grumpy

I have the SRAM XX brakes on my bike, in essence just a lighter version of the Elixers. Also experienced the shuddering when braking hard and noise when the rotor rubbed against the brake pads. Following advice from CWC I replaced the pads with Xon pads, problem solved, they are quiet and brake really well, what makes this even better is that they are cheap. Don't go the XT route, there is nothing wrong with XT, if only the XT brakes could live up to the hype.. (before I get stoned, I know what I am talking about, my wife has them)

Andrea Crous

Hi Fellow hubbers With 2014 being an election year, I would like to raise support for a cycling path in Tygervalley road (M31), the section between Diemersdal road and the the intersection with Tygerberg road (M13) is 1.9 kilometers long. This road is used daily by scores of cyclists, it is particularly narrow and very busy, no shoulder at all. On a personal note I can't recall how many close shaves I have had on this section, in my view it is only a miracle that a cyclist have not yet been knocked down or driven over. With the 2014 election year in mind and politicians promising the earth I thought it may be an ideal opportunity to request my DA ward Councillor (Welgemoed) to address the issue. Wrote her an email, 4 days goes past and no response, dropped her another email this morning and informed her to watch the social media, within one minute I received a call from her, her opening words were "now you are threatening me", I managed to calm her down, it's just amazing how sensitive the politicians are for negative press in an election year. The long and the short is that the message I got from her is that she would support a cycling path but there is very little money, most of it being spent on people who don't pay taxes... My request to you. If you cycle on this road and support the initiative to put pressure on the DA lead municipality, then please raise the matter on whatever social media you prefer. Use the Hub, Twitter, Facebook, etc. If we stand together and enough of us raise the flag then maybe we can convince the politicians to listen to us and to divert some money back to the community who actually pay taxes and rates.

My wife is riding on a 172.5mm XTR crank, it is certainly available. Both our road and MTB have the same crank length, prefer keeping them the same.

Don't just blame the government, the majority of the citizens of South Africa thinks only poor people ride bicycles, the more affluent one ride taxi's, we will not progress until we can remove the stigma. Umongst the white population only fitness freaks in Lycra ride bicycles, normal people use cars. South Africa is one of the leaders in obesity, one wonders why?

I had my MTB frames covered by VPS, they install tough see through 3M plastic film on off-road vehicles, normally they don't do bikes but I asked nicely and got both frames done for R600. Covered the top tube and down tube and it is virtually invisible, well worth it. www.vpsprotection.co.za/

Please explain the difference, in my view a route can be on a road or track.

I normally plan my routes on Mapsource, use Garmin street maps 2009 and Tracks for Africa, the problem is that the GPS informs me of a turn coming up but there is no turn, the route carries on straight, could be the way I planned the route by clicking along the route and that gets transferred as a way point and seen as a turn.

I also have a 705 and got lost several times in the bundoes, maybe it's me who programmed the route wrong but I don't trust my 705.

I think some element of jealousy is the reason, most white male South Africans are rugby supporters, have a look at their bodies, big tummy's and thick legs from all the meat and alcohol, like bloated frogs. No wonder they hate the slim and fit cyclist.

Ultegra is the best choice if you are concerned about shifting quality, the external cables is aesthetics only. 105 can never feel as smooth as Ultegra and Ultegra not as smooth as Dura Ace. 105 works well, I had a 105 groupset years ago, have since moved to Ultegra and then to Dura Ace, have never regretted the decision.

Hi Hubbers The recent growth in bikes available in 27.5 wheels refers, most reputable manufacturers are now producing bikes in the mid range wheels, Giant has gone all out in declaring it the wheel of the future, guess time will tell if they made the right move or not. For some reason I was never convinced to move from 26 inch wheels to the 29er, the wheels just felt too big and clumsy for me, but the 27.5 inch is a different story, I am definitely interested. In my view the cyclists who are still riding on 26 inch bikes will most probably be the most interested in moving to 27.5. The reason for this post is that I would like to know if there are cyclists who have made the move from 29 to 27.5. I don't want to re-open the 26 vs 27.5 vs the 29er debate, think it has been discussed to death, if you really like your 29er or 26er then please don't reply

I guess each to his own, as long as you are happy with what you ride then I can't fault your decision. I am no mechanic but I have stripped my Mavic's myself, replaced bearings and oiled the freebody without hassle. In fact the Mavic cassette and freebody removal is way easier than a Shimano, no special tools needed just a chain lock and two allen keys.

I have been riding with Mavic's for years, excellent service in Cape Town

Based on what does it beat a proprietary wheel? I don't think these wheels are tubeless, so another conversion to get on par with the Mavic's. The only downside to the Mavic's is it's price, but then you get what you pay for

Forget about the difference in weight and quality of the wheels, the difference between the two bikes is in the frame. The carbon frame may weight only 200 gram less but it's ride is better. My first Giant was a alu Anthem, replaced it with an Advanced a year later and have never regretted the decision. I would not consider ZTR wheels, rather wait awhile, save your money and get Mavic SLR's

This is actually the first bike on this post that I like, heritage does not need bling...

Giant for sure Think over and above the better suspension the Giant frame will also be lighter

I converted my Ksyriums ES to tubeless 3 years ago with Hutchinson Atom tires. The road handling and feel was on par with tubbies, the only problem was getting the right sealant, Stans is too thin and does not seal, ended up with Sludge which worked fairly well. I am back on tubes, will consider it again when the performance is on par with MTB tubeless.

The Magshine lights are ok is you are cost sensitive, but the Light and Motion Seca 1700 is the light to go for if you are cycling fast (road) and when you need distance lighting. http://www.lightandmotion.com/bike/seca1700.html http://www.lightandmotion.com/bike/images/product_shots/seca1700_enviro.jpg

Hi Baster Bark Your response is in line with your hub name, must have a small weenie.... I have no problem paying R30 if I knew beforehand what was in store for me, the attitude of the staff handing out the race documents was arrogant and that set me off.

I would like to vent some steam over being ripped off. A few weeks ago I entered to do the MTN Gravel Travel MTB race.. driven by Nissan, the entry fee was R170 plus R30 for a CSA day license, being an early bird I managed to get a R30 discount bringing the total to R175. Nowhere was any mention made of addition fee's for number boards A few days ago I received an email from the organisers with the following statement. "Please bring your number boards with, these number boards are your personal boards to be used at all MTN, Nissan Series and SAS Seeding friendly events. Lost boards will be charged a replacement fee of R50. New boards will also be issued on the day if you do not yet have one." I took note of the statement and wrongly assumed that the cost of the board was covered in the entry fee. When I went to collect the race documents I was asked to pay R30 toward the cost of the board, when I pointed out that I was not interested in seeding for the MTN series and did not need the board I was told to pay or not race, I pointed out that they simply cannot add costs at the very end to which the lady replied that they can. To make a long story short I declined to do the race, I refuse to being ripped off, the MTN / Nissan series can do without my support

It depends on your riding skills, I have Evo's on very rocky terrein and never had a cut.

I would not want to be in your way in the down hill

That is a single blade up front, no front derailer. Think it will work on most tracks but could be a problem for weaker riders