David Marshall

Could be a number of things - long piece of grass to damaged freehub or bearing. I'm also in Midrand. Give me a call if you haven't got it sorted yet

Always a difficult decision, buy a factory wheelset or get one made up? My 2 cents for choosing either. 1) get a strong rim - nothing wrong with the Alex on that set. 2) make sure that the wheel has standard J bend double butted spokes and enough of them (at least 32 for a 29er). I repair enough wheels with proprietary spokes to know what a pain it is sourcing them. 3) The choice of hub is secondary. Even the less expensive ones are more than adequate. Preferably you need one with sealed cartridge bearings and a brand supported by a local agent that keeps spares for the freehub. That said the rest is largely cosmetic.

If it is the two to one spoke pattern you would have to get a Fulcrum rim to re use the hub. Otherwise there is a lot to choose from but I would stick to hubs that have an agent that supports them locally and rims that are not superlight with standard J bend DB spokes.

Depends what you have to work with and what is damaged. If you have a decent hub and spokes (with brass nipples) you may be able to do a rim transplant assuming you can get the same rim or one with a similar diameter. Around R200 labour. If you have to replace the spokes and nipples you are in for a full wheelbuild. Right now you could probably do a deal on a new 26 inch wheel a lot cheaper than a build - but not necessarily what you want.

I would keep them all together as they came. You may get away with the RD change as you want but I wouldn't bank on it. Keep the chains with the cassettes/shifters. You will need quick links for 8,9 and 10 speed chains, any brand. Also make sure that the FD's will fit on the frames.

Could be play in the fork?

No. Get a wheel with at least 32 DB spokes, three crossed and put the problem behind you!

Macarbi Racing at Wemmer Pan, JHB South www.macarbi.com

Take it back to whoever serviced it and get them to replace the large o-ring in the top cap (and top up the float fluid). Afterwards pump it up and submerge in a bucket of water to check that it is not leaking.

You will have to try to isolate exactly where the noise is. Could be that under pressure the chainring is bending just enough for the chain to touch the FD but more likely that the chain is touching something at the back. Could be limit screw adjustment or the space between the cassette and frame too small.

Leaking at the "top"? If it is leaking from the adjustment knob area you are in for a major service, that is damper oil. If the leak is where the air can screws into the top they could have pinched the o-ring seal when closing it, in which case it is probably leaking air as well. If it is leaking from where the damper shaft goes into the air can it could be from the float fluid leaking from the pressure chamber into the lower chamber - probably with air loss as well - or they could have put fluid below the main piston. Any of the latter should not be a big fix. Float fluid lubricates the air piston.

As for the 105, the Ultegra 9 speed is also history. From a cycling point of view the number of gears does not make that much of a difference (I'm about to be shot down). The spread ie range form highest to lowest combined with the chain ring sizes does. I rode an 8 speed 105 for a long time and performed no better or worse in races than on my 10 speed. I sold it and replaced it with another 10 speed just to keep things like wheels compatible between the bikes. Again I would not go for an old 9 speed. Rather a new Sora 9 speed than an old groupset but first prize a 10 speed. The ratio of your cassette ie size of the biggest and smallest gears is what matters. In my area for general road use a 25/11 is usual with the strong men maybe riding a 23/11 and ladies and older guys a 27/12. The standard chain rings are 53/39. A compact crank is often 50/34 which gives you more climbing options. I ride a compact with 25/11 as standard and have no regrets about changing. It depends on where and how you ride. As I said to me the numbere of intermediate gears is not so important. Your legs will tell you where to shift!

Go with 170mm. 165 would be hard to find anyway.

Nothing wrong with riding 9 speed - however if you are looking at 105 I wouldn't recommend 9 speed. Pretty dated and you will not get spares- anything replaced will have to be Sora. Also if the 9 speed bike has a full Shimano groupset- including the crank - it will likely be an octolink bottom bracket which are expensive and not well engineered to say the least. Go for a 10 speed and ride for years. At 10k are you talking new? Should get a 2nd hand 10 speed 105 for way less than that.

I doubt that the small differences in crank length will cause knee pain. More likely to be cleat position or seatpost height. Go to Cyclefit or another reputable fitter.

As Witkop says the chains are speed specific because the width of the link pins becomes narrower as the number of gears increase. You can use any brand of quick link providing it is for that speed of chain. Road/MTB chains can be interchanged and the only difference may be the strength/weight. There are supposed quality (weight?) differences between Tiagra, 105, and Ultegra but I have found 105 and Ultegra to weigh the same. Local stock of chains can be limited so you don't often have much choice.

If you are careful you can put a suitable bar in one of the holes, wrap it with a rag and use the crank arm as a lever to rotate the BB. No guarantee, no warranty.

Sounds like the new stem clamp is not as deep as the old one. You may need an extra spacer or to trim the steerer.

If you have a double crank it is probably 68mm shell with a 110mm axel. For a triple more likely to be 68mm with a 115 axel or possibly a 118. Can you not measure the existing one?

My opinion is that you will battle to find a single blade crankset like that locally. The only ones I know of are for single speed and being in fashion they are pricey. You could use any road double bladed crank with a square taper BB and simply remove or not use the small ring. The blade will be marginally further away from the frame than with the original crank but 7 speed is very forgiving. Should be able to find a second hand one for very little. If you don't come right with something down there I have one lying around.

I really enjoyed this race last year. Coming from altitude the oxygen boost got me up the climb with the bunch and the descent is something! (bring ear plugs). Not to be missed.

Looks like Shimano BB UN 26, Square taper 122,5mm axel length, 68mm shell.

LBS will have to order from Scott SA/Probike.

I'm not a fan of fully integrated headsets. I have seen damage to the housings, the worst from a crash where the steerer dented the housing badly. To me it is just one step closer to scrapping the frame than with a semi integrated. My pet gripe is press fit BB's. Have no place on a bike after the excellence of outboard BB,s - no matter what the marketing gurus say!

Welcome to the headset mine field. You first need to establish if your current headset is intergrated (built in cups) or semi integrated (removable cups). If the latter you need to measure the OD of the cups before you order the new one. Cup height is not usually a problem but check that as well. Stack height is often stated on the pack. If it is fully integrated you need to get the exact replacement bearings. Same OD and same chamfer angles.