JXV

Your chainline has probably altered with the new crank. You may need to add or remove spacer shims to correct it.Issue at the rear on shifting.....maybe check b screw and adjust it just enough for the big cog to work properly.

When you ride the Wild Coast at any time other than the Imana event, most of the ferries are not operational at river crossings. We had to swim our bikes across at least two of the crossings so they were totally immersed in salt water. Was glad I took an old bike - then had to do a strip and rebuild immediately after. Serious corrosion was already beginning after just a few days. If you can stay out of the water and waves it is much less severe but the sand is still very abrasive.

Actually battery life on the DSLRs is generally much better than on the compact and mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. But yes, size is an issue. You will carry a small light camera with you more often and get the pics whereas a big heavy beast stays at home more often. Quite important to know your GF wants in a camera. Is she wanting a DSLR as basis on which to build up a system or just a versatile go anywhere shoot anything type of camera. Also budget range? You need to budget more than about R4k to get anything better than a current smartphone camera

Yep, beach sand kills parts quickly, as does the salt in that sand. I have ridden from Kosi Bay to Cape Vidal along the beach and also the Wild Coast ( Imana route). Used an old Giant 860ATX rather than my dual sus bike. I was using partially worn drivetrain but the chain and rings were dead after 4 days. BB and freewheel died a few months after in spite of marine grease applied beforehand. The salt gets in everywhere. We stripped and rebuilt our bikes with marine grease before and after but even so, lots of corrosion in the nooks and crannies a few months later. Remember salt will accelerate corrosion between different metals in contact so interfaces such as alu hubs and rims with steel spokes will corrode quickly. Also wheel bearings, BB, cables and quick releases and derailer pivots. Riding on the beach is awesome but use an old bike and recycling your used components through this 'beach bike' can keep costs down.

The long cage SGS RD is primarily made for 3x systems. 3x is still an option in 10spd XT. The SGS can accomodate 22-32-44 up front with a 11-36 at the rear. I have a SGS as a spare RD and it works for 1x10. It could allow you to change a chainring up or down one size without adjusting the chain length. Could be convenient but generally I prefer the med cage for 1x and 2x. Less chain bouncing around.

My bike isn't a Pyga but it came with a full XT 2x10 group and med cage (GS) RD. This same RD is working just fine as a 1x10 with converted 11-42 cassette. The GS RD has a 39t capacity and your 11-42 cassette only needs 31t. If you go standard 2x10 you'll need 37t capacity ( 38-26 with 11-36 cassette). I was able to use 38-24 on the front with the med cage. Chain growth can be an issue though. Not sure how much chain growth you get on the Pyga.

Hope you enjoy your new sport. Don't worry too much about the bikes. Just ride them. The main thing is correct fit so you can ride comfortably. If the bug bites these are going to be the first of many bikes....

I like....a lot. In the market. Where do I get some?

Could be air has got in and is taking up some of the internal fluid volume. Or the brakes were previously bled with worn pads in place and now have too much fluid in and can't retract all the way. Or you are not pushing hard enough to retract them. It should only need moderate steady pressure. I use two small spanner heads or a spanner head with broad bladed screwdriver. Both are slightly wedged and gentle leverage does the trick. Be sure to push them in straight. If the pistons are angled they will bind against the cylinder walls.

Treated my TBLT to some Karkloof awesomeness. Beautiful green spring afternoon. Trail fairies have been hard at work on the 30km loop

There are many different types of aesthetically pleasing composition and the so-called 'golden mean' only features in some of them. Photographing to a formula gets boring after a while....

Aah Ok....[emoji1] So is it the shifter on the handlebar that is broken or the actual fromt derailer at the chainrings? Either way you can still ride. Remove front derailer from bike. Change manually (with fingers) between big and small chainrings if you need to. If you have a clutch derailer at the rear ensure the clutch is engaged....this will help to prevent the chain coming off the front rings. If you decide to convert permanently to 1x10 then consider buying an intermediate size narrow-wide chainring with 30, 32 or 34 teeth. These have longer teeth and do not drop the chain so easily. Post a photo if you can.

If I understand correctly; - rear shifter and cable removed. - rear derailer unharmed, should now be sitting on the smallest cog - front derailer unharmed and working so you can choose big blade or small one in front? If all answers are Yes then you can ride but you will have to push quite hard on the pedals where you would normally choose an easier gear. It is not all that expensive to buy a new shifter and cable....your LBS should be able to fix this in a day or so.

760D vs 450D- 24.2Mp vs 12.2 Mp = significant if you make big prints or big crops. - 12800 max ISO vs 800 = major - Rear LCD much better on the 760D - 760D can do full HD video, 450 D has no video - 19 AF points vs 9 ( cool if you will use them. I tend to use mostly the centre point with back button AF on my cameras) - wifi built in vs nothing So yes it is a significant upgrade but if the budget will stretch to a 70D she will get more advanced features, better build quality, superior viewfinder and faster better AF too.

What aspect of the 450D makes her want to upgrade it? What she proposes is a bit like trading in a 2010 Golf for the equivalent 2015 Golf. It will be an improvement in performance overall but not mindblowing

Awesome shot. Something to be said for keeping the composition simple and nicely balanced.

The real question is - how serious is the brakejack? If you sit on the bike and lock the brakes as hard as you can then yes, it will affect the suspension movement. However when in motion with the wheels turning the brake is a dynamic friction device, not a clamp bolt, and it allows movement. Also by positioning the rear pivot as close as possible to rear axle the effect of non concentric brake pad friction is minimised by weak leverage. The armchair experts on that forum are missing the significance of these last two points. I guess this may not be the perfect bike for a rider who likes to ride with his rear wheel locked up most of the time......[emoji12]

Ok got it sorted now.....forgot to switch the app off in the background before retrying.....

I still can't access the forums via Tapatalk. Android Lollipop on S5. Have uninstalled and re-installed tapatalk etc no joy. Any advice?

If they keep changing up or down under power the RD pivots may be worn. If you are powering and the RD tries to change, the chain can slip when it shifts. Make sure the RD hanger is not bent and the RD pivots are not loose, then set RD adjustment. Maybe also lube the RD (and wipe off excess) and consider a new cable. If the gear teeth are slipping under power, but staying in the same gear, this is a separate problem caused by worn gears and/or chain. It can also appear when you fit a new chain to worn gears. The cure is a new cassette if you can't find replacements for the worn gears.

Just put your 3x10 in the middle ring or big ring as you prefer and stop using the front shifter.... It's Free On my 2x10 29er I bought a 34t NW, a 42T extender and a 16T to replace the 15t and 17t on my existing XT cassette. Got all the stuff from Kalbo for under R1.5k and it included spacer washers which were needed to sort the chainline. I also needed to get some longer chainring bolts but if you are on 3x10 you will already have these (they hold your middle and big ring on the crank) and you may not need the spacers. You should be able to fit the NW chainring on the middle position of your 3x crank but I have not converted a 3x before....dunno if there are issues. You will need a cassette where the smaller rings can be separated, so you can toss out the 15t and 17t and replace with a 16t....on some of the lower priced cassettes the smaller rings are pinned together so budget for an XT cassette if your 15t and 17t cannot be separated.

I get this too. Deleted the old account from tapatalk and searched for "bikehub"...no go. It finds the old site but can't log in. Logged out of Tapatalk, rebooted phone, logged in again....still not working

Was a lot more 10 years back when I got mine. For R400 dont even hesitate. If possible get 1 stop and 2 stop soft grad filters and make sure the adapter ring will fit your lens Soft grads have a more gradual transition that suits more applications. Hard grad is limited to well defined (straight line) transitions like ocean horizons.

Is what I use. Modern equivalent of the now deceased Cokin brand. Not the best but good enough. Be very careful as the plastic filters are easily scratched.

Roger is quite efficient on LR. I attended one of his courses. I prefer my grad filters and getting it all done when the shutter is pressed.