David Marshall

Road or MTB?

I stick with Enduro. They are bicycle specific and good enough. The problem with hunting for other brands is that you are never sure of exactly what you are getting. If you take SKF for example and you look at their designation system there are umpteen variations of the same sized bearing. Your supplier is likely to have one and a cheaper no name brand equivalent in stock. Wheel or pivot? Who knows.

With the chain on you may have to tweek the B limit screw to give the optimal clearance between the biggest cog and the top pulley wheel.

No stock locally. 32 hole road hubs are frowned upon by the industry and the suppliers know best!

Now that no one locally stocks silver spokes any more they are becoming the in thing!

The Shimano HG 8-11 speed MTB freehub is shorter than the HG 11-12 speed road freehub. This is because the low (large) cog on the MTB cassette is dished closer to the spokes, effectively lengthening the freehub. You can only fit a road 10 speed cassette onto the MTB HG freehub. The diameter of the large cog on the road cassette is too small to dish over the hub body without contacting the spokes so the freehub is made slightly longer than the MTB one. (1.8mm) This is a mine field - with expensive school fees.

I would rather go the insert route. A bigger bolt will influence the calliper adjustment.

I would try to re tap the thread with the correct tap. Make sure that the hole is cleaned out well and try a new bolt. If that doesn't work you will have to fit a thread repair insert. For a one off probably best to get someone with a kit to fit it for you.

I have some aluminium rims that would work for you. WTB Chris Cross I 19mm, 32 hole. Designed for cyclocross but ideal for road. Won't break the bank and you can pair with hubs of your choice. If you are interested I can quote on the build.

Stressful and expensive exercise. A minefield to research because there are no "try before you buy" options. Advice from other users is not always helpful because everyone's script is different. From what I can gather the heavier your script is the less curvature can be built into the lens which reduces the options available. I started off with a Torga sport sunglass with my bifocal script. Vision was brilliant BUT the frames were quite thick and limited my peripheral vision. Not at all good for a roadie. Next pair was to go for a cycling sunglass with inserts. Initially a disaster. As mentioned sweat issues and in my case channelling the wind directly onto my eyeballs. I worked with the supplier and a different frame improved things. The inserts on the new one mount onto the frame as opposed to the special nose piece giving a more stable platform and holds the insert slightly further from the eye. I still need to ride with a sweat band. In hindsight a better option would have been to ditch the bifocal and just go for my distance script. My computer has a large display and I can see it fine. With the lower script rating the Optometrist could still make a more curved lens and fit to a frame like the Oakley Flak. Then a credit card type reader to read the menu or fix a puncture.

I had similar which turned out to be ITB syndrome. Quite likely if you cycle a lot without other leg exercise. Luckily easy and inexpensive to sort out. Just Google exercises for ITB and DO them regularly. Should improve after about 3 weeks.

Thanks, I'll look into it.

If life was that simple. My named brand unit packed up last week. Sent it in but "can't be looked at until next year". Also just out of warranty. The LBS suggested that if it can't be repaired I would most likely be offered a discount on a new unit. --- Great - except the new unit is almost double what I paid for mine. I have vestibular problems and rely heavily on my rear radar. So yes, I will buy an el cheepo now, which will become my no 1 unit if my current one can't be repaired, or will go onto my wife's bike and still be my back up in future.

I'm in the same position. For me the main purchase necessity is radar light support. As far as I can assertain only the iGPsport has this feature but you would need to check with the sellers. The newer iGPsport BSC100max has a 3" screen (up from 2.5") which is probably the way I'll go.

I wouldn't throw caution to the wind and generalise. Every case is different and you need to assess the requirements as a whole. While I agree that you can put a big guy onto a 24 spoke carbon rim, you had better make sure that you have a quality rim and build to start with. If you buy a R9999-00 carbon 24h disc wheelset online you are going to be sadly disappointed. In any event I would still build with the maximum number of spokes that the situation allows for. Not everyone can afford top quality carbon rims so you may have to look at the aluminium alternatives. Again, for big guys I would definitely go for maximum spokes and crosses. Ideally 36 holes as you can then get a 4 cross pattern. Sadly these components are not freely available locally so you have to import. What kills aluminium wheels is fatigue caused by the dynamic forces on the wheel. You want to reduce this movement as much as possible and the best solution is double butted spokes and plenty of them.

I see current results (2025) on their website. I dumped my chip a while ago.

You are right. I wasn't clear in my post. Meant to imply track alongside the M4.

Can't help with an offroad route but it is a nice ride through the suburbs. Basically follow the M4 through Glenashley, la Lucia, Beachwood etc. Just past Virginia airport you can duck under the M4 and ride parallel to the beach all the way into Umhlanga. It's a pleasant ride and if you want to extend it you can do a few loops of the cycle lane past the stadium, beach front and Blue Lagoon. The M4 bridge over the river at Blue Lagoon is the safest crossing and you can add a couple of k's by going on the brick path next to the Umgeni river out and back before heading into the suburbs. Be careful at the roundabouts - drivers are courteous - the shock may kill!

Aero Agencies stock some but not a wide range.

The work on the bike may not be complicated or the parts expensive but things can quickly add up. A bike shop would charge around R500 for labour (wash, lube, service hubs, headset, bb, replace cables and housing, set brakes and gears). You are then in for any new parts needed. Obviously depends on what can be salvaged but its easy to underestimate. Unfortunately, you can't tell what's needed from pictures.

We need a little more info to give good advice. Exactly which model105 groupset you have and the cage length of the rear derailleur. The model number will be printed on the shifters under the rubber hood and on the body of the rear derailleur. The derailleur cage length is a bit tricky to establish but rule of thumb is if you can freely pass a third pulley wheel through the cage between the two pulleys it is a medium cage and if not it is a short cage. From your chainring sizes I assume that you have a 10 speed 105 and a short cage RD (because that was the most common). 11 speed tend to be compact (50/34) or mid-compact (52/36). Your easiest fix for the 10 speed scenario is to replace the RD with a 9 speed Shimano MTB RD - or Shimano MTB compatible RD. The simplest to get hold of is the Sunrace M90 at around R400. This would allow for a 34/11 cassette giving you an 18% improvement over the current 28T climbing gear. If this does not cover your set up let us know what you have.

I'll be with you. No headwind where I sit - just follow my wheel!

The bearing code you are looking for is 9227. Enduro have it but not in SA. Mavic is in the process of changing agents so not likely to be of help. Can you re check the dimensions of the bearing or see if it has code on the seal. The only one I am familiar with on the older Mavics is the 608 (8 x 22 x 7) but anything is possible - it's for a bicycle after all.

To give any meaningful advice you will need to give more information. Specifically what groupset do you have? (Speed and model numbers on the FD, RD and shifters as well as the length of the RD cage) Also the crank information - number of bolt holes on the ring and the PCD.

No ways! Standard brass 14 mm