but at this stage all I've seen is a post by @varkie2 a few pages back saying "There are reports that a rider has passed away".

Hammerhead users - how do you find the battery life? From all the reviews I've read people generally like it more than, say, the garmin 830, but the complaint is always battery life. Granted, these reviews often refer to the Karoo 2.

Ya I'm sort of in this ecosystem too. To be fair, I've liked all of the Garmin stuff I've owned and most of it has worked very well. I have a Garmin Fenix 3 that I bought in 2016. While the straps have needed replacing, the body is indestructible. I've made very little effort to look after it and electronically I really can't fault it. But my 530 would occasionally provide very dubious elevation readings (it was not the result of a low pressure system). Essentially it just wouldn't pick up changes in elevation on some rides. I asked Garmin to take a look at it (it was still under warranty) and the best I got back was a badly worded email about 4 weeks later asking for proof of purchase. Correspondence was so slow thereafter that the warranty actually expired during that period.

Early days but we seem to have a front runner. Thanks for the input.

And Kate how do we say your surname? 😆

I'm looking for a new bike computer after my Garmin 530 was stolen (along with the bike that was attached to it). I've been a garmin user for maybe 15 years or so now and for bike computers it was a no-brainer in the past. But recently I've found their after sales service to be really poor. By that I mean it is generally well-meaning, but always slow and very often incompetent. Also, I find the heart rate monitors (chest strap style) often stop working after a year or so. I generally don't keep up-to-date with this sort of tech so maybe there are now much better options and the market is more competitive. I do remember a little while ago people talking about the Hammerhead Karoo being a "Garmin killer" it was so good. https://www.hammerhead.io/products/karoo Then there's also Wahoo, Bryton and Polar that I'm aware of. I'm looking at a second hand garmin 830, but do people have other brand recommendations? It doesn't have to be touch screen (like the 830), but that's generally the product level I'm looking at. Thanks

29 more than me. So 29 then.