thebob

The eye of Sauron had me in his sights at my first 947 going up the mineshaft. Had to put some extra watts to get clear

And yet it gives me great satisfaction riding flats and in my baggies when I out climb and out descend the lycra army. All that without running a lockout on my bike.

Please get the shorts! And matching riding shirts

You can also use Shimano levers with the Magura calipers. Otherwise Merlin Cycles have XT two pots on sale at the moment for a steal

Scalpel hardtail or Scalpel full suspension?

Gen 3 Trek Top Fuel. Ticks all the boxes you mention and will still be relevant in terms of geometry and capability many years from now

Ordered some glasses from them early in January and had them delivered within a couple of days

Lyrik damper will fit in a Yari, not compatible with a 35

The Cadex range of tyres from Giant are also worth a look. Pricing is ok, but the ride quality, puncture protection and grip are excellent

Drop your saddle height 3cm and see if that doesn't fix the discomfort issues

https://static.giant-bicycles.com/Manuals/MY22FlipChipInstructions_1641917727.pdf

I ordered via Zwift. Had it sent to USA address. Shipped from USA. You could use UK shop and use UK address, but IIRC it was cheaper to use the USA details

I brought one in via Aramex Global Shopper. Works as advertised if you have a particular use case for it or if you don't want to use the gears on your bike with the trainer. I used it to get some gear range for the MTB on the trainer. Back using a road bike on the trainer and switched back to using the gears on the bike. Sold the click and cog to a fellow hubber who had the same need for it and they have been very happy with it

List the bike for sale, get the correct sized one. Putting smaller wheels will not help one bit and will probably result in more crashes.

Get the highest rated Virginia Tech helmet you can afford. All helmets have to go through ANSI, SNELL etc tests to be approved for sale, bit the Virginia Tech tests are the latest and seem to be the most comprehensive. You only get one brain, so protect it. That is not to say cheap helmets are bad or that pricey helmets are good. The same goes for the technology, such as MIPS, that goes into them. Getting the correct sized helmet is vital. It has to be the correct size and shape for your head. If not, it will not protect your head as it should. I'd also suggest looking at the Specialized Align as a well priced helmet that is relatively affordable and that does well in the Virginia Tech ratings. https://www.specialized.com/za/en/align-ii/p/1000207922?color=1000207926-1000207922

Out of curiosity, what size did you end up on?

I told you so

XTR = Dura-Ace Ultegra = XT SLX = 105 The chains are interchangeable. Check the Shimano tech docs and you will see the part numbers are the same for the road and MTB chains for each generation of groupset family

Why do you want a higher rise stem?

I'd look at a Trek Top Fuel or Specialized Epic Evo over the Orbea. For me being tied to one retailer for support is not a great position to be in. I'm in the Trek camp and have had great support from them for my Top Fuel for the last 4 years of ownership

Impossible to say. Your individual dimensions will dictate. I'm 175cm and a small Giant or an extra small Merida work for me. Speak to your fitter for advice

Very lekker day out on the bike. Started in C batch. I've never been in such a big bunch on a ride before. In was stressful AF and I had to keep my wits about me. After Kyalami it opened up and was a lot more enjoyable. Managed to finish in one piece and improve my time from last year, so I'm happy

That is a proper freeride bike, definitely not for small jumps and "technical trails". It will be a pig to pedal around and completely overkill for following the kids around

The said doctor at work. @J Wakefield do you have any fitters you would recommend in SA?

Split_Time_Calculator (2022).xlsx From 2022, but should help with planning