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openmind

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  1. 1E is definitely racy enough Typically you lose time in the Argus because you drop on the climbs or you drift too far back in the bunch and then get caught behind a spilt. Work on those two aspects and you should do a lot better. The climbs are relatively short and punchy, so you need to do lots of interval training to survive those. And then work hard on staying as close to the front of your bunch as possible - around 10-20th position is ideal. That way you stay out of trouble and don't miss the splits.
  2. Interval training and learn how to ride in a bunch. Ride as many other road races as you can to get a seeding that will put you into an actual racing bunch instead of having to do an ITT slalom-ing through the masses. Yesterday I rode a 3:49 with my son starting from group 7E. In 2021 I did a 2:48 starting in the vets racing group. I worked much harder yesterday.
  3. You are right, but the OP said he's been riding for decades, so I assume his fit has changed over that time and he has made the appropriate adjustments. That's what I have done. If not, of course, you should get a fit sooner rather than later.
  4. From experience (I'm your age) try the following in order before you see a Dr.: 1. Tilt the nose of your saddle down a little. If your hands/shoulders start to hurt, do some upper body training. 2. Core exercises - Pilates, Yoga, gym core, doesn't matter, just do something core at least twice a week. I like this guy: https://www.timsenesiyoga.com/ Be patient and disciplined, it takes months before core work pays off. And don't stop once the back pain goes away or it will just come back again. 3. If you're on a hardtail, ditch it and get a full squish bike. Hard tails are for young backs only. 4. Ride more 5. Check your bike fit, but don't over think it - if you've "been riding for decades" it probably close to where it should be.
  5. New Favero SPD power pedals: https://escapecollective.com/favero-assioma-pro-mx-2-spd-power-meter-pedal-review/
  6. Don’t do it! That’s a great bike and you can still get lots of pleasure from it. Surely you can easily earn yourself R1.5k some other way and keep the bike? A couple of nights of waitering will do it.
  7. Wow, quite a rant! Opinions aside, a few issues: - Campag disk brakes are widely regarded as at least as good as the best if not better, especially with regard to modulation. They're made in collaboration with Magura. - Ekar is a hit, it makes up more than half of Campag's turnover. The only 1x gravel groupset that makes sense. (mainly due to the 13s and the close ratios of the block). - Have you looked at their wheels lately? Cutting edge. They are definitely not irrelevant. WT teams dropping them is a fiasco, but that's a marketing issue, not a product quality or relevance issue.
  8. Sometimes, when your shifting is bad, it's not the cables, casings, worn chain/cassette, hanger alignment .... It's just that your derailleur pivots need a bit of lube! (Next time will try that first).
  9. You need to declare a bike when you leave - they give you a stamped form with the serial number on it at the airport customs desk. 5min job that could save you a ton of duties if you are pulled over on your way back. They’re not fools and will go as far as looking up your bike online to see what it is worth and tax you accordingly. Tip: take a photo of the serial number on the frame then you don’t have to unpack the bike at the airport. (My experience anyway).
  10. An option is to get a gravel bike and work on your skills:
  11. Done: https://www.ninerbikes.com/products/mcr-9-rdo/
  12. Might be a b-screw issue - check that the top jockey wheel clears the top cog of the cassette properly when in that gear. May be that it hits the cog with enough force to bend it and derail the chain. Then with further pedalling force, the derailed chain rips off the top jockey wheel. If the top jockey wheel hits the top cog, turn the b-screw in to move (rotate in the plane of the bike) the jockey away from the cog. If it's 12-speed, this is especially important. There might be a mark on the inside of the cage that shows where the top cog should be in relation to the cage position (my 12sp XTR has this). This is speculation, may be wrong, but the b-screw is always a good place to start. This explains it in painful detail:
  13. That's what happens in a country with a functional justice system. We're just not used to that. I heard a journalist comment the other day that Markus Jooste was ousted from Steinhoff before SBF even started FTX in 2019. Now Sam is in jail and Markus is still swanning around his mansion in Hermanus while the prosecutors twiddle their thumbs.
  14. You should try the cup-half-full approach sometime. I think PPA did great all things considered, it's not easy to host a 170km bike race on open roads. I had a great ride on good roads in beautiful countryside. Oh, and bring those rubber mounts to the next race, I'm sure they'll take them back and reuse them.
  15. I have an entry for sale - 100 miler - R1000. DM me.
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