Stig

Ja one of the issues I think is water bottle space. It's hot in Africa if u doing Marathon stage racing you need to carry at least 2x. 600mm bottles.???

I carry the new generation Pepper gel. Its not a spray but a gel that sprays out like a water pistol, so you dont ride into the blast. More accurate. Mainly for dogs and hi jackers. But dont keep it on your bike keep it in your back pocket, so if you are pulled off your bike that its on you.

The crank arm length has to do with a proportion to your femur length. Has nothing to do with wheel size, gearing will sort that out.

Had 2 Tallboys, best up grade I ever did was a set of ZTR Arch ex, Light tough and stiff, I'm 100 kgs

An old school thought "Drop the drugs and train harder"

Would you use 3 year old Formula R1 brakes, OR keep the brand new Magura MT6 brakes that come std on the bike?

Hi I sent you a pm.

Im a 50 year old passionate cyclist, I do approx 10 hrs a week of training. I do several stage races per year and local MTN marathon races. However racing is not my goal it's purely participation. My budget is R40k. 2013 Specialised Epic comp carbon OR 2013 Scott Spark 910, I have chosen these two because I'm 92 kg and like to lock out or restrict rear suspension bob.

Just pay the R199 for DHL Speed Services, 2 to 3 days delivered to you door. Its worth it.

Depends on the terrain you are riding and what you weigh. Gear ratios is all about power to weight ratios. Less than 85kgs 2x10 with 26/39 ratio is fine for most marathon/ trail riding.cassette 11/36. More than 85kgs 2 x 10 better with 24/38 with 11/36 cassette. Remember you have wheels that are 10% larger in diam than before. So your final drive ratio is automatically larger.

it doesnt matter how it happened, its tragic and sad, RIP brother

Had R1's on my previous bike for 2 years, now have new 2012 XTR race brakes. The stopping power of both is similar, but the sensitivity and bite point of the R1's are superior.

I have owned two Tallboys, the most plush ride out there. Bike is very stiff and light. However the geometry of the Tallboy is based on a trail design bike. Depends what type of riding you do? Simply if you are wanting to concentrate on XC racing, Scalpel 2 Weekend rides, adventure riding and a few races, Tallboy rules.

Wait for the new Pyga 29er, from Pat Morewood. It's just won a shootout against all the big brand 29ers. Check out "Bicycling" magazine from March. Also nice to have a cult bike that's not mainstream and made in SA.

Thanks guys, yes bled them twice and added oil , doesn't seem to make a difference. Think I'm gonna sell them and get the Trail version, Bike Radar recommends them over the race version, cheers

Hi There, I have built a tallboy with full XTR groupset including brakes. There is too much play before the brakes work, ie you have to pull the levers in at least half way before there is any resistance or brakes, make no mistake the breaking power is awesome. The new brakes dont have any adjustment to take out the slack, only to adjust the resting position of the lever out and in? I come from Formula R1 brakes which were awesome. Can you take out most of this slack by adding more oil? I like the brakes to activate almost as you pull the levers, not after the levers have been pulled down to your knuckles?

Check out the April Bicycling magazine. 5 Test pilots one winner Pygma, Trek is a dog in comparison. Use it don't use it?

Tim is in the sin bin, this is not a sustainable way of eating but purely a short term solution for someone in his position. Everything in moderation

Interesting to listen to the international commentary from PMB this weekend, as well as comments from the Specialized team boss. I summarize: 26' for XS and small frame sizes 27,5' (650B) for med and large 29er for large, XL and XXL frames All about proportion

Formula brakes are unbelievebly powerful and require very little tinkering and easy to change pads (also no squeeling brakes). I had Formula R1 brakes on my Tallboy for 2 years, I have built a new Tallboy with the 2012 XTR brakes, they dont come close to the R1's.

all depends on what you weigh and the terrain you ride?, ie power to weight ratio!! I am 100kg's and live in Mpumalanga, theres no such thing as a flat route here. 3 x 10 gives you more range and flexibility if your heavy, lighter riders ie 70 to 85kgs I'd say dont need the extra blade. My 5 cents.

Please don't let your kids ride on public roads, SA has the highest cyclist fatality incident rate in the world. This is very serious and getting worse everyday. RIP lad, very sad.

Do u have an aluminium or carbon frame? I have also experienced creaking cranksets, but found out that the carbon frame around the BB was the culprit. Packed more grease and re-torqued the BB, creaking disappeared.

yup Specialized bottle cage for sure, the best out there, especially for a Camelbak Chiller bottle

Thanks but can only get info on XR29 wheels, these were 2011 wheels. The 2012 version is an XR39, probably not much difference? Looks like about 1750grams. Only 150g more than American Classics or Ztr with light hubs and spokes. Not really worth spending R5k plus on 150 grams when your a weekend rider tjat doesnt race much