Pofkat

A cyclist was sadly shot and killed in an attempted bike-jacking somewhere near Bapsfontein / Delmas road. I don't have any details - does anyone know more?

Yep - it should fit fine 👍 I replaced the stock crank and BB on my Rook with an old Deore crank/BB - so XTR should work fine as well ( I needed 2 BB spacer-rings on the drive side for mine)

*While I don't know about SA law (although I suspect there will be something similar) - in Europe law enforcement can request any data held by a private company if it pertains to a criminal investigation/danger-to-life/etc. There is a pretty robust framework in place, while it is mostly used to get data from phone companies (as they are the ones holding data which is requested most) - but it does apply to any company operating in Europe - like Strava for example. They basically get something similar to a subpoena, which politely requests (forces) the company in question to release the data - doesn't matter if said data is held in another country - there is just slightly more paperwork to get it. A private citizen cannot request this data though - this is law enforcement-only. So again - I don't know - but I suspect something similar will be in place for law enforcement here (although good luck getting somebody competent enough to (care enough to) go through with it) And yes - there is a very good chance that the perp in question isn't on Strava/Garmin/take-your-pick (however it is likely that at least one person in the group in question is on Strava)

I find this thread hilarious. On the one hand we have people who are saying they will attempt to defend themselves if attacked. On the other hand we have people who will just hand over their bikes and are saying it is wrong to even attempt to defend yourself. The one side is arguing with the other because they think the other is not allowed to think what they are thinking, or do what they are doing. Well, I for one am going to say it - both groups are very much wrong 😁 Yes, someone on the internet is wrong, imagine that. It is a personal choice. It also depends on the situation. It also depends on you. No one else can tell you what to do in that situation. Every situation is unique. There is no cut-and-dried rule. Each to his own. You do you. ....in about 5 minutes someone is going to come along and say I am not allowed to think or say the above. *for the record. I mostly cycle alone. MTB and road. I haven't had any incidents in the last 10 or so years. Yes, I know, that doesn't prove anything, and yes, I might be next. I for one will vaguely attempt to analyze the situation when and if attacked. It will be either fight or flight, depending on the situation. Who knows - I personally don't find speculation one way or the other helpful. **either way I find the numb-nuts driving their 4x4's much more dangerous than anything else in SA

100% agree with all the above, Rapide provides rapid(e) delivery and great quality parts! 🤘 ...a while back I ordered some stuff from Rapide early one morning (it must have been around 6-7 AM) and I received my order that same day, just after lunch. Can't beat that for service!

They are all open, I think. I did lines 2, 4 and 6 last Saturday (4th June), so can vouch for those, but all the others should be open as well.

I'm sorry to hear about that, I hope you are doing ok. There's been another attack in Klapperkop over the weekend of the 26th March (somehow I missed that), and there's lots of talk in the local papers about bike-jackings in PTA in general. So be careful out there. https://maroelamedia.co.za/nuus/sa-nuus/fietsryers-in-pretoria-reservaat-beroof/

I've been cycling there almost every week day for about the last 6 months or so - both on the road and off-road. By myself I might add. (I'm usually out there in the mornings - roughly between 0700 - 1000) I have never felt unsafe, and there's almost always other people around. *Also - at the moment they are clearing out some trees, so there's always a work-gang of 20 plus people around in the week in daytime - dunno how long they will be around for, but they've been busy the last 2-3 weeks anyway.

There's unfortunately been an incident at Klapperkop last week. A group of 4 students got attacked by 6 armed guys (everyone's apparently OK) Admittedly the students were out there on Klapperkop at around 20:00 last Friday evening (8th June). Going there at night is probably not the wisest thing to do. https://maroelamedia.co.za/nuus/sa-nuus/studente-by-fort-klapperkop-aangeval/ I still cycle through there a couple of times a week - on and off road - in the daytime of course (commuting to work). There's usually lots of people around, and even a police patrol every couple of hours. I've noticed a group of 2-3 guys who go into the reserve just about every day just after 5PM, might be related, might not be. (I can see them disappearing into the bush by the side of the road when I go up the hill, seen them the last 6 months or so without incident)

I've been riding Klapperkop alone for the past year or so, I haven't been stabbed yet. It is a lot safer now than it was back then - they've got guys at the gates over weekends, and there's usually loads of people around if you go there in the popular times (saturday mornings + later afternoons) It is more XC than enduro though. Van Gaalens is close-ish and has the very nice Pofadder, Eric's Revenge and Cliff Hanger sections (with loads of climbing to get there though), and the hiking route off the Concrete road is also very Enduro. I've ridden these sections loads of times and haven't ever seen a single other person riding them - so I guess that makes them "undiscovered"

No, not really... I was just throwing it out there. The population is roughly the same (hah give or take a couple of million ) however, the population of bike-owners is much smaller in SA. So if someone did the math you would be able to get the % which is also actually meaningless in the end, you can't really compare the 2....so I'm going to go with "that was just an interesting side note" carry on

Yes - April 2014-March 2015: 381 000 Bikes stolen in the UK (http://www.ctc.org.uk/resources/ctc-cycling-statistics#How%20many%20cycles%20are%20stolen%20in%20England%20and%20Wales?) Thats around 30 000 per month. I've read that mostly they end up in Eastern Europe, they get stolen to order. I guess it will be pretty similar in SA. (Edit: as in they end up in Moz or Zim or where-ever) And also, more thefts probably get reported in the UK (as opposed to SA. ) Edit#2: OK, take into account that the vast majority of those "bikes" are in fact bicycle shaped objects", and not "real" bikes. As in heavy pieces of metal fashioned into something resembling a bicycle. Edit#3: You probably won't ever be bikejacked in the UK.