Pah Bear

Best news I've heard today. Been looking forward to her form producing. Proudly South African

Use the same and enjoy the Vittorio combo for toughness, durability, and grip.

Believe me I've crashed plenty times and apart from not being able to select all gears, you invariably have enough to get home and then sort out the problem. So ... buy a spare but it's fine to keep it in the garage.

Hanger on ALL bikes are deigned to be "fragile". When you fall and hit the RD, the weakest point will be the hanger, which is much cheaper to repair (replace; straighten) then repairing or replacing the RD would be. Sooo ... be thankful for that design. Glad you sorted. Lessons learnt. Keep that in mind. Most of us have adjusted cable tension till we blue in the face ... before we go ... Hanger maybe?

Pity you so far away. Welcome to use mine if you haven't got one which I assume you don't otherwise from what you describe you would now this to be the solution..

I think your Derailleur Hanger is probably skew. This cannot be done by eye. You need a Hanger Adjustment Tool. I made one myself following the guidelines on You Tube. Since then, if after a fall the gears don't engage properly and any barrel adjustment don't solve the problem, it's out with the hanger tool and some minor adjustment generally solve the problem. Best of luck to you. Hope this helps.

Was riding a HT with a 2x set-up and had no real issues with it. Then bought a second hand DS which came with a 1x setup. Although the 2x had bigger ratios to choose from, what Engel-a contributed is true. I find it easier to cope with sudden surprises round bends. I did change the 11-42 though. Now have a 32 x 11-46. Went with the Sunrace iso Shimano as I find the Sunrace have a better ratio spread.

Must say I've learn't quite a bit from this OP's experience. Still hope to place trust in Hubbers first, BUT, I always check the sellers ratings. I make a note of giving feedback ratings and asking people for feedback whether I buy or sell. Once asked a "first time" seller, with no comments if he would agree to send clothing to me for inspection and confirmation to buy will follow (based on the fact that I have a track record). I was willing to pay all postage. The seller declined and I cancelled all comms. He kept his goods but I kept my money.

Upgraded from the 500 to the 520 few years back. Great unit. Does everything I expect from it. Had no issues with the 500, except having to plug in after every training session became a schlep.

We did the Wild Coast hike from PSJ to Coffee Bay last December and organised it making use of local facilities, i.e sleeping in the villages every night. We organised all this via a local tourist office who allocated us a guide to made sure we got to the right accommodation, as well as organised a local boat to cross all the required rivers. Think a similar process could work, even if you don't use the local guide. Worth exploring.

Have a Fenix 3 and very happy with mine. Does everything and more. Run and cycle. Comment I heard about maps I think relevant is the question "Do you really need maps?" If you do most of your riding in areas known to you, maps just a distraction. I've never had maps and never once missed not having it.

Gonna suggest havin that hanger checked too.

Had similar issues getting tires on too, so learnt this lesson and now make sure I pry them on at the valve so the rest of the tire can slot into the middle of the rim to provide more slack. Works.

Don't fret. Some only see what they want to see no matter the facts facing them.

Thanx for sharing. Always find RT's comments of interest.