Tubehunter

^ ^ ^ What he said! I have an extreme light which I have used for 18 months with zero issues that has beat my every expectation. The most annoying part is the maid has packed it away somewhere and I have turned the place upside down trying to find it again to no avail. I predict a new purchase from Hannes at extreme lights rather soon...

REALLY interested in this bike and similar options!

Yep and strangely enough not that removed from the biking scene with the issues we face. Although the community is much MUCH bigger and that critical volume means more races and better riding options. In the cycling world btosports is chain reaction cycles or CRC for short. The main local online site is Chris Willemse Cycles (CWC) who are also a strong option. Pick an LBS (local bike shop) with a mech you can trust on the stuff you can't do yourself, because you don't yet know or have the tools and support them on your big purchases and stuff you want that they stock and give you deals on. Use apps like strava to find out where all the good spots for riding are by following chaps you know who live in the area and ride regularly! I'll tune Clint when I chat to him later this week. I'll add that you said he has a fat @ss and needs to spend more time on his peddle bike... Cheese Jay

Howzeeet Erwin! (GrimRieper's boet here. Recognise the nacnac nic from edirt days) Solid choice in steed for your first bike and will match your biking needs IF you plan on mostly doing marathon based events. In the mountain biking world XCM (CrossCountry Marathon)is the equivalent of offroad races and XCO (CrossCountry Olympic) or more specifically MTB enduro is the same as the enduro scene. The spark is mostly geared towards XCM style racing which is what the overwhelming majority of races around SA are while bikes with longer travel and slacker head angles are geared towards taking bigger hits whilst not being complete downhill bikes and impossible to ride uphill are more suited to the technical stuff, aka enduro style. The Spark should be good enough to get you started on these too. It is a more than capable starter bike! Catch you at a race sometime! P.S. It is slightly cheaper than racing bikes... Cheers Jay

Shot for the replies chaps!! Anyone come up with an interesting mounting option for these?

Anyone have any info regarding these, hopefully what their real world performance is like and where I can get some in the Cape Town area perhaps?? They had a stand at the Argus expo and we're apparently used quite extensively at teh Epic by many riders. Tried the number they have advertised on http://www.amped.co.za but it doesn't ring?? Shot Jay

Not sure if this deal is something you would consider, but I saw it and thought it would be rad if I was considering a new steed on a budget for a race. Plus it is a rather unique bike and not your regular run of the mill brand. It is however well respected in the all mountain\trail fraternity! http://dialdbikes.co.za/commencal-supernormal-1-29er.html

This would be perfect for Jens's mechanic's house.... Turn the place into a spa of sorts and both Jens and his missus will be amped!

Very impressive looking bike! Echo gwhite's comment above. Was there a stage between paint stripper and raw frame?? i.e. Did the stripper remove all the paint or was there some sanding involved too???

There are knock offs of these bikes too. With the unique look of the Pinarello and the high profile client base, it's the one that seems to have the most copy cats. The chinese carbon thread is very informative and everyone will have different opinions on the stuff from there. I myself do not have a problem with a carbon chinese bike as long as it does not attempt to fake another brand. Like all things you need to sift through alot of it to find what you are looking for if you are maintaining your own ethics.

That's 11cm taller than you thought you were?? 54 is the common denominator here. Also known as a medium size bike. At 1.8 you could go 54 or 56. Measuring inseam is like so: 1. Stand up against a wall with your back to it. 2. With the spine facing up, jam a book, preferably a bigger one like a textbook, up towards your crotch until it stops. 3. Hold the book or have someone hold the book while you move and measure the distance from the floor to the top of the book.

Nope, I'm not done here yet and until we see something tangible from CS on finalising this matter whatever happens there is privvy to scrutiny here!

I've read the whole thread.... .. and I did it without cutting any corners to get past some outcasts....

Better!

When someone is trying to rip your 'port van nought' there's nothing grey about it!

Seems they can't even get fake 'common' sense to help them understand illiegal, fraudulant business practise!

This thing has taken on a life of its own! And there's enough CS sympathisers, posting as brand spanking noobs, to keep this running for weeks yet!

Come on Iron. Post some proper pics of all the toys together if you haven't begun assembling yet. The half in half out pics are just too much of a tease ek se! Or back them up with pics of the whole item on the same day at least... (Trying to stay interested in your build dude, but it's like taking a chick out to dinner that you start thinking will never put out!)

Andrew, the real question now is? Which episode of CB will it be???? We're all amped like teenage boys at 'the prom'!

Does happen unfortunately. Try to check out the ratings of the seller before investing too much energy and effort in the sale.

More HAPPY BIRTHDAY Andrew! Hope you have a super styling day dude! Oh and Richard DB, if the cycling industry is so very small, why on earth does it make mind-numbing mistakes such as these, in a day and age when information is so easily accessible??? Why are you and those who share your sentiments trying to make out as if Andrew should have done all his homework on the bike and it's authenticity before going to the shop to make sure for himself? Is this not the very reason an LBS exists when online sales are already making serious inroads into the sale platform?? So that a customer can walk into a shop and speak to a person they 'trust' to get their advise and expertise and pay the extra value for the piece of mind for that???? Is that not what all LBS exist for??????

Some people just don't get the idea that this is an online COMMUNITY.... We may fight with one another and have totally opposing views that make it hard to understand and even like one another, but come in with some fresh upstart uncool attitude as a noob and diss the way things work and watch how everyone pulls together and flames you! Whether you're old or young, noob or old timer, plain old good manners are just timeless! Matt/Claudio, we like the way you have set up this photo comp for the community, not only to feel like they want to submit their pics, even if they are not all perfectly set up with all the correct elements, but also in that the community is involved in picking the winner!!!!

How many of those are fakes posing as grey imports??

Shot for some on the scene reporting! Anyone can pretend things are still normal, but if I can feel a knot in my stomach since finding out about this business practise, I can only imagine what the real one in the owners' guts are!!!!!

Indeed... (Too busy reading the Cycle Science thread to completely read the instructions here. MY bad. Thanks!)