Meet Jannie (on the right). He came to Concierge via a previous happy customer. Thank you Tara! Jannie wanted to do the 947 (with his Pops). He didn’t have a bicycle. He didn’t know about bicycles either. Riding 947 wasn’t the type of riding he wanted to do normally. So we established we were looking for a Mtb.
We started at Bike Market and Cyclist Workshop to see what he fitted on. Jannie was right on the cusp where a M or L would have worked, crazy. We eventually settled on this Merida Ninety Nine found online (coincidentally from a man we met at the top of a hill in Roodekrans at the end of a 5000m 7Summiting day a few months ago! I know!). It was R13k, well used but maintained. With just a few days to go before 947 I quickly made sure it wouldn’t fail him during his inaugural 40km road ride by checking gear indexing, replacing the chain and adding sealant in the tyres (obviously Linden Cycles did all that, thank you). Jannie bought all his gear with my instruction (helmet, bib shorts, spares, nutrition) at Sportsmans with his Vitality Points discount (R3k). I then took it back post 947 for a full strip down service this past week. We replaced headset bearings, wheel bearings and gear cables. Total with CBS commission R4k. Add that up (13+3+4=20). BOOM! Jannie is now the proud owner of a High-spec, completely trail worthy, alloy dual Suspension 29er for him to “start” our love of riding. Go forth and conquer young man! You’re gonna love it! Now Tara had a friend to ride with.
After writing all this I’m wondering if shop owners would argue that we could have bought brand new for R20k. Or even a newer 2nd hand bike? I’ll stand by my decision. Based on original brief and the type of rider and what we bought, I’m 100% convinced we got it right!
