David Marshall

11-25 works for me (Gauteng). On holliday in Balito and last year in Knysna I could have used a 27 but that kind of hill is rare up here. Shifting is fine and the 11 is great on the chase.

This is just a horror story! I can imagine how the affected riders feel - must also be such a hollow victory for those on the podium. I shudder to think of what will happen on the Tour of SA. I live near the Montecasino part of the course and have seen very little notification of the event or any planned closures. 94.7 put up closure notifications well in advance. Traffic in this area is a nightmare!

That's how most shops store them. Wont affect fork at all. Also you can hang them from the back wheel if you are worried.

To cut it straight see if you can find a hose clamp of the same diameter to use as a guide for the saw. Cut outside as the carbon dust can make a mess.

Got the 2006 version. Supposed to be my training bike but I've done a lot of races on it as well. Hitting 10 000 km and I would not trade it for anything (not even the 2011 model )

I have the same problem with my road setup. Changed chain, cassette, cables and housing and the guide under the bb. My hanger is fine so I think the shifter or derailer must be the problem. Luckily I have two bikes so I can change components between them. Taking forever 'though as problem is not consistent and have to do it one piece at a time. Hope you (and I) solve it soon!

Horrible time of year for perishable suppliers - I know, I used to be one! Your staff want to go on holiday, you are battling to fit all your deliveries in due to the public holidays, stock which should be in shops is still in your fridge, the arrogant stores keep your vehicles hanging around for hours (in this weather!), the merchandisers "forget" your stock out of the fridge, also consumption patterns change with suburban shops dying and the malls picking up (maybe?). It's a logistical nightmare. As to why the milk is frot I would guess that the cold chain has at some point been broken for too long. With milk an hour at 20 deg rather than 5 deg C will knock a day off the shelf life. Would the suppliers cheat by extending the shelf life date or "fixing" the product? Never!! No, really I doubt that a milk supplier would. You rely on repeat purchases in this game and it is too easy for an unsatisfied customer to move to another brand.

It appears that CSA communicates with the clubs. My CSA status has been "waiting club approval" over the holiday period and just today got an email from CSA to say that according to my club I have not renewed my membership so licence on hold. Sorting out with club now.

I have raced with one of the vets groups till now but I don't think it is worth me taking a racing license this year. I am seeded 1800 on the ladder and assuming that half the riders quicker than me are licensed I would only make the category cuts for the smaller races. The top guy in our group is seeded at about 800 so the top 10 would probable make the grade. Downside is that we may see only 5-10 starters on the line for the nationals and provincials. The "cannon fodder", like myself, will not be there. I will miss the competitiveness and camaraderie of the group but the race will go on.

I am with Darkhorse on this one. Some quality individual amateur girls are going to go un noticed or be written off as wheel suckers in the men's groups. I think these categories are also going to spell the end of the older Vets racing groups.

I also use Q20 type products for loosening and cleaning (flushing). Then I use 3 in 1 High Performance Lube (teflon) for chains and small parts - but it is difficult to find - the Wynn's equivalent is not as good. Aerosol grease also seems to work well for those difficult to get at parts. Motor spares shops generally have a range of products to try

9 speed Sram or Shimano should work. Just keep in mind that the 105 rear derailer has a short cage so you can't go too big at the back. May also need to get a longer chain.

Try ptfe plumbing tape - I've also used very thin aluminium cut from an imported beer can (local ones are too thick) to fit creaking headset inserts into a head tube. May work.

Also think that you will get a better deal buying a 2nd hand bike rather than building at the moment.

To get the toe in right adjust the pad with the thickness of a business card at the back while applying the brake, or loop an elastic band around the end of the pad.

I've used 9 speed on a ten speed road bike. I once had an issue with some older FSA rings that were supposed to be 9 and 10 speed compatible but skated on the small ring when you changed down while on the higher gears at the back. They later brought out different rings for each. I think the issue is more the spacing between the rings than the rings themselves. Try it and see.

Being too lazy to hunt down grinding powder I had the choice of Vim or Micro Balloons - the latter being stuff I used to mix into epoxy glue to lighten it when repairing boats. Not knowing exactly what was in Vim I chose the latter and it worked fine. As for copper compound the price difference between 100 and 500ml is so small that I bought the 500ml and decant it into a syringe and use it on just about everything that I have to fasten that may have to be removed at some stage.

It does not only happen to the ladies. I ride in one of the older vets groups and a lot of guys our age in the open groups get faster times - as said above drafting in a steadily paced group with strong young riders looking for good times will get you to the finish faster than than a bunch of old guys playing out team tactics for a win. I know, most of my training buddies finished quicker (and less exhausted) than I did.

Park Big Blue Book of bicycle repair has an appendix with the recommended torque values for most of the common brands of components. The variations for stems may be because of the materials (carbon often lower that ali) but I also think some manufacturers opt for higher torque values so that you think their components are stronger! Many stems, seatposts etc will have the torque specs printed on them but in general the range is from 5 to 8 nm. I torque carbon components to 6nm and aliminium to 8. All brake bolts and clamps I do to 6nm, as well as derailers execpt for the rear hanger bolt for which go to 10.

Small torque wrench a great help for me. Use it all the time esp. on things like brake cable clamps, stems and the like. Some mechanics claim to be able to estimate torque but I'm a sceptic. 6nm seems to be the most common torque for most clamped components so a 4mm and a 5mm Torque key of this strength would suffice (if you can find one).

Make your own chain whip but for what it's worth I wouldn't buy that type of cassette tool. Rather by a good quality socket type tool. The advantages being that you can use it with a torque wrench to tighten, can hold it in place with a piece of threaded rod and use with an open spanner on those jammed lock nuts without the tool slipping. Also I found that with my handle type tool I could only remove 9 and 10 speed cassetts with the axel in place. For 8 speed I had to remove the axel first.

Merida makes good light road bikes at a reasonable price. The Tiagra groupset is great until it is time to sell, then you will wish you had a 105 or Ultegra. I have a 2006 904 with a 105 groupset and I am still very happy with it. Done about 6000km and would not dream of parting with it. Have had a few other makes that I have been happy to let go. Good luck with your new bike!

I have two. The one I use most I picked up on a Mr Price Sport markdown sale for R9-99 (I think the full price was around R100-00). It works like a dream but is a little big to carry in races. The other is a lighweight RavX which was R115-00. Not as firm as the Maxed one but works fine. The secret with this type of tool (and any other which works on threaded components - like a crank puller - is to oil the threads before use.

Saddle height, when measured from extended pedal to top of the saddle, should be 109% of the rider's inside leg measurement (measuring straight along the crank and seat tube. If measuring from the center of the crank bolt it will be inside leg measurement * 0.889. Saddle setback is best measured with the rider seated on the bike (level) and relaxed with the cranks horizontal with the floor. A weighted line held on the side of the knee (mid joint) should pass vertically through the pedal axel/ball of foot. If you are alone you can get the approximate position by using the following formula (inside leg measurement minus 76.5cm)/4+6cm. This is the distance from the center of the bottom bracket to the vertical line dropped from the front most point of the saddle. If your current set up close to these measurements I doubt your action is due to the bike setup. In any event I would not be too concerned because you obviously were in front for him to make the observation!

Can be from dirt but if persists likely to be chainring wear. I 've only had problems with the middle ring and changing it sorted the problem out. As you had a new chain on I would suspect the ring.