popcorn_skollie

I think it can still be done tastefully. Levers, calipers and pedals purple? Ooh that's nice. Seatpost clamp, stem, chainring and grips also in purple. Ok...a bit much but still looks good I guess. Wait your riding top is purple too? GTFO

I have nothing against badazzling. I'm certainly guilty of it. But I'm also guilty of poking fun at 'Enduro Barbies' By this I mean the type to go riding dressed like an expensive lego mannetjie. Matching brandsets and more colours than a box of smarties. I have a few branded riding tops, fox, royal, dakine, etc. But also a couple of china cheapies. Namely these two which I almost always opt for just because I'm vain enough to think that my choice is a reflection of creative self expression.

I guess it depends on which brands we find appealing as consumers. Everyone has different tastes. But Hope? Talk about a crowd-pleaser. Not trying to bash them. I give credit to where its due. Hubs and brakes? That prototype enduro frame? Sold. But then I look at that bar. I can't help but wonder how much of its appeal lies in the logo. Is it a good piece of equipment? You better believe it. They know, that we know, that as a brand they're not gonna let us down any time soon. So if they slap their name on it. You best believe they're confident in it as a product. In lieu of just that. Talking purely aesthetics now. Have we as consumers come to translate that brand confidence as bike porn? Is it pretty just because its hope? Come to think of it. That's how I feel about Enve wheels. I mean sure. There's no debating the pedigree but if I'm honest. The primary reason I want them so badly is because of how beautifully they wrap their hoops in that logo.

What is it about hope that everyone finds so appealing?

https://youtu.be/aTzjOI-eXho

Exactly. Everyone is missing the real issue here. And that's because e-bikes are obnoxious. Why do they all have to look like a boomslang that just ate a dassie? And where did Femke get one that looks like a normal bike? If they all looked like regular bikes. Nobody would know. Ergo. Nobody would be so salty about them. I need my cheating to be private. As soon as they look like normal bikes I'm getting one.

You're nuts, the colour is dope!

It'll be nice to ride between the trees again

So sorry. Actually asked my mom to bake some. But last night I was running late and completely forgot to pop in. And my folks are literally footsteps away from my house. I'll bring some next time...

You can but this wont help at all. Get bigger front rings. You can always swop them for when you hit the trails

Yeah I remember that too. I think it was announced at the agm was it 2 years ago? Longer? The new fee and rules regarding agm attendance was news to me. But then I haven't really made an effort to stay informed. I understand the decision. R300 is nothing all things considered. And with enough support it would go a long way to help achieving goals. But not everyone understands that. No matter how many times it's been explained. I also think that everyone who considers themselves a stakeholder should be able to voice themselves. Here or elsewhere for that matter. And why some people would interpret it as a sudden pricetag on being able to do so. Even when that was never the intention. To everyone who loves Tokai as much as I do. Not a single cent of our activity card or daily entrance fees goes to TokaiMTB. It does not help them in any way at all. It merely gains us entry to Tokai so that we may enjoy the activities there. (including mountain biking) Sanparks is not involved in the building or maintenance of any mountain bike trails. Now imagine the degree of frustration TokaiMTB faces attempting to overcome that. Not to mention the plethora of red tape that comes with it in the process. To everyone at TokaiMTB. Thank you. The magnitude of gratitude for everything you have endured and achieved to date really should go without saying. But it doesn't mean that those who raise concerns should be brushed off as unappreciative. They deserve to be heard. To Eddy. I hear you my bru. I share your frustration. To Pierre. I know you reading this. Don't think that all the blood and sweat you put into Tokai over the years goes unnoticed. I see you bra. To everyone else. Come join TokaiMTB. There's a bike in it for one of us. But more importantly. There's trails in it for everyone.

How about some home made pie. Everyone likes pie right? I'll bring some pie...

Bring some snacks tomorrow

Its been 5 years since I started this thread. Since then I occasionally got migraines after exercise. But I'm happy to report that it they occur far less frequently therse days than they did back then. Its actually been a few months since I had one. I saw a couple doctors for help because at the time it was killing me. All had various suggestions but no definitive diagnosis. To be clear so we don't conflate headaches with migraines. I'll describe my symptoms as accurately as possible and divulge what I've since done to help overcome them. The first symptom is this... http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qVFIcF9lyk8/hqdefault.jpg The dreaded aura vision. Usually within 1 or 2 hours after my exercise. It starts as a blurry flicker of light in the corner of my eye. That flicker then gradually grows bigger. It sort of shimmers and distorts my vision for around 45 minutes. For me personally. That aura vision is my timer. Because I experience no pain when it kicks in, but its a warning of the pain about to set in. I've also noticed that the intensity of my aura vision is also a pretty good indicator of the degree of pain I can anticipate. The worse my vision. The worse the pain will be. As the flicker and light grows. It eventually resembles this blurry 'halo' effect around everything I see and THEN it hits me. This intense, dense pressure overwhelms the inside of my skull. I find the darkest corner I can. Curl up, and start dictating my last will and testament. This continues for an hour or 2. Nausea is a sign of salvation. For me it means that the pain will start to subside and now I have to contend with the succubus trying to exorcise itself from my gut. Its horrible. But rather that than the pain in my head. It has to be said though. That the after effects of the pressure type pain would linger in my head for the next 24-48 hours. And during that time. The slightest cough or sudden movement is quick to remind me momentarily of the pain I endurred. I'm quick to take anti-inflammatory pain meds when the aura vision kicks in. Which helps. But not enough to keep me away from seeking asylum and confessing my sins. Here are a few things I do now which help mitigate the onset of migraines. They aren't full proof. But its how I've been able to prevent them...mostly. Probably the most important one for me is pace. Its hard to describe but I'll try. If I climb. I find it better to hold back on the pace just a bit and not exert myself continuously. If I ever feel myself needing to rest. I know I've pushed myself too hard. Short bursts of occasional intense exertion is fine. As long as you allow yourself to recover while still going. Muscle memory and familiar routes helped me with this. I would know where the rocky bits were up certain single tracks. Or short ramps and corners that needed a bit of a crank out of the saddle. I knew where they were and I knew that I would know when and where I could or would push myself for a short period. One of my measuring sticks was Tokai. As long as I can climb from the parking lot to the top of DH1 without needing to stop I'm going at the right pace. Hell I could probably climb for much further if I wanted to but I would also be slower the further I went. But then I've always been a slow climber. Once I reach the top I also feel much better since I'm not really that out of breath. And the better I feel at the top. The more I have in me to pin it on the way down. The next one is anxiety. One of the most excruciating migraines I ever experienced was from a shuttle day. No climbing at all. Just a bakkie ride to the top. Take the bike and bomb down as fast as I can. Repeatedly. I was obsessed with clearing the wooden ramp which goes over the stream of water close to the bottom of the trail at Paarl's Taal Monument. Everytime my back wheel hit wood and I heard and felt that sound I was pissed off. I would push myself so hard in my attempt to clear it. I wanted so desperately to feel my back wheel hit dirt on the landing. But the feature made me nervous. It wasn't the distance of the gap, the speed I needed or my *** technique either. Because there were other jumps that size I was ok with. It was because on that specific little ramp. I couldn't see the landing in my approach. This stressed me out. I knew what was behind it. But I kept thinking that so many people come short on this thing that last few planks were bound to give in at some point. Would I be the one that ends up in this ditch because of it? How hard and fast do I need to ride to clear this damn thing? I was anxious and the adrenaline was pumping. A different kind of exertion. On the drive home that day. To my surprise. I got the aura vision just before I got home and I realized that anxiety was a major factor too. Thinking back it occurred to me how many rides I've had where I was both maxed out on the way up and stressed out on some of the features coming down. These days I tend to relax way more. And even if I've done a big jump or railed a berm or maintained traction on a fast flat corner several times before. If I don't feel up for it I won't attempt it. I just let it go. I tend to have more fun that way. I tend to hit more features when I don't think about or anticipate them too. Other than just a good amount of rest overall. I don't sacrifice rest for adrenalin any longer. I've stopped avoiding carbs. Especially before and after exercise. Probably not the best advice for most people but I noticed that some sugar and/or starch before and after exercise is way better for me than just fruit and water. So I'll eat a pie or sandwich and if its a sunday I'll have the ultimate combination of flour and sugar. Koesisters.

https://youtu.be/CBMretoTFJg Ted has over 20 million subs on Youtube. Yet so few people have actually seen this video. Or rather. Chosen not to watch it. Why is that? There is a word. I cannot for the life of me remember it. And google is no help either. It is loosely defined as: 'Makes sense when you first hear it. Enough not to bother digging any deeper. But when you dig. And really think about it. It doesn't sound right at all.' I want to say sophistry but its not that, although closely related. Sophistry usually implies the use of clever arguments with the intention to mislead or carefully selecting observable truths to justify a false narrative. And no its not an Escher phrase either. Anyways. Now you might watch that video and think. 'mmh, that's neat. But Skollie, Where are all the ships?' Well I'd argue that Africa is *** big. At least compared to Europe. And Europe also has a much longer coastline too. My theory is that back in the day Africans were like: 'Hey lets go see whats behind that mountain over there.' Then when they got there another guy would say: 'Hey lets go see what behind that mountain over there.' Meanwhile in Europe. They were like: 'Your highness. We have been everywhere. There is water all around us. We might have to swim to find other lands. **** that Dartaniel. You better think of something.'

Good point. Hitler and Nazism was so bad. That its almost globally agreed to be the most deplorable human injustice in modern history. And an ironic consequence of that is why its so cheap to use and by extension...inevitable. After which the rhetoric changes. And its perpetrator becomes a villain. By contrast though. While 'Calling Apartheid' might share much of the same paradigm. And its use often ending in the same result. It also has this significant counterweight rooted in the current status quo. Making it not only cheap to use but also cheap to dismiss. If today's government is in the habit of lining its own pockets. Which is not to be ignored. Some folk would find that a far more plausible reason as to why the majority of the country remains in abject poverty. As opposed to blaming the government of yesteryear. In some circles the consequences of apartheid we live with today have become so overshadowed by this. That as an observation its legitimacy seems far more dilute than it should be. Think of the feminist movement over the last century. Women who spent decades fighting tooth and nail for equal rights as men. Only for the recent emergence of feminazis to jump on the bandwagon, steal the spotlight and misrepresent them. https://youtu.be/AG7kGNGwYEQ I love watching these old Schuster pranks. They are far more hilarious than any of the newer rainbow nation stuff. I link it here not for its comical content. But as a reminder that apartheid was real. And that it really wasn't that long ago. The clip is from 1989 to be exact. If you watch the full movie you'd notice signs of the changing times. For instance. One of the Miss South Africa finalists was a black woman. But overall its hard to ignore the undertones of institutionalized racism beneath the humor. I look at that kid waving the AWB flags and wonder where he might be today. I wonder what his opinions are. Was he stuck in the middle? Mindlessly doing what he was told? Has he since grown up? Shaped his own values? Or is it not entirely possible, that as a middle aged white man living in the new South Africa. He watches the news and sees nothing but corruption. He worries about his kids growing up in a country that seems to vilify being white. And he reflects back thinking that what he grew up with couldn't possibly have been as bad as this.

I couldn't find the words. But you paraphrased my thoughts quite nicely. I'd add that while the annoyance of over using apartheid as a scapegoat for contemporary social problems is not without merit. Especially considering our current political climate. Its a dangerous bandwagon to jump on. The chokehold of corruption in our country is so strong today. That its easy to use it as a means to redirect, delegitimize, and attempt to refute such claims even when they are undeniably true.

Its a 9er mos. I like the numbers. They seem sensible. When I saw it I instantly thought to myself. This is a nice change. They should revive some of the sleeping Giants with big travel and small wheels. Maybe a 165mm Reign X and a 180mm Faith.

Microsoft just filed a patent for this thing

I'll give anyone local a chance. And it really should be a cornerstone of the content you'll put out there if you ask me. Like others here have said the internet is saturated with cycling related content. But there's not much about that content which we can relate to us as South Africans. And now that I think about it. There really is no shortage of things we have to talk about But it would hinge on you getting the ball rolling and building an audience to reach that point. Have guests interact on your show. A local distributor, a local bike shop owner and a local who trades exclusively in cycling related goods online. Lets talk about how they operate. Their relationships. The difference between them. The challenges they face. And how that impacts us as consumers. Lets talk to trail builders and committee representatives from various local riding locations. Lets talk to land owners about trails built on privately owned land. Lets talk to custodians of public land used for trail building. Hell lets talk to rogue builders too. Lets talk about the relationships they have with each other. Lets talk about the cost of building and maintenance. The time and work required. Lets have the audience gain a better understanding of the spots they ride, how they operate and what makes them different. Lets talk to victims of cycling related crime. Lets talk to the police, trail marshals and security officials from different spots. Lets talk about hot spots and the frequency of crime in various locations and why certain spots are safer than others. Lets talk to insurance companies, brand representatives and shop owners with regards to warranties. Lets talk about replacement versus repairs. Which companies have which policies. How are those policies implemented and what can we as consumers expect from whom when dealing with such issues. Lets talk to brands, shops and cycling associations about sponsorship. Rider sponsorship. Trail build funding sponsorship. Event sponsorship. Existing relationships and how they work. Why they work. Lets talk about the various things which encourage various companies to engage in sponsorship at all. Their various differences in incentives and so on. Lets talk about injuries.Various injury types. Rider experiences. How did they get injured? What happened? What was the recovery process like? Lets talk to paramedics who have experience tending to rider injuries. Doctors, surgeons and medical personal and their experience with cyclists and the recovery process. Lets hear from folk who had to deal with medical aid refusing cover. What type of cover can we expect between different medical aid plans? Lets talk about the underprivileged. Various outreach organizations. Success stories. Generating an interest in local cycling in poorer communities. Fostering potential talent. Lets talk to our various city representatives about bike lanes and why we have some over here but none over there. What considerations go into implementing bike lanes in various locations to begin with. Rider experiences using them in various locations. Lets talk to motorists and cyclists who have been involved in collisions on the road. Their experiences dealing with such catastrophes. The consequences. Advice. Lets talk about the tensions on both sides of the fence and why people have the perceptions they do. Lets talk to them about their experiences and what they've learned. I think if you have a couple guests representing various sides on any of these issues you'll have an audience listening. And probably an engaging one at that. Also if your show is weekly. Make sure its on a friday...

Looks dope! Love the lines. Whomever designed it clearly drew inspiration from the Lamborghini Countach and also Keira Knightley.

I think you have a 2015 model. Which you could quite possibly have bought new in 2014. There was no expert in 2014. There is one in the 2015 catalog though. FRAME Hydroformed X7 Disc FORK SR SF14 XCR Air 100mm REAR DERAILLEUR Shimano Altus FRONT DERAILLEUR Shimano Altus FD-M370 SPEED 27 Speed SHIFTER Shimano Altus SL-M370 CHAIN WHEEL Shimano Altus M-371 42-32-22T BRAKES Shimano M355 180/160mm CHAIN KMC X9 RIM Titan 29R Disc HUB Alloy Disc Q/R TIRE Schwalbe Racing Ralph Performance Wire 29” X 2.25” PEDAL PP Body/Steel Cage SADDLE Selle Royal Seta S1 SEAT POST Titan Comp STEM Titan Comp HANDLEBAR Titan Flat Bar 660mm GRIP Selle Royal We can't decide whether you need a new bike or not. That's up to you. If you're looking at alternative bikes because you have an itch and you feel its time for a change. Then let us know what you're considering and we can help you with how it would compare and whether its good value or not.

Trying to decide on a preference between clips and flats without much experience of either is tough. And feedback doesn't make it easier. Its a personal choice and you'll learn yours by trying them both. Just don't buy magnet pedals.