Headshot

So we're still getting 4 WC races and a World Champs. Not too shabby.

It is a bit blunt, but the same goes for me, you and most of the world.

The Blake did a video where he timed himself down a trail on a Pole 29er enduro bike without its dropper i.e seat up and his Nukeproof Scout HT with a dropper and seat down. He was so much faster on the HT it was a joke. I have a friend who flatly refuses to even try a dropper post. He can afford one and could sell it if he didnt like it but no, he's stuck. He gives all the usual excuses - weight - an extra 500g on a 100km ride, maintenance, and the "I get behind my seat" stuff. I pointed out that he hardly ever does 100km rides relatively speaking, its a great safety feature not to mention the best invention in MTB probably ever and he's never going to win any races whether his bike weights 10 or 10,5 kg, but still he remains glued to his ideas :-) AXS is the bees knees, but a dropper post, is a bridge too far... I think peer group pressure is big and if you fall in with the wrong crowd - you know Epic riders, maybe they laugh at you and call you a wimp if you fit a dropper. Or do they have bike weigh off competitions before they ride and the loser has to buy skinny caps all round :-)

Bwahahahaha. There is some tech that probably should not have found its way to road bikes, bolt in through axles being one of them, but disk brakes really should be there IMO.

Only if you're talking about a road race bike. Every mountain bike deserves a dropper post. What is it with SA riders and the obsession with old school rigid seat posts. The world has moved on people :-)

Its an interesting experiment. Some of its speed is due to the mullet configuration which has been shown to be quicker than 29x2 by several riders, but not by as big a margin as this (check Lewis Buchanan's channel to see him testing a mullet and going quicker by 2 secs) The rest must be the long wheelbase and low BB, although I wonder if its not too slack. It will lose some of this speed if they raise the BB though, but they'd have to if its going to be pedalled around in an enduro race. I hope they do get a pro on one for a steep EWS race and see how he does.

I haven't had to service the shock yet but I think they have all the kit and know how to service Ohlins. I'm going to try them next for a bushing.

Its them or Robbie Powell. Cogent haven't filled me with confidence. I contacted them via email a few weeks ago - no response and Whatsapp to which I received a host of questions. After supplying the measurements for the replacement shock bushing, I received no further response to my messages so I gave up. The Ohlins continues to work great for me, holds air and seems to offer a very supportive and more poppy ride when you need it. Bike seems faster for less effort. Hairy, I see the Bruni's Ohlins worked well for him again and it was a Spaz 1-2 at the French Cup this weekend.

Shimano Moto-Rad

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/final-results-french-downhill-national-championships.html Its not WC, yet, but top drawer racing nonetheless. Seems like Amaury P is having a bad run of luck this year and B Coulange is killing the other Frenchies. EWS Zermat coming up at the end of the month too. Yay. Anyone interested in the #enduro method and bike development should subscribe to Lewis Buchanan's youtube channel. The guy is crazy fast.

Apart from the pad, the biggest issue with pads is how well they stay in place in a fall. Fit materials and design are very important here. The Ions are about the best Ive seen in that department.

Useless without a link to the FB hand bag fight...

My recent search for a second hand shock for my bike went from CT to PE to Gauteng. The last destination was the cheapest option by far. I think it was just lucky but people do say other stuff, not just houses, is more expensive in CT. like food for instance.

Model years in bikes...

Yes that's what my HT reminds me of, it even has 26" wheels like the 90's. I rode most of Tokai's gnarlier trails on it the other day. It may well be almost as quick as an enduro but its so much sketchier and way more tiring. One thing a bike like that does is make you appreciate your forgiving long travel bike.

You took a knife to a gun fight, that's all. What were you thinking?!?

Interested to hear if its back to normal.

I've only ever managed to crack a carbon frame...

I think your free hub isn't so free anymore. I have a rather stiff free hub on my Mavic road bike hub and when the chain tension is slack, i.e in a high gear it hates being back pedaled. Let us know what you find when you or the shop checks.

I have never felt so disappointed. No MTB's.

Ya that guy, who doesn't really show you much detail at all or a close up of the tools. Its a dark art it would seem...

Hairy there is precisely one video showing a guy servicing an stx 22 on Youtube. Looks like a couple of weird long sockets are required...

Apparently it does. Stoke would need to buy the necessary tools which I'm not sure would be worth their while as I suspect Ohlins are few and far between and the later versions are different again.

Thanks, long may it work. My bike runs a 216 x57 shock. The problem is the proprietary "eye" on the Spaz shocks. Their latest bikes have ditched this stupidity leaving owners of older Enduros and Stumpjumpers etc with only one option namely the Bike Yoke guys in Germany. At 140 E, The yoke alone for my bike would cost nearly as much as I ended up paying for the second hand Ohlins! If you buy the Yoke you still need a decent shock so you're probably still not going to get away with much under R10k depending on the price of the new shock. I must say I like to sound of the Ohlins TTX coil shock. The Vital testers have one and it still works perfectly after a year of abuse and no servicing whatsoever. It seems that Ohlins are selling service kits to owners directly these days so if Stoke can tool up for them, I may be able to get mine serviced locally in due course...

I've now ridden the new shock at Tokai on the higher speed stuff and some slower rocky stuff along with some very steep climbs. My concerns about the pedaling platform turned out to be unfounded. Overall the shock seems to have a firmer compression tune than the RS which makes it ride higher in its travel and pedal more efficiently seated and standing. Cornering is also improved as the bike seem to have lost its tendency to sink too far into its travel.The only trade off is possibly a slightly harsher ride but so far that seems to be minor. Some fiddling with air and compression knobs is in order. Overall the Ohlins is a high quality item and is very nicely put together. I especially like the feel of the compression and rebound controls.