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I agree with you re the HT riding style - its a case of float and pray sometimes - but I get it wrong all the time. Had a very hard hit yesterday but it just shrugged it off. I disagree on the rim width. I think that logically, a narrower rim has more tyre ballooning out beyond the edge of the rim which probably protects the rim more.

Okay, sounds like the best option is a DD rear tyre. Anyone seen an Aggressor in DD 27.5. I'd even be happy with a 2.3.

Nope, my new wheels with 32 spoke Rapide Hub and cheap WTB i29s

I've started stuffing up my new rear wheel with a rock ding nearly every ride. I'm running exo casing 2.5 Aggressors at 30 - 32 psi. The last one was my fault as I went off line and hopped into the edge of some nice sharp rocks... Tyre survived 100% but the rim took a big ding which I've straightened but the writing is on the wall methinks... A couple of questions: 1. Do foam tyre inserts actually help with rim protection or pinch flats or both. Real life experience? 2. Would I be better served by simply running a DD or DH tyre? 3. What about a narrower eg 25mm rim which I suspect would be less in harms way? 4. Simply get a better and harder rear rim? My thinking is based on experiences with my 26er HT which has 32 spokes Stans flows and Exo Ardents on it. I've had one puncture and although the rim is a bit dinged, it has suffered far less than my 170mm enduro bike rims. The flows are only 23mm ID running 2.4 tyres and despite being hammered into rocks, I've never had a pinch flat. Narrower rims FTW maybe?

Yup, Strava is fun but its about as accurate as counting in your head. On my last couple of rides Ive had massive speed overreads and dodgy times...

We all jaw on and on about bikes and kit but not that much about local DH events. There's been quite good promo for this one, which strikes me as a good intro event to DH, judging by the track and nice smooth shuttle drive back up. Is anyone else interested in entering at least for the Saturday shuttle? I'm looking for some encouragement and a fuel bill splitting lift to the venue. Anyooooooone?

Upgrade the Merida and send pics please. A 1x11 or 10 conversion wont cost the earth. Tyres can be found - Evo have a range of Conti's and Schwalbe I think, and there is nothing wrong with a Maxxis Ardent or X Mark, both of which are also available. On a race like the Sani, which is not known for its rough terrain (compared to say, the events in the Western Cape) you aren't at a major disadvantage. I did a 3h25 Argus on my ancient 26er HT with slicks a few years back.

Pics of the helmut in the dishwasher or it never happened?

Its R1000 plus the travel cost and accomodation. Add the cost of a drivetrain replacement after riding in the wet grit for 70km to that price. I did 12km at Tokai in the rain this weekend and that was enough. Kudos to all who competed and completed!

Actually all it took was a gentle tap and they popped out...

This is why cats are such superior pets and animals in general. They defecate far away from you and even cover their droppings, and never on the lawn. I once even caught ours trying to cover up a dog poop she found in the flower bed. And they don't interfere with riding time by demanding a walk.

I had a chance to fiddle with one of these in raw aluminium the other day and a brief parking lot ride on a different bike. It looks great with no paint - a very strong and solid looking piece of kit. The XL size is long and I found it a good fit for me. I am a lot taller than the owner but he's happy on his XL - says its very stable. The only negative is the weight - around 16.5 kg with inserts and burly tyres and nothing too special in the wheels and finishing kit. The weight wasn't really noticeable on the brief ride I had and I found the higher stack height up front an improvement over my rather low Enduro. Anyone want to check one out will find it at the Bike Park at Uitsig.

An anecdote. I bought a bike in 2013. The spokes on the very arbitrary wheels were chinese. I have broken precisely one of them despite reusing the same spokes with different length nipples on different rims. These wheel/spokes are now on their third bike, an enduro hardtail and have been hammered over the preceding 7 years.... Cheap and oriental is not necessarily bad when it comes to spokes it seems.

Please let us know how that process goes and whether the uniform is as uncomfortable as the rangers usually make them look. You do get a uniform right? :-)

I see you hail from the distant north so maybe you don't know Ou Kaapse Weg and Silvermine. Its on top of a mountain - a steep one. Have you heard of Zapper and Snapscan and even a card machine, which the OP mentions. Evidently SANP haven't either.

Pretty much sums up SANP in general. However, I think that the other camps such as Orange Kloof and Cape point probably were worthwhile. The tour guide on Cape Talk had booked the Cape point one for a group only to be told via a press release that it was suddenly closed. SANP were invited to participate on the radio but as usual didn't take up the offer. They don't communicate and are impossible to work with to discuss solutions as everyone who has ever tried has found out. The only thing that gets any action is really bad negative publicity ( mild negative publicity doesn't work) or the threat of bad negative publicity or the threat of or actual legal action. In the meantime they continue to pillage the tourist resource that is TMNP while spending as little as possible to maintain it. On that subject I hiked up Platteklip with family and a visiting foreign guest on Saturday. Along the way I noticed SANP's version of erosion protection is a few slack barbed wire strands ready to snag unsuspecting hikers on this very busy and sometimes dangerous route. I'm sure the list goes on.

Bwahaha. Hope you know what you're talking about!

I have a set of larger "Torque cap" end caps for the above hub. These things mate better with the bigger dropouts that the latest Rockshox forks come with. The problem is that the old end caps (which work just fine actually) are pressed in quite firmly and have a deeper section and overlap than I'm used to. Any suggestions on how to remove them? I suspect that tapping them out using a rod or dowel from the opposite side may be the solution but thought I'd ask here first.

A month or two back I fell over rather hard going very slowly. My GX rear derailleur took a major hit, so bad that the hanger was bent and the cage was in the spokes. I grabbed the mechanism and pulled. After two goes it was fine to ride again. Back home I did the same again to get the hanger properly straight and although I now have a spare hanger, I've simply left the damaged one on. Shifting is in fact better than before the crash so it was probably bent before. I've had similar incidents with XT and SLX and in those cases the derailleurs themselves were damaged rather badly. There, I've just turned into a SRAMBOY.

The Alpina flat spokes are indeed a rather dull affair but I rather like the stealth look. They also seem to be a little lighter than the equivalent DTs. My wife's bike has polished DT blades on it and they also look amazing. I shopped on price when I bought the Alpinas.

Have to wait for the next episode to see how it rides but it looks terrible - like a chopper without an engine.Maybe good down 50 degree slopes, maybe...

To be serious for once, I like both systems and have no difficulty adjusting to the way they work when I swop bikes. That said, if I went 12sp Id get XT all the way. The nice thing about my cheep Rapide rear hub is its relatively easy to change the freehub and they even do a microspline one now...

Bwahaha - Nope, SRAM - Chrysler Voyager, Shimano, Porsche 911 GT3

What? Not a chance - give me an XT over a GX anyday. And the new 12 speed stuff is even better. Not to mention the double upshifts you'll probably never ever see on a SRAM. I'm not sure that many bike shop employees - not owners or expert mechanics, are simply stuck on the company sales line and aren't actual bona fide bike enthusiasts. The reviews of the latest 12 speed Shimano is glowing, XT in particular. The downshifting under pressure excellence has found its way down as far as SLX by the sound of it.

Oi, yoi, the festive season brain is still engaged.