The expat cyclist

Help me settle an argument. A full suspension mtb will eventually squeak and creak. Anyone who says it never happens probably doesn't ride enough or doesn't get the bike dirty. Headset, stanchions, bb, seat post, internal cables and pivots. They will eventually get noisy. What say you?

This is very COOL!

I'd like to change the color on my helmet. Something custom. Is it possible with something like a vinyl wrap? Or spray paint?

Well, the issue went away when I put a light grease onto the headset.It came back a few weeks later which is where we are now. I'll ask another LBS tomorrow and also try and get some advice from the manufacturer (if they'll respond...)

The creak is definitely from the headset. I'm not used to carbon paste near a bearing or grease onto carbon fiber. I know grease was the solution on my previous bike that had aluminum cups pressed into the carbon. I never had issues. This thing though... Iesh.

I'll be swearing at the bike shop tomorrow but for now, I want to know what I don't know. I have trust issues when it comes to bike shops - this isn't helping. ????

I finally got my wife the bike she always wanted. But, they hate each other right now. Like really. And I feel *** about it. A few weeks after we got the the brand new bike, the headset started creaking. I opened it up and was surprised to see that there were no aluminum headset cups. The bearing fits straight onto the carbon fibre. The bike was due for its first service in a few days, so I decided to put a light coat of grease between the bearing and the carbon fiber. Just enough to shut it up. A few days later, I took it to the bikeshop and told them what happened and what I did to make the creaking headset go away. When I went to go fetch the bike, they told me to use carbon paste between the headset and the bearing. Ok, if you say so. They even gave me some. So, three weeks on and the creak is back with a vengeance. And my wife is in tears. I was surprised to find that the bikeshop didn't remove the small coating of grease in the headset. That was still there. I was expecting carbon paste... Anyway, wiped it all clean and used the carbon paste as they suggested. The headset is once again quiet but for how long, I don't know. My question is: this is not supposed to happen on a brand new bike and yes, I should make a moer of a fuss about it BUT, I want to know: what is supposed to come between the bearing and the headset, keeping on mind the bearing goes straight onto the carbon?

Hi fellow cyclists. My company has offered me a senior position in the Philippines. I have never been there before. Anyone here that has ever gone there and can provide some insights as to what it was like?

Thanks, Yeah, that weight drop was excessive. I assume it had a lot to do with fluid loss. I did a 75min cardio session on the WB at a constant power on that first day. Also, I shouldn't actually consider the 94.1 as my initial weight as it was not taken first thing in the morning. So in essence I started at 92.7. The last time I did weight loss, I dropped around 3kgs a week. It wasn't the plan, it just happened. I know I have to slow it down this time around so I did not lose any weigh yesterday. That is why I have the target weight noted down. Just to try and stick to a safe weight loss plan.

I did this race last year and to be honest, the GPS wasn't used all that much for navigation. There was enough people around to follow.

What DSL modem do you suggest for home use, 8-10Mb ADSL line. Don't wanna break the bank. Our complex has not yet approved fibre an I am gatvol of waiting.

Ok, I am in too. To keep myself interested, I decided to stick to something I like: Stats and behavior I will share some of the stats that I am tracking: So in order to hit my goal weight of around 85kg, I decided to break it down a bit. My first goal is to go under 90kg before Race to the Sun on the 16th of Feb. I worked out that I would need to lose 0.2kg/day to get there. So 1.4kg per week which is reasonable and doable without making this a health issue. Now all I have to do is lose 0.2kg every day as opposed to losing 5kg in 4 weeks. From yesterday to today was a big drop BUT this is probably because yesterday I weighed myself after breakfast and coffee etc. I also keep track of my BP just because I believe we could all do wit a lower BP. Now this was taken straight after I woke up so...It is anywhere between 110/70 and 120/80 in the mornings. So no worries there. Thanks to my watch, I also track my sleep, calories and a bunch of other stats - So by the end of February I should be able to get a good idea of what happened and why it happened.

The watch itself doesn’t have downloadable faces but rather pre-set faces. Within these faces you can select what widget goes where. It has analog and digital faces with black on white and white on black faces

Sits between the Fenix and the Vivoactive.But more “rugged” than both.