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I cannot understand why anyone would take their bike to a shop like CWC ( large, supermarket style) when there are so many great small shops out there with owner/mechanics you can actually talk to. Places like The Bike Park (Clint) or William' s Bike Shop ( William) and I'm sure there are many more.

Specialized is a good bet because of the dealer network. I have found them to be very good on the warranty and willingness to help you out when things go wrong. That said I'm sure you'll hear different from someone else. The current specials make them a very attractive option IMO. The Epic is a tried and tested bike. The only negative is the proprietary suspension that requires a a few days away for servicing. A word of advice, go for the bigger size and fit a shorter stem. You'll find the bike far more fun on the descents than with a 100mm version.

No not really, there was a 7 year old at the SA Champs in Stellies this year. He rode the course, went round the big jumps and did okay for his age. Now is the best time to start. There is a rather misguided view of DH in SA. Yes, it is dangerous, but I think there are far more injuries in marathon events than DH or enduro races. Sure the numbers are greater, but in a discipline where skill and fitness stand on a more equal footing, people ride with great care knowing full well that a fall will ruin their race time. We also wear protective gear and the kid I mention above was in his longs, with body armour and the obligatory FF helmet. Another outlay for a parent is that very protective gear. Costs as much or more than the kids bike in some cases.

What Duane said. In addition, E Cape local Johann Potgieter runs youth DH skills camps periodically. As far as bikes are concerned, unless you import something you're stuck with the local range of XC type kids bikes. Commencal make decent kids trail bikes but I'm not sure if the local importer brings them in.

I saw numerous hikers (term used loosely) on the Cecilia part of the mountain today. Many not wearing face covering but the majority compliant. In groups and in close proximity to eachother. It was the first weekend that the mountain was open so the crowds were out. A big mistake going riding there today. I find it almost impossible to do a whole ride with face cover in place. It hinders breathing and I doubt it's very healthy doing hard exercise and breathing in your own CO2 for 2 hours. That said I remove mine when I'm alone and the trail is clear or when I take a drink and a break. Common sense is all that's required.

I am the current garden executive so my 2005 road bike is not getting scratched just yet :-)

Does the bike make much difference on the road? I'm asking based on personal experience that as long as you have a bike that fits, and skinny tyres, it makes very little difference. Unlike an MTB where more factors are at play. My ancient 3k aluminium bike is held back by the rider rather than being 2kg over weight and only 9 speed.

Rotor size makes a huge difference. Even Shimano twin piston brakes stop really well - in fact I'd say they are better than 4 piston SRAM Guides based on my experience. However, I have come to enjoy the base level Guides on my enduro bike for the smooth lever feel and modulation. Codes are stupidly expensive compared to Shimano brakes with the same or better power. For power and an easier and less expensive bleeding experience, get SLX or XT 4 pots. Or Zee of course.

Its a great looking bike but I think the price is mad for the base model. I wonder what a frame alone will cost? BTW, the Spesh Epic has a flex stay too. Come to think of it, this looks a lot like an Epic.

I love Strava but the main thing for me has been self improvement rather than comparing times with others, although that becomes more interesting the faster you are I guess. I get that Strava has to make money to provide the service but the manner in which they have gone about this is not goodwill inducing. Not to mention the timing, in the middle of a global pandemic. The first year special is R600 once off for the year. R50 pm is fine but after year 1 its R100. In contrast my Google music subscription is R50 pm and has remained the same for several years. Will Strava hike prices annually I wonder? I am going to carry on using the free version and see whether I feel the loss of the leaderboards and if so, may take the plunge. Then again if its a choice between food and Strava, I think food will come first....

12 speed chains are narrower and therefore the side plates are probably thinner? I've been riding MTB's since 1994 and have never seen a chain fail like that, even really worn ones.

Hairy old man, when you put a 1x1 on your Jeffsy we can talk. The HT climbs at least 400m per ride making a 1x1 an unpalatable option for me. I suspect that Sram cassettes are quite durable. My GX 11 shows very little wear. I'm doing the cheapskate thing there too with a R285 Sram 11s chain because I could not find a KMC. I Will be monitoring the wear closely.

I've been experimenting with the 10 speed drivetrain on my HT. I'm lucky enough to have two mountain bikes but at the moment I'm using the HT more than the enduro bike for obvious reasons. The HT has a Sunrace 11-42 cassette, Rapide NW ring and a Saint 10s shifter with XT medium cage derailleur. The cassette shows quite severe wear with some teeth even missing on the big ring. Despite this its still going strong and the shifting is as good as it ever was. It was already worn when I fitted it to this bike 2 years ago. Around a year ago I tried fitting a new chain, just to see if it would work. It slipped so I slapped the old one back on and then looked for a donor chain which I found on my wifes 10 speed bike. I bought her bike a new chain and used the 50% XT version on my HT. Worked a treat until recently when I started breaking links - it was over 75% worn by then. I needed another donor and this time my 11s enduro bike offered up its 50% worn KMC chain. I fitted it around 7 weeks ago and have used it on garden exercize runs and lately on my morning rides every second day. If anything it shifts better than it did with the XT chain despite being more worn... So, if you have donor bikes or friends who do, its possible to prolong the life of a bike with a worn drivetrain far beyond what you're typically advised is possible and even use the narrower 11 or 12 speed chain on it.

What season?

This bike is the cleanest its ever been since new. I've just replaced the rear derailleur cable which required dismantling the suspension pivot to get the outer through the chainstay. It was easy enough to get it out of the cable port up top thanks to the removable covers the frame uses. I broke the chain on my other bike and looked for a worn replacement for it. This bike donated its original chain, now over 2 years old, which had just reached 50% wear and its now running sweetly on my 10 speed hard tail. I bough the cheapest SRAM chain I could find at R285 odd for this bike and its working great. I also replaced the derailleur hanger recently. The wheels are new. The rims were cheap and the rear one has taken huge strain already but at least I have proper 32 spoke hubs front and rear. I'm looking at getting a narrower stronger rim out back. tyres are Aggressor EXO's at both ends. The front is on backwards - done by accident, but I've left it and if anything it grips better than it ever has. For our local rocky and dry trails I find the tread on the aggressor quite grippy enough but I'm keen to experiment a bit this winter.. The Yari fork has been brilliant - I upped the travel to 180mm and it just works, consistently. Brakes are the standard Guide R's which I hated initially but now quite like. The rear brake needs a warranty replacement for the dreaded "sticking piston when hot" issue. Front pads are still original. The grips are Nukeproof Horizons and match the Spaz top cap colour from my previous Enduro. I liked the Ripmo AF bike name so I made an AF decal for my bike from an old Race Face sticker. The dropper post has already had a service - see the shiny label... Got the bike from Revolution who helped me brilliantly with the warranty claim on my old frame.

And that big loss of income claim just shrank...

In a perfect world we'd all be on DT or Hope but ya know $$. I'm a few months in on a really cheap custom wheelset. The rear hub is a Lyne, now priced at R1600. It makes a lovely sound and so far so good on reliability. Its already blown the awful Spesh hub my bike came with into the bushes.

I hear Revolution Cycles are soon to be receiving enduro frame sets - they arent doing complete bikes, no doubt for the obvious reason. You'll be able to choose the build yourself or presumably just buy a frame. I wonder how much they'll be...

This review on the other hand... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d93nlt1N1HM&feature=emb_title

The most irritating so-called bike reviewer on Bike Mag did a video review of this where he claimed that 157 was the next big thing and our 148 wheels are now relics. Totally put me off Bikemag and this bike all in one go.

Eish

Ooh, you lucky oke. I'd love to swop my Dee Dar stuff onto an XL Tik Tik. I got my Deed Dar for 120 BTW. They sometimes do crazy things with the pricing.

Ordinarily you won't be able to claim form an event organizer because of the indemnity form you sign. However, if the organizer was grossly negligent you may have a claim. For instance, if the organizers routed the race down an incomplete road full of dongas... If a competitor rides you off the road in circumstances where he is at least partially to blame, you will have a claim against him/her. The problem is likely to be identifying the perpetrator which in a bunch crash is going to be almost impossible.

Good luck Max! That bike is the enemy of the cycle industry which annually expects a massive spend on drivetrain and suspension components both before and after the Epic Spend, I mean race.

Who likes naked bikes around here? They seem to be less popular than sport bikes and adventure bikes in SA which I find strange. I am keen on getting back into biking for transport and fun but don't have the budget yet. A KTM Duke 690 is high on my list.