thebob

Much of a muchness between all 3 of them spec wise. All will be pretty capable with none standing out as much better than the other. All three have solid alloy frames. All three running SRAM SX gearing, which is pretty regarded as not great at all. Basic Rockshox 35 fork and basic rear shocks. Giant has the best brakes, which might swing it for me. If you goal is to make it down the trail and have some fun, I'd go for the one with the best dealer close to me. If you goal is to compete and push your limits, I'd look at a higher spec secondhand bike from the classifieds.

If you can't get hold of them directly, try making a fuss on the socials. That usually gets these companies moving

There is one at Trailwolf Cycles that they are looking after whilst the owner waits for their battery to arrive. Very sleek for sure. There is a local Forbidden agent who might be able to get hold of one of their Druid e-bikes. AP Cyclery in KZN.

M/L Ergon was too big for me with similar sit bone measurement. Video below has a load of good info:

That is a 12 speed chain, so should work fine with the 12 speed XT drivetrain. The skipping could be down to a few things ranging from a stiff link in the new chain, to needing some cleaning, to some fine tuning to a needing a new cassette or chainring. Best to take it back to the shop and ask them to assist

Mmpumalanga Enduro Series Sabie. 48km with 1600m climbing. What a lekker day on a bike

Was the only option available. In the order of R110 per order

AliExpress has upped their game. I have ordered some genuine Shimano brake parts that the local extortionists do not supply (Infamous XT master cylinder bladder being one) and had them all within 10 days of the order being placed via a fully tracked courier service (iMile).

How machine learning improves leaderboard fairness 🤖 - Strava All info here.

Heading there for the Enduro. Schalk has set us a 42km route with 1400m of climbing 😱

Vergenoeg trails

Align II One of the top scoring lids in the Virginia Tech ratings and well within budget

And power is limited to half of the maximum output so you have to trap hard to get there

Very happy with that result 👍🏻

Puncture Solution Archives - Mountain Biking South Africa (MTB SA) + Enduro Seal Tyre Sealant | Best Mountain Biking in South Africa!

Assuming that is a 2019 Rocky Mountain Element, it has a reach of 419mm. That means it is smaller than most current XC type bikes in their labelled small size. For someone like you a 460mm to 480mm reach would be a lot more "in range". Just a basic analysis

More and more road bikes are coming out with UDH. The Trojan Hanger is doing its work

Just had a look online now at a GX 90 kit. Converted price is 12k for a chainring, chain, cassette, shifter and derailleur. So will likely be more like 15k once tax and local margin is applied. Shimano Linkglide can be had for around half of that.

Cycle Lab has the Marvel kits, which seem to be pretty similar. Otherwise plenty of online sellers have the listed like shredshed and trailtech

Pretty sure the shock on that bike can be replaced by a "regular" one of the correct stoke and fitting length. The MTBR forums or good old Google can confirm

Fit a dropper post and ride it. Replace bits and pieces as they wear out or break.

It's the same post as the TransX EDP01. Review below: Review: TranzX EDP01 Wireless Electronic Dropper Post - Pinkbike

Regular delivery option. Last order came through SAPO. The latest one appears to be with a Chinese courier

Ordered a few things from AliExpress. Their shipping time estimates seem to be getting a lot better than a couple years back. You may have to deal with your bank, who could block the transaction as being suspicious. But it is usually a quick fix over the phone. I went through the process on Monday. Awaiting some Shimano brake bladders

It was on the Italian channel on DSTV last year IIRC Edit: RAI is the channel