andretraut

I used Chain L for a while, not a bad lube, but too sticky in my opinion, and also too messy. Once you lube and wipe, everything is covered in oil for a few rides, so prepare yourself for a rim and rear tyre clean after every ride. This is just my opinion, but what made me change was the motor oil smell and the bland branding, as if the label was made on a Xerox copier. Maybe I am just sceptical, so not really my intention to give this product a bad review. I would however like to conclude with one word....Motorex!

Going to test the waters in CAT2.

Good looking wheels Johan. I see that you are getting your stallion ready for the Pro Classics Spring Season!

I agree that it is tough to get hold of top-end Specialized frames and bikes, but I will rather give up cycling than loose my Spez. Once you received that box with the massive 'S' logo, after going to hell and back to get it, the appreciation is so much greater, and after that first ride you realize immediately why you waited so long.

Movistar Dogma Will be a tough choice between the Spez SL4, Venge or the Dogma 2 for my next bike, .....being a Spez man!

Thanx for the compliment, I really enjoy that bike. Good luck with your decision!

Did you degrease and clean the chain properly before applying the lube? Surface rust on a 2000 - odd km chain should not affect the performance, but sticky sh*t between the rollers could cause poor shifting. Remove, clean, relube and test!

KnobbyMech, I am not surprised that you have'nt touched the Anthem since your XTC purchase. I went through the same process, had an awesom full susser with small wheels, then got a super light S-Works Stumpy with nice big hoops, and did'nt want to ride the full susser anymore, just did'nt make sense. I quest for the same reason I stopped listening to casettes since the discovery of CD's. My advice, loose the 26er as soon as possible, while there are still unconverted fools who will pay top dollar for it, cause in a very short while they will follow the same route as the old Beta video casette. Nothing wrong with you XTC, but it is always nice to pick a bike from the top shelves, so if you can cash in on the Anthem, why not shop around for a carbon beauty!

My Roval Rapide SL45 with a DT Swiss hub on my S-Works Tarmac is rather noisy compared to my Easton EC90SL. I prefer the louder hub, but I also know it p*sses off other riders in the group.

The Movistar Dogma is an awesome looking bike!

Specialized Renegade Control 2Bliss for light weight, grip and durability at about 500g, or Rubena Zefyros at 450g for light weight and a bit of grip only.

Hannes my man, if you were doing this review independently and were not directly linked to any specific brand, I would have paid much more attention, but because this is a cheap way to boost your product, it has no weight at all. I recently switched from a MJ808 to a MJ870 (1200 lumens), and all I can say is that it is much more powerful. Instead of a small spot of light on the road, with very little lighting up the rest of the area, I can now see everthing infront and on the sides with my MJ870. The fact that I can also set my brightness without having to shut the light off is also a big plus, not to mention the stupid strobe effect, of the MJ808. And battery wise, it seems that the MJ870 also outsmarts the MJ808 by far.

All the gps units are loaded with a base map only, same thing with the Garmin Edge 800, full maps must be downloaded. Waiting on the delivery om my Edge 800, maps come with an extra price tag of about R1000.

So true, but this exercise could also cause dehydration!

Alex rime are good and strong, but heavy. Alex mtb wheelset normally average 1900 - 2000g, apposed to a set of American Classics at 1486g . You will shave about 500g off your wife's bike with AC.

I was contemplating wether I should comment or not, cause I don't want to cause a bad vibe, then decided I will keep it clean : Not a good looking bike at all, GT failed terribly with that shock in mid air! And by the way, the wheels are to small, 3 inches to small.

I agree, Conti GP 4000s are far more superior than Vittoria Open Corsa. I had the Corsas and they tend to get surface cuts very quickly. My Conti's are untarnished after many happy miles, but I use them as training tyres, because at 215g they are not the lightest. A good light weight tyre with great grip and protection is Schwalbe Ultremo R.1 (180g).

An item is only expensive if you can't afford it, so it should be measured against your pay cheque, and not in general. I think it is dumb to fit an alu handlebar to your bike if the cost of a decent carbon bar is negligible against your financial means. Back to the point - absolutely does it make a diffrence, and a big one.

Sweet ride Geno, I think you must get one, then I'll get the Venge! Lets keep the flames of our trusted brands burn high!

Nice ride Clint, welcome to the bigger wheel club, just remember there are a few hubbers around here that will have some remarks about 29ers, but that is only because they are stuck with tiny wheels! I agree with a decent air fork, but also consider American Classic wheels and lighter tyres, such as Specialized Renegade Control (540g a piece). Wheels and tyres should set you back less than R6K and will save you almost 1kg. Enjoy your bike, and don't forget to loose the spoke reflectors!

It is to save weight! Half-a-tooth weighs lighter that a whole tooth!

Nope!

Maybe old Pat is fedup with heavy, way overrated squared tubed bikes... can't blame the dude.

Not the lightest, but an awesome package!

You do not need the XTR shifters if you are going to use XT dual control levers, as they have shifters as well. Just remember that the rest of the brake set, ie. hoses and calipers must also be Shimano, as Sram uses Dot 3 brake fluid apossed to Shimano's mineral fluid. The two are not compatibile. You can choose any rotor that will fit.