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Looks great. The 'Berg has to be the place to cultivate the big mountain enduro riding you get in Europe, over here. Pity its so far from CT :-(

I don't own one but I'm about the same height as you and there is no doubt the XL is the right size for you. If i recall they are not the longest of the new long trend bikes and have always been considered a bit on the short side from the outset. What you should notice with increased reach on an XL is more comfort while standing and less fatigue as a result. If you feel a bit too stretched out just get a shorter stem.

I've got a spirit level app on my phone to check trail gradient too.

I've ordered one for my green belt loop.

Sounds like a beast of a bike and if there was any doubt that the old Nomad was too much bike for SA riding conditions, this one proves it.

Jeez, that is a tight fit. I recall one of the Mojo's had a problem - if ridden hard the linkage would klap the carbon and break it...

Dunno, I swap tubeless over pretty easily and quickly sometimes, although inflation is sometimes a hassle.

Looks lekker, but then so do many other events. There are simply too many of the things these days and they are a rip off in many cases. I am very cost conscious so my money goes to events like the Ezelfontein 3 day event where there is no profit motive whatsoever - all proceeds to local charities - relaxed vibe and free camping. What MTB used to be like.

While I haven't tested the RR in wet conditions - for obvious reasons, I have stopped noticing that it is on the bike i.e my initial concern at the lack of tread has gone. As long as you stick with a fat grippy front tyre and have good brakes, I reckon the RR or SS /Slaughter are the perfect rear tyres.

I have a relative bringing mine in so none of the extra costs apply, luckily, making it a proper bargain. They also have shoes on special - Hellcats for R1200.00 etc.

I dig it too. I have a feeling its probably on the boat anchor end of the spectrum weight wise though. But who cares.

Just had to order a new lid and found 2016 TLD on clearance at CRC - A1's in all colours from about R950 - R1200...

I am a big fan of the Pole and Geometron trend in bikes. I just wish it was easier to test ride bikes like this here. Going from a short bike to a longer one made a huge difference to my comfort and control on the bike. I recon these babies take it to the next level.

Yes, its the RCT3 but the DPA version, so no tokens. I play around with the LSC a bit - if its very steep, I increase it, - for mellower stuff and climbing I take it back a lot.

I must be too slow or too light because the only time my Pike felt too soft was when the air pressure was below that recommended for my weight. I don't expect uber plushness and prefer a firmer fork that rarely uses all of its travel. It never feels uncontrolled or out of its depth and at 1.8kg or so, knocks the socks off a coil fork when its time to ride up hills. In fact I have ridden 3 day stage races on my big bike. Stick that in your 66 and smoke it ;-)

With the added proviso that a tougher casing is probably going to be necessary out back..

I gave the RR at both ends a go yesterday evening. I did notice the bike felt as if it was quicker to get rolling which was very noticeable on one section of trail I ride a lot where the acceleration surprised me. The fact that the tyre looks a bit narrower than the MM did reduce my confidence a bit as far as carrying speed into corners but in reality the grip was mostly there and my time down one segment was within 1 sec of my best even after being held up by traffic higher up. I think the smaller side knobs and lack of intermediate knobs will cause problems in wet and very loose conditions but as long as the ground is firmish and dry it will work well. That said I am putting my MM back on for Tokai this weekend :-)

I have put a plugged Rock Razor on the front of my bike - for fun. So far it has only done dirt road bashing with one steep 67km/h gravel descent. It rolls fast and I didnt notice any odd braking or steering issues over the weekend. Still need to test it on some fast and rocky stuff with corners, but I suspect that on firm and dry terrain it will work fine. Lets see...

Good to see some gravity coverage!

Why is this place so far away from CT?

Not sure cool is the right word. Ellsworth is a strange beast. Mr Ellsworth made a lot of enemies with poor reliability and even worse after sales service, many years ago - it was always the customers fault apparently. He also made some seriously dodgy claims about the performance of the suspension design The latest bikes look great - the Rogue in particular, but appear not to have moved with the times in terms of suspension design. there is quite a good review of the Rogue on Vital. Maybe Lopes can talk some sense into them...

like that Catlike

Exactly, but I recon they left it obscure on purpose. I fail to see how a bike computer can allow a 12.6 sec improvement in time and am calling this BS. I see a Bikeradar myth buster video coming soon...

I find the aero thing hilarious. I guess we have become so obsessed with the detail there are fewer and fewer marketing points so the dredging starts - "Hey aero is big - lets make our computer fully aero"