fusion01

Big fan of Titan bikes and the reasonable prices on offer. Thinking of their hardtail converting it to a gravel bike due to great pricing. Do wish the welds were generally a little smoother though. At least the junction between seat tube and top tube is super flush unlike my Trek Fuel EX where the welding is hideous.

Indeed a 'hardtale' to hear 🤪

I only criticised the trail riding, I’m an entitled to my opinion am I not? Am I not able to express myself on the Bikehub? It’s called open honest expression. Greyton is a great village, I shouldn’t need to express endless positives to appease guilt! You have taken my comment way too personally my friend.

I’ve lived in Greyton for over four years but frankly it’s made me far less of a mountain biker after a couple of years riding the trails (all of them). Most are not technically challenging at all. The only route worth mentioning in the Bakenskop black route that is tough and technical running along narrow ridges and rock drops. And in Winter these trails are destroyed by erosion, mud and a lot of slop. We’re relocating back to Cape Town early next year where I’ll ride daily my favourite trails again: Tokai and Constantia Nek to Newlands - and Boyes Drive has decent singletrack on both sides too.

Mountain biking is an expensive sport. End of.

Just buy second hand and don't pay exorbitant prices for new. End of.

Told him to f##c off this AM

Xtr shifter worked fine with xt rear mech? One doesn’t have to have an xtr mech?

Thales for feedback. ‘Massive’ seems to tell a story.

Yes, full shimano. Slx der, slx cranks, xt shifter

Send the XTR shifter must have an XTR der?! Mine is SLX and I’ll not change. Stuck with XT?

Ok so ran XG Eagle 12 for a couple of years, I dragged to an XO1 shifter that was beautiful, very crisp, not much force required, nothing ‘abrasive’ in feel. Be bike build when Shimano for price of parts down the line. The inevitable cassette replacement. I fitted XT shifter and have adjusted the barrel and cable tension to get the optimal up and down shifts, but I find it isn’t as smooth as z I’d have liked, notchy when tuned right. So GX was bushing, X01 utilised a bearing and hence the difference in feel. Does XT and XTR have the same differences? Would I get a cleaner, lighter, less clicky, notchy shift especially from the downshift? Any advise appreciated!

Sweet! Def's the way to go if you're picky!!

I used to through about 110mm shock travel on the blue snake trail routes, I'm sure more on the black if you're riding it like you should! This bike has the 'switch infinity' suspension which gives you more than the 100mm should. 100mm fork is pretty limiting, and also the fork tune is generally firm Vs plush on those forks.

Thanks bud, it'll be a 5 year relationship where she won't let me down

Thanks, yes I think reasonable for the money, R100k bikes seems silly to me. No idea as to the weight, probably about 13kg, could swear is no heavier than a '18 Scott Spark RC I used to own and that was XC only.

Objective was to build a bike that can handle anything I personally ride: technical routes @ Tokai etc yet not black routes where I'd require more travel. A comfortable biike. And a fast bike, I always ride fast! Really had to balance all of these factors. Bike has reasonably progressive geometry. I wanted ideally an XL frame so I could slam the saddle to the front but this large came up second hand on Bike Hub at a great price. 68 degree HT angle so it's quick to turn and climbs well with a short stem and really wide bars. I didn't want to go cheap but certainly didn't want anything that is too pricey and 'show-offy' (ironic since I'm posting this bike build!). Avoided SRAM due to exorbitant pricing and opted for a 'workmanship build' of Shimano XT, SLX and Deore. SLX cassette R2k at present time, SRAM GX Eagle about double if not mistaken. I didn't spend money anywhere unneccessarily such as an XT derailleur to save ~20 grams etc. Built by Hermanus Cycles - mechanic was really thorough with excellent attention to detail and communication. Wheels handbuilt by Nicholas - wheelbuilder.co.za for R10k. Great guy to deal with. Without further ado... YETI SB100 frame (full carbon) - 2020 (2nd hand)Fox 34 Kashima fork - 120mm (2nd hand)Fox DPS EVOL Kashima shock - 100mm (2nd hand)Spank 350 rims - 30.5 mm ID / 29"Cure hubs by Thirteen Industries (rear hub a whopping 108 points of engagement!)MAXXIS Rekon 2.6" front tyre / MAXXIS Forekaster 2.35" rear tyreSpecialized Phenom saddle - TI railsShimano XT shifter - 12spShimano SLX cranksShimano XT flat pedalsCSIX 36t chainringShimano SLX cassette 10-51KMC X12 chainTransX 150mm dropper (2nd hand)Spank Race 50mm stemShimano Deore M6100 brakesShimano XT rotors (180mm front / 160mm rear)Shimano MT500 bottom bracket CSIX 800mm carbon handlebarCannondale gripsCSIX headet spacers and top capCSIX ISCG05 chain guideAll Mountain fork guardAll Mountain crank defenderAll Mountain frame protectionBBB chainstay protectorTACX water bottle holderScott cable wrappersTOTAL COST: ~R67.5k

I just bought a 2nd hand Reverb off BH, I made sure it wasn't the first gen.The 2nd has the Rockshox logo at the top of the shaft, whereas the older one does not. I'ved read the first gen was said to be a really unreliable unit. Anyway, time will tell. I'm having mine stripped and rebuilt at The Bike Part in Constantia, WC - always had very good experiences with them. Stoke are really good if in the WC and I'd highly recommened them. But this isn't a fork and should be far simpler for any decent LBS to sort out.

Shorter cranks have been said to be better in terms of performance and there is quite a bit out there on this within the interwebz. But frankly 10mm etc is next to no difference you would feel. If you were into MTB and hucking it over rock gardens as I do in Toaki then a shorter crank is less likely to get hit / scuffed due to more clearance. But you have clearance on the road (less rocks!), except for twats in cars.

A mistake.

Sorry didn't read your post. Felt very strongly though to give them support after your title basically trashes them. I bought my Scott Sprak RC in '18 without any issue, perfectly helpful they were. And their 10% cash discount pisses on many of the competition. I just bought a stem from them (35mm - not easy to find) and all went well. I've never had issues and encourage anyone to support them. Sorry for your issues - whatever they were.

Cube carbon extra large frame with a 50mm stem, 780mm carbon bar, Fox 32 SC fork, Cane Creek Thudbuster ST suspension seatpost (33mm travel), 29” DT Swiss wheels and 2.35” tyres, bike is long and extremely capable, 70 deg HT and super short wheelbase means in the right hands it’s hyper reactive in the best sense! I keep my full sus for the really rowdy ****, otherwise my HT does trail and then I slap my other wheelset with Maxxis Tt Race 2.0” tyres for gravel! No frame bearings or bushings to worry about, yup less can be more!

If it doesn't feel right, change it. There are so many personal variables to tweak. Get equipped with tools, spare chainrings, maybe a number of cassettes and tweak out. Don't go OCD now. Enjoy your ride.

find a mountain. Pound it. With feet or wheels. It'll tell you what to do. Listen little grasshopper.

Tune your own bike. Any drivetrain is easy when you know how. I love my 1x10 Shimano XT, 1x11 XT and SRAM Eagle GX/X01/XX1. They all never miss a beat. Which means you ride more and spend less time on forums. Yay!