Hector

I ride most mornings through out winter. Keep 2 parts warm, your head and chest. Use newspaper for your chest if necessary and ear warmers for your head

I have always put the chain on the big front chain ring and over the biggest ring on the the cluster. Join the chain and add 2 extra links. The chain does not go through the derailleur when measuring the length of chain. Hope this helps

How many other dads rode with their daughter? We finished in 4h48, I rode on a Stumpjumper full sus and my daughter rode on a Merida 904 road bike. It was a great ride, I am 53 and my daughter is 25.

Pump your tyres to maximum recommended pressure. The leak should be clearly visable at higher pressure. Then ensure the leak is at the lowest point and bounce the tyre so as much sealant goes to the leaking area. Once sealed drop the pressure back to normal pressure.

I have had nothing but great service from Polar in Midrand. They fixed/upgraded my CS200, replaced the batteries in the my CS400 and CS600 for less than R800. The way to go.

Make sure you go to a Bike shop that can measure your *rse. There is no point in buying an expensive saddle that is the wrong size. Most good bike shops should have the measuring seat you sit on to see how wide the saddle must be. It takes a few seconds. I did this a few years ago and have never had a sore backside again.

Make sure you are wearing a heart rate monitor. When you heart rate gets to 85% get off your bike and walk. No shame in walking, the dead cant talk. Good luck

Thanks to Travess and his team for sorting out my brakes, BB and back suspension at very short notice while on holiday in the area.

Come to Umngazi River Bungalows on the Wild Coast for a training camp. Got a route of 33 km with 1200m of climbing and many other routes with very little flat sections. Check out our web site for routes www.umngazi.co.za

I rode 5 hours on my MTB last year with my daughter who only did spinning classes prior to the race. Make sure you take enough to eat. We found that many of the feeding stations ran out of food, especially on the Krugersdorp highway and further on. This is when you need to eat especailly if you have been on the bike for at least 4 hours already. Make sure you drink a lot and stop at the water points to fill up. Just take it easy, wear a heart rate monitor and stay within your riding zone and most of all have fun. Try riding a shorter road race with your mountain bike closer to the time. Often the big races have 50km road races as well.

The mere fact that my wife no longer complains about my magazines lying around or the fact that I have so many magazines is worth every cent buying thru Zinio. The biggest advantage for me is that u can access the Internet links automatically with one click.

The point is I had been to 2 other bike shops, neither could help me with what I wanted nor could they sort out the problem in 24 hours. Time is money. I was able to be on the bike again within 24 hrs. Thanks Jaun and Cycyle Lab

Thanks to the team at CL EL for getting by Stumpie sorted out with new tyres, break pads and a few extra's within 24 hrs. Thanks to Jaun for his help.

Rob Burton, a 60 year old cyclist was killed on Tuesday in East London. Our thoughts are with his family at this time. http://www.dispatch.co.za/cyclist-dies-in-truck-collision/

If you have got a MTB, use it to take a slow ride on a district road. It is easier to pedal along slowly on a dirt road. Take a partner with you, it helps passing the time.

I have lived at Umngazi River Bungalows near Port St Johns for the past 5 years, I ride at least 3 to 5 times a week, often by myself for 2 to 4 hours at a time and have never had a problem. Safety has never been a concern. The locals are very friendly and helpful. If you need assistance with routes ect PM me

I cant beleive he bought a bicycle from a white capitalist

Let me tell you something for nothing. Unless you are right up their with the top Vets, you are going to have one hell of a hard ride. I got into Vets for the 94.7 a few years ago (I have had raced quiet a few other races as a Vet) but decided to drop back to a lower group (I group). Had a great ride and finished with the bunch in 2h44. I was able to keep up with the steady but fast pace all the way. The Vets are racing snakes, so even if your times are good enough for a Vets seeding, be prepared.

Leave the wife at home. Remove the front seat and then there will be plenty of space for your GT

I have got a 26 Stumpjumper, great trail bike but on faster district roads it is a bit of a slouch. If you are looking for a MTB for Marathon racing, I would not recommend the Stumpjumper.

62% of the time you were in zone 3 - in other words you were loafing or thought it was a Sunday ride

I have broken 2 spokes on my Specialized Stumpjumper, 1 front and 1 back spoke. In both cases the nipple head has broken off. I have managed to replace both nipples. I weight 82kg and in both cases I heard the spokes break while riding on gravel roads, no jumping or anything else that could have caused the spoke to break. Has anyone else had this problem? Is this just poor quality spokes and should I rather have the wheels respoked. The bike is 6 month old Thanks

I ride with Slimed Tubes. Once a month I clean the wheels properly by removing the tyre and tube. This morning I found I had 10 thorns pricks in my slimed tube (slime oozed out slightly when I pumped up the tube). Not once did I have to 'fix a puncture' on my rides. I used a 'skab' to seal some of the bigger holes, added another 100ml of slime to the tube and good to go for another month off road riding. By keeping your slimed tubes properly slimed, you should not have punctures from small thorns.

Since I have started riding with slimed tubes, I have not had a puncture due to thorns. I ride in thorny single track and when checking my tubes, I can have upto 10 thorns in my tyres without a puncture. Just a word of advice - make sure you always have enough slime in your tubes ie 4 oz. If you notice you have had a thorn puncture and lost some slime, top up. The easiest way is to buy a 100ml syringe from your chemist so that you know how much you are adding. If the puncture hole is big and leaking a bit of slime, put a patch on the tube. Buy the patches called 'Skab' they dont require glue and stick to your tube instantly. Great to use on a ride when you are in the bush. If you notice you have got a puncture and the slime starts coming out of your tyre, stop your bike and turn your wheel so that the puncture is touching the ground. This will allow asmuch slime as possible to collect at thge puncture and seal it quickly and dont forget to take at least 2 bonbs with you. Hope this helps

Buy a Thule - agree with what others say but it can also be used very easily as a bike stand holder in your garage. Just buy another ball tow bar and bolt it to your garage wall. You can then easily store your bike safely out of harms way. They are also easy to breakdown when you need to travel with it in your car boot.