andretraut

Must agree with Extra300. I recently went through the same exercise in search for strong and light mtb wheels. Although I could get lighter, I went with American Classic at only 1486g for the set, at a great price. They have great hubs and run exceptionally smooth. My other option was Mavic ST's which are slighly heavier at around 1650g, but comes with a hefty price tag and not-so-great mtb hubs. Lighter is probably the NoTubes ZTR Olympic at around 1350g, but they are expensive and have a rider weight limit of 78kg if I am not mistaken. If you weigh more than 80kg and want to keep the budget at around R4000, get the American Classics!

I would not tackle a race with worn-out tyres. If you can afford it, fit a new set with fresh tyre sealant and race with peace of mind. Just dropped my wheels of at my favourate LBS (CL) for a fresh set of Racing Kings for the Burger MTB challenge!

TDF style, ride it!

Mackie aka Crank Brother is probably riding a Western Flyer or something similar, which explains his pronunciation problems with two fine bikes!

Hi Sexy Legs, unfortunately I am not able to assist in this riddle, however I am curious if you are male or female. In the case of the latter, please post a pic of those legs, and maybe you will get a far greater response in your search for this Flying Dutch... sorry pedal cycle!

Because of my habit to read 'behind closed doors', I am forced to buy them all, Tread, Bicycling and Ride (and Men's Health) otherwise I run out of reading material! I like all three because I am keen on both mtbing and rbiking and usually find what I am looking for in at least one of the mags. The official 2010 TDF guide is an absolute must for any cyclist!

Awesome stuff! Will look great on my Merida, but then again if I fit the mtb with this, my rbike would cry for Dura Ace Di2!

Two words..... Crank Brothers! I am big on Shimano group sets, but hate their pedals. Mtb pedals (520 up to XTR) are heavy, mud collectors, ugly and tarnish quickly. I am so mad about CB, that I even use them on my road bike, awesome stuff!

I would'nt disagree that Mr.Look's Look is a great bike, but this one reminds me too much of the multi coloured Volkswagen Polo that VW tried to sell...the one no-one wanted to buy. (Not intended to p*ss anyone off.. just my humble opinion.)

I experienced a rather big cut in my rear wheel, (about 5mm) and Stans sealed it and allowed me to get home without having to put a tube in, however the sealing process was not as swift as depicted in the video's. Stans pissed all over me and my bike, and when I tried to re-inflate at home, there was no Stans left in my tubeless set-up. So my input on this tread is, yes Stans is good, but not as great as the video tries to imply. I suspect that the tyres used in the video's are all filled with Stans and Stans only without any air!

Stans is good, but Sludge Uniseal is better! Sludge Ladies Team covered the entire Epic 2010 without a single puncture, and came second in their catagory. Locally made by a great guy, Chris!

Best bib short for under a grand = second hand Assos! Other wise if you want new, go for the Cape Storm Nitros...second best to Assos!

That is a smoking hot tip, will carry a Marlboro in the saddle bag, although I try to refrain from riding and smoking at the same time!

My hard tail Merida is rolling on a set of Killer Bee's for the last couple of months, and I do a lot of tarmc training, and are yet to notice the wear. These Killers are in my opinion awesome tyres with great rolling capabilities and virtually no resistance, and not too bad off road in sandy conditions, although they are intended for hard pack surface. Originally I had to choose between Schwalbe's Furious Fred and Killer Bee's, which are both virtually nobblyless, and fast rollers, but because of Schwalbe's warning that the FF is puncture prone, I settle for the less expensive option, and got great tyres with a fair share of puncture protection. In conclution, Killer Bee will be my replacement tyre, only once I manage to run the little tred pattern off!

Carbon is my material of choice for my road bike, but when it comes to my mountain bike, I prefer alu!

Hi Katie, welcome to the hub! What is the best price on a Revelator? Awesome bike, knocked me cold the first time I laid eyes on her!

The Mavic spacer should have been included in the wheelset. The cazette will not fit snug without this spacer. Marries, if you are based in Cape Town, get a spacer from Dragon Sports (importers for Mavic), they are of great help. Good luck, and enjoy your XX!

Are you sure that the pads are not only in the bedding-in phase? Give it some time, and do some serious braking, and you should get it sorted out without the assistance of the bike shop. I have also recently changed rotors twice, and found the first couple of braking attempts to be poor and spongy, but as soon as the pads bed-in their performance increases. Good luck with your set-up!

Saw a lion this morning on a GT doing some serious singletrack in the Cape Town area....you guys think it is at all possible that there is a connection?

As a Merida man myself (two Merida babies in the garage, a mtb and a Scultura road bike), it is great to hear your story. They are awesome bikes with great Merida backup! Specced well beyond their price rivals! atraut2010-05-13 04:28:12

I have placed my one week old Merida Scultura 905 Com on an instant weight loss program, and the results are great! Replaced the stock Vittoria Rubino tyres (305g per piece) with Vittoria Open Corsa (230g per piece) as well as lighter tubes, and no rim tape. But the true weight reduction was achieved by replacing the Alex Road Aero and Ultegra hub wheel set with a pair of Mavic Ksyrium SL Red (1485g per set). Dropped the standard weight of 8.1kg to 7.4kg. This wheel set not only looks great and saves weight, but is as stiff as a honeymoon horn on 'v' and rolls really well. The moral of the story...I am content with the expenses, and my baby lost 700g in one day.....biggest loser! Standard wheel set on the Scultura 905 Scultura 905 with Mavic Ksyrium SL Red

Hi Wannabe, I fitted Vredestein Killer Bee's to my Steed a few weeks ago. Took it to Majik on the weekend, and did they role! The Bee's are fast, good for punctures, and awesome on tarmac. You could get them from Webike (around the corner from Majik) at R199-00, great deal. I've got a Stan's conversion on my Alex rims and I can not complain!

Hi Mark, the rrp is about R21500-00 standard without any extras or mods, but I got a great deal with Cycle Lab...my LBS of choice! I would rather not mention my invoice amount! atraut2010-04-28 07:04:07

Hi Eugene, the wheels are Alex Road Aero deep section, but I am replacing them with Mavic Ksyrium Red, just waiting on my order. I have already replaced the stock tyres (Vittoria Rubino) with Vittoria Open Corsa. The rims will be for sale in about two weeks time.

This is my brand new ride. She is a 2010 Merida Scultura 905 Com... carbon frame with an Ultegra group. Soon she will be rolling on a set of Mavic Ksyrium Red rims.