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?

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.

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.

Garmin Instinct. Looks like rain

You know what they say about animals, being all equal? I think the same applies to KOM’s. I have onespecific KOM that was really hard to get and it is my precious. Its a 20min segment. Nothing technical. Just flat out dragging dirt road. There is this one KOM that I have tried now twice and failed. I really want it. Been standing sice 2013. 2148 people on it. Time is 11:46. Tried it twice in one week. Still a few seconds shy... but before the year is over, it is mine.

I think the list of non dopers is shorter.

Iesh. So this year Max destroyed the field in the Cullinan to Tonteldoos................and so you wonder.............

Wasn’t Nene caught doping at Saxonwold?

To be honest, I don’t care much about it either. Well at least not in the same way I care about say animal abuse or child abuse.If I was a pro cyclist, maybe then I would care. But I’m not. If I had kids, I would teach them to stick to the rules, and don’t be bothered about the other guy.

Just a little bit back on topic but that story of the guy that slapped the woman in the cradle...social media outrage played a part in getting him sorted out. The point is that the larger the social outcry, the harsher the penalty/consequences. Google KE. One of the first articles that pop up is him talking about his addiction. Not much about doping. Brandon Stewart, he has a lot more hits on his doping scandal than KE. I don’t think local society really cares all that much about doping in cycling. It just doesn’t gather the same hitrate...

But the overestimation may be a good thing. It may prevent people from doing or saying stupid poop.It may not be that effective against dopers yet, but it seems more effective against racial ranters and rapists at least.

Fair enough. But he missed an opportunity to keep his mouth shut. Seeing the repercussions should be an incentive for others to act socially responsible.

Not at all, but I was wondering if social media outcasting might not provide the incentive to stay clean. Oh and the rapist’s girlfriend is six months pregnant. Allegedly. Read that in the Rapport if I’m not mistaken.

Social justice. I don’t know if it is a term? If it aint, I am coining it. I need to draw a very unfortunate parallel between the Dros rapist and dopers. When the story broke about the Dros rapist, people were looking for more blood too flow. I was looking at social media and I thought: Damn. This oke has no where to run. His face was plastered everywhere...when you google his name, this is what he will be known for. On his facebook profile, there was a section where he announced he got engaged. The comments on that balooned to over 12k comments before his profile was deleted. Those comments where not along the line of: congrats.wishing you all the best. Maybe in the future this social justice penalty is a good sanction against someone. Not being able to hide. Ever. They will walk past you and you will see them looking at you. Their eyes following you. Talking about you behind your back. Trying to defend yourself and your actions on social media... In 2018, people do things for likes and kudos...it is a fact. Having likes, kudos, followers and friends make us feel socailly connected. we feel rejected when we don’t get it anymore, when we become social outcasts. Maybe this is the real penalty. Riding past a previous doper with socks that scream: dopers suck...maybe getting your feelings hurt on social media is going to be a thing for our children. We might not care, but your socially media connected children will. Would you want your kid to grow up and have the world know a really crappy story about daddy?

I stumbled onto this by accident really. Yesterday my wife and I, for some unknown reason, started talking about the VSR series. Neither of us knew how many teams are in the series. Back in the day we used to be big rugby fans...now tennis and cycling uses up most of the viewing time in our house. For some reason, rugby lost its appeal. And to think, 20 years ago, all I wanted to do was play rugby. Am I missing anything by not watching rugby anymore?

Sorry guys, taking a left turn here, but my wife and recently celebrated 8 years of marriage. (Been together for 11.) The other day we were discussing marriage advice - you know the kind you get at your wedding from her/your folks? The one we ignored very early - don't go to bed angry. Like BS. Some times I got in bed and promptly nearly fell out again because I was trying to lie as far from her as possible. And then somewhere in the night my leg with touch hers and I'd wake up and be like all pithed off that my own body parts betrayed me. Come the next morning, I can't remember why I was upset. Now I'm not sure if I should appologise? Then I'd realise the fight was stupid, we'd talk about it, and move on. Anyway, somehow I think that sometimes we try so hard to stay together that it drives us apart. Good luck to all getting through this crap.