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Upgraded the wheel set on my road bike. The new set is Winspace Hyper 38mm. They’ve been a fantastic weight saving addition, dropping almost 580g from my previous set. Running these tubeless which has not been as simple as on the MTB but these tyres have very leaky sidewalks I’ve found. 
Sarrou leaving perhaps opens the purse string for PFP Absolute Absalon. Who did Braidot ride for? I can’t remember and feeling too lazy to Google it.
Perhaps old news for some; I didn’t get much tile yesterday to check the news.
Loris Vergier to Trek
Richie Port, Adam Yates and Laurens de Plus to Grenadiers
What have I missed?
yeah he posted before Christmas he was leaving.
Word on the street is he's heading to Cannondale Factory Racing likely being joined by Simon Andreasen.
Looks Like Manny will hang up the XCO bike after Tokyo ( so basically 2021 season) (was supposed to be 2020 but COVID)
Just wondering why no one's linking TREK to them since TREK doesn't seem to have a very strong Men's XCO line up. Its only Anton Cooper and Stephane Tempier with Neff and Richards on the Ladies side.
That will be an interesting move and will make for some exciting racing from the CFR boys. It would also make for a 4 men’s team seeing that Manny will likely leave mid to end of season.
Has it been confirmed that Batty will be riding for her husbands yet to be announced team; or am I late on that?
Hey Ross
In Aus, I think it is a case of a two speed economy demographic developing. People who are already in the property market get the boost from the higher prices from what they are selling. People who have yet to buy their first property just get to see that entry level price escalate further and further out of reach.
And at the moment, assuming you have a good deposit you avoid the interest rate penalisation and mortgage lenders insurance and hence the interest rates and hence repayments are cheap, which is a strong factor in why the prices are rising.
I do think some people speculate to try and get ahead, by building up a buy to let portfolio starting in places where $350k will buy a place - but that is time and effort. Others just say full steam ahead and damn the torpedos and buy with the lowest deposit a bank will accept, and pay the surcharge every month after (and pray interest rates do not rise). Both these strategies would not suit someone who is risk-adverse.
The other key factor is that Australia is not budget friendly for a family on a single income, you can get by but it's hard to get ahead. Not that it's necessarily budget friendly for a dual income with kids, in their first few years before school childcare costs can suck up a lot of cash.
I agree completely with the two-case economy. I used to tease myself by browsing Domain with a price range filter applied; <= $650,000. I had some good options pop up about 12 to 18 months ago. Now, I can only find houses which are clearly rentals with >20 years of neglect in them or wood cutters cottages more than 15km from the city.
And you're quite right about living on a single income. We manage fine but there is no saving for holidays and luxuries and certainly nothing going to property deposits. It perhaps makes me feel a bit more normal to hear that it's not all in my head because I can't shake the feeling of being left behind.
Awesome pics and thread.
FYI: If you want to shrink images while losing the least amount of quality try Squoosh: https://squoosh.app/
This is amazing! Bookmarked and already used 
I know we have collectively despised them before... but estate agents, right!
I have had 2 attempted visits (as notified by my Nest doorbell) and 1 letter from estate agents, trying to coax me into selling (ie, making them lots of money).
The letter yesterday stated how a house about 150m from us sold for $700k over CV, and how the unsuccessful bidders are still very eager to buy and if we could assist.
Are definitely mental! Based on that letter, the house sold for around $2.7m. For a 200sqm 1920's bungalow on 800sqm land.
Another one (on the same street) sold last month for $1.6m at half the size, half the land.
It's effed!
My only question. How are people affording these prices?
I have a good job; I think. As part of life, my wife took 9/12 months off this year to be with our son. Earnings have been significantly reduced because of this. But despite two full years of very good saving ethic, we are still likely two years away from having a deposit. And I'm only talking about a $700,000 place.
So my second question. Am I doing something wrong?
Offer fell through. Was not happy with some of the dealings of the developer and have decided to withdraw our offer of the house in Wanaka. Will have to keep looking.
Any suggestions?
If you could live anywhere in NZ, where would you live and why?
- Must have access to a airport (a proper one)
- Must have good schools
- Must not look like ****.
Why not a different development/developer in Wanaka? Sounds like the town/area is the happy place for your family.
Trying out something supposed to be more slippery. Looking forward to my morning ride tomorrow. 
Facebook market place is also widely used. I hate it as you can never drill down on exactly what you want and end up with tons of unwated ads.
Some harsh realities being shared here. All the best guys, sometimes life comes at you hard. WP made a telling comment though, you have to act for the next generation.
Also, a word on frogs in pots. I looked this up. Turns out, someone (probably a Frenchman
) tested the theory. Turns out frogs are pretty good thermometers and will get out of the pot if the temp exceeds something like 25C. Thermoregulation is necessary for survival, apparently.
Your knowledge base is expanding exponentially! First squeakers and now frogs 
https://www.cogentindustries.co.za/product/speedsleev-ranger/
Bought it just before the lockdown ..... Cogent immediately contacted me to inform me they are waiting for stock, offered to send me another product or cash back. I opted to wait.
We all know what happened to deliveries during lockdown ....
Cogent kept me informed throughout.
Their communication was simply superb.
Package was delivered during the weekend.
Just packed it, and fitted to the bike.
VERY happy with the product. WELL thought out.
Think I may wrap a layer of velcro around it, just for extra peace of mind.
Yip. Great product. I've had mine for ~one year and had no issues; no leaks, tube doesn't perish and I've had no worries about it coming loose. As said, get it nice and snug under the saddle and ensure the velcro is down and you'll have no problems.
On the good, bad and ugly theme, the bad thing about being on the upside-down part of the world is that gravity sucks just as hard here as anywhere else.
OTB'ed last Saturday on a drop-off in a local park (constructed by the local feral dirt-jumper and enduro-bro teen wolfpack). Did a right proper job of it, 4 compression fractures of the upper vertebrae, 3 chipped teeth, 2 broken ribs and a partridge in a pear tree. Helmet pics in the other current thread.
4 days in hospital, nice individual room in the nearest private hospital. And now back in lockdown mode as in working from home again for the next 6 weeks or so. The Docs do want me to work to the best of my tolerance to speed up the healing process, but recommend lots of position changes, small breaks, stretches etc, which don't work so well in the office environment.
In a few weeks it will be time to think about what I need to do to fix up the bike, my new XTR shifter has shattered, dropper no longer works and I don't yet have the strength to muck around with the RD which is in a weird position entangled with a dropped chain. Fun, fun, fun.
Sounds bad and the pics of the helmet look bad.
I’ve had too many friends in the last year have falls involving back injuries. One is partially paralysed as a result and two others are looking at a minimum of 12 weeks off the bike before being allowed to start on an indoor bike. I hope you have a speedy and full recovery.
Check your maths Arabsandals. 0.2%, or lower, which antibody testing is starting to show. The reality is that everyone dies including from flu, at some stage. All our 20 or so casualties in NZ have been the aged and infirm. Nobody is suggesting throwing them into the Bring Out Your Dead cart; put precautions in for them. But now we'll have a big ol wave of suicides etc because we killed the economy instead.
This flu season will see around 800 New Zealanders die from the flu. More than the COVID, I think we'll have to agree, if we can settle the mathematical challenges.
Anyway -alea iacta est, eh. We have what we have.
I can't find where the CFR is 0.2%.
Australia is ~1.5% while Italy is 14%. At this point the global CFR may well work out to be low, around the 0.2% but until tests start showing that, it's reaching to claim it as the case. With influenza having been studied and tested over a long period, we know the probable CFR of 0.1%.
If only we had the ability to run political policies in parallel universes and then jump back to the start to take the best path.
2
Australia implemented the same as of today. My parents were due to visit me in April from SA and have had to cancel their trip.
The same with us. Wife's parents due to arrive 30 March. Cancelled until unknown date.
Not cycling related but will make watching my collection of riding films more enjoyable...
Sonos Beam.
Picked it up in Aus for about R2000 less than we pay in New Zealand. It would have been wasteful if I didn't buy it
EDIT: Holy Crap! I thought the NZ price was bad typically about R6500 - R7000 equiv here). I see in SA they're around R8500. Crazy! So yeah, the R4900 odd I paid was not bad indeed.
I've been tthhhiiisss close to buying one. Using it as the front TV speakers (naturally) and then using my two Play 1s as rear speakers. How does it sound and should I be more enthusiastic in buying one?
This article came through my email a short while ago. I thought it interesting considering the recent discussion.
https://www.emigrationnewzealand.com/auckland-vs-christchurch-vs-wellington-comparing-living-costs/
2
Like the top but the helmet looks massive on your head???
Could be the angle but I do have an oval shape head which has me wearing a size large helmet. Something that always has bothered me but no getting around.
Cool. One day in winter I need to go on an exploration ride up north - Nudgee, Boondal Wetlands etc.
Give me a shout when you’re ready [emoji106]
Black Sheep had their annual sale over the past weekend. Today was new kit day! You can almost never have enough jerseys. 
10
Team Transfers and Rumours
in Pro Cycling
Posted
Plapp just rode what I thought was an excellent race to take the Australian National title.