milky4130 Posted May 18, 2015 Posted May 18, 2015 Fair point,but I was more thinking about the okes that don't carry what they know they should be carrying. An oke who is just having pure rotten luck on the day and have depleted everything is a different story. After reading this thread the past few days, I went to Revolution Cycles to go buy me that 'hanger' and the shop assistant pulled out a bike and showed me how to replace it.but you would have to stop & ask the necessary question to establish that & once you've stopped I doubt you will tell him you are not getting any of my spares or will you?
milky4130 Posted May 18, 2015 Posted May 18, 2015 If that happened then i doubt my extra bomb / tube / chain link would be any good, probably a sign that Karma was paying him a visit....with that attitude you better hope & pray Karma doesn't visit you.
Spokey Posted May 18, 2015 Posted May 18, 2015 I have stopped several times and had peeps assist me too. I will always offer to help but will only use my spares if I have enough, will not see myself short. I don't worry with a hanger, will make a rudimentary s/s if required. Years ago in the Sinai desert the missus and I came across an American fellow on a crappy cheap Chinese bike in the middle of nowhere, with no water. Was a hard one, gave him lots to drink, but did not part with our own containers.........preparation fella! Edited spelling.
rouxtjie Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 Karma is an evil bee with an itch or a good friend. Help those in need cos one day you will be needy.Well if karma(or anyone spreading the gospel of stopping for every mech they see) is prepared to setup a debit order from her account I will help gladly, until then they can go and stable their high horses.... bottomline it simply costs too much to be mr helpy helper. 99% of mech issues are tyre / chain related. and the remedy is always snotplug and fillup with sealant and bomb or chainlink, maybe even gatorpatch and tube. These things arent cheap and sometimes hard to source.... over and above the fact that you are now screwed if you need the spares. In a race, its every man for himself...its a race afterall and prep is as important fitness. Start the race without the necessary spares or tools(for whatever reason, weight / ignorance) and you make peace with the fact that you are rolling the dice.
DJR Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 Some more randomness...... A few years ago we did a good few mtb races for Amarider as "support riders". We wore Amarider kit (kind of a PR exercise), started at the tail end of each group, carried a backpack with a bunch of tubes, chain-links and tools. The idea was to help stranded riders especially in the single track sections where the sweeping vehicles couldn't reach them. It turned out to be some of the most fun rides I did, and a huge lot more exercise than I ever thought it would be. Taking a few minutes to fix a problem and then racing to catch up more or less with your group, before repeating the process. I managed to help several people complete races and got many great smiles for it. The flip side of the coin is that we also collected discarded water bottles, tubes, gel packets, pumps, arm warmers and the odd pair of glasses. The discarded bottles, tubes and gel packets pissed me off big time. I was also completely taken aback by how many riders went totally unprepared, with no spare tube and pump even. I'm not even talking about "complicated" and unlikely to be needed spares like derailleur hangers. On one Nelsons Creek ride we even helped a guy that did the mtb race on a road bike. I kid you not. (He decided at the last minute to rather join his girlfriend.) Of course punctures were his destiny. After patching a few for him, because I had no road tubes, I just told him to walk to the next water point and catch a ride on the sweeping vehicle. Some people cannot be helped, sometimes because their own stupidity gets in the way.
DIPSLICK Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 on the 24 hour anatomic, one of the racing snakes came flying past on the tiger line,,, C FOR SERIAAAS 500m down the line he is standing begging for a plug,,,,this creature weighed like 50kg(yes i am jealous) 50kgs and he couldnt strap a plug to his bar for a quick on the go repair,,,i left him gladly standing there, i think he actually owes me a beer for school fees, as you can see i feel rocks for guys who refuse to carry parts to save weight and only ASSume some back marker pack horse will come to their rescue,, IMHO these snakes should know better
rouxtjie Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 on the 24 hour anatomic, one of the racing snakes came flying past on the tiger line,,, C FOR SERIAAAS 500m down the line he is standing begging for a plug,,,,this creature weighed like 50kg(yes i am jealous) 50kgs and he couldnt strap a plug to his bar for a quick on the go repair,,,i left him gladly standing there, i think he actually owes me a beer for school fees, as you can see i feel rocks for guys you refuse to carry parts to save weight and only ASSume some back marker pack horse will come to their rescue,, IMHO these snakes should know betterPresies dips....bliksemse manamarak hottentotsgot lookalikes....sorry pel, klap n toon.
Ampandy Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 Well if karma(or anyone spreading the gospel of stopping for every mech they see) is prepared to setup a debit order from her account I will help gladly, until then they can go and stable their high horses.... bottomline it simply costs too much to be mr helpy helper. 99% of mech issues are tyre / chain related. and the remedy is always snotplug and fillup with sealant and bomb or chainlink, maybe even gatorpatch and tube. These things arent cheap and sometimes hard to source.... over and above the fact that you are now screwed if you need the spares. In a race, its every man for himself...its a race afterall and prep is as important fitness. Start the race without the necessary spares or tools(for whatever reason, weight / ignorance) and you make peace with the fact that you are rolling the dice. What happened to the 'sportsmanship'?
TALUS Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 OK let us do the reverse quickly. When I ride for a time I will sit and decide on what to carry. If I get it wrong I walk. I learnt how to convert to SS after smashing a rear der. I learnt to carry a (750g!) tube on my Fatbike for sidewall cuts. I learnt to carry a spare valve after walking home. I carry a small spare Stans when I ride far and alone. And so on... All of these lessons involved walking. Nobody else can walk with their bikes?
blondeonabike Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 I would just like to add one point please. I understand that it is considered good sportmanship to stop and help others. But in the same way I appreciate the few times I have been helped I also consider it good sportmanship to do my best to be prepared to help myself, that I don't burden someone else with my mechanical. I think it is considerate to others that I pack my own spares and learn to do the basic fixes on my own.
Patchelicious Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 If I ride on my own I for training carry many spares. This weekend at the Walkerville 80km RACE, I will carry:1 x small pump1 x large bomb1 x Samurai Sword1 x Multi tool1 x link1 x packet of glueless patches2 x Tyre levers1 x phone This all fits very easily into shirt pockets 1 x tube - taped to frame If I cant get to the finish with that, I will walk and catch the sweeper. If people ask if I need help, I simply say "all good thanks" and send them on their way.
rouxtjie Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 What happened to the 'sportsmanship'?Good sportsmanship doesnt refund me....if it cost my time only, then I might consider it, but alas, most mech's will cost an avg of 70-80 bokke, some more some less. And I never met someone willing to replace what I helped them with before(even a famous springbok amongst them) so sorry pel, klap n toon. I might be a "bad sportsman" in your books but I will have zak in my pocket at the end of the race, and the person will never ride without a tjoob / stans / bombs / tyre levers / plugs / valve core / gator patch / chain link / multitool again, a 10km klap a toon gives you plenty of time to think about this.
rouxtjie Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 I would just like to add one point please. I understand that it is considered good sportmanship to stop and help others. But in the same way I appreciate the few times I have been helped I also consider it good sportmanship to do my best to be prepared to help myself, that I don't burden someone else with my mechanical. I think it is considerate to others that I pack my own spares and learn to do the basic fixes on my own. You are an aunty...so you safe...see my previous rules
KENDA Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 When free wheeling past someone who needs help I yell " Hey boet, you need a hand ? " Usually by the time they say yes I am like 5 m past them. So that solves that problem.
rouxtjie Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 When free wheeling past someone who needs help I yell " Hey boet, you need a hand ? " Usually by the time they say yes I am like 5 m past them. So that solves that problem.Nice....gonna remember that one Sneaky russian move. I normally don't look or respond, once you make eye contact you have to stop.
EmptyB Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 I try help where I can and always offer....thank goodness at this stage most people have said "no, all is ok" because I actually battle to help myself most of the time
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