RacerX

It's called shimmy - the frame/fork/wheels resonate in response to their relative size/shape/weight and your speed. It a bastard 'cause it's so complex and in my experience will more likely happen on larger frames than smaller ones, simply because the large frame naturally resonates at a lower speed. Sloppy suspension makes it worse. My Titus RacerX (Large) shimmys like crazy at anything more than 30km/h on tar but my 29er (large) does not. Both bikes are in equally good nick with no loose/buckled anything. I just keep my hands on the bars and live with it.

Thanks, you guys rock! Once my kids grow up a bit I hope to have some time to help out too!

I recently built up a Niner Air9 Carbon with a rigid fork. In a way it's back to my roots as my first three MTBs were fully rigid (20 years ago). I first rode the Niner as a singlespeed, thinking that I would use it as a fresh, short-ride alternative to my dual sus RacerX (26"), but very soon I found that I only wanted to ride the Niner. A few weeks back I put a geared groupset on it and have not touched the RacerX since. I find I can ride (and have fun on) just about every trail (XC), only having to slow down slightly on rough downhill sections. In my opinion, for XC-like riding, large-volume 29" tyres run soft on a rigid bike go a long way to making up for the lack of suspension, so much so that I am not (yet) considering putting a sus fork on it, even once I sell the RacerX (yup, it's come to that!). I suspect it's a combo of the soft fat tubeless tyres and the bigger wheel - I run Racing Ralphs 2.25s at no more than 1.6 bar. I can comfortably do a 3 hour ride on the bike without feeling beat up and have no trouble keeping up with my suspended mates (they're also skinny XC riders like me - I admit that this does not hold true for any sort of non-XC riding). Run rigid, the bike is light, tracks like a dream and adds bucketloads of spice to a ride - I highly recommend tossing your suspension! Anyone interested in buying a lovingly looked after Titus RacerX? Large, black, top-end parts.

+1 ... and the fit, and then you have to find a climbing position that works for you. But it's mostly the legs! I climb way better on my heavy dual sus on a good day than I do on my fully rigid carbon bike on a bad day. What did LA say: "it's not about the bike" or something like that...

Hmm, yup, must be a baby - only a parent could love that...

+1

I would also recommend watching this video - it's an eye opener and makes huge sense. One thing though - fructose is fine for consumption by athletes during strenuous activity. Exercise influences the metabolism and allows the body to process the fructose beneficially. The big no-no is to consume energy drinks off the bike.

Get a singlespeed. Seriously. That way you can "weight train" and still ride. Works for me.

You should take the trouble to vary the thickness of the rim tape underneath your "conversion strips". I find that when changing tyre brands I need to do this sometimes to get a fit that's just right.

I'll take the chicken run around the snide cynicism and give you a straight answer. Bike fit is bike fit, regardless of the size of your wheels. You need your hands, feet and butt to be in the right position. Nothing else matters. I found that when I set up my 29er about six months ago, I needed a 1cm shorter stem with 0 deg rise and flat handlebars to approximate the position on my old 26er which has a longer riser stem. I opted for a wide (680mm) bar (Easton EA70) for extra leverage 'cause I run singlespeed, but I would not bother with that if you are running gears. Looking at other 29ers my buddies ride, this seems to be common, as the larger front wheel obviously raises the height of the front end. One mate even needs to run a riser stem flipped upside down to get his bars low enough. But then he's an ex Euro-style roadie I'm tall at 1.88m (6'2") and find the 29er fits me better generally and is more stable than a 26er. Your mileage may vary.

Why, the red ones of course!

+1 Stans Arch rims and brass nipples for strength. Except that's R3.5k per wheel by my reckoning

Hmm, wrong, I'm with the OP on this one. If someone sits my slip without at least saying hi and "may I?" I tell him off. It's an intimate space reserved for friends.

+1 Nothing will help if you don't train consistently, at least 3 times per week. A weekly ride is pretty much useless for fitness. It may help with form, technique and of course, be fun, but to climb well you need to be fit, period. No amount of light weight, technique, gear choice, feather-weight equipment will get you up the hill fast if you are unfit!

Selle Italia have/had a rail replacement program - maybe worth finding out if Fisik have one?

...and I thought you said you were unbiased!

C'm on, you're brighter than that - it's a pro rata statistic, i.e. car for car, airbag cars have more accidents.

Helmets are overrated - just like airbags in cars, they create a false sense of security. Research has shown that cars fitted with airbags have more accidents than ones without because the drivers take chances they otherwise would not. Google it - here's just one link: https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&doctype=cite&docid=38+J.+Law+%26+Econ.+251&srctype=smi&srcid=3B15&key=6b35e5c2e155f64d56b3b837bb276e69 I'm sure it's the same for helmets. Sure, they help in isolation under very specific circumstances, but in the grand scheme of things if you are aware of your surroundings, can actually handle your bike in tricky situations, are visible, don't do stupid things etc. you are very unlikely to need a helmet. And then, in the unlikely event of you being unlucky, a helmet will do precious little to save your life as you're being dragged under the wheels of the 18-wheeler. I've said it before - the guy you see riding without a helmet could be Hans Rey (or Danny M). If you're that concerned for his safety, don't rage about his uncovered head, rather encourage him to take up bowls instead of cycling. Personally, I wear a hemet every time I ride other than to the corner shop and back. And I encourage my kids to do the same. But I try my best to ride as if I wasn't wearing one.

I humbly suggest you keep your opinions to yourself, given your location. Nothing worse than an ex-saffa trying to justify his emigration.

Try www.gear-calculator.com - you can compare different setups. Awesome tool.

I am:

I had a rather bizarre Argus - towards the top of Wynberg hill (Bishop's Court) I could not get the chain on the big ring. I looked down and noticed that I could see some of the thread of my drive-side BB cup peeking out of the BB shell - the BB was spontaneously unscrewing itself, moving the crank to the right! The stomp up the hill must have got it loose and soon after my left crank was hard up against the BB shell (the left cup had moved inboard too, moving the whole BB to the right) and I could not pedal without badly scoring the left crank arm. I managed to limp to the end of the M3 where there was a "mechanic" next to the road. His crank puller was so stripped that he could not get my cranks off, so I walked off, thinking it was the end of my ride (the race part of the ride having ended on Wynberg hill). Anyway, long story short, a good Samaritan called Mark took me home in his bakkie where I fixed the bike and then he took me back to where I exited the course to finish the ride (it was my 21st Argus and I wanted that medal!). Thanks Mark! My bike is a lovingly-maintained (by me) 1998 Colnago Technos (steel - the real thing ) with an Italian thread Campag Chorus BB, also circa 1998. I last removed the BB when I had the frame touched up about three years ago. I always install BBs and cranks nice and tight. So the BB has been in there for three years without trouble, and nearly ten years before that. If you didn't know, Italian BBs have a right-hand thread on the drive side, as opposed to a left-hand drive-side thread of an English BB that is standard on most non-Italian frames. I had a look at what Sheldon Brown had to say about Italian BBs, and I quote: "Prone to problems due to the right threaded fixed cup, which tends to unscrew itself in use." http://sheldonbrown.com/cribsheet-bottombrackets.html The English BB standard is superior because the left-hand threaded drive-side cup is tightened by the pedalling action (as is the right-hand threaded non-drive cup on both It and En BBs). Pedals have opposite threads for the same reason. So, the real reason for my post is to warn any other owners of pretty Italian bikes with silly wrongly-threaded drive-side BB cups to pull your drive-side crank off now and then and tighten that sucker up! Also, any advice on what lube/other sticky stuff to use other than grease to help prevent this from happening again would be appreciated.

I start in A group with my 1997 Colnago Technos:

I tried the Arione too but hated it - seems to have a too-high central ridge that nailed my chommie. SLR did it for me in the end - regular on my MTB and XP on my road bike. Oh, and recently I'm very happy on a Gobi XM on my rigid SS.

Happily cruising round the Peninsula from A group in my 21st Argus!