Mecnic

I know the shop and the owner well. I can vouch for that frame I was there when it arrived from Pro bike it has never been ridden or built up. Note: It is not a frame with a cut off integrated seatpost it arrived like that out of the box with a seat clamp included, the shop immediately inquired why it does not have an integrated seatpost and they said that is how it is. You can buy it with out worries, and obviously get the warrentee as well as it is a new frame. Happy riding, if you want you can PM me if you have a specific question, enjoy the weekend.

I admit I didn't read everything. Scrub rotors are built as follows a magnesium centre spindle, aluminum retaining ring and a composite metal braking surface, they call it a friction ring. As I understand these rotors are extremely light however after chatting to the SRAM guys at world cup and Evans original brake sponsors (Magura) what they explained to me is as follows. 1) XX World Cup is an extremely light system as is with very small tolerances and has been designed as a whole using Avid rotors and Organic pads. This is from the scrub website "Effective immediately, Scrub Components will only receive warranty claims on rotors that have been properly used with Scrub brake pads for MMC rotors. If the customer chooses to use another brand of brake pad, they do so at their own risk and may not be eligible for any warranty claim." 2) Evans was running a Scrub rotors, to save weight, and not the specified Avid rotor with Avid pads, I am unsure whether or not he was running scrub or avid organic pads. Also from Scrub: "Even if you choose to use pads other than Scrub with your Scrub rotors, please be aware that sintered, semi-metallic or full metallic pads should never be used. Use only organic or resin pads! Use of any pad other than Scrub brake pads for MMC rotors may compromise performance and/or void any support that we may offer." From: Evans himself: "To clear up any confusion around the crash, here it is from me: It was simply a problem with the disc pads that we changed the night before the stage. On the steep descends, the aluminum rotors were overheating and causing the brakes to ‘fade’ and loose power." 3) These above to contributed to the system overheating, I suspect it has something to do with the composite braking surface of Scrub rotors and a pad incompatibility issue, As we know heat and DOT fluid do not mix well, brakes got hot and both the rotor and system overheated. which resulted in burnt pad, boiled fluid and a failed braking surface and therefore failed brakes and rotor. Moral of the Story SRAM spend Millions on R&D if they say specify something like certain rotor pad and brake combinations, it is specified for a reason. I am sure if they could they would make the XX rotors lighter but they haven't which indicates that there is a very good reason for it, maybe even a safety issue.

Let us know if it works

The Dot and moisture (Water) actually do mix and stay mixed it doesn't separate out at all over time. It's a very strange characteristic

No fight necessary, Hydraulic disc brakes sometimes have a mind of their own and I rate it's a bit of a dark art haha, but here an explanation. The moisture thing is just a characteristic of the oil itself and is not a major problem on its own, however it is the moisture absorbed by the oil which boils when the brakes do overheat when being dragged on a long decent for example. Heat is the major problem, as the pads heat up the pistons heats up and the heat is transferred to the oil and it in turn heats up that's why there is a built in reservoir with a diaphragm in the system to deal with any expansion caused by the heat. The heat over time causes the oil to break down (Go Black and hinder performance, think suspension same effect, the oil doesn't work like it should)broken down brake fluid is a total different consistency to fresh brake fluid (More watery and thinner resulting in a spongy lever feel) also Dot4 and 5.1 isn't all that friendly to rubber seals and can eat rubber seals which then also contaminates the oil inside the sealed system which also causes a drop in performance (Don't worry the seal thing happens over a long time) And as pointed out sometimes air somehow sneaks in or oil leaks out past a seal resulting in the little bit of air not properly removed from the in the reservoir to enter the system. Sometimes air is trapped in the deepest corners of the caliper where it stays for ages and eventually breaks loose and enters the system and then needs to be removed by bleeding it out. It must be remembered very few brakes are bled by hand, most are done by machines which are set for x amount of oil etc etc so the chances that from the factory all the air is out of the system is slim, sometimes I have to even bleed my systems twice to get all the air out it happens. So although the system is sealed, certain factors mean that a bleed or total replacement of the oil is necessary from time to time. The system in a car is also sealed however manufactures do recommend it to be bled (oil replaced) every so many years or km's

Cassette looks OK, chain replace with a new one

The oil degrades over time from the heat generated from braking, and DOT oil unfortunately also absorbs moisture. So a bleed with fresh oil every now and then keeps them feeling crisp and great, I overhauled a set of Juicy 7 Ultimates which weren't serviced or bled in 5 years the oil was black and watery and the piston seals were bone dry and sticky. After a complete strip down, clean, new seal here and there and a blled and they were good as new

I can't see why it wouldn't be SRAM uses the same pull ratio 1:1 so XO should fit with XX, but I don't feel its justified to run XX shifters with XO the cost isn't justified spec the XO shifters with XO derailleurs it will all look nice and balanced as XO comes in a host of colours. LOng or short cage will depend on the bike and the amount of travel it has if any. Regarding the front derailleur on the frame manufactures website it should say what front derailleur is compatible with the frame in question.

The local importers are Dragons usually the bearing pre load needs to be adjusted, the is a circular nut that turns with that special tool, take it to a bike shop and let them do it for you its a quick painless job. I'll have a dig around and see if I don't have an extra 1 laying around.

MR Min, Spray on let it soak and wipe off.

It depends on what type of fork the RL forks (non FIT) are open bath and if you take the lowers off the correct amount of dampening oil needs to be added, the FIT forks are easier to check however the correct amount of oil then needs to be added, its easy if you know what you are doing. If you're unsure take it to someone who can it's not a difficult procedure.

The Sram direct mounts come in 3 mounts s1, s2 and s3, fyrther each one is either tooth specific either 39 or 42 and then the pull top or bottom. It depends what frame you have which front mech will fit.

After speaking to the SRAM Tech guy. It boils downs to the following: Apparently there is little to no demand for grip shifts in: Australia, New Zealand, the pacific rim and half of Asia, which implies the market is almost non existent in that region. There is however a demand for grip shifts as we all know, so something is in development but due to the lack of demand in the large region mentioned above not as much developments has gone into it as with the trigger versions of xx x0 x9 and x7 which at this stage compete directly with Shimano Dyna sys Systems. So as I understand 10spd grip shift will eventually come along but probably not for another year or 2.

I recently upgraded to a FIT RLC Fox cartridge and all I can say is that is it miles ahead of the already tried and trusted Fox open bath systems. The feel is completely different and everything seems more controlled, I did not go for the remote version( I don't like handle bar remotes) But to be fair there was nothing wrong with the internals of my old fork, I just got the cartridge at a bargain. In regards to the feel the dampening is much smoother, and in general more consistent the tune-ability has also increased, I ride low speed compression up there by being able to ride lower spring pressure with less movement in the fork from pedaling and low speed impacts therefore I don't have to use the lock out lever to compensate anymore, when the time does come for bigger hit the fork opens up and plush travel all the way. The cartridge also has a lock out blow off if you were to take a hit at speed whil locked out, works like a charm. I do realise that the other RLC open bath dampers were similar I just find the FIT system more consistent and it weigh less, which is always a good thing. Only down side is self service is difficult as the cartridge must be bled using Fox specific oil the red one apparently is different to the green oil although they are the same weights, but you can only remove the cartridge and send that away on it's own. Next Kashima uppers maybe??

The tech guy at SRAM is staying at our guesthouse on Tuesday en route to World Cup will ask him and get back to you guys. I did speak to him at Epic regarding 10spd Grip shifts but can't rember when they will arrive but they are in the pipe line.

I think dust wipers only have a 90 day warranty. It isn't a major problem (Read No major damage as yet) but still a problem have the seals replaced immediately oil coming out means stuff can go in which can damage the bushings. If the lock out and rebound still works then the dampener is fine and it is only the dust wipers that have gone. You can replace them yourself but if you are unsure have your local bike shop replace it for you. The Fox runs on an open bath system there is a lot of free oil in the leg hence it comes out if the dust wiper has gone. Fix it as soon as possible

The unwritten rules https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/77608-unwritten-rules-of-the-hub/page__st__180__p__1173716__hl__unwritten__fromsearch__1#entry1173716

I only have 1 small gripe, I needed to top up the oil in mine, and I could only find 1lt so had to buy it ended up using like 75ml, so the bottle will last about 4 years.

Some of us here on the hub own compressors of our own, a worthwhile investment but some points must be noted. 1) Most compressors are oil lubed, on the back there is a dipstick / viewing window of sorts, check the oils and make sure the levels are correct, incorrect levels can cause the motor to burn out, seize and numerous other bad things. 2)The pressure cut off switch is easy to adjust but do not adjust it unless you know 100% what to do, there is upwards of 8 bar in that tank we all know what a tubeless tire climbing off a rim sounds like and it is dangerous as well. 3) Compressed air can kill, be careful 4) Use the correct tools fitting and attachments, when playing with air do not ghetto anything, bad things can happen. But on a personal note it's one of the most useful items I own and you can pick a small 24lt electric one up with attachments for about R950 (Adrendorf machinery market)

It's actually like putting bigger wheels on the BMW not 2 different cars. Like I said just observations made While I was at work at the Epic, So don't read to far into it.

When I was at The Epic, as a mechanic I was privileged to work on and ride everything from from S works Epic 29ers to Anthem X 29ers and my trusty 26er Anthem X. I found after riding the 29er Anthem that is rode a lot like my 26ers only notable difference was I could feel the 29er rolled better but I was in lighter gears to get the wheels turning and the top out speed was a little faster. Other than that the bikes felt pretty much the same. Found the Epic to be a hard ride. Please note these were just trips up and down the site to make sure the bikes worked properly and to get them to the bike park, so no rough stuff or trails, and never rode them all that long was just my simple observations. A good bike design is a good design regardless of wheels size in the case of 29ers you win some advantages but also lose a few same with 26er so I say personal choice. Good post though

SAPO is the best economy post with insurance takes 4 working day Just make sure to package correctly and insure the parcel it is as stated above 2% of the value so far I haven't had a problem with SAPO

It could cause a bit or an issue for bike who have brake hoses and cables running above or below the toptube. Looks cool but personally I wouldn't use it

Once you go tubeless you never go back and if need be you can remove the valves and run an old school (presta tube set up) or if you are lucky can even manage to seat normal foldable tyres as tubeless must just then run the pressures a little higher I say 819

Yes as long as both items are: 1) 9spd setup (as many are now 10spd) 2) 3 Blades (SRAM now makes 2 x 10 so make sue it is a 3 x 9 der not a 2x10 or a 3x10 as the width get a little thinner if I remember correctly) THe Deore crank should work, might have to fine tune the der but thats about it