Yo-Yo

Burn of the day. Giant have flipped on that one. First 29 Trance then press releases behind 27.5 as the true home of Trance and then, look, 29 it the true home of everything.

An niche within a niche. That one is a keeper in any wheel size.

I think it's becoming a niche across the globe. It was an 'easy win' for marketing and bike manufacturers when it came out as no one had actually given good thought to how to make 29'r geo work across a lot of different kind of bikes and rider sizes. There seems to have been alot of 27.5 bikes about in SA and still a lot of the wheels and forks that I want in the classifieds end up being 27.5 and not 29r. I'm looking for a new all mountain hard tails and have seen a few that are 27.5 and I've just written them off. That is because I like 29'rs but also because I think 29rs are now so dailed for everything from XC to Enduro that I can't find a benefit to getting a 27.5.

I did send a message but he never got back.

Please let us know if it's not eye watering. I'm looking for a new Ti frameset.

Sorry to spam this thread (and a few HT others) but I'm looking for a good steel / ti hardtail and have posted wanted ad but thought I'd post here incase someone knows someone knows someone. https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bike-frames/410570/looking-4-a-trail-enduro-hardtail-frame-medium

Sorry to spam this thread (and a few HT others) but I'm looking for a good steel / ti hardtail and have posted wanted ad but thought I'd post here incase someone knows someone knows someone. https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bike-frames/410570/looking-4-a-trail-enduro-hardtail-frame-medium

That is nice and simple. Can we all go home now?

I was holding on to some sense of 'togetherness' and consideration in these times but I guess not. Sadly walking and drinking your coffee with your 4 mates trumps the need to follow protocols. The funny thing about that area is if you're on a bike you can't ride at all fast because it's so busy. You're better off hitting the tarmac, less people by far.

After going for a walk with the dogs today on the green belts near Groot Constatntia and seeing the staggering amount of people hugging and puffing on bikes and jogging without masks I think I'm going to take a new angle. I'm joining the non mask wearers and I'm going to actively cough as i pass no wearers and see what reaction I get. Honestly there are so many people who are running, jogging and riding bloody hard with masks on I fail to see the issue of actually having on one especially if you're cruising along on an Ebike on flat land! Not wearing one is just saying you really don't give a sh*t about anyone else around you.

Cool. I’m 174 pretty sure I can stretch myself out! What are you looking for?

Nooooooo! If it was a medium. How tall are you?

Those Commi' Metas are good fun and don't ride 'big'. Really good bikes. These Honzo's have been about a bit sio maybe there is some wriggle room seeing as everyone is trying to make a buck. https://trailtechcycles.co.za/products/kona-bikes-honzo-st-29-frameset-green-gold What kind of terrain and riding is it aimed at? I've seen those Slades going for R19K. Maybe give Bike Addict in Malmsbury a call, they can often do a damn good deal.

A great article looking at the 'reality' of a Tour in 2020, why it's not looking good and what others are doing that ASO are not. Makes me think Bonus' comments around shoring up it's financial situation with the venue town / regions funds might be very astute. https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/opinion-too-many-questions-surround-2020-tour-de-france/

Some interesting points here. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/16/august-tour-de-france-recipe-for-disaster-says-public-health-expert

I'd love this to be the case but I really can't see it happening. ASO will do all it can to promote itself and has made some pretty foolhardy statements about running the race previously that seems to show a lack of care / understanding and the UCI have shown very little leadership as usual. I was told recently that any large scale events (spectator or participant) would not be authorised in South Africa for at least 8 - 10 months. Of course everything is a uncertain but with the world total of confirmed infections doublingfrom 1million to 2million in the last 14 days we are well behind catching up to this fire. Flattening the curve isn't elimination. It's managing the infection rates to reduce a tsunami. The facts still stand, only after 85% have got had the infection, developed immunity or there is a vaccine it's same, same. There is still no clear consensus on how fast this infects, the exact ways of delivery, best practice to combat it or treat it.

Buil. Nico Portal is a great DS without a dipping past. There are a lot of hang overs from the bad days but also a lot that aren’t tarred by that brush. People scoffed at sky when they made sure none of the staff and DS had doping pasts (bye bye Yates) but seems you can have a good coaching Team without a dirty past and not shrug shoulders saying ‘that’s just the way it is.

It is a bit of a mess for sure but I've never really had too much difficulty understanding the system. The way I look at it is that the permits and wild cards gain me access to the National Park. I pay / donate to TokaiMTB for the MTB specific trails which are granted to be built on TMNP land. You can happily ride in the various parts of TM on roads that aren't built by the hard working people in TokaiMTB and the rest (mass respect goes out to them and the bureaucratic nightmare that must be even before a shovel breaks the ground). Of course the roads you can ride are very normal jeep track but that is what it is. We're a specific sporting niche along with all the other users on the mountain. TMNP Authorities are more about protection and rehabilitation as far as I can see. Of course things like riding the tar road from Cape Point needing a permit is just a bit crazy but then there are a lot of tour companies sending people off and bikes and using that road to make money. If I crayfish there I need a certain permit, if I crayfish off a canoe I need an additional one. Go figure. Honestly it's not an expensive yearly cost for what you get. 1 x permit, 1 x membership to TokaiMTB and a couple of donations. It's still cheaper than Tygerberg from what I remember and a lot better trails, it's cheaper than that tyre you wanted to try out, those new shorts that match your frame and cost per ride is pretty good. What annoys me is actually the people on here who soapbox their annoyance and then ride trails in that same National Park that aren't allowed on a regular basis, the same guys who are illegally cutting and riding new trails up around Blockhouse, Rhodes Memorial and others but that's okay because that's being core. It's not a given right that we have this access and to be honest those riders are part of the problem and hamper all the good work being done by a very small few for the benefit of a huge amount of others. It's not perfect at all but there are a lot of different priorities and stakeholders in the picture so I'm pretty grateful for what we have and thankful to all who have got us here.

My name is Willie the blou whale and i’m here to smoke you with my 4bpm hr and if you don’t believe me then come and stick your head in the deep blue sea as you can hear it over 3km away. Seeing as you humans can stand up in my arteries and my heart is the size of a vw beetle i’m Struggling to get a garmin strap big enough and the flippers-no-thumbs thing is causing havoc with positing a photo...

Ugly but in a great way. Odd looking but just because it’s different. Everything lines up is well thought out and seems to kick ass. Kinda like it in a weird preying mantis way.

Nice rims and glad they are backing themselves with the warranty. Would have hoped that the prices would have come down a bit now they cut out the middle man but still good value overall for a local made product. On par with the likes of We Are One Composites out of Kamloops in Canada and (in my opinion) the gold standard of that segment of the market.

The Blacksheep Facebook page seems to say they are now the distributors for YT and soon to be available at their Hoogies shop.

Past his peak when he went to TDD? Classic, those 4 stages in the 2016 tour must have been those ‘odd wins’ you’re thinking of.

Nice. Can’t wait for mine.

Buy the Pyga. Honestly, which ever one you pick it’ll be a better choice than the Epic (unless you are a podium contender). Even Spez tries to steer people away from those unless they are hardcore racer and on to bikes that are better for them.