Brawler

The answer to all expensive bike problems is.. get an aggressive HT.

Those "strap ons" freak me out. Put a towbar on. At least you don't have a VW with LED lights 🤭

That is a sad picture you paint but it applies to just about any industry. We all have bosses who don't care and companies that care less. I'm glad that you work for the only reputable car dealership in the country and sorry a haggler cost you a buck but the majority of the dealerships are a rip-off and will fleece an inexperienced customer with no qualms. Multiple dealerships tried this with my wife. Advertise a car for R300k and when you go for a quote all of a sudden it's R340k and they get upset when you turn down all the *** they want to upsell. In my case from the first quote to the third, the savings was closer to R30k all things considered (trade-in, extras, on-the-road fees). All I did was take a quote to 3 dealerships and it took one day and they sold me a car with a smile. Again, this is standard in any industry, particularly with high-value purchases, state your requirements and let companies bid. These same dealerships nail you R1200 for Bosch wiper blades that a Bosch service center (with their own overheads) will sell to you for R80. Anyway, back to the topic I suppose. I won't be responding to this further.

This thread has been useful. Something to consider when purchasing a second hand vehicle without a towbar. When I purchased a new vehicle I asked the dealership to add a tow bar as a freebie (I was playing dealerships against each other for business) and got lucky.

An Uber XL should work? Or maybe a hubber who lives in the area is willing to lend a hand. Train is fine but with a nice bike I would not risk it.

Got the Euroway (3 bike) new for a great deal. About R2500 off MSRP. My L 29er trail bike fits perfectly even its 2.5 inch Minion tyre (I think the spec says the rack is only good for 2.35). Interestingly my 27.5 L Enduro bike is far more of a tight squeeze. The straps barely make it but it does. With these two big bikes I need to use position 1 and 3 for an easy fit. When in position 1 and 2 there is contact on the bars (expected) and even on the rear of the frame and fork. I noticed though that the wheel holders do slide both length wise and width wise so I could probably make it work but then position 3 would be compromised. I haven't tried yet but I think I could fit 3 smaller bikes pretty easily (dj, kids, road, wifes). Had one drive yesterday and the thing is a pleasure as the bikes are planted and I am not watching the bikes move on the hang on rack in the rear view mirror the whole time. So yeah, still a good buy but if you have an XL trail bike or need to fit 3 modern big bikes you may need to fork out for the bigger ones.

Bump. Any more detail on these? Struggling to see the difference. My main concern would be fitting a large 29er with 2.5 inch tyres.

$42000 for a set of 4.

With the astronomical prices of decent full suspensions do you think aggressive HT's will increase in popularity? I think they will. I mean R50k gets you a dual sus that might even be a bit dodge in places or that you wont be happy with. The entry-level Trance is 56k. You can get an HT for R30k that is pretty solid (if you look around). I've been super surprised by HT. It's good for 85% of the riding available in CT. It's only really the super rocky stuff or super big jumps where the magic carpet of a FS becomes necessary.

Devils advocate - don't shoot me. Lower economies of scale Fewer suppliers and fatter profits Are you comparing an ultra high end bicycle tyre to a Toyota Tazz tyre? Go look at the price of a Range Rover tyre...

Thanks. Guess I need to upsize then.

Revive: Do these 2 or 3 bike Thule bike racks (euroway/velocompact) actually hold the amount of bikes they say? I know with the hang on ones that generally it is what they say minus one unless stuff is getting damaged. Especially with the bigger modern bikes.

Potato trails is no more (the family sold the house and land). I'm not aware of any regular comps at the moment. Now and again there is a jam of some sort and there are usually prizes but it's pretty chilled. I'm thinking of dawn of the dirt (garden route trail park) and the halloween jam (gumtrails). Red bull and Monster used to have jams once a year or so but not much since covid. Follow the usuals on instagram (start with trailscrew and the algorithm should connect you with others) and you should be informed about whats going on. Most of the more formal events are invite only so networking and social media presence goes a long way!

I'm currently asking the same question as I sit here all grumpy with a fractured rib (on the second ride on a new bike!). After riding for 25 years I've come to see accidents happen and it's part of the sport. You can do A LOT to prevent and minimize them but you will see your gat eventually. All of my (***) falls have been doing stuff I've done a million times before. I decided a while ago I'm definitely toning it down a bit. I'll still be riding most trails, drops and jumps but I'm not putting pressure on myself to do everything like I used to. Just enjoy being out there on the trails with friends and the beer after.

Distance and short hard rides require different bikes if you are serious but a nice aggressive hard tail will be my pick if I could only have one. This is one restaurant meal over your budget but it will be lots of fun and can be upgraded over time: https://bike-addict.co.za/products/merida-big-trail-400-2022?_pos=1&_sid=3db59041d&_ss=r Franschoek is close to amazing trails. They will make use of a bike with this kind of geometry.

Lets narrow it down a bit. Where is FHK? What kind of mountain biking do you want to do? Long distance on jeep tracks? Trail riding ( up and down, suffer a bit up hill and enjoy some obstacles on the way down) Downhill? Jumping? What are your local trails like?

haha no - just getting the brakes swapped around (neatly!)

Lovely colour! I really had a soft spot for this bike. If the 600 was available locally I would have pulled the trigger for sure. Agree regarding dual suspensions. Luckily my Reign's geo is still modern so it should be good for a few more years but I couldn't afford to spend R60-70k now for some mid range bicycle. I can really see aggressive HT's taking off locally.

Thank you. So far so good with the fork although only one ride in and the tyre pressure was a bit high. Did the tubeless conversion the night before so had the psi higher than normal (expecting some leakage). The ride did feel a bit firm (99% its the tyres) but over the big rocks/drops/jumps it was smooth and dependable so no complaints. My other bike has a Pike on so the bar is set pretty high for the Z2 and so far I haven't noticed any drastic shortcomings (besides the Marzocci sticker being a bit skew :p)

Hey. Man after looking locally for the best part of 6 months I went to CRC. Basically both the Roscoe and Merida turn into 40k bikes once the upgrades go on and still there will be a few things "not up to scratch" for me anyway. Why oh why don't the local distributers bring in higher end models? Like the Big Trail 600 or Roscoe 8? I know they will cost more but they will still be cheaper than upgrading the lower end ones. Honestly I think HT's are going to become popular as even the well off are thinking twice about spending R60k on a mid range Giant Trance. The second hand market is dismal as well. Okes are picking up on the lack of stock in the shops so are trying to sell at high prices. In the end I went for a Ragley Big Al 1.0 for 999GBP (clearance special usually 1600). For those that don't know Ragley is a UK brand that specializes in hardcore hard tails and have been around for quite some time with a big following. It worked out to 31k all inclusive. For this you get a great frame, Z2 fork, 170 dropper, Nukeproof Neutron hubs on WTB 30 rims, Sram 4 pot brakes, Deore drivetrain and top spec Maxxis Tyres. Hardtail party reckons the frame is one of the best I also looked at the Nukeproof Scout Comp but the 130mm fork put me off and it was more expensive. Its a really solid bike though I have ridden it (and the Meta AM). By the way there is 15% import duties on new bikes so you will be paying about R36k for the Scout. If you are in CT you are welcome to take a look. I regularly ride with guys on a 2023 Scout and a 2022 Commencal Meta HT and I'm sure they wouldn't mind either.

Arrived this week. So damn capable and I my other bike is a 160mm dual sus Enduro bike. I'll probably only use the Enduro bike on the downhill tracks going forward.

I think I should block this thread otherwise I'm going to see my self in financial trouble.

The second bike has arrived! I insisted on DHL and it got here in 4 days. DHL is really organized. Unlike the other courier. Next time I won't take the chance if it's not DHL. Now what do I do if the first bike eventually arrives🤭

Update on my order (at about day 50). CRC has contacted the courier and they are unable to locate the bike so have marked it as "lost in post". CRC has given me the option of full refund or send another bike. I've written to them asking if the next bike will be sent via another courier as I don't want this happening again.

I have one of these Gizzu 500w 518wh jobbies and am quite happy with the purchase. It is very basic (slow charging at 6 hours, pretty basic screen) but it does the job. Currently sitting in a blackout with my laptop + docking station + high res high refresh monitor and it's only sucking 62W at the moment so I am good for many hours. 55-inch TV and Xbox Series S are also good for a blackout or two depending on what the Xbox is doing. I'd love a proper solar system but I don't have access to R160k right now so the plan is for the Gizzu to last a year or two while I find the money for solar (or pack up and leave).