Eugene

It's about the going rate. Bike shops often call it a basic service. A wash and a lube. Personally, I would rather do it myself. I am too cheap to pay R400

Don't waste your money....... You won't notice the difference. There is only one way to improve your hill climbing and that is to train on hills. Actually, there is a second option. If you are overweight, shed some kilos.

Such a good job.... Did you replace the bars or have them rechromed (if that is even possible)?

If we had to visit a bike shop every time we wanted to know something, we might as well close down Bikehub. It exists for people like him, you and me to ask questions.

Are you planning to import a mainstream brand or generic Chinese brand and put your own branding on it? There have been plenty of people importing generic wheels with their own branding over the years. Not many seem to have lasted or made any significant profits. Having said that, there have been one or two that have done well.

This is part of the homework that he is doing.

I would guess around R2.5k. You don't mention what the accessories are, but they generally don't add value to the bike, buyers just see them as a deal sweatener

Almost every creak sounds like it is coming from the bb and almost every creak happens on the pedal stroke. There are so many things that could cause it. Process of elimination is the only way to go. I once had a creak that drove me nuts, I could not find the problem 2am in the morning, I suddenly had a thought. Jumped out of bed, went to the garage, tossed the bike upsidedown and there it was, a crack in the shell of the saddle. Another saddle and the problem was solved.

That poor horse..... You have been flogging it for too long

I hate to tell you this, but pines and eucalyptus are alien. They are not indegenous to South Africa. I am not sure about oak, but I think that is alien to this area too. You cannot rob the birds and animals of their natural habitat if this is not their natural habitat. If Sugarbird's goal is to turn this into a fynbos area and fynbos is the indigenous flora of the area, then I am all for it. Restoring previously damaged areas to its original state can only be good for the fauna and flora Eucalyptus especially is incredibly detrimental to the environment as they suck up massive amounts of water effecting rivers and the underground water table and everything else that relies on this water.

I don't know why I do this to myself. I wasn't going to read this thread because I knew it would be full of people claiming how inoccent cyclists are and how bad motorists are (I bet 90% of the people here are motorists too). I'm not saying that it is always the cyclist fault and I am also not saying it is always the motorist fault. Each road user has an obligation to obey the rules of the road. Saying it is OK for a cyclist to run a red robot because taxis also do it, is plain stupid.

Not sure if things have changed, but isn't the freehub the same for Shimano and Sram?

I was running with 25mm on my bike and then went to 23mm (only because I got the tyres for free) and I cannot say I felt any difference. The 25s were Continental GPS and the 23s were Continental Sports (so two worlds apart). I would love to try out 28mm and see if there is a difference there, but I doubt my old generation bike will accept them. With regard to Gatorskins. Lots of people will disagree with me, but I find them to be the most overrated tyre. They are hellishly expensive and I cannot see the benefit of that price.

Give the bike a top to bottom clean and relube everything. I use a thin oil on the derailleur pivot points and a proper chain lube on the chain. For even smoother shifting, I clean the cables with thinners and then apply a thin layer of chain lube before inserting them back into the outers. Do not use car oil anywhere on the bike. It is designed to be in a sealed engine. It attracts dirt like crazy, which turns it into a grinding paste.

Sometimes all we need is to train more on hills.