wesley_r

I love a good hijack Nice bike - how much travel does it have? Changing the bars and stem will make a difference for sure... along with burlier tyres

Right well back to MY bike... Last couple of things getting sorted this week - switching out the tyres (to run the Mtn King 2.4 front & back, tubeless) and getting the chain tensioner installed...

Try what I have, the Deity Dirty30: http://dialdbikes.co.za/deity-dirty30-handlebar.html There's plenty space to move controls in, so if, at 760mm wide, you find it a bit too wide, you shouldn't have any issues cutting it 740mm.

I'm telling you man, 760 wide, 25 high, 60 stem is the SWEET SPOT for me. I never felt right on the 780 / 20 boobar - never knew so little could make such a difference

So, what's stopping you? What's your "XC" bike, by the way?

I do indeed

eat your heart out, Hairy

Rode Tokai yesterday for the first time ever and the bike performed great and very dialled... the cockpit dimensions are now perfect, the 25mm rise / 760mm width of the Deity bars feels spot on! I also love the bike's geometry, which let me get away with murder. Even though there were some obstacles I was too nervous to try, I hit a lot of lines faster and smoother than I would have in the past, so my confidence is up and the bike is helping Now to get the chain guide fitted, and the new tyre (and convert back to tubeless) and then I'll weigh it just for interest's sake...

tomorrow at about 8:30 / 9 - if I can get these damn brakes sorted

Here are some proper pics.... still need to fit the chain guide, but damn, what a sweet looking piece of kit! test ride in Tokai tomorrow

Thanks guys Yeah DJR I had the sticker done as part of the kit - can send you the file if you want to have it printed. In fact I have a contact that can print a bunch if needs be... cost will depend on quantity though... Now to change tyres! Still waiting for my 2nd Conti, so for this weekend I think I'll leave the tubes in, leave the small block eight on the back and just put the Conti I have, or the Nevegal, on the front...

Boom! She's done! I've ordered the grips and chain tensioner, but those will go on over the weekend. A short blast around the parking lot confirms that I picked the right stem and bar!

Buycycle have let me down big time... I won't go into the details just yet except to say it started with a more than 2 weeks wait and ended with the wrong tyre getting delivered. They're trying to make right now, tyre will be here either tomorrow or Monday. So currently I have a 2.4 Mountain King, a 2.35 Nevagrip and a set of 2.2 Small Block Eights - I'm sure between those I can come up with a suitable combo for a weekend's riding if it only arrives on Monday Some more new bits and pieces... as I mentioned before I've been running Lizrd Skins Peaty lock on grips, but am finding them uncomfortable on longer rides. My wrists / hands are dodgy since I spend all day in front of a PC, so I get tingly fingers and sore wrists pretty quickly. The Deity Enoki grips are apparently mega chunky and comfortable, so I'm going for those. They are also flanged, which should be interesting to try out, since I've never used a flanged grip. I'm also going for the Dartmoor Simple Chain Guide. I'll be taking the ISCG05 version (comes with a BB adaptor). According to Dartmoor's site it can be used on a dual ring setup - so this should put an end to the chain-dropping-on-bumpy-stuff nonsense. It doesn't happen a lot, but it happens enough to irritate me. I've never used a chain guide, so not sure what the overall effect on the drive train will be, but I'm going to find out I'll be getting both (in the red options) from the good people at Dial'd Bikes, but probably only next week. I really dig supporting these guys, and you should too, SA needs more retailers like this... Enoki: http://dialdbikes.co...noki-grips.html Simple: http://dialdbikes.co...hain-guide.html Everything, excluding new tyres and the above, is being built up now, so I should have the bike back tomorrow

Unfortunately I've run into a snag with tyres and getting the Continental Mountain King II 2.4 delivered in time working on a plan B

And here is the humble hardtail that's been housing all the parts over the last while. I've been using Kenda Small Block 8s (stolen from my wife) which are great on the road and pretty fast on gravel - I can't comment on the grip as I haven't done much trail riding on them, but they did get me down Contermanskloof in one piece Off to the LBS for a swapterectomy

o yeah i saw that one

no?

yeah I saw that. excellent

Right so my hardtail goes to LBS tomorrow so that the Commencal can get all its parts back while I've highlighted some new additions here, most of the stuff is staying the same - like the ultra reliable X7 derailleurs and shifters, Avid Juicy 5 brakes, cranks and DMR V12 pedals which, though they are showing some wear and tear, are still going strong and gripping like mad. I'm looking into a chain tensioner. The bike has a Truvativ Stylo crankset, on which we removed the big ring a long time ago in favour of a bash guard. I've been wanting to go to 1 ring for a while, but in the interim I am thinking of fitting one of these: http://dialdbikes.co...hain-guide.html New grips might be on the cards too - I've been using Lizard Skins Peaty lock on grips, but am finding that, with my wrists being dodgy (work on a PC all day and it'll happen) I may need to go for something much softer. O, and I might be throwing some red into the build to break the blue / white / black scheme - stay tuned for more

I've been pretty happy so far with the Conti - and the fact that they're light and tough is a bonus

A mate is trying to convince me to stick to 2 rings, which I may do in the interim, given that chain guides aren't cheap. He suggests running a tensioner in the meantime, so what about this on my current 2 ring setup: http://dialdbikes.co.za/dartmoor-simple-chain-guide.html

Tyres: when I got the Commencal, it had a set of Maxxis High Roller 2.5 USTs on. Grippy like mad, but heavy! Shortly after I converted to tubeless and swopped the rear for a slightly narrower Kenda Nevegal (or Nevagrip, or Neva-again if you prefer) I still found the High Roller too heavy and overkill, so I replaced it with a Continental Mountain King II, the "Protection" model. So far I've been extremely happy with it, so I've ordered another one for the back so that I can ditch the Nevegal. It should be here tomorrow from buycycle.co.za Tyres are 2.4 front and rear. The wheels I am running are AlexRims SupraBH rims on Giant (front) and Formula (rear) hubs. I've had these wheels since before I initially bought the Commencal, as I taco'ed one of my Mongoose wheels, and wanted something uber-burly. To be honest, my ass has been itching for a while now for newer rims (and a better rear hub) but that's not on the cards for a while, due to budget. When the time comes, I may look at a few options, including the ZTR Flow, DT Swiss EX500 and, my favourite, the Spank Subrosa I'll look at a new rear hub then as well. Currently my wheelset is where I make one of those tradeoffs - choosing longevity and burliness over low weight.

Ding dong, look what just arrived... thanks Absolut Biking!

I'm a fiddler, I'm never happy. This is evident when it comes to my saddle choice. Long before I even bought the Commencal (when I had the Mongoose Tyax hardtail), I picked up a Fizik Zeak (yeah, I know there's supposed to be a couple of :s and 's in there) saddle 2nd hand off the hub. I bought it for 3 reasons - it looked cool, it had a shape that intrigued me, and it's pretty unique. I'd ridden it before, on a Giant Reign I tested out. I tossed the stock Mongoose saddle in favour of it, but after a while I found it too hard overall and then switched to a WTB pure V comp, which I never got along with. When I got the Commencal it came with a beat up Specialized seat, and after trying the Fizik again I switched to the Specialized, and was happy for a while, until I ended up with numb junk on a ride! So when I built up the hardtail again to get well / fit, I switched back to the Fizik for a third time, and suddenly I'm finding it perfect. More comfy than I remember (maybe my ass is getting more numb) and pretty nice saddle for technical riding too. So that's what's going back on the Commencal for this build I'll be running it on the Ritchey seat post that I scored for R80, that's been serving me well so far!