Boast about your latest purchases here...

[Cardio Goth]

11 hours ago, patches said:

Not cycling related... not even running related (as I am far too lazy), but decided to purchase some new "work shoes".

I wear tekkies most days as I walk to and from the bus stop and run around the hospital. I only change into more formal shoes or safety-boots if I'm attending big-boy meetings or wandering around construction areas.

Ashamedly this is the 2nd most expensive footwear I have ever purchased. MX boots being first.

 I know these are an overkill for walking shoes, but I just liked the look 😅

(I better grab my flame-suit for when the running thread peeps see this, haha)

On Running Cloudace

I've noticed that, here in Austria at least, a lot of people who spend significant time of their feet for work wear On shoes. 

[Rigardt@Scott]

17 hours ago, Showtime said:

I needed to know if I was missing out on flats.

Really cannot fault the shoes but the first ride definitely wasn't what I was hoping.

I have many unmaintained rocky trails here and felt I will be able to ride the dodgy bits that I walked on my clipless for fear of falling. In practice I couldn't maintain power to keep going on very rocky sections where I could power through using clipless so ended up walking more. 

Also find myself second guessing the foot position the entire time and wonder if the zero float is an issue.

Will definitely give them an extended run.

 

Give it a good few rides to get used to, you have to correct alot of bad habits when you get on flats from clipless. Your foot should also be more centered on the pedal than with clipless so you are likely going to want to slide your saddle forward on the rails and drop it by 5mm (+/-). Once you get your heel down while pedaling you will be able to ride very efficiently, even over very rocky stuff. 

 

Alot of cyclist see flats as the beginner option, IMO, it takes alot more skill to ride well with flats than with clipless - flats don't let you hide any bad habits. 

[NicoR]

POC Omne Air Spin after splitting my previous helmet in three at Berg & Bush.  

 

 

[Showtime]

30 minutes ago, Grease_Monkey said:

Give it a good few rides to get used to, you have to correct alot of bad habits when you get on flats from clipless. Your foot should also be more centered on the pedal than with clipless so you are likely going to want to slide your saddle forward on the rails and drop it by 5mm (+/-). Once you get your heel down while pedaling you will be able to ride very efficiently, even over very rocky stuff. 

 

Alot of cyclist see flats as the beginner option, IMO, it takes alot more skill to ride well with flats than with clipless - flats don't let you hide any bad habits. 

Thanks for the tips. I will definitely give it a few months before comparing with clipless again.

[M L]

1 hour ago, TheoG said:

Agree.  I have 4 x 200Ahr GEL batteries and they are pretty poor.  Not withstanding the load shedding onslaught very well.

I'm looking for Li batteries but the best price I found so far for a 4.8kW is ~R22k.  What did you have for only R7.5k?

My inverter setup is nowhere near 4.8kW, so using a single 12.8v 100Ah. Bought it off Takealot.
 

I assume 4.8kW is a 48v battery? Then R22k sounds like a really good price imo.

[ChrisF]

8 hours ago, M L said:

 

I will never do GEL or AGM again. My 100Ah lasted 2 years with not a lot of load shedding. Cost R3,300. Now replaced with a Lithium for R7,500. Been very happy running computers, internet, lamps and the TV with stage 6 load shedding. Well worth it if you put any value on your working time.

 

In fairness .... a single 12V gell battery is meant for no more than 20A x 12V = 360W load, based on 2 and half hour load shedding ... with ENOUGH time to fully charge before the next session.

 

 

500W loads will push the battery tooooo hard.

 

A slow charger wont recharge it in time ... next loadshed taking it past 50% .... again shortening the battery life.

 

 

We have a 12V gell system.  Load is managed,  battery never discharged to 50%.  Fast charger takes it to 95% with the Stage 4 short charge intervals.

 

The battery is going on 4 years, and working perfectly.

 

 

The hard reality .... most homes use more than 350W off these systems and work the batteries hard .... then one of the lithium battery types is a MUST 👍

[Steady Spin]

8 hours ago, TheoG said:

Agree.  I have 4 x 200Ahr GEL batteries and they are pretty poor.  Not withstanding the load shedding onslaught very well.

I'm looking for Li batteries but the best price I found so far for a 4.8kW is ~R22k.  What did you have for only R7.5k?

Good price. I paid R25k per battery for 5.5kW units in December. 

Which brand is that?

[TheoG]

17 minutes ago, Steady Spin said:

Good price. I paid R25k per battery for 5.5kW units in December. 

Which brand is that?

Pylontech

[Steady Spin]

Just now, TheoG said:

Pylontech

Very good price indeed. Great brand. Just be very careful when shopping online. Lots of scams out there. Ask on powerforum.co.za if you’re unsure. 

[mecheng89]

Thank you @EasyBike!

[Eddy Gordo]

22 hours ago, Grease_Monkey said:

Give it a good few rides to get used to, you have to correct alot of bad habits when you get on flats from clipless. Your foot should also be more centered on the pedal than with clipless so you are likely going to want to slide your saddle forward on the rails and drop it by 5mm (+/-). Once you get your heel down while pedaling you will be able to ride very efficiently, even over very rocky stuff. 

 

Alot of cyclist see flats as the beginner option, IMO, it takes alot more skill to ride well with flats than with clipless - flats don't let you hide any bad habits. 

People underestimate how hard it is. Some even use being clipped in as a reason as to why they would be able to do a drop or a table. There is no talk of technique.

Edited July 2, 2022 by Eddy Gordo

[Chadvdw67]

9 hours ago, Eddy Gordo said:

People underestimate how hard it is. Some even use being clipped in as a reason as to why they would be able to do a drop or a table. There is no talk of technique.

I am TERRIFIED of doing drops and techy sections being clipped in, my scariest moments on clips have been doing drops and slow techy sections

[Frosty]

On 6/27/2022 at 9:26 AM, Mongoose! said:

struggled to upload picture - so deleted it for now  as I don't want to post without a picture...

 ...my purchase glows in the dark... 😜

[Me rida my bicycle]

On 7/2/2022 at 5:55 PM, Chadvdw67 said:

I am TERRIFIED of doing drops and techy sections being clipped in, my scariest moments on clips have been doing drops and slow techy sections

Slow techy sections... Easy fix speed up 😂 same with the drops.

I believe that speed is your friend. So going faster I don't fall because I am not scared of getting hurt, I know it's going to hurt so nothing to fear 😂

[Frosty]

On 7/2/2022 at 5:55 PM, Chadvdw67 said:

I am TERRIFIED of doing drops and techy sections being clipped in, my scariest moments on clips have been doing drops and slow techy sections

Momentum is your friend, as well as knowing the line to take.
Then moving your centre of gravity back, and lower, will help you prevent the OTB.
Once you know how, it makes the tech stuff so much easier. I guess it helps doing a skills course to learn the "how". Once I learnt how to read the line, I was amazed how easy the hard stuff was to ride.

[TyronLab]

On 7/2/2022 at 5:55 PM, Chadvdw67 said:

I am TERRIFIED of doing drops and techy sections being clipped in, my scariest moments on clips have been doing drops and slow techy sections

I've given this advice a hundred times before, but de-tensioning the springs on your pedals, making it easier to clip in and out, makes clips much less scary off road. My pedals (PD-M520 Shimanos) have the springs almost completely unwound so I can clip out without thinking about it in almost any direction. If you use good technique (heels dropped) you won't unclip going down and you can still get the pedaling efficiency / fatigue benefit of being clipped in.

I don't know why people ride with their feet bolted into super tight pedals, like a few of my buddies. It makes me moer nervous to ride their bikes, even on the road.