Headshot

Just being a twit myself. I think 29ers will rule one day - they'll make everything lighter still, and eventually the downside will be all but cancelled out. That said, I aint gonna bother to get a new bike just because the bike co's want me too...

That is one fuggggly bike from the colour to the fork to the branding

Reaaallly scientific CS - twit indeed. Its great scores of twits will buy the "I too can ride 10secs faster like CS on a 29 inch penny farthing" and will sell their lovely 26' bikes. We can all buy them. Am looking for a nice light 26" 5' travel trail bike. Anyone?

Great a new duster for the furniture in a really expensive carrying case

Several months since i did mine and still shifting beautifuly - best upgrade you can do on any mtb bike.....

Thats a pretty generic pump - looks like my Giant version. They all rate to 300 psi I think? What made you think it might not do the job?

I dont ride as much as many hubbers I'm sure but am riding the same chain, rings and casette (xt, xt, sram) since before the 2007 S2C. plenty worn but still working perfectly. I'll change it all out eventually, when things stop working properly. wonder if my "system" will cost me more than the religious chain changers or three chain addicts?

Thanks for the tips guys...

Those GT's sound good but can your kids ride up hill i.e could I take my 5 year old son up a steep hill on a proper mountain bike ride or are they best for smoother more level terrain?

He's 5 and a bit and tall for his age - he already rides his Raleigh Burner (what a badly made piece of junk) well and I'd like to get him one of those cool kids 20" MTB's with front shocks and some gears at the back . Any ideas on which brands are good. I know Merida make some nice ones - any other suggestions and sources in the CT area?

How much?

That pretty scary on the merc - BMW cam chains never seem to require replacement.... I do now recall a R10k "service" on my E36 but, that included a new water pump, thermostat, radiator, and brakes + a full service, on a car that had done well over 200 k km. Cooling system and brakes - two areas you should never skimp on. So i didnt mind paying bearing in mind some of these items were nearly 10 years old at the time...

The E46 318i and indeed all modern BMw engines run cam chains, not belts so it aint that which pushed the price up...

I have owned 4 high milage second hand BMWs and presently drive an E46 318i touring. The e30 and e36 were by far the most reliable and cheapest to operate. The E46 has given far more grief but I've never had a bill like that and I have had the brakes done by the agents. There is an independent BMW garage in CT I am going to try for next service and cam cover gasket replacement that is a repeat failure item on these motors. If you think BMW is expensive go to Ford /mazda and ask for part prices on a 2002 Mazda MX5 which I also have - clutch R3400 (uk price 90 pounds)and so it goes. I got Koni Sports and springs ex UK for less than the agents wanted for OEM shocks alone. I order MX5 parts ex UK and think the same can be done for BMW and others - you just need a decent garage guy to fit the bits...

Paving????Sounds like they making it easier to suit the average Gautie MTBers skill level

i would imagine those who have snapped ali bars were running really light thin wall ones? My old Ritchey comp risers weere so thick I doubt they'd ever break - they didnt in 5 years anyway.

race kings are great tyres but are built more like tube tyres - ie not very beefy with soft sidewalls and a loose fit on the rim - they are light as a result. I had all sorts of grief fitting them to my XT wheels - sometimes they'd pump easily other times not. They did retain air tho. In comparison Maxxis ust tyres are a tight fit and pump up as if theres a tube in them. So, on your non ust rims, you have an even bigger battle with the RK's and I would imagine them being 29" does not help either. Try a Maxxis UST tyre and see if that sorts the problem.

we used our MS lights on Fri evening for an hour - they are **** off bright for the money - cars slow down when you appear at the side of the road - probably because it looks as if aliens have landed and are trying to blind the locals As I said on p1 - I have had battery probs but the light units have performed very well.

Its a farm area full of cows innit? Use them as an incentive to be faster on the dh or take up an indoor hobby perhaps?

The neg chamber influeneces small bump sensitivity - i.e it helps make the fork feel a little softer initially. I am still experimenting with my 2010 reba and have just reduced the positive as I found it too firm on uphill rockgardens and slow rocky descents. Tradeoff is it feels a little too soft on the faster rocky stuff... great fork tho - sues all its travel and well damped.

Just yankin yer chain Hairy

There I was thinkin zebra and Giraffe were a band.... Sounds like you guys are spoiled for choice. Where are the pics of all these amazing trails.

Lol -so you wouldn't say I should fly up for the next one? Must be hard making a decent MTB route in Gauties or are there some worthy races we Capies should know about - apart from Sabie of course?

Precisely - they sure as hell dont have sets of middleburn rings for my XT crank. That said I do buy from CWC - got my Reba team for less than the pre-vat price on CRC. Exchange rate fluctuations for sure, I accept that, but my card was debited and refund was less and redebited for a higer ammount for teh same reason, sans the rings. Toughies i guess but their system and comms leaves a lot to be desired....

...I still ended up out of pocket about R200 and without the chianrings I had ordered. Seems their site does not work so well when showing stock status. In my case I ordered a set of Middleburn 4 bolt rings for my XT crank. My card was debited but the goods did not arrive and 10 days later my account was refunded the amount charged - less about R100. I immediately queried it and discovered my order was still being processed. Seems one of the rings was out of stock - despite not showing when I ordered the set. This did not stop them debiting my card but they never notified me of the problem. They did good and sent the balance of the order via DHL at no cost but only after I started complaining but it still left me without R600's worth of rings and about R200 short all told. I did moan a bit so they may do something about their site and their business methods, but be careful.