Grease_Monkey

Shame, my brother saved up for months and used all of his birthday money to buy an Alcatel - it had the most fun games loaded to it. He had it for about 2 days when I pushed him into the pool (something we did for fun as kids). He was the moer in with me and I had to replace the phone. After that we stopped randomly pushing each other into the pool - one of the many fun things phones changed for kids.

When that phone came out I drooled over it. I remember my dad having one, it was cutting edge haha My first brick was a 3310 like most people here. I was in Standard 5 at the time.

I'm of much the same opinion at this point. Getting upset over other people's disregard for rules won't change anything, it just puts me in a shitty mood for the day. Besides, I am sure most of us have bent the rules a little here and there whether it be during lockdown or before. I don't support breaking the rules, but I am not gonna lose sleep over other people's bad decisions anymore.

Customs works the same for distribution in mind. I imported and distributed bicycle parts for a while and was no charged a single Rand on duties, only VAT. Like other mentioned, when distributers bring in GX Eagle parts at the new exchange rate the price will also jump dramatically. Not arguing with the fact that Deore won't be cheap, but relative to what other parts are going to cost it will be cheaper. The exchange rate is going to screw us with everything.

You can know for a fact the first one will not be cheap.

You do when you want people to not be able to use other brand's chainrings...

My guess is focus will be on the development of wireless tech for the next few years, improvement, cost reduction, trickle-down etc. After that I think the next big step will come in the form of wireless internal gearboxes - the tech already exists, it must just be adopted and taken to market by the big boys - and if Sram's patents are anything to go by, they will be first to the party as usual. That is one development I am extremely excited for - we can have belt driven, wireless gearbox bikes - yes please.

100% with you. For low end stuff - stay away from Sram, for high end stuff it's preference. I have run everything from XTR to XO1 to NX, SLX, and deore. In the GX/XT and below "class" Shimano is just streaks ahead. I'd go as saying I'd rather have Deore than GX. With Shimano's lower end groupos you get the same performance as the high end stuff with more weight and less price. As for Sram, my current GX Eagle, previous NX 11speed leaves alot to be desired. As for the high end stuff, I am not going to say one is better than the other, but I prefer the feeling of Sram. I have XO1 11speed on my hardtail, and it has been flawless since 2016. I have just ordered XO1 Eagle (very close to pulling the trigger on AXS, but I just cannot justify that amount of money) to replace the GX Eagle on the Enduro bike. The solid click just works for me, and aesthetically I prefer Sram's gear.

Only 45km for me so far. Took just over 2 hours. I am fortunate that I have mtb trails right from my backdoor, but that does mean the ave speed is a bit lower. I also only ride 2 hours so I can take the doggos out for a walk. I have wanted to see how far I can get on the roadie, but each time I go to the garage to get the lights on the bike for the next morning they end up on the mtb... There is no way I'd make 100km though. In 3 hours I'd maybe make somewhere between 75km and 85km at most on the roadie.

Edit: post deleted.

I know... just pulling your leg A friend of mine climbed Saaltjie in Jonkers on a V1 Spez Turbo Levo after the battery died. Heavy, but not unclimable. He still did it faster than I do on a normal bike. Then again he has a 380Watt FTP and him and the ebike still weighs less than me and my normal bike.

They just need to put a key ignition on those ebikes, no one can carry or pedal them away if they aren't on anyway. No need for a lock

I haven't used mine once since level 4 started. But then again, I didn't buy mine just before lockdown, and I didn't spend a 5 figure amount on it. - I'll hang on to it, it has proven itself useful on the odd occasion.

It's weird how things grow on you. It has happened to me plenty of times. Eg: when the VW Golf 6 came out I thought it was horribly ugly, way worse than the Golf 5. After a couple of months the 5 looked very dated and the 6 all of a sudden was a beauty. Same thing with Transition's new bikes. I originally thought the sharp lines were uninspired compared to the swoopy lines of their older models. All of a sudden I am dreaming about the new Sentinel every night. Personally I am not sold on the Mobu's looks (yet), but I am sure I will get there. I agree with you on the paint though. I get why they are leaving it naked, show off that unique layup, it's part of the appeal of the bike, but I'd want a splash of paint on mine.

It's going to be very budget dependant. Cycleops make a very nice one. Bicycle Power Trading is the importer. Check it out on their website. Talking from memmory I think it's around 30k. If money is no object get a Wattbike. I think they cost around 60k.

Kudos! I would struggle to cope with work from home and being a part time teacher.

Pretty much what I had in mind... The expensive bit is the Olympic bar and squat rack - the rest is not too bad. Luckily it's not like you have to drop all the cash in one go. You can add over time which is nice. And like you mentioned, it's going to last a long time. I've already got the layout of my home gym drawn up... but like Jako said, I have a baby to save for, so the gym is going to be slow progress for a while.

Blasphemy on a site like this... I know

Personally, I love weights (at a time I loved it more than I love mountain biking)- I used to do bodybuilding (believe it or not). I find now my biggest pain with gym is the time to get there and get back home in the morning, it's an extra 30mins I want to sleep (showering and getting ready at gym is a pain for me - all the packing, having sweaty clothes in the car the whole day). Another major gripe is how busy Virgin Actives are... the times I can go 6AM - 7AM or 5PM to 6PM it feels like a dodgy club. Weights in the garage is very appealing to me... costly, but for me worth it instead of another bicycle.

Never thought I would support an EFF request. This would be great though - lockdown has made me realise I don't need a gym subscription at all. A squat rack, olympic bar, some weights, kettlebells, and resistance bands gives me everything I need. I'm itching to buy some gym equipment...

Funny, I got the feeling that all the roadies were on their mtbs for the morning... I'm joking of course, I don't discriminate against anyone's orientation when it comes to two wheel pleasure.

This morning trails were busy again. I passed and was passed by +/- 40 riders while out this morning. I counted 3 with masks/buffs on. Only about 6 or 7 of the riders were riding solo, most in groups of 2 (clearly not living together unless all cyclists have same sex partners) and groups of up to 6 riders. People do not give 2 s**** about the rules.

Luckily both directors in my company are quite active, but also like to sleep in. So they are only starting their runs at 8, and have told us work can start at 9 and finish a bit later. Small blessings

I ordered camo ones.... you won't even be able to see them at all.

My neck of the woods. Grew up in Richards Bay (Grantleighl) so we played lots of sports against TM. Finished my High School career at a certain school just north of Maritzburg where we came in contact with lots of Pinetown individuals.