David Marshall

For me the "Spokey" wrenches are tops. Look like the DT Swiss ones but a third of the price. Red 3.2 and Yellow 3.4 mm. Last well and have a plastic base so don't scratch rims. Otherwise Park Tool is the bench mark. Got mine from CRC but I haven't seen them in stock lately. Evans Cycles also have them.

It is unusual for brass nipples to round unless something else is amiss. 1) Check that the nipples are in fact brass. 2) Check that the spoke and nipple gauge is the same. Usually 2mm or 1.8mm 3) Check that the spoke is the correct length. 4) Oil the spoke thread and the rim around the nipple. Nipples are usually 3.2mm. I Use a 3.4 mm spoke spanner on brass (as it is quicker to work with) and 3.2mm on aluminum or for high tension with brass. Hope this helps

All the good spokes (Pillar, Phil Wood, DT Swiss, Sapim, Wheelsmith and I am sure some others) use Sandvik stainless steel and the quality variances should be minimal. Just make sure you compare like with like (butting and gauge). As for the quailty of the wheelbuild only time and mileage will tell.

I assembled one once - it was horrible. The headset bearings had been inserted before the spray job and had to be prised out. The plastic bag remnants had to be "extracted" out of a tiny aperture in the frame before the internal cabling could be fitted and the mount for the rear brake (below the BB) was so shoddy it took forever to set up. The bars also had to be machined to get the shifters to fit. The owner seems happy enough though. I suppose if you stick to tried and tested suppliers you should be ok. I have built some Chinese deep sections which built very well and they haven't come back ....yet!

I can do it for you. Workshop in Kyalami area. I might have worked on your bike at Yellowsaddle. Dave

If you don't come right PM me - shouldn' cost much to post.

Any local wheel builder or the local agent can sort out a Zipp loose spoke. Not a trip to the US!

I would take it back or get an opinion from someone like Cyclefit (and then take it back). No point in starting out wrong!

I've been using the RavX red pads for a while. Cheap, effective and they don't tend to accumulate alu scrap. I only tried them because I couldn't find the Koolstop Salmon and I will now stick to them.

Not much to choose between them. Choice wold depend on condition if 2nd hand.

Who are you and where do I send the cheque?

Cycles Africa are the agents. They should be able to direct you to an outlet in Durban. Customer Service: 0861 GO BIKE (46 2453)

I can do it for you. Apart from a bit of brain surgery to get the seals in the tricky part is to re gas the space behind the floating piston. Fox only supply air sleeve service kits so you have to source the other seals elsewhere. Full service cost R900-00.

I had a good hard ride in the 50 plus bunch. These age group races are always a bit hectic at the start because no matter how strong you are or what you ride you all start together so it is easy to get delayed by a fun rider or MTB etc. Get to the start early. I didn't know about the neutral zone but in all my time of riding I can only recall once having a vehicle in the neutral zone for any bunch other than the elites. On the whole I thought the race was well run.

Kiwi has some. Check his site www.rapide.co.za

Back one step - check/lube the skewer before you go to town.

Extensivly covered under "shimmy" or "high speed shimmy" some time ago. Horrible and can have any number of reasons to set it off. In most cases it is niether the bike nor the rider but a combination of both. A frame change sorted mine out.

It is common on aluminium freehubs. Use the chain whip to back off the stuck gears to remove them and file down the sharp protrusions before putting the cassette back on

At Yellowsaddle we had a foolproof method for servicing these. Johan would give them to me to do and I would drop them off at Pro Bike! . They are not great and tend to loose air, usually from the air sleeve seal.

I think they take a normal straight pull spoke. Should be available locally. I have some on order but I am not sure when they will get here. Take the wheel to a shop so that they can remove and measure an unbroken spoke and replace the broken one.

Thanks for the thumbs up! To the OP, whatever you choose make it 36 spokes and three spoke crosses.

The 41 refers to the outside diam. of the presfit cups. Specialized and now some other frames are 42. In my opinion there is no advantage to having presfit BB's over the previous outboard versions. Seroius disadvantage in that if you sieze a bearing you can end up damaging your frame.

I can help with pleasure. Don't keep Manitou seals in stock but if you let me know which fork you have I can order in. My training partner works in PTA so can arrange to drop off. Dave 072 222 7185.

To me redishing or "un-dishing" a wheel to suit a frame is treating the symptom and not the problem. You want to dish a wheel so that the rim is centered on the hub measured from locknuts. If the frame is straight and the wheels dished properly the back wheel will track where the front wheel has passed. The old test was to wet the tires and push the bike over a concrete slab. Only one track should be visible. If you redished the wheel what happens if you want to use that wheel on another bike? Also any new wheel you buy would have to be redished. I certianly wouldn't recomend it. Frame and dropout straightening is common practice in workshops. There are tools made for it.

I wouldn't adjust a wheel to fit a frame. Rather straighten the frame and center the wheel correctly.