D Vader

Rigid is all you need, Be sure to have a big volume tyre up front, pressure changes make a big difference , so play with these till it feels right. I have a flexi carbon bar ( Carnegie) which also helps. The light weight on the rigid makes the handling much more direct and fun and you can move the front over and around a lot more obstacles. The bladed carbon forks now available are amazing at soaking up the rough stuff and all weigh under 600 grams after cutting the steerer to size. Look at the Niner, On *ONE, Rapide, Whisky or Ragley bladed 29er forks. We often ride Kings Kloof black route and these forks handle it very well

I have a Mercury 1.0 ( as my 2nd bike, SS 1st). Great bike, great handling no problems at all.

I've tried the Kurve range and 2 have broken seat bodies. Not so happy as these were not cheapies, now on Antares and it seems fine, Gobi is good, maybe a bit heavy if you are a weight weenie

Abbie and Soekoe are going to give the Vets or Masters riders an interesting idea of what the older guys can do on SS. Wayne and Dwayne, lots of experience and should do well. These are all rigid ss, naturally. Very sorry to miss out on the fun.

Yes, do it. What do you weigh? what is your budget for the racing wheelset? This is where a drop in weight on the bike makes the most difference. You could possibly drop 500grams off that wheelset and even more if you put something like Ashima rotors ( 85gr each , XT or XTR are in the 160 gr range), so that is another 150 gr off the set). I promise this will make a really big dif. Do not do this and then put a Maxxis crossmark tyre on . 2012 Racing ralphs are exellent ( eg 840 gr as opposed to 605gr per tyre). A set of Stans ZTR Crest rims, 3.30 Stans Hubs , and then have the aluminium nipples replaced and the wheels built with brass nipples ( hand built, nice and strong)

But it can still make you bend at the knees!!

Find a proper chiro. Your body is not a fixed mechanical entity , like your car or bike, it has several mechanisms to remove damaged tissue and regenerate tissue ( this may sound fantastic, but I have seen it done) The intervertebral 'disc' is a connective tissue capsule. It has the ability to repair itself, if you remove the mechanical forces which are perpetuating the injury. I am not giving medical advice, merely suggesting that there are alternatives which are worth trying, as the fusion will only shift the area of negative impact to the next level up /down.

Welcome to the Beefed up Dental plan clan

The new 2012 Racing Ralph 29er snakeskin is a whole new ballgame. Just over 600grams ( in snakeskin) Much thicker sidewalls and faster yet grippy tread, new compound, so despite thicker walls it is lighter. Please don't tell all your friends as I would like to be able to get them all year round

HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO GO SS No more click-click clack-clack

I think most guys believe lighter is weaker and heavier is stronger, way too general. The forces exerted on a heavier bike ( even with a light rider) are in many instances greater than on a light bike. It is very important to understand where and how the weight is carried and where and how stresses are transferred to the bikes under which riding conditions. Be specific if possible.

WELCOME to the ONE side A good time is sometimes also a fast time, you'll be surprised, sometimes SIMPLY FAST

I picked up this article on a 29er with gears and suspension. This guy has raced this bike and done several thousand kms on it already. Weight weenies may now weep. http://twentynineinches.com/2012/03/21/dream-bike-sebastian-roths-cannondale-flash-29/ The cost is not mentioned.

I have one of the above, the 2nd example is fairly different ( Internal mounting on brake, internal routing for cable , dif support between seat and chainstay, so not actually the same. I have used this frame since 8/2011, put it through hard SS conditions. Very good except that the dropout does not have a 'metal' insert and has thus been indented by the axle

Why not build your own bike up. In this price range you should be able to build something really fantastic Here are some excellent frames, then just add your groupset and fork of choice ( I'd suggest a SID 2012 29er ). Santa Cruz Highball Lynskey ( Ti) Solis CUBE Imagination is the only limit with this budget

There is this IDEA that 29ers are for taller riders. I have two friends who are under 1.6m tall one male and one female, they both ride 29ers and absolutely love them ( hardtail and dual sus), I think they are actually better suited to these sizes as they have lower centers of gravity? which just improves the 29er handling further. Let this person try a properly setup small 29er and then get the feedback.

Dwayne Klingbiel did the Sabie Ultra on SS , also did Baberton Ultra SS. 6:13( Baberton) and 6:41 ( Sabie)(I think) I was there, attemted Ultra SS and failed at both, so his achievements are from my point of view amazing. I also did Atakwas SS this year and I think Baberton and Sabie Ultras were a lot harder.

R120 for a 20km ride must be a new top R/km race, bit steep? This is without the R50 line entry. Not that I believe races should be judged on price per km, but I don't liked being ripped off. Maybe it is really fantastic and worth every penny.

It does'nt pop of the rim anymore than a roadrim, I've done this exercise several times and it works very well, even run it tubeless on these 25c tyres

Your 29er probably DOES NOT have a wider rim, normal road tyres work fine, but if you worry , use Conti gatorskins 700x 25C

Rennies are REALLY not for cramping. Controversial issue, usually Calcium and Magnesium supplement. Mostly you need more training.

Stem setup makes such a huge difference, its worth taking your time with this. There are a lot of personal preferences involved. Alu and or carbon do not in stems have much weight dif, more about flex in the stem, XC usually wants a less flexing stem for precise control under hard conditions. I like a 6 degree stem turned down so it has negative angle, to get you over the bars for better pull up steep climbs. Probably best to try and test a few options. My 2c Good luck

So, the obvious questions: How much are they? Are they here, coming soon or a distant dream? What sizes are there?

FANTASTIC!!!!!

We can, You can, I do. Just do it. I'm keen to build and ride a ' multi-bike', at least two parallel tandems.