Wannabe

Tire can be used / 2nd hand, as long as it has sufficient tread on. To be fitted to my home build Gravel Grinder, as it will give a nice round 50mm wide tire track.

You saying my bike is ugly........ Still needs a respray, but I cannot find the right color paints to obtain a "camo" look, only with diagonal lines.

I also do all (most) of the servicing on my bikes. (Road, Duel Suss Mtb and homebuilt Gravel Hybrid) But I'm in the fortunate position to have a friend who owns a small LBS, and every so often I take one of the bikes with when I do my monthly all day visit to him. We then go over that specific bike and tweak / fix all that's needed. As I'm quite pedantic in cleaning my bikes and lubing them after every wet / muddy ride, my Mtb has not needed a single bush or bearing to be replaced in the years I have had it (2013 Scott Spark Elite, in in my possession since 2018). Wheel bearings has been replaced as and when needed (Lyne Pulse 25's with a good few km on them already) Fork gets it services when needed, shock will now need a full service for which it will have to be sent away (Fox Float RP2) as he does not have the tools for it. With me being in the position to spend a whole day in the LBS, I can see and understand why bike, especial Mtb services are expensive. The number of DIY Bodge jobs he has to repair on a daily basis is staggering. Sometimes a 1-hour job can take up to two hours to complete due to an owner (or other LBS) Bodge. Tools / equipment are also expensive, and one tool does not work on all bikes, so a variety of tools, sometimes very specific tools, are needed to service the different brands.

Thanks. I'm much better than before the op.

I'll strongly suggest you have this properly checked out. I had a lower back giving me hassles for years, with intermittent bouts of discomfort, ranging from mild to severe, when on the bike. I thought this to be a fitness/bike setup thing, but it gradually got worse, until end of Feb this year when my back finally let go. Turns out it was a shifted L5/S1 vertebrae that pinched my Sciatic nerve, the result of a minor fall I had in 2016 and which I ignored. One Laminectomy and 12 weeks later I'm still off my bike. Final Dr checkup is on 22 April 2024 where I hope to get the greenlight to slowly start training again.

I converted my old hardtail Haibike aluminum frame to a gravel grinder from left over spares in my stash I built up over the years. Used old Shimano wheels, fitted with Panaracer Gravelking 40x700c tires (looking for one more Mtb tire with not too aggressive thread in 1.95 (50") width for a more plush ride ) Group set is a well used Sram Force 10spd shifters mated to an X9 rear derailer and Force front derailer. Shifting is flawless and dropped chain is a non-issue. Cassette is Sram 10 spd 11-36. Chainring is Sram 38-26 for an almost 1-1 final gear (Looking for a bigger chainring though as I spin out on the road when trying to stick with the roadies) Handlebar is a Rapide Gravelbike item, bought new Fork is a Moroso M5 rigid alu item I bought second hand on Bike Hub for the princely sum of R500 Brakes are Tektro Novela MS mechanical items, single pot but works well enough once properly set up. They are mated to 160mm discs. Seat is a Fizik Kium saddle. All items, tires included are second hand with the exception of the handlebar, tape, cables inners and outers and chain. This whole build cost me less than R2000, as I had all the items collected over the years. This bike is called "Okkie", as its ook nie n Mtb nie, maar ook nie n padfiets nie. Lol. This bike is a feast to ride on both road, gravel and not too rough or technical trails. The photo below is not the final product, as I changed some of the components as the build progressed, but it gives an idea of the result.

I did not even have a traumatic injury, and I can also see the difference in my legs, especially the left calf. Complete inactivity (stretches / physio excluded) eats away at your muscles in a hurry. I mowed my lawn yesterday (and it's a small patch of grass) and I could feel the fatigue in my legs afterwards. First time I got on the spinning bike, the 10-minute session felt like a lap around the Peninsula. Strongs with your recovery G.

John, my perception is that some of the newer "experts" on lehub do not know who or what you are, therefore they are under the fallible impression that they know more about our beloved sport than you. (top tip, if you do not know who John Wakefield is, consult Dr Google) Matt again said in the interview today that Howie put him in the hurt box and that all he could do was to hang on. (I dunno if that was tongue in cheek/an inside joke) What I saw was that Matt was on the front most of the time, only on the more technical climbs did Howie go to the front. On the long gradual climbs Matt could throw his watt bombs down. Howie won both his Epics with partners physically way stronger than him (Koolharvy and Matt) but he survived both with relative ease. But hey, what do I know about Mtb riding, I'm just a armchair critic that only rides in good weather.

Seemingly not.... Shall we inform him that Grotts is a former Epic winner from 2018, when the real hard men and true legends raced? (not dissing the current crop of riders, they are obviously the cream of the current crop)

I'm staying not too far from Dale, will you drop some off here as well? Don't tell me you'll leave it with him, I'll never see it then.

Hopefully we get to see some of it. The highlight reel of the Ladies race they ran just now, was about all of the footage we got to see this morning. 😖 Sorry, just a bit grumpy as I'm confined to my house following a back operation and was looking forward to at least watch people riding their bikes while I'm not allowed to.

Let's hope tomorrow's is better, as they are doing the Imbuko trails.

Free or not, coverage is really poor, especially todays. Really spotty with lots of fillers. Ladies race seems like they are not riding today, as all the focus (the little bit there was) is on the men. The ladies are nearing the finish, but they go to highlights of the men and interviews. Surely this can be done once the racing is done. I cannot recall it being this bad previous years.

Candice did have an issue with her front wheel again over the last Km or so, that's why they did not / could not contest the sprint.

Hypothetically, will they gel and be a good team, or not. Everything else notwithstanding.

Just a random thought that popped into my head. Matt and Koolharvy as partners!? (Sponsors, etc excluded) Think that will be a really powerful team, or is Koolharvy past his prime, or is their riding styles and strengths and weakness much the same, and that will hinder them more than anyhing? Keen to hear the thoughts of those more in the know. (John..)

And I claimed for my R1 bicycle when I was bikejacked a few years back. They paid the insured amount into my account within three days, and I could go and buy the bike I wanted. A few weeks later someone rode into the back of my new bike, breaking the rear derailer. Again got paid out in cash after giving them a replacement quote from my LBS.

My pet hate also. Jogger running on the "wrong side" of the road. He/she has a direct line of view of vehicles approaching from behind the cyclist, but refusing to give a bit of leeway, forcing me (the cyclist) into the roadway. And most of the time there is a sidewalk / pavement they can run on safely but insist to run in the roadway. (Sidewalk/pavement, not cycle lane)

I had a White Scoria with 11spd 105 groupo (upgrade I did). Best bike I ever owned (and best looking too)

Strongs with the recovery Dale. I've hit a bit of an emotional wall on Sunday past, when things caught up with me and got a bit too much. So those days do happen, but they too will pass.

Once when going up Suikerbossie, found a guy standing broadside IN THE DRIVING LANE at the top where cyclist normally stop to catch their breath, or wait for their slower riding partners. When I politely asked him to move into the yellow lane, where it is safer, I got sworn at and told to f-off and mind my own business. I just smiled at him and said sure, obviously your wish is to become roadkill. He then flew into a rage, but I just cycled on. Worse of all, he was no youngster, he'd done a few decades of living already. Now just imagine what would have happened if a motorist / motor biker came flying over that fairly blind curve and took him out, who would have been blamed? So yes, there is some Darwin Award candidates out there that stuffs it up for the majority of law-abiding cyclists with a sense of responsibility and self-preservation.

Yeah, I'm always sweating bullets till you crest the rise after Hospital bend, and only start relaxing a bit after turning off the Blue Route. Madness up to there, with the "Passing Right" guys barging their way to the front, putting everybody else at risk.

Had a convo with Dale today. He's "OK", no broken bones, spinal or head injuries. Only a lot of soft tissue damage. He hopes to be discharged from hospital either today or tomorrow. Then it's a few weeks of intensive rehab. Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery, Mate.

How did the op/procedure affect your cycling? Less pain in the legs/cramps, or still much the same? I also really hope this numbness/dead feeling goes away, as I already can see how it affects my walking. As soon as I start to tire, I tend to "drift" to the left like a crab.