Gary.j

Thanks guys, i just want to try out the 29er thing , see if it works for me.

Can anyone tell me who are agents for Momsen bikes , I am looking to buy the entry level 29er.

This is tragic . Condolences to friends and family.

Why do you ask?

I searched all over and was prepared to pay the price for nice fitting shoes. Guess what, the best fit was the Olympic from Sportmans Warehouse on special for 650 with free socks worth 35 bucks.I usually use a size 11 but the size 12 fits perfect, length and width. A dude at one of the bike shops said we south africans have broader feet than the europeans because of walking most of our childhood bare feet this allows are feet to grow to the sides, I laughed , he didnt, he was serious.

Does anyone else struggle to get mtb shoes with the correct width (to narrow).

Oh yes my "friend"also advised me to take my wife with me on a ride in an area with dangerous game cos she is slower than me.

Baboons are protected fiercely now here , you can ride as close as 2 metres from them and they just ignore you. I have only been here 3 years and at the bottom of town lions,hienas etc have taken some dogs and few weeks ago a lion walked past the old age home and was also seen in Nollie Bosman st. The bike club has built a course with some drop offs,ramps over fences,single track, over ant hills, bridges etc and it is great to ride, to ride here on the whole is a great experience but scary in some places, and if youve never been here you do not know hot.

How do you determine the size of a bike and how do you know what will be the right size for you or anything else on bike size.

Spinnekop, I road up to the lookout on sunday but coming down is a mission, weve had a lot of rain a week ago so there are a lot of ditches and big rocks and of course going slow is not an option, around one of the hairpin bends i nearly ran into the back of a nissan bakkie. Riding out to boot en hengel is a bit dangerous now I stopped after whizzing past an elephant behind a bush , I think he also got a heart attack, the lions have killed a couple of buffalo near to the road as well, a "friend" of mine says that pepper spray and a small bell works with lions, if someone finds the bell and the lion crap smells of pepper they know what happened to you.

Makes sense face plant. I was joking about the hardtail bit , just trying to let these dudes know I aint old. Like the way you refer to the bike as a she.

Hi gasping, yuh know whats lekker when your 40? kicking someones backside half your age, its just no fun when you are 20.

Spinnekop no one has ever driven that far just for a KISS. But the funny thing is nowhere is Phalaborwa for the past 3 years.

Thanks for the advice Piernas. The rest of you: 40 IS NOT OLD, be patient you will get there sooner than you think, so first problem is solved by dirt girl hard tail it is.

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and I can see there is an overwhelming amount of experience here so here goes. I did some social/fun mountain biking for about a year , I did about 20 to 30 km a day but gave up due to a new job and didnt have enough time, I have started riding again but mostly on weekends I am really enjoying it and want to start riding in events, my questions are the following: I have an entry level Mongoose hardtail. Obviously to me its a great bike because i have never ridden another bike. If it makes a big difference then I would like to upgrade or should I rather use the frame I have and upgrade the fork and groupset etc. Some of the tracks i ride are hard on a bike (big rocks and dry river beds) bear in mind i am a beginner and on the wrong side of 40 yrs. Also if I upgrade should I go hardtail or not. By the way my bike has never let me down or broken and sometimes i drive downhill on a rocky bad road so fast i shake so much i cant even see properly, so dont get in my way. also where to buy , because i live in nowhere. any advice will be appreciated