Jehosefat

Yeah, I'm pretty jealous that my GF is in Group 1... Group 3 for me is not too bad though should be done around 13:00 to 13:30

Wessel from https://masteringmtbskills.com/ is really good as well. They run lessons all over Joburg and Pretoria almost every weekend.

Maybe in terms of feel but a 34t ring will have the same cadence at the same speed regardless of whether it's round or oval so if you are spinning out, shifting to an oval won't make a difference. It might help a bit on the climbs because of the power distribution around the pedal stroke though. To answer the OP though, go 34t and ride better downhills. If you are doing 50kph and still pedaling the you are basically riding down a road... do a proper trail and you won't be sitting down and pedaling regardless of the speed.

Vitality don't care what the workout is. They are only interested in how long it is and what your average heart rate is. So as long as your heart rate is above 70% of (220 - age) and you ride for at least 30 minutes you will get points.

Also hoping Durban happens but I don't have a lot of faith unfortunately Still training flat out though

My last order (at the end of Jan) was shipped via DHL express, took under a week to get to my door.

You should be able to just replace the shifter and derailleur. I'd keep a Shimano chain on the Shimano cassette though (although it's not strictly necessary it should provide better shift quality).

Not even a particularly stiff cheese by the sounds of things... Maybe a nice Brie?

I'm very curious about this chainring that you had to change every time you got a new chain. Because that really doesn't seem right. Who was the manufacturer?

yeah, you need ridiculously short bolts for those. I ended up just filing the bolts I had shorter because I couldn't find any that were short enough.

Let me preface this by saying I'm a pretty average runner. I have found that a higher cadence has helped with all the ITB issues I used to get. That said my cadence and stride length change depending on how fast I'm running. Relatively easy runs (6 - 7 min/km) I'll usually do at about 170-175 spm (and whatever the associated stride length is, about 0.9 - 1m iirc). If I'm pushing it in a TT (lets say 5km at 4:30/km) my cadence is closer to 185 spm and my stride length averages out to about 1.2-1.3m. In summary, I don't think you can look at them in isolation (and absolute pace will play a major role as well).

I have 165mm cranks on my enduro bike and 175mm on all my other bikes. Riding the enduro bike is definitely harder work than any of the others but I couldn't tell you whether that is due to the weight and slow-rolling tyres or due to the crank length.

Structural failure of the sidewall. You're going to need to replace the tire. Should be replaced under warrantee if it's new enough.

Just got a set of Rincon 2's and I've only done about 50km in them so far but they are much lighter, feel a lot more padded and faster than the Saucony's (I've had a few pairs of the Freedom ISOs) that I've been running in for the last 2 years. Granted, the longest run I've done in them is about 12km so I can't comment on how they work for long runs (that said, the longest run I'm planning on doing is a half marathon).

You've obviously never been to Fourways boet. They are UFC befok

Agree, two batteries is way better than one even if they are slightly smaller. Luckily I've already got a few of the Bosch 18v batteries so I'm not too concerned about this bundle only having one.

The Bosch that is on special does have a hammer function according to the Bosch website: https://www.bosch-professional.com/za/en/promotion/06019F83K6 I just pulled the trigger on one this morning from Top Dog. Was getting over having to whip out the Rotary Hammer every time I wanted to put a small hole in a wall

Yes, that is literally what it is about. There are only a finite number of people who cycle in the cradle and pretty much all of them already have a favourite place to start for whatever reason. To get more people to use you, you will need to convince them that what you offer is better than what they are getting from their current starting point. Simple economics.

I'm talking about driving from my house to where I start riding and getting to Broadacres is a shorter drive than to you or Valverde. But then there is that dodgy ride out especially with the roadworks which is why I drive further. The simple fact is that to break into an established market you have to do something better and/or different to your competitors. You can't do exactly the same as them and expect people to do business with you rather than the places they know and like. So that goes back to my previous post: What do you do better than your competitors that will make people want to use your service rather than theirs? If you can answer that question (and the answer isn't "nothing") then you will likely grow your business. If the answer is "nothing" then you are not adding value to people and they will not make use of your services. It's as simple as that.

Broadacres is a shorter drive, therefore, more convenient. I agree that riding from BA is not safe so I usually drive out to Valverde and ride from there. To get me to stop at your place instead you would have to offer something better than what Valverde offers and honestly, based on what I've seen in this thread, you don't. And that's the issue you will need to address to expand your business. The question you should be asking isn't "Why is there so much resistance?". People are creatures of habit and will keep doing what they are comfortable with unless there is a good reason for them to change. The question you should be asking is "What can I do differently/better than all the other places to make people want to start here rather than somewhere else?" because if all you are offering is the same thing in a different location there is no incentive for people to change from what they are comfortable with.

I run 30mm DTSwiss E1700s (350 hubs and E532 rims) on my Enduro bike with 2.4" DHR IIs front and back. On the XC bike I have 25mm DT Swiss XR391s laced to 240s (thanks Nick) with 2.35" Ikons front and back (I'll throw a Forekaster or Ardent on the front sometimes if I'm doing a more technical ride) Both sets work well for their intended purposes.

Please don't take this post as me being nasty, it's not intended that way at all. It all boils down to the fact that there are a set number of people who ride in the cradle, whether mountain or road and at the moment, all of them have a preference for a starting point for whatever reason. For you to grow your business you need to convince people that starting at your place is a better option than where they currently do. So far I have read this thread and I don't see what you are offering that positively differentiates you from any of the other places but I do see some downsides: Not as convenient as riding from BroadacresNot as safe as riding from somewhere in the cradle (Valverde/Bidon)More expensive than any of the above-mentioned placesPretty much everywhere offers coffee/breakfast so that's basically a minimum requirementIn summary, if you want to grow your business you need a clearly defined value proposition / differentiator that I'm just not seeing. (i.e. objectively ask yourself why someone would want to start using your place instead of where they currently ride from). Sorry if this seems harsh but it is a competitive market unfortunately.

4 Tattoo, Cruise, Arrested and Skydiving. Not keen on either a tattoo or a cruise, been pretty close to being arrested once and I'll get round to skydiving at some point.

Yeah, their XC racing range is the Spark RC since the 2017 models. The normal Spark is a light trail bike.

Nope, not according to the official Shimano dealer guide: https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/dm/DM-MADBR01-02-ENG.pdf If you can fill the system with oil by pumping it up from the caliper I can't see how bleeding it that way would be a problem.